[carvoyeur]

Electric cars: I always thought they were a thing for the future, Tesla was the only option, something I will never trust or something which will never be fun given how much I love my other ‘gas’ cars. But I just spent $100K+ on an electric BMW.

1) Why was I in the market for a car
2) What were my criteria for a new car
3) Why I went electric
4) Why I picked the particular BMW – including what other cars I looked at
5) The ‘details’ about this car: variant, features, pictures
6) My initial experience and my personal verdict so far (3 weeks in)

I will try to do this without making it too long. Also, just as an introduction I have been a bhp-er for several years but I took a ~6 year hiatus. I have moved from India in 2015 – Baltimore - Detroit – NYC – Boston – Dallas – Austin, and I have a lovely wife and a 5 year old son as a part of my family.


1) Why a new car?

Well this is straight-forward. My wife’s 2019 Audi A6 3.0 quattro was rear-ended badly. The car was declared total loss but she was unscathed. So we needed a new car. And a car which will keep us feeling ‘safe’.

2) What were my criteria for a new car?

I hadn’t been researching cars (busy life) but when I needed to I felt like a kid all over again. While we got ~$35K from insurance, we didn’t really have a ‘budget’. So I went and saw ~20 cars. My basic criteria for our next car were:

a. Safe - most cars are, but we trust the luxury brands more
b. Powerful - Instant response, refined engine and fast/fun pick up
c. Spacious - We are a small family, but love to stretch on road trips. A lot of compact/mid-size sedans were ruled out because of second row large hump for examples
d. Not a big car - Our other car is a Land Rover Discovery and that is our SUV. So we either wanted another full size sedan or a compact SUV
e. Luxurious cabin - My wife in particular drives 130KM a day round trip (~1.5 hours total) so we wanted the cabin to be somewhere we want to spend time in


3) Why I went electric?
I had been in various electric Ubers but hadn’t driven one before. As soon as I test-drove my first one (Genesis GV70), I was taken aback by the instantaneous pick up. The true bhp of an electric engine kicks right away unlike a petrol/diesel. At that moment I started to give electric some serious thought.
a. To get near to that pick-up I needed to look at least a v6 twin turbo 3L engine, which is not super common.
b. Given the lot of driving and use of premium fuel – we spend $500 a month on gas. That’s $6K/year vs. let’s say $800/year for electric (or free for 2-3 years if I want to make the effort to go a public charging station)
c. And on top of that – there is no maintenance spend for the most part
d. We were not super concerned about range given we planned to charge the car daily at night at home. And since we have another gas guzzler, we plan to use that for super long road trips so we don’t have range anxiety anyway



4) Why I picked the particular BMW – including what other cars I looked at

I had a fairly broad list when we started looking and looked at
• Electric mass market: Tesla Model Y, Tesla Model 3, Hyundai Ioniq 6, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV 6, Polestar 2
• Elecric luxury: Genesis GV 70, Volvo XC 40, Mercedes EQE 350 Sedan, Mercedes EQE 500 4MATIC SUV, BMW IX 50
• Gas: Volvo S90, Lexus ES, few others
• I did not want another Audi so didn’t look at any

I will not repeat why I didn’t pick gas but here is a summary from memory of what I liked vs. not for electric:

[carvoyeur]

5a) The ‘details’ about this car: variant, features, pictures

I will be transparent, and just provide the entire feature list so I do not miss out on anything! It is a LONG list and has the specific price etc. ex of taxes as well




Here are some views of the full car from outside, and I will get into at least the first order detail on some of the key features:



Front views:




Side views:





Back views:



Others:




Night:

[carvoyeur]

5b) More details on some features I like so far on exterior:

The key - I like it, it is big and sturdy yet light. Doesn't feel cheap. the blue button not only unlocks it but if you triple click it you can remote start the car!


Self healing kidney grill - yes, if there are any scratches from let's say rock you pour hot water and it self repairs! Pretty cool:



It has a carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) side frame. looks cool, feels strong!


Here is how the charger goes in:




BMW logos in few different places e.g.,




The tires on this one are 22 inches Pirellis - they are absolute dream to drive. Low road noise, very comfortable and steady and look at the aerodynamic design on them:





iX is equipped with five cameras, five radar systems, 12 ultrasonic sensors for top of the line ADAS with pretty much hands free driving (although you do need to keep light touch hands on and it has a camera that detects if you are not lookin on road too). here are few of those sensors




Folding mirrors


Headlight - one of the very few things this car doesn't have is iconic Laser adaptive light (which can block a partial view on high beam for driver in front). but here is the headlights I have and they look good






The doors are auto open with digital key (my phone) or when I am there with key. The door jambs have lights too, and are plastic (I think) - which I don't mind as this is one of the most scratched areas!



