BMW iX1 (2022 - ) Electric review

The iX1 is quite pricey to buy or finance, partly due to that badge and partly due to it only being offered with expensive all-wheel drive right at the time of writing. Hopefully more affordable versions should be joining the range in due course. Like all fully electric cars the iX1 is potentially cheap to run if you can charge at home because domestic electricity is still cheaper than petrol or diesel, though prices at some motorways service area public chargers can be on a par. If you have a home charger switch to a dual-stage tariff with off-peak hours and charge when electricity is still very cheap. And if you have to drive in a low-emissions zone, or can buy an electric car through a company-car scheme, the iX1 makes even more sense, given Benefit In Kind tax rates on electric cars remain very low until about 2025.

There are far fewer parts to go wrong in an electric car than a petrol or diesel one, and the battery is guaranteed for eight years, which will outstrip most initial ownership cycles. The iX1 has a better than average warranty because, although it’s capped at three years, it has an unlimited mileage, compared with the 60,000 miles most brands offer. If you do a high annual mileage it could, therefore, be a comparatively good choice. And, in good news for BMW, its brand owner satisfaction rating is improving from a woeful ranking of 21st out of 29 in the Driver Power survey, to 16th. Still room for improvement, though.

One pay-off for the high price of the car is a lot of active and passive safety features come as standard, including a reversing camera, a warning to the driver to take a break, lane-departure warning and collision warning with the ability for the car to intervene by braking if you don’t. The iX1 also emits a sound at low speeds to warn other road users of your presence, which is a common feature in electric cars.

The iX1 is very comfortable, with a hushed interior thanks to the smoothness of the electric motors compared with regular petrol or diesel engines and plenty of sound insulation. It carries quite a lot of weight, however, which translates into an even harder ride than you normally get in BMWs, so it pays to test drive this car before you buy to see if you could live with it. But there’s plenty of light, decent rear leg room and boot space for an entry-level SUV. Those wanting more will need to pay more for the iX3. But these are all proper SUVs, unlike the coupe-styled X2, X4 and X6, so rear headroom is good. You can have a heated steering wheel, electric front seats and driver’s lumbar support and there are plenty of nifty storage options up front.

BMW’s own infotainment system and screen have always been among the best, and the built-in navigation system is one of a handful that are a decent alternative to Apple CarPlay’s Maps app. Sadly the large rotary knob for controlling the iDrive tech system has gone, a pity given it was an effective means of interacting with the various systems without taking your eyes off the road. But you do get BMW’s smart curved screen with clickable windows for everything from media to weather. Clever touches include a wallet-like clip to hold your smartphone in place. We still can’t get to grips with the voice or gesture control, though. Both seem hit and miss and unnecessary. But you get that BMW air of quiet, stylish minimalism, and little things like the range of colours to the leather – and the precision with which it is all put together – help explain the brand’s enduring popularity.

The iX1 has a quoted maximum electric range of 270 miles but, like many manufacturers, BMW is being a little optimistic in its claims here and in reality you can bank on closer to 200. On the flipside with the confidence-inspiring all-wheel drive to lean on, and a startlingly fast sprint from zero to 60mph, it’s a seriously impressive car. And if all electric still doesn’t work for you there’s the alternative of the plug-in hybrid version of the regular X1, which has nearly double the electric range of many competitors along with the back-up of a regular petrol engine if you need to go further. Common to all X1s, including this electric version, is that sharp BMW handling and sense the hefty cost is a price worth paying for the feelgood factor. Which isn’t something that can be said for all new cars.