BMW iX1: Poor range and overpriced
The BMW iX1 Long Wheelbase is an EV, a crossover1. I test-drove it, both in the city and on the highway, and evaluated it against my requirements. Based on that, I wouldn’t recommend it: it has a poor range of just 131 km when driven fast. This makes it suitable only as a second car for city use. It’s also overpriced at 49 lakh ex-showroom, considering that the Windsor is no worse and costs half as much.
Here + means a strength and - means a weakness:
- The car comes with leather2, which I prefer not to use to avoid cruelty to animals.
+ The wing mirrors show a wide field of view.
+ In reverse, curved guidelines appear and move with the steering.
± The steering wheel gets stiffer at speed and in Sport.
- The door doesn’t have a small pocket next to the window controls for keys, unlike my Ritz.
- The storage under the center armrest is hard to reach.
Comfort
- The horn can’t be pressed with one finger. This is the hardest horn to honk among all cars I’ve driven.
+ Acceleration is smooth even when floored in Sport. I can accelerate harder without worrying about discomfort, whether of passengers or myself.
+ Tilt and telescoping steering wheel
+ Good legroom
± Okay headroom
+ 8-way electrically adjustable seat
- Adjusting is hard since the door comes in the way of your fingers.
- The car has coasting regen3, which can’t be turned off and is stronger than I’d like. It’s milder in Sport mode, but I’d still like to turn it off.
Electric
- 66 KWH battery.
± Comes with BMW Maps
- Voice search in BMW Maps doesn’t work. It says, “I couldn’t understand that.”
+ When I ask for directions home, BMW Maps shows how much charge will remain at the destination.
- But this estimate is accurate only if driving at 50 kph, according to the salesman. This is the speed you should drive it if you’re low on battery.
- Searching for a charger in BMW Maps gave an error saying the connection is offline. Later in the test drive, the same error recurred.
- When it worked, it showed some chargers but didn’t identify which are the quickest detours to my destination. In other words, two chargers may be the same time away from where I am, but one of them may add more time to reach my destination. BMW Maps account for that.
- BMW Maps showed a blue circle of reachable chargers. But that assumes 100% battery and 50 kph driving, so it’s misleading and you can be stranded.
- The car can charge at 100 KW, but you may not have one on your route:
Most are 25 or 50 KW, per the salesman.
+ The car comes with an 11 KW wall charger, permanently installed at your home.
- A portable charger costs extra.
± The car’s warranty is 2 years, and the battery’s is 8 years or 1.6 lakh km, whichever comes first.
Digital
+ CarPlay is wireless-only. I prefer wired — it’s reliable and charges the phone.
+ 2 USB-C
+ No USB-A port
+ 12V socket
- The car started playing audio on my phone without me asking it to. And the audio came out of my phone speakers. If it’s initiated by CarPlay, it should have played through the car’s speakers. I paused it. Later in the test drive, when I switched the drive mode, it happened again. The car’s infotainment system is buggy.
± Harman Kardon speakers
Cooling
- No ventilated seats
- No cooled glovebox (in any BMW)
- The car has a moonroof (glass doesn’t open). I wish it opened — these instantly cool even a black car that has been parked for hours in the afternoon summer sun.
+ The moonroof is panoramic, with a beautiful rear-seat view.
- 2 bottle holders in the center
- My fat Thermos flask doesn’t fit anywhere in the front — neither door nor center.
+ The AC controls are intuitive: an animation shows air flowing to three vertical regions: chest and above, stomach and below, and the dash. You can tap any of these air flows to toggle it. Touch UIs when done right, as in this case, can be more intuitive than physical controls. This is among the best of two dozen cars I’ve tested.
- The windows don’t have built-in sunshades.
Front passenger seat
+ Good legroom — I could stretch fully.
+ Good headroom
+ 8-way electrically electrically adjustable seat
Rear seat
+ Enough legroom to stretch4.
- Headroom: I’d like 6 inches, so that it feels relaxed, spacious and comfortable, but almost no car delivers this. I have to settle for merely fine. The BMW is fine, just like the Creta and many other cars. So why waste 60 something on the BMW when I could spend 26 for a Creta?
+ The seat can be reclined to chill.
- The window isn’t panoramic, not lengthwise, not heightwise. My eyes are near the C pillar, so the view isn’t expansive or satisfying.
+ 2 USB-C ports
+ 2 AC vents with independent up / down / left / right adjustment.
- The AC is not enough in the rear seat, which disqualifies it for me in the summer.
In summary, the BMW iX1 LWB has poor range and is overpriced. If you want an EV just for city use, the Windsor is no worse and costs a third. If you want to be untethered, the Creta is excellent.
This is a monocoque / unibody construction.
Not just leatherette.
When I coast, it charges the battery slightly and in the process slows down the car. This results in deceleration - acceleration cycles which are less comfortable than maintaining a steady speed.
When the front passenger seat is slid forward, elevated and the back is folded.