[mobike008]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

Torque is the differentiator. It accelerates like a Loco; you will never be looking at the power. Even in markets where both 40 & 50 are available, 40 appears to be the one in demand.

Yes, the torque is the key differentiator. But, I will share a small story or rather a brief review shortly.

I test drove the BMW IX xDrive 50 and I wasn't too impressed with the power delivery even though it has 523 horsepower .

Believe it or not. It seems to have a turbo lag.

Originally Posted by Turbanator

No, though BMW does have plans to bring. 100% duties do not help. However, lower GST of 5% and Nil RTO in many states is the reason why some of the TVs are accepted in the premium segment. But, overall, it's dud. BMW is still sitting on inventories they got 6-7 months back.

CBU are still at 100% duty? That's too much and really sad for luxury car buyers in India. They aren't getting a fair deal at all.

Paying 1.5 CR and getting the 40 model is even more unfair.

Originally Posted by Turbanator

It will be very common for you, Tesla has been much more advanced since the donkey years. New for us

Haha! Yeah. Compared to the IX, Tesla M3P is a "Rocket".

[mobike008]

BMW iX xDrive 50- Brief Test Drive Report

August 18th, 2023, I was at the BMW of Bellevue showroom to get my X3 M40i’s service.

I had a couple of hours to wait and I was speaking to a sales advisor on any car available for test drive as I wanted to pass my time at the dealership constructively.

He said, "We have plenty of IX xDrive 50 available for immediate test drive. There are a few M cars also available but, I will have to wait a couple of hours for it".

Since, I was expecting my car to be delivered in 1-1.5 hours, I decided to check out BMW’s first grounds up EV- BMW IX

I know India has got both variants- xDrive 40 and xDrive 50 and I was surprised to know that xDrive 40 which is a lower powered variant (325 Horsepower) costs as much as INR 1.5 Crore OTR.

I was given a choice of both xDrive 50 and xDrive M60 to drive but, I chose the IX xDrive 50 to do the test drive first and if I had time would drive more powerful version. Sales advisor took my license and insurance information and handed the car over to me after sticking a number plate at the back.

I told him, I will come back in about an hour.

Here is my brief take on the BMW IX xDrive 50 after spending an hour and driving ~ 40 miles in and around the backroads and freeways.

Performance

It’s powered by a 112 KWH electric motor and has a power output of 525 horsepower.

While the horsepower numbers look good on the paper but, due to the massive weight the power while is more than sufficient but, does not feel thrilling like you would expect from a 500+ horsepower machine. This feeling is perhaps due to the weight of vehicle which tips the scale at 5300 lbs (2400 kgs).

There was something weird I experienced. Not sure if it was an illusion but, when I press the A pedal, it hesitates a moment like you expect from an ICE car and, then takes off like a rocket. I missed playing around with the different options so not sure this experience was due to me being in eco mode or something.

Also, while accelerating there is a sound coming from the speakers- Pls check the video for the sound.

Why BMW? Why do you need that sound? It sounds fake and quite irritating.

Regen braking is pretty good.

Performance wise it’s quite sufficient for most folks who are not used to fast cars. But, honestly speaking it doesn’t feel exhilaratingly fast.

Comfort and Convenience

Well, I focused purely on the drive and acceleration so didn’t pay too much attention to the features. There are lot of reviews of it on internet for the same.

Highlighting a few things that stood out :

1. Extremely Spacious Cabin- Both in front and more so in the back.
2. Luxury is next level (compared to luxury in my X3) as all materials feel high quality.
3. Harman Kardon sound system is excellent. I’m usually skeptical with most sound systems but, this one is really top rated as the vocals, mids and bass was delivered clean and powerful at all volume levels.
4. Curved screen looks very nice and is quite snappy with an iDRIVE 8.5 version.
5. I loved the knobs on side of the door to recline seats or move forward or backward.
6. Loved the wooden center console trim. Looks awesome. There is a 2-step action to engage in D to get the “HOLD” regen experience.
7. Steering wheel is a masterpiece. Feels great to hold and lI love all wheels that has a flat bottom. It also looks pretty new-age.
8. HUD is next level- Amazing clarity and display has bold colors and big sized fonts.
9. Due to the shape of the vehicle, the boot space doesn’t look cavernous as it should have been.
10. Surprisingly, the door feels flimsy and does not close with a “THUD”. My X3 doors feel lot heavier. I was told- Being an EV, weight reduction.
11. Range is 320 miles as per BMW. But, I feel it would be hard pressed to get more than 250 miles out of it in real world.
12. BMW claims it can charge from 10% to 80% in 35 minutes which is impressive.

