First impressions - BMW iX M60

What a treat today! We are looking at a BMW iX M60 in what is arguably its most fitting color - black metallic. Together with the optional 22” black rims the car just looks menacing and ready to have some - or rather a lot - of fun. Let’s jump in!

The iX is BMW’s second car to only use electric drivetrains after the i3 and it is the fourth model in the BMW “i” lineup. Just like the i3, it is built on bespoke aluminum space frame and carbon fiber passenger cell. Despite being so unique it is actually compatible with the CLAR platform which makes it much easier to manufacture.

The car we have here today is the top of the range M60 with 619hp (455 kW) and up to 1,100 Nm of torque. The 111.5kWh battery has 105.2kWh usable capacity, giving this car a whopping 561km of range in the WLTP cycle with EPA giving it 451km. All that technology and power comes at a steep price, though, the iX M60 starting at €135,500.

There is no mistaking the iX for any other vehicle on the road - neither from the past or the future. BMW expanded its trademark kidney grilles hugely for the electric age and the opinions are divided. And while opinions on whether it works or not are mixed, the car is instantantly recognizable from every angle - the rear with its narrow tail lights, the sculpted sides with wheels far away in the corners. And then there is the front. Squint your eyes a bit and you just may see an angry beaver getting ready to bite your head off. Thankfully when you’re behind the wheel of this beast you won’t see the front.

The color combination of deep metallic black with bronze accents suits the BMW iX really well. It brings up the shape of it and hides its size rather well. Let’s not forget it is nearly 5 meters long and it weighs nearly 2.7 metric tons yet from afar it doesn’t look huge. It’s not small either but it is way less ostentatious than the BMW X5.

The bronze accents break up the black in a few places - there’s the window trim, door handles and bottom of the side mirrors. Narrow lights front and back make it look really dynamic and the black M badges with bronze surrounds complete the outside look.

The interior will have a far more universal appeal than the external design, I believe. Until BMW i7 came to the market the iX was the flagship and BMW really paid a lot of attention to comfort. The car we have here has the interior finished in brown vegan leather, the bronze accents continue on the inside as well.

BMW iX M60

The steering wheel is the perfect size and offers excellent grip with just enough buttons to control major functions. Comfort is the name of the game here - the seats are tall and large and not as sporty as their shape suggests. They aren’t the “hugging” type - they are soft and supportive and larger people won’t have a problem fitting in.

BMW iX was the first model to introduce the curved infotainment screen and from the driver’s seat it appears to be floating. The passenger can see the bracket that supports it but it doesn’t take away the “wow” factor. The screen curve follows the curve of the dashboard and it gently peels away from it and towards the driver - very nice effect. Sitting behind the wheel nothing gets in the way - the wheel is a bit lower, the screen sits nicely behind it and the driver has a nice unobstructed view.

The infotainment can be operated from the screen by touch, but we feel it's way nicer and more intuitive to use the crystal rotary dial. Smooth and cool to touch, responsive and so much of an improvement over the previous iterations. Yet the iDrive 8 still looks like it’s from the previous generation of the car evolution. It’s the thing that detracts hugely from what is otherwise the future of luxury.

The rear takes full advantage of the electric car architecture - the floor is flat, the seats are a bit further back and the amount of space matches if not actually beats the BMW i7. The backrests are moved quite deep towards the back and the sides are softly upholstered giving the instant impression of the most comfortable sofa you can imagine.

To give you an idea how far back you sit - your head is where the little window is. Just like in a Rolls-Royce. The legroom is sufficient for Michael Jordan and since the car is quite wide at nearly 2 meters, there is plenty of room for two Michael Jordans actually.

There are plenty of charging points in the car - wireless chargers in the front, rear passengers have dedicated usb ports in front of them, mounted in the front seat’s headrests. The air-con system is individually controlled for each passenger and the panoramic glass roof goes fully opaque at a touch of a button.

Did we mention it has frameless windows? An SUV with frameless windows - it’s amazing how much of a difference it makes inside, the windows seem to be much larger and the interior feels more airy making the whole car feel even larger than it actually is. It's a well optimized design.

The luggage space is the other area where the BMW iX M60 doesn't quite impress. 500 liters of space is on the low end of the spectrum for the class and it’s not that easily accessible. The boot is split with quite large storage under the floor which really means usable space is around 400 liters - enough for a couple of larger suitcases. Trip to IKEA is out of the question unless you just want to buy some candles.

We like the fact that the carbon fiber passenger cell is left unpainted and every time you open the door you see the signature twill weave. It's also a nice reminder that the iX M60 is packing some serious punch - 3.8 seconds from standstill to 100 km/h would let you win most of the traffic light races and even a trip to a local dragstrip wouldn’t end with a disappointment.

Beautiful car, amazing technology, lots of power and a price to match. If the only thing that puts you off from buying it is its front then just reverse park it outside your house and let the neighbors look at those bits.

You may upset a few of them but you can sleep well reminiscing about the lovely interior. And if you go for the vegan interior you will be making a few cows happy. But seriously - if you are in the market for an electric SUV and you have the budget for it then you shouldn’t look anywhere else. Unless you like the Mercedes EQS…