2021 BMW iX EV revealed as Tesla electric SUV fighter

BMW has revealed the all-electric iX SUV that will take on Tesla and other luxury EV SUVs.

Unveiled overnight in Munich, the BMW iX is more than just a long-range preview of an all-new model – one due in Australia late in 2021.

This production-ready version of the iNext show car also introduces the tech toolkit BMW will use to build its next generation of EVs.

It’s two years since the iNext appeared at the 2018 Paris motor show, and though every detail of the iX is different it does stick to the concept’s basic design themes. The iX is a large, five-seat crossover with a strong flavour of SUV. It’s as long and wide as BMW’s familiar X5, though a little lower.

The iX uses fifth-generation eDrive tech, BMW’s latest. Its claimed range, energy efficiency and performance are good rather than great. The high-voltage battery pack has a gross energy capacity of more than 100kWh, BMW says. The company expects a driving range of 600km when the iX is put through the WLTP combined test cycle. Energy consumption should be below 21kWh/100km, the company predicts.

If BMW can achieve its objectives, the iX will beat the driving range of the current Tesla Model X. But the German EV will not challenge the American EV’s performance.

Two electric motors, one for each axle, will power the iX. Combined they will deliver more than 370kW and sub-5.0 second 0-100km/h acceleration. Both these numbers fall short of the Model X.

The BMW iX will also in some ways compete with the Audi e-Tron, Jaguar I-Pace and Mercedes-Benz EQC.

Instead of performance dominance, BMW seems more focused on environmental superiority. The iX’s motors will use no rare-earth magnets. Its battery pack will be highly recyclable. All the power used to produce the battery pack, including the individual cells inside it, and the vehicle as a whole will come from renewable resources, the company promises.        

Although BMW has revealed key details of the iX powertrain, it’s saying little about the vehicle’s body. But it appears the EV’s structure is something new from BMW, and also that it contributes to the iX’s energy efficiency and driving range.

There are “weight savings thanks to aluminium spaceframe construction with Carbon Cage” says BMW. The capital letters are theirs, and they possibly indicate that the iX will pioneer a new style of mixed-material body construction quite different from the i3.

The exterior design of the iX combines design elements from the i3, such as the pinched continuation of the side windows through the C-pillar, with the giant double-kidney grille seen in recent ICE-powered models such as the soon-to-arrive BMW 4-Series. As the iX is an EV with minimal cooling requirements, its grille doesn’t allow air to pass through.

The interior of the iX is digital deluxe, with widescreen instrument and infotainment displays, super-fast 5G connectivity and big-time computing power. But there are some features that seem either imitative or old.

The array of rotary controllers in the centre console, for example, copy the cut-crystal look Volvo introduced in the current XC90. This is a minor sin compared to the iX’s steering wheel; it’s hexagonal and looks like it was inspired by some 1970s nightmare.

With its dual motors, huge battery, exotic body construction and luxurious, tech-stuffed interior, the iX is obviously going to wear a high price tag when it finally arrives in Australia. Expect to see it very late in 2021 or early 2022.