Trunk capacity is 35.5 cuft and 78 cuft when seats folded. It is average in class:




I could dive into any external features on request

[carvoyeur]

5c) More details on some of the key interior features and the my BMW app!

The steering - I saw some hate comments on the shape, but I love it. It is much easier to ingress as a taller person because the bottom is flat.



This is not a deep-dive on the i8 drive infotainment system but I can share anything if requested! Couple of high level pics - the system is seamless, fast and very intuitive. It probably does not have the OTA update capability of tesla but it is also a car with a computer, and not a computer with a car body




Some examples of what can be controlled through Infotainment - including climate, and seats!





You can change the settings/views of infotainment and it shows a lot of valuable info e.g., cars on the side, lane, etc.





It also does have a Heads up Display, and one of best in class. Here is one of the worst pics of that best in class HUD



One of my favorite features is Highway assist as a part of driving assistant professional package. This is very reliable and makes long drives a breeze. This also has traffic jam assistant - which lets you basically drive hand free and controls the steering as well as accelerator/brake.



Sunroof is pretty cool actually - you could make it clear or opaque with a touch of a button. It has something called Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystal. See the two exact same views

Transparent:


Opaque:


It has got fantastic speakers. Really clear, distortion free, very balanced highs and lows and a superb seat thumping base. I don't even have the more expensive Bowers and Wilkins - this one is 18 speakers and 655 watts Harman Kardon Surround Sound System but it is much better than many other systems (e.g., Bose in Q7). there are speakers on dash as well:




Center console is luxurious with a wood finish and buttons you can press, as well as dial you use to control the infotainment (like the older mercedes models). The dial is also touch so you can move or type, and also pressable. There are also several shortcuts on this panel including for changing the height since I have air suspension, parking cameras or to go to home screen etc.




It has decent storage, I have put a cheap amazon divider into it but blends well:




The top has the usual light change, but it also have the button to change sunroof. And a sensor camera which allows you to use motion contron (e.g., you can rotate your hand to increase volume, or to change to next track)



Here are some pics of doors - notice the 'crystal' button for seat and headrest adjustment which was one of the upgrades I took

driver door



Passenger door


Rear door with spacious bottle holder (at the cost of windows not going fully down)


Here is how the front looks. Notice there is no 'separation'. The cup holders are a little weirdly placed but I have gotten used to it. It feels very spacious and the seats are ultra comfortable




The footwell is well lit and spacious. It supports single pedal (higher regen) driving but only has two modes - regular and high. Unlike let's say an Ioniq where you have multiple levels you can control using paddle shifters


Here is the average sized dashboard - it has the locking nut for wheels


Sun visor:


The rear areas is very spacious and it comes with a privacy glass from factory. There is no hump as there is no transmission axle, and this is a bottoms up electric design (unlike the Mercedes EQE lines for example which are a retrofit)


this is an upgraded leather and is perforated, feels very luxurious!


It does have a rear AC control - which believe me or not is a rarity in electric. Neither the tesla or the ioniqs have a rear AC control which is honestly a step back in time:



Back armrest with signature cup holders


Seat can be folded with a touch of a button, although picking back up is manual which is a shame for a car this expensive:



It has this thing called BMW Travel and comfort system. You can buy accessories that fit into this slot like an ipad holder, or a table, or a coat hanger. Unless I try to, it does not bother me when I am sitting in the front. I am waiting on these accessories still.



It does have an excellent app as well. A lot of it can be managed through it including remote start, stop, navigation, service appointments, charging status etc.. It even acts as a digital key, and you can share it with other friends via the app as well. Here are a few snapshots:




Several people have claimed that BMW consistently beats its miles expectations and while I haven't tested it, it has given at least what it said it will. So I am pretty happy with that part as well.


Very happy to keep you all informed on how the ownership goes. As well as answer any questions you have, or features you would like me to showcase. I have probably not covered many of them (like it has a rear steering wheel which I just remembered that is awesome!). I am waiting for Tux mats and I also have plans to get XPEL PPF and XR Plus 30 nano ceramic tint on windows to help with Texas heat.

6) My verdict: I love it so far. It is not a cheap car but it is definitely best in class at this price point vs competitors currently.

Cheers
carvoyeur

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Reviews section. Thanks for sharing!

Going to our homepage today

[gnome]

Nice car! Though I don't understand why BMW is trying so hard to make their front grille ugly.

[MadinMumbai]

Originally Posted by gnome

Nice car! Though I don't understand why BMW is trying so hard to make their front grille ugly.

