First Drive: 2022 BMW iX xDrive50

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When designing the BMW iX xDrive50, the engineers were given a mandate: make it as comfortable and quiet as a 7 Series on the highway; give it the handling of a 5 Series through the twisty bits; and gift it the utility of an X5 for buyers with families.

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Trying to get these divergent needs into a single vehicle called for some out-of-the-box thinking. For example, to attain the quiet 7 Series-like highway ride, the engineers put a 25-millimetre-thick foam ring inside each tire to damp the usual road noise. This and the aerodynamics combine to make the iX very quiet at Autobahn speeds. The fact it managed this while being driven at just south of 200 kilometres an hour says it all!

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The power needed to attain these elevated speeds comes from a large 111.5-kilowatt/hour battery that drives two electric motors — the front motor generates 268 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque, while the rear motor adds 335 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque. The combination delivers a peak output of 516 hp and 564 lb-ft of torque, plus all-wheel-drive capability and a driving range of up to 475 kilometres.

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When at home, a Level 2 charger replenishes the battery in 11 hours; on the road, a fast-charger can put 100 km of driving range into the battery in just 10 minutes, so the notion of getting stranded mid-journey all but disappears. The caveat is that you have to find a free fast-charger!

The powertrain not only delivers a decent turn of speed, with the run to 100 km/h coming in at 4.6 seconds, it effectively gets rid of range anxiety. On the drive, the fact the battery did not seemed phased by the higher Autobahn speeds provided peace of mind.

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Part of the formula is found in the three drive modes. Efficient mode wrings the most driving distance out of the battery. It takes a heavy stab at the accelerator to get things moving, as it only uses the rear electric motor until the front motor is deemed necessary. Personal mode rides the middle ground. It’s responsive when needed and calm when the need for speed abates. This is the set-and-forget mode.

Exit the highway and the iX switches to the next part of its mandate. Here Sport mode comes into its own. While it is almost too touchy for driving about town, it is perfect for a twisty road. Considering the iX xDrive50 has a 3,000-millimetre wheelbase and a curb weight of around 2,500 kilograms, it handles like a much smaller, lighter vehicle. There are several key things at play here.

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First is the load-levelling air spring suspension with adaptive dampers. In Sport, the ride height drops by 10 mm, which, with the already low centre of gravity, eliminates practically all body roll without sacrificing overall comfort. Next is the four-wheel steering. On the run up the Bavarian Alps, the iX tackled the twisties in an entirely unflustered manner. The front wheels point it into a corner, with the rear steer making it pivot in with much more authority. The flip side of the agility is the rear steer also brings a 12.3-metre turning circle.

An overlooked aspect is regenerative braking. With the shifter in Drive, the iX uses automatic regenerative braking logic. It looks at the navigation system and drive mode, among other things, to determine the amount and aggressiveness of the recuperation. The plus is the driver can switch the shifter over to B (Brake). This brings a true one-pedal drive — whether lifting to slow on the highway or feathering the accelerator heading into a hairpin, the need to touch the brake pedal more or less disappears. This setup will not suit every driver, but once used to show it works and feels, it proved to be the best mode. It even applies a “parking” brake when the iX comes to a standstill to prevent it from rolling backward or forward.

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The other plus is the fact the brake pedal is not “electric” mushy. The feel is crisp, and it’s difficult to pick up on the point where regen braking switches over to the regular brakes.

The end result is a surprisingly agile vehicle that’s enormous fun to drive.

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The last part of the mandate is comfort and utility. While the material quality is very good, there’s not as much bling as one expects to find in a higher-end BMW, although the crystalline (and very Mercedes-like) controls for the power seats do stand out. The highlight is the single glass panel that houses the instrumentation and next-gen iDrive 8 system. Unlike earlier versions, this one is intuitive and easily mastered. Part of its appeal is it can be whatever the driver wants, as the instrumentation and infotainment sides are fully customizable. This means the desired function and/or information is never far away.

Another improvement to iDrive is the voice control side. Simply say “Hey, BMW, select Sport mode” and, just like the Enterprise, the system makes it so. The impressive part is it obeyed my commands in spite of my wearing a mask and having an accent!

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The slick factor goes one further. When viewing the navigation in the infotainment screen and approaching a turn, the front camera comes alive and shows the intersection and any traffic ahead in real-time. It then overlays the scene with arrows that indicate the direction of the turn.

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The head-up display follows this lead and goes further than most. The driver can choose to show the usual information like speed and active safety aids, or view the directions when a destination is plugged into the navigation. For the most part, the driver follows an arrow; however, when an intersection or instruction is nearing, the arrow is replaced with a more detailed view that lays things out clearly. From a practical perspective, it means less eye time away from the road.

As for the X5 part of the mandate, there’s plenty of space for three adults in the back seat, along with 500 litres of cargo space with the seat up; and 1,750L when folded.

The temptation to view the iX xDrive50 as just another electric crossover would be a mistake, as the first drive revealed. It is very comfortable and quiet on the highway, and it dives into a tight corner with a rare agility. It’s also fast and has the right sort of driving range. The cool factor was the test was conducted on World EV Day.

The BMW iX xDrive50 will have a starting price of $89,990 when it hits Canadian roads in the first quarter of 2022.