BMW iX1

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BMW iX1

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BMW announced itself as a pioneer of electric vehicles when it launched the i3 back in 2013. The manufacturer went the extra mile, and instead of just turning one of its existing production vehicles into an EV, it took the radical (and much more expensive) approach of engineering a dedicated electric model from the ground up.

However, in the decade since the i3’s arrival, even though BMW has continued to produce electric vehicles, none of them (except the iX) were bespoke EVs. All the other electric models that it currently offers are just electric versions of internal combustion engine models, and the first-ever BMW iX1 is no exception.

Ticks All The Important EV Boxes

The main numbers that buyers want to know about when buying an EV today are its long range, fast charging capability, and almost completely silent running. The iX1 is decent in most of these categories and surprisingly good in one of them.

It has a 68-kWh battery pack with a usable capacity of 64.7 kWh, which will grant it a claimed WLTP range of 440 km (278 miles). When I picked up the car from BMW, it was charged to 100 percent, and the indicated range was 373 km (231 miles), quite a bit off the official claim.

3.1 miles/kWh Efficiency

The displayed average electricity consumption since the car was new was around 25 kWh/100 km (2.48 miles/kWh), which explained why the vehicle’s predicted range came nowhere near the WLTP number. During my drive, I don’t think I ever saw the iX1 use less than 20 kWh/100km (3.1 miles/kWh), even though the manufacturer says it should use no more than 18 kWh/100km (3.45 miles/kWh) on average.