Oh man! That front grill. Somehow reminded me of Shaktiman trucks of the army. And in not a nice way.
Overall, one has to wonder what the designers are thinking/smoking. This comes close to looking as batshit ugly as the Tesla CyberTruck.

[Sandegov]

Lovely car you got there! Congrats and wish you loads of safe and happy miles on it.

Please be careful with that open footwell on drivers side - its a bit of a driving hazard in my opinion. I often drive with my kids and I can see balls, toys, waterbottles and what not rolling into the footwell.

And a question to you - are all features on car available to you by default or has BMW got in the subscription model to US?

[Pyrotek]

Congratulations carvoyeur! That's one amazing garage there with 2 highly desirable machines. Wishing you many thousands of miles of joy with both of them.

How's the range with daily home charging working out for you? Are you able to get full charge overnight? My understanding based on some reviews is that it can take up to 18 hours to fully charge the E50 model because of its larger battery pack.

[Kkumar]

Congratulations on your new car. What a beautiful car or should I say a masterpiece. I liked your phrase “a car with a computer and not a computer with a car body”, sadly the automobile industry is heading in that direction taking out all the fun of driving.

[carvoyeur]

Originally Posted by Pyrotek

Congratulations carvoyeur! That's one amazing garage there with 2 highly desirable machines. Wishing you many thousands of miles of joy with both of them.

How's the range with daily home charging working out for you? Are you able to get full charge overnight? My understanding based on some reviews is that it can take up to 18 hours to fully charge the E50 model because of its larger battery pack.

Thank you Yes, the Discovery is an awesome machine as well. I am easily able to get full charge overnight - it charges ~32 miles/hour so it takes 10-11 hours for a full charge. I have a level 2 (240V) charger - the charger comes free with BMW, and I just setup an outlet. If I were to charge using standard (120V) outlet, I will get ~4 miles/hour and that will take multiple days to charge.

Originally Posted by Sandegov

Lovely car you got there! Congrats and wish you loads of safe and happy miles on it.

Please be careful with that open footwell on drivers side - its a bit of a driving hazard in my opinion. I often drive with my kids and I can see balls, toys, waterbottles and what not rolling into the footwell.

And a question to you - are all features on car available to you by default or has BMW got in the subscription model to US?

Thanks, yes! I just got new Tuxmats which creates a minimal bucketing while covering the area in between front seats. So hopefully that helps! All the features area available for free for first 4 years. Then they start charging a subscription. The Electrify America free charging (30 min per session) is free for 2 years as well.

[holdoyn]

Lovely review, thank you.
A serious question though; what does starting the car mean, in the context of an EV?
Never driven an EV before.

Originally Posted by carvoyeur

the blue button not only unlocks it but if you triple click it you can remote start the car!

[StarrySky]

Congrats on owning the iX!

I got a chance to ride in the iX when my friend was test driving one. The quality of the interior is top-notch. The ride was also very comfortable. Our test drive was during the winter and I particularly loved the radiant heating feature, which I see you also have in your car. It felt so much better than just seat heating. Only sour point was the boot space, which seems too small for a car of this size.

Looks are subjective, and I think that as long as it isn't a white or light coloured base model (the without the sport package), the iX is a decent-looking car.

[nidhikapoor]

What's a rear steering wheel?

[carvoyeur]

Originally Posted by holdoyn

Lovely review, thank you.
A serious question though; what does starting the car mean, in the context of an EV?
Never driven an EV before.

Fair question. I just meant you could remote turn on the AC - which is very important here in texas heat you could also preset your depature time so it auto turns itself

Originally Posted by StarrySky

Congrats on owning the iX!

I got a chance to ride in the iX when my friend was test driving one. The quality of the interior is top-notch. The ride was also very comfortable. Our test drive was during the winter and I particularly loved the radiant heating feature, which I see you also have in your car. It felt so much better than just seat heating. Only sour point was the boot space, which seems too small for a car of this size.


Looks are subjective, and I think that as long as it isn't a white or light coloured base model (the without the sport package), the iX is a decent-looking car.

Yes I do have radiant heating, its amazing. Agree on boot space, but its our second car so wasn't a major concern for us. we take our land rover for grocery shopping still and agree on the looks! I loved the look of Ioniq 5 for example but my wife hated it.

Originally Posted by nidhikapoor

What's a rear steering wheel?

So think of it as an equivalent to a 4 wheel drive, instead it's a 4 wheel steering. During sharp corners, the steering is also able to turn the back wheels, thus allowing for a smaller turning radius. its also supposed to provide extra stability at high speeds but I haven't noticed that.