Ride & Handling

It’s a BMW. What do you expect? Its handling is pretty good even for this size of vehicle. But, enthusiasts will see the difference.

But, I’m confident it would be better handler compared to similar sized SUV’s from competition.

Ride is excellent and feels perfectly tuned with a lovely balance of comfort and performance.

Exteriors

It’s a big vehicle. I was told its size is between an X3 and X5 but, it looks similar to an X5 size.

Like everyone, I hate the new front grille of BMW’s . It looks downright ugly on SUV’s but, after seeing them for a while on roads, I kind of like the new grille on a few M sedans (especially in dark colors). The new grille on BMW SUV’s including IX looks terrible.

I also dislike the wheels. It’s too gaudy for my taste. Wish they kept it simple with clean spokes.

Side Profile and Rear angle is pretty nice and looks good from these viewpoints.

I liked this new color too. Makes it stand out from the crowd.

Mobike008’s Dilemma

Post that leisurely one hour drive of the BMW IX xDrive 50i which was enjoyable but, not thrilling as I had expected it to be. BMW IX is more about luxury, comfort and creature comforts but, if someone is considering this vehicle to get the proper BMW drive experience that we are used to, then it will be a tad bit disappointing.

it’s a nice balance between Performance and Luxury with focus predominantly on luxury.

Post the drive, I got into my car. It felt so different. Everything about the car feels tight, handles way better and that B58 engine note- No words or comparison to this EV.

When I returned from my drive, the SA threw a curveball at me. A pretty attractive one that looks hard to ignore.

He said, we have a “Special” going on and he said, he can take my BMW back and give this brand new 2024 BMW IX xDrive 50 for same monthly car payments.

Imagine a $70K car payments being similar to a $110K car.

What’s the catch? My immediate feeling is they are not very popular and not selling much as I get lot of emails from BMW on some offer or other for BMW IX or I4.

Also, they had plenty of IX xDrive 50 on their lot (I saw 8 of them in the parking lot)

It’s a super tough call to exchange an absolutely thrilling machine with a larger luxurious one.

Would love to hear what fellow BHPians have to say. Is it worth doing this trade-in?

Driving around the backroads of Bellevue.

https://youtu.be/2Zu15OmRuso

I took it on the freeway in Redmond towards MSFT campuses.

https://youtu.be/CQxLfEYsi7U

Interiors is super impressive.

https://youtu.be/_8J4fCTgR9Y

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by mobike008

1. Extremely Spacious Cabin- Both in front and more so in the back.
2. Luxury is next level (compared to luxury in my X3) as all materials feel high quality.
he can take my BMW back and give this brand new 2024 BMW IX xDrive 50 for same monthly car payments.

Imagine a $70K car payments being similar to a $110K car.

What’s the catch? My immediate feeling is they are not very popular and not selling

Is your car under lease or finance?

As you are tall, iX will be far more comfortable than X3. Can safely say it's much more comfortable than an X5 as well. Recently drove the LCI- X5 and found the driver's footwell much tighter (Jimny hangover, so that's the first thing I check on any cars these days ) You have space in the front as if you are sitting in a large Honda Van.

EVs are best to be bought on lease or under buyback, as BMW has been promoting in India. I will be wary of buying a high-value EV, given the uncertainty on resale prices.

[pk0080]

Originally Posted by nidhikapoor

Where did you get these chargers from? Can you please share pics? Can you get 7.4 by plugging into a normal 15amp socket?

Charger can be set between 9 am to 32amp. In normal 15 AMP plug, if you put 32amp, socket will melt. Only upto max 16amp you can use in normal 3 pin, for more need industrial socket.

[athray9]

BMW iX xDrive50 First Impression from a BMW X3 M40i owner

Dear BHPians, I had to drop off my X3 M40i in the dealership for replacing the windshield camera housing. I had to choose a loaner vehicle for the day. I was offered a 530i or an X3 30i. I asked them if they had an electric car hoping to get an i4. But to my surprise, they asked me if I was okay with a BMW iX. I got excited and immediately told okay. I was asked to wait outside the showroom and then the car pulled up in this beautiful shade of blue.






