I Didn't Want to Like it, But the 2022 BMW iX Really Is Grea

I Didn't Want to Like it, But the 2022 BMW iX Really Is Great

There’s every reason not to like it. BMW’s first long-range EV is uncomfortable to look at, nonsensically named, and expensive on top of it all. It’s made by a manufacturer who took an early lead in electrification and then pissed away its advantage, all the while continuing to stray from the heyday that made us love it in the first place. Hating the iX xDrive50 would be so painfully easy, if only it wasn’t so good. I Didn't Want to Like it, But the 2022 BMW iX Really Is Great

There’s a natural advantage to EVs. They are, of course, quieter and smoother than the best gasoline engines humanity has produced, more effortless and relaxed in operation than the silkiest V-12. I Didn't Want to Like it, But the 2022 BMW iX Really Is Great

They’re easy to package, as the batteries put the weight down low, and they make it possible for designers to use all sorts of clever drivetrain tricks. Tesla has made good use of these considerable advantages in its meteoric rise. Traditional automakers, meanwhile, have been building normal, boring cars that happen to be electric. I Didn't Want to Like it, But the 2022 BMW iX Really Is Great

But the iX joins the Taycan and Mustang Mach-E as one of the few EVs from a conventional automaker that really sells itself as a cohesive package. In a day’s drive from Munich to the Dingolfing plant where the iX is built and on up through the Alps, the iX proved a more compelling daily driver than just about anything made to date with a roundel on its nose.

That starts with the interior, perhaps the most meaningful leap BMW has made in that department in two decades. I Didn't Want to Like it, But the 2022 BMW iX Really Is Great

It takes the clever and ultra-modern design language of the i3 and blends it with better technology, more polished details, and a fantastic array of upholstery and trim choices. From wool seats to walnut-trimmed infotainment buttons and glass seat controls, the iX interior feels both more expensive than, and a decade ahead of, the 7 Series.

So I Didn't Want to Like it, But the 2022 BMW iX Really Is Great