BMW iX M60 Long-Term review: Munich’s flagship EV SUV is a revelation

MILEAGE AT START:  1,177km

MILEAGE NOW: 6,406km

PRICE: R2 975 000

GOOD STUFF: Comfort. Space. Driving range. Performance.

BAD STUFF: Weight still plagues most EV’s dynamics

Our long-term test garage has one objective, and that is to highlight what owners can expect from their vehicles in the first three to six months of ownership. This month, we introduce one of our first electric cars to join our fleet. Yes, casting light on the advent of electric vehicles and the infrastructure thereof remains a contentious topic in the automotive space. 

BMW’s flagship, standalone model, the iX SUV, is one of the most accomplished electric vehicles we have tested in recent years. And now this model, in a top-tier M60 outfit, is spending a few months in our garage to see whether the pitfalls I once experienced when I had BMW’s pioneering electric car, the i3, as a long-term tester back in 2016, still persist. It may have been compromised with a 60kWh battery at the time, which was good for 260km of driving range. It required a great deal of planning, as public chargers were few and far between, so long-distance travel was but a pipe dream. 

Thanks to that spell, I’m already primed for EV living, and seeing the public charging infrastructure expand over the past few years has been something to behold. No sooner did our iX M60 arrive than we nosed it out of Johannesburg and down the N3 towards KZN’s South Coast. A 600-kilometre odd trek that would require a charging stop in Harrismith at the Engen Bergview 1 Stop, where a Grid Cars 60kW charger resides. We left Jozi with around 80% battery charge, which equated to around 400km of range. 

This gave us more than enough to cover the 264-kilometre sojourn to our first and only charging station en route to our final destination, Amanzimtoti. Arriving at said charging station, we had around 154km of range left with a battery charge of around 35%. We plugged the car in, grabbed a late lunch, and, after 1 hour and 30 minutes, the battery was back up to 100%, with the range showing around 484km of range. Of course, driving style and weather conditions have a bearing on the battery’s performance, so the low temperature in Harrismith was a testament to this. 

The rest of our trip was even more efficient, as from around Montroose onwards, the sea level began to drop and the iX’s regenerative braking was put to the test. We managed to recoup some energy along the way; however, it must be said that the roadworks on the N3 just past Pietermaritzburg require patience and are better tackled during the day rather than at night. After just over six hours on the road, we arrived in Amanzimtoti with 245km of range to spare. 

This meant we had more than enough “juice” to get around and visit some tourist destinations. Our return leg meant I would essentially have to charge the car twice: at the Galleria Mall’s Rubicon 150kW and then at Engen Tugela 1 Stop. Thanks to that fast charging capacity, the 150kW saw my range go from 23% to 100% in just over an hour. Brilliant! Arriving at Tugela to charge, I had 36% and a 176-kilometre range. I needed around 350km to get home, so I fed the battery with 400km worth of electricity while again grabbing a late lunch. 

As the sun had already set behind the horizon, the matrix LED laser lights polished the road ahead with white light and, thanks to their adaptive nature, seeing around the corners was an absolute boon. What we enjoy is the acres of boot space at 500 litres in standard configuration and 1,750 litres with rear seats folded, which we will put to the test in our next report. We have had to make some changes to how we charge the vehicle on the daily. BMW has fitted an 11kW home charger wall box, which comes standard with your purchase of the iX. Iin our next update, we will take you through some of the challenges that continue to plague EV owners in SA and unpack some solutions you need to be wary of should you have an EV on your shopping list. For now, we are gleaning a lot from our EV ownership and its impact on how we do things.