I am not a big fan of the front grille and the alloy wheels. Leaving those aside, the side and the rear of the car look very attractive, especially the long rear lights. The car is pretty big and is a whole size bigger than my X3.

I open the door of the car and I am welcome to this luxurious interior.



The steering had a flat bottom design, which felt nice to hold.



The electric seat adjust buttons were placed on the door. I adjust the seat to my driving position and as I try to adjust the steering, I realized that the steering also had electric adjust.



The seats of the car were big and they extend all the way till the door, but the seat base was flat compared to my X3 which has smaller seats but are more supportive.



I press the start button and realize that the car has a gear knob instead of a gear level that my X3 has. The knob felt sturdy and good to use with just one finger.



I connect my phone to the infotainment system and I was amazing to see the entire 14 inch real estate display the apple car play interface. The resolution of the screen was great, but the aspect ratio seemed to be too wide and felt unnecessary. I would still be better off with the 12 inch screen on my X3 30i. The instrument cluster did not offer too many customizations just like my X3. It just had different graphics in comparison.

The gear knob had two options- D & B. D mode had regenerative braking until speed of 5 mph. Below 5 mph, the car coasts. In B mode, the car had regenerative braking until it came to a stop which meant no coasting.

I put the car in B mode since I have drive my cousin's Tesla Model 3 Dual Motor with the regenerative braking in its highest setting. As I took the car outside the dealership, I realized how silent the car was. It is so well insulated compared to my X3 and I don't even want to compare it to Teslas since they don't have great sound insulation.

I drove the car patiently until I reached the freeway where I wanted to go flat. I was not aware of the specs of the car until that point. I went flat out as I joined the freeway and I was blown away by the acceleration, it was B-R-U-T-A-L. The car felt so powerful even for someone coming from an X3 M40i.

My X3 M40i has 382 bhp , 500 NM of torque and the car weighs at 1910 kilos. The iX 50 has 516 bhp combined power from both the motors, 765 NM of torque and the car weighs at 2566 kilos.

The car definitely felt like it had 516 bhp due to the brutal acceleration. The surprise here was the handling. The steering was not as sharp as my X3, there was definitely a slight delay in the way you get into a corner in comparison. But the way the car holds in the corner was the surprise. The batteries on the floor help keep the car grounded and it did not feel like a 2.5 ton car around the corners. It definitely had the BMW DNA in-terms of handling.

As I was driving on the freeway, I realized that the gas pedal had the same travel as my X3 would and that is not good for an EV since we do single pedal driving, we have to modulate the throttle and brake using the gas pedal and that gets tough, I wish the pedal had more travel.

I tried to accelerate the car flat out again and realized that there is a slight lag to when the car responds to throttle which is not expected from an EV. I put the car in sport mode and I realize the same problem. It is not a deal breaker but if you had driven a Tesla, you can definitely feel the small lag.

As I was driving, I wanted to turn on recirculation, as I looked for the button, I realized that everything is controlled by the touch screen. I found it difficult to search for the recirculation option as I was driving. I don't understand why BMW decided to go this route. The buttons for air-con in my car are definitely better to operate.

I reach my home which was 27 miles away from the dealership. The car had 420 miles of range when I started from the dealership and as I reached home, the range dropped to 375 miles. That's about 45 miles of range drop for a 27 mile drive. I am not sure how much better it would have been had I not done some pulls but the range indication got me thinking twice about trusting it.

I reached home and decided to check out the rear seat.



The rear seat base was flat just like the front seat, but there was lot of under-thigh support and leg room for a person like me who is 5'11. The rear seat extend till the doors as well making it spacious for 3 people as well since the car does not get a rear central tunnel. One problem I had with the rear seats was the backrest angle. It was upright for my liking and the fact that you cannot adjust the recline angle did not seem good in an otherwise great rear seat experience.





The car has has 4 zone climate control. Rear vents are present in the pillars as well. The controls for the rear ac vents are present below the vents along with the heated seat controls.



There are USB-C ports behind the front seats.



The rear cabin lights were placed way too behind and were not easily accessible.




The boot is big at 500 liters and has the charger neatly tucked inside the boot floor neatly.



