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2022 BMW iX

kurtlikevonnegut

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https://arstechnica.com/cars/2021/09/forget-the-looks-love-the-tech-the-83200-bmw-ix-electric-suv/

A very good comparison for the R1S. I wouldn't consider one of these personally but it's a good benchmark for the R1S from an established player and almost certainly a direct competitor. Interesting that it appears BMW lifted their embargo on the iX today, not sure if it's a coincidence.

I think the R1S compares favorably here at a lower price point and with better performance figures (and better looks by a wide margin). There are things that the iX has that the R1S doesn't, but nothing that I'd classify as necessary considering a $13k higher base price, reduced performance, and less range (expected).
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thrill

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https://arstechnica.com/cars/2021/09/forget-the-looks-love-the-tech-the-83200-bmw-ix-electric-suv/

A very good comparison for the R1S. I wouldn't consider one of these personally but it's a good benchmark for the R1S from an established player and almost certainly a direct competitor. Interesting that it appears BMW lifted their embargo on the iX today, not sure if it's a coincidence.

I think the R1S compares favorably here at a lower price point and with better performance figures (and better looks by a wide margin). There are things that the iX has that the R1S doesn't, but nothing that I'd classify as necessary considering a $13k higher base price, reduced performance, and less range (expected).
I've driven BMWs for over 40 years now, and I strongly passed on the iX in preference for the R1T and a significant factor was most explicitly the looks, along with BMW's utter lack of effort in the EV arena under the previous CEO and Chief Engineer, letting the i3 people move to other companies and finally cancelling the project, selling their carbon fiber plant, making constant public comments about how no one wants EVs, the horrid looks of the iX, and my treatment in my most recent lease all added up to me not seeing how I'd want to own the marquee again.

Rivian's approach to the whole EV effort was a breath of fresh air, no pun intended.
 

sevengroove

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https://arstechnica.com/cars/2021/09/forget-the-looks-love-the-tech-the-83200-bmw-ix-electric-suv/

A very good comparison for the R1S. I wouldn't consider one of these personally but it's a good benchmark for the R1S from an established player and almost certainly a direct competitor. Interesting that it appears BMW lifted their embargo on the iX today, not sure if it's a coincidence.

I think the R1S compares favorably here at a lower price point and with better performance figures (and better looks by a wide margin). There are things that the iX has that the R1S doesn't, but nothing that I'd classify as necessary considering a $13k higher base price, reduced performance, and less range (expected).
I watched Edmunds' iX first drive review yesterday and honestly came away with the same impressions. How is this thing $13k more, but is still less powerful and (gasp) less luxurious than the R1S? Doesn't make sense. The electrochromic roof is one stand-out feature, and I'm guessing the seats have massagers. Cut some slack maybe for better build quality tricks given it's a BMW, but I'm just not seeing the value proposition over an R1S.
 

jessefive

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I watched part of the carwow video, and those crystal details are terrible! I couldn't even believe they were a real feature!
 

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Richbot

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Danger longread ahead from passionately non-brand-loyal amateur industry observer

the iX is a pretty-much direct Model X 5-seater competitor. It's not an R1S competitor IMO, R1S will have all the same dynamic shortcomings compared to iX that it has compared to Model X, because it's a no-kidding capable off-roader and that means compromise. iX is a tall wagon like the X, with a more usefully shaped rear cargo area to make up for no frunk, and no 3rd-row option. The 3rd-row in X and R1S is a pretty big deal, it was for me, and I wouldn't look at iX for that reason alone, but there are a lot of people who don't need or want a 3rd-row and this is a great option for them.

BMW has been building series-produced EV's since 2009, most of them weird, and not particularly great, but they have a depth of in-the-wild institutional knowledge on EVs and PHEV's and what is likely to get customers to move that if it's not the best in the industry, is close to the best. They're not de-facto Government Motors, like VW, Toyota, GM, and Hyundai are, so they don't have unlimited spend and unlimited safety net from their governments. They've taken a toyota-esque (conservative) approach, making some of the most efficient engines ever designed on a specific consumption basis and pairing them with hybridization, but they've not been sitting still, obviously. If the G-chassis 3-series is capable of accepting a reasonably competitent EV powertrain in the i4, that design decision was made in ~2014 at the board sign-off level. Same with all the investments they've made that finally bear the ... fruit...or wahtever shape you ascribe to the iX that we see before us now. If they're ready to market a car right in the meat of their US profits (the X5 and X7 customer) this won't suck and they won't have trouble making them or making a lot of them, or crucially, and unlike some large purveyors of EV's, making a profit on them.

Like everything that isn't Tesla, I think the take on these will be dependent on whether the user intends to road trip. If other German cars are any guide, 300 miles will be a legit 300 miles in crap conditions, on the highway, unlike a Tesla wishes and hopes range rating. But beyond that distance (assuming some form of available Level 2 overnight destination charging, which is a reasonably safe assumption these days) I think we're a few years from that being doable with the same speed and convenience of the Teslas, even though many other manufacturers' batteries and chargers are capable of handling much faster charging than the Teslas in the wild now

@thrill I love the i3, but it was never going to be a long-term project unless they morphed it into something that was unrecognizable as an i3, which they kinda did, when they came out (again) with the Cooper SE, which IMO is the second-best driving EV on the market today after the 2wd Model 3. They learned what they needed to from it and moved on. Like you I'm a long-time BMW guy and still have my E90M but our F34 335 was probably our last BMW for a long time. It was clear at that point that they had decided to focus on the SUV's and chasing speed at the expense of fun in their fast cars. The N55 was a truck motor, the chassis was sorted as long as you just wanted to go straight and be comfy...and I drove a bunch of them around that time trying to find out I liked other than the M cars. So I'm a former BMW customer u nless the wife wants a CPO F90M to replace her car...then I might cave
 
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Peter del Rio

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The BMW iX is so ugly and under powered that all the iX will do to the competition is further differentiate its customers from its X series.

That being said, If I could only own one EV, hands down it is the BMW i3 Rex. Why you may ask, forget the carbon fiber aluminum frame that will last forever in the northeast, but rather the ability to hack the i3 to turn on the battery charger for long trips when the battery is 75% or less charged rather than current 6% for American i3s. Meaning I can make a 400 mile trip to my parents no problem in an i3 Rex but could never do that in any other EV.

In short, the BMW i3 Rex solves the range anxiety problem for EVs with just a small software hack.
 

Peter del Rio

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To be clear, the BMW i3 Rex has a 2 gallon gas generator to charge the battery as compared to hybrid vehicles which have electric and ICE to propel the car.
 

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DucRider

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To be clear, the BMW i3 Rex has a 2 gallon gas generator to charge the battery as compared to hybrid vehicles which have electric and ICE to propel the car.
I'm very well aware, but you stated that you were hacking the system to kick it into ICE mode for long trips. For around town use, the i3 is operating as an EV. In the use case you cited, it is not.
Not being judgemental about PHEVs, but claiming you are doing a 400 mile trip in an EV is more than stretching it.
 

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Strong contender for ugliest car of the year, if not the decade. Arguably the only thing on the road uglier that its rear is its front. Life is short, drive something attractive.
Ha! My first thought was how ā€˜Aztekianā€™ it was :CWL:ā€¦.
 

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Trickle-down might be a myth in economics, but the principle does work in the auto industry

Not to hijack but as someone trained in economics this warms my heart. First time Iā€™ve seen a journalist have it correct.
 

Sdvictor

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The shocking part is how small this car looks for a car that's supposedly "executive" sizing. It can't be much bigger than a Mustang Mach-E. The EQS is more suitable.
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