Since the boot lid extends all the way till the edge, the car has lights for use when the boot is open.



The power window switches did not feel premium enough in an otherwise well put together interior. The ones on my X3 come in chrome.

As for the final verdict, the iX xDrive 50 feels very powerful, it handles really well, the interiors are luxurious and the car is loaded with tech and felt like a car from future when coming from an X3. If you can get past the front grille, it is an amazing car with a real world range of 320 miles which is decent enough.

If we compare the iX to an X5, an iX loaded with decent equipment costs about $93K which is around $6K lesser than a similar specced X5 50e. But the car feels a lot more futuristic compared to an X5.

But for someone like me who travels a lot and would want a gas car and I can do with the lesser rear seat space since I have no family, I would still prefer the X3 M40i.

[Turbanator]

BMW iX is now available at a low 4.99% ROI under buyback options for 3/ 4 Years. This translates in a discount of aroud 10-12 Lac considering usual BMW ROI as 10% on such buyback options.

Given the way technology is changing and the overall uncertainity relating to resale value, such Buyback offers make a sense. Esepcially for business owners who can book a very high 40% depreciation. Most of the states here in North including Punjab, Delhi, Uttrakhand and Jammu have Zero rated RTO.

[rav1up]

Do you have a sample illustration for 3 year tenure?

[Kevinrevvz]

Originally Posted by pk0080

WHY BMW IX

Lange change feature is super useful, you do not need to worry about vehicle coming from back, just give the half indicator, and it switches the lane automatically, but it waits upto a minute or so max for lane to be clear of traffic for change and cancels the lange change function if its not possible to change within this short time. I think this time should be more.

Belated congrats on this beast. Does your vehicle come with the full BMW Driving Assistance Professional Package? Do all iX batches after your car come with this feature?

[pk0080]

Originally Posted by Kevinrevvz

Belated congrats on this beast. Does your vehicle come with the full BMW Driving Assistance Professional Package? Do all iX batches after your car come with this feature?

Yes, mine comes with the Driving Assitance Professional package, which includes lane change feature.

As IX is being imported as CBU, you cannot be sure about future batches. I am not tracking or checking it anymore, when I bought each batch had different features.

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by pk0080

Yes, mine comes with the Driving Assitance Professional package, which includes lane change feature.

Do you mean when we press the indicator stalk, the car changes the lane, if there is space?

As IX is being imported as CBU, you cannot be sure about future batches.

The only change I am aware of is Air suspension. Newer lots after the July upgrade on the head unit to accept 8,5 should be on the way, and we should see from the coming month.

It makes a good case at the reduced interest rate, though after experiencing the i7, I feel BMW should have added some more features (Seat ventilation). I hope they do the launch on the newer batches. And that might explain the lower ROI (get rid of stock units before newer ones are released)

[quickdraw]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

The only change I am aware of is Air suspension. Newer lots after the July upgrade on the head unit to accept 8,5 should be on the way, and we should see from the coming month.

It makes a good case at the reduced interest rate, though after experiencing the i7, I feel BMW should have added some more features (Seat ventilation). I hope they do the launch on the newer batches. And that might explain the lower ROI (get rid of stock units before newer ones are released)

The newer lots will not get Air Suspension (even as option) as communicated by the dealer. With 1.2cr Ex and no Bowers & Wilkins, Ventilated Seats and other missing bits make it a bit of a bummer to be honest.

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by quickdraw

The newer lots will not get Air Suspension (even as option) as communicated by the dealer.

Yes, for a while now. Only one or two of the lots had.

But, you should get 8,5 Drive

You can cool the Car before use and that vegan leather (or whatever they call it) is very comfortable in summer. And so is the standard Herman system. iX used to have offers, Low finance rates or direct discounts.

[pk0080]

Yes, if the lane has space, it will change or wait for space and then change, it works well most of the time.
For example, if I am at a 90 kmph Cruise and some truck is on the left at 60 kmph speed, once I will half press the left turn indicator, it will overtake the truck and then turn left, if there are two trucks, it will overtake both and then turn to the left lane. If someone else joins the left lane at a faster speed from behind or if it can't find empty space within 60 seconds, it gives up and cancels the indicator. I wish there was a way to show it in the video here.

Originally Posted by Turbanator

Do you mean when we press the indicator stalk, the car changes the lane, if there is space?