BMW iX1 Review

The BMW iX1 is a new foray for the German brand – it’s the first time the small X1 has been available with a fully electric version. That should widen the appeal for BMW’s EV range, although the iX1 is still a premium car with a pricetag to match.

But hold out for a nearly new iX1 and you’ll save thousands, as the steep initial depreciation makes the car much more attainable. Plus the iX1 doesn’t quite feel posh enough for a £50,000 car. The petrol X1 starts at £35,000 and is just as nice inside.

That’s not to say the iX1 isn’t much good. Far from it – we don’t give good scores out to any old jalopy. The iX1 has quickly become one of our favourite electric SUVs, as it brings a broad array of talents – its practicality, handling, interior quality and performance are all excellent.

The iX1 certainly stacks up well against the compromised Mercedes EQA, and offers a sportier drive than the Volvo EX40 and Volkswagen ID.4. It’s a little more comfortable than the Audi Q4 e-tron, too.

BMW has decided that buttons are so last year, so the iX1’s new, larger touchscreen has swallowed them all up. The resulting look is clean and modern, and the screens are glossy and eye-catching.

You get a panel of touch controls that jut out from the central armrest – using them makes you feel like you’re controlling a plane or a ship – but the rotary iDrive controller is gone. That was one of the USPs of BMW’s infotainment system – that you could choose to use the dial rather than prod hopelessly at the touchscreen, and avoid smudgey fingerprints.

Physical climate controls are also gone. In their place are touch-operated sliders – which we’ve previously criticised Volkswagen for as the sliders are imprecise and hard to use.

The 10.7-inch touchscreen is intuitively laid out so it’s not too hard to find the menu page you’re looking for. Its graphics and response times are top notch, but the screen is so packed full of features and capability that it can be quite overwhelming. There’s even a mode that replaces the sat nav display and trip computer info with a piece of vibrant digital art, for goodness’ sake.

Like the petrol X1, Sport is the first of three trim levels. Standard equipment is strong – LED headlights, a powered boot lid, cruise control and self-parking tech all feature. Stepping up to xLine and M Sport trims largely adds cosmetic upgrades like bigger wheels and more focused bumper designs. Optional tech packs add extras like keyless entry, high-beam assist and upgraded headlights.

Despite being BMW’s range-opening SUV, the iX1 is really practical. Up front, the minimalist cabin design has freed up extra storage space – there’s a huge cubby underneath the central armrest that’s capable of holding a small rucksack. You also get big door bins and a big glovebox, plus a near-vertical storage tray that can hold a couple of phones.

Further back, your rear-seat passengers won’t feel like they’ve drawn the short straw. Rear-seat space is really good, with more than enough legroom and headroom. Even very tall adults should be able to get comfortable. And long-distance comfort is improved because the rear seats recline slightly. The rear seats fold individually, and the iX1 offers three sets of easily findable Isofix points for child seats.

With the seats in their normal positions, the iX1 offers 490 litres of boot space. It’s a really useful size – big enough to carry a few suitcases or a couple of golf bags, and there are a couple of side pockets to stash small items. Talking of stashing things away, underneath the boot floor is an L-shaped area that’s mainly going to be used for charging cables, although it’s big enough to store other things out of the way as well.

Two powertrain choices are available for the iX1, called eDrive20 and xDrive30.

The eDrive20 is front-wheel drive and comes with a 204hp electric motor, and a brisk enough 0-62mph time of 8.6 seconds. This is going to be fast enough for the majority of buyers, and its 4mi/kWh efficiency figure means the range is good, too. In careful driving you’ll manage up to 288 miles from the 64.8kWh battery. With competitive 130kW fast-charging, a 10-80% top-up on a powerful enough public charger takes 29 minutes.

Jumping up to the xDrive30 brings four-wheel drive and 50% more power. The result is simply staggering straight-line speed, with genuine sports car pace from an unassuming SUV. And, if you select the ‘Iconic Sounds’ option, that speed is accompanied by bespoke audio effects from internationally renowned composer Hans Zimmer.

While it’s not quite as efficient as the slower model, the xDrive30 still returns up to 270 miles from the same battery pack, and takes the same amount of time to charge. Insurance groups for the xDrive30 are eight higher than an eDrive20 in the same spec, but its 37/38 ratings are much less than the Tesla Model Y.

Some electric SUVs drive with the involvement and motivation of a grumpy teenager, but the iX1 is still keen. Alongside the impressive power, the steering is really sharp and there’s at least some feel through the wheel. The throttle response is excellent and, while we’d like the brakes to be slightly stronger when you first press the pedal, this isn’t a dealbreaker. Especially because the iX1 offers adjustable levels of brake regeneration.

Its driver assistance systems can also slow you down for a set of traffic lights without you touching the pedals. It’s a well-integrated system and should be quick to get used to.

The iX1 is quiet and refined. Its windows are double glazed to reduce the amount of ambient traffic noise from around you, and wind and tyre noise is kept to a reasonable level. Big impacts are nicely rounded off and the damping is well controlled, striking a perfect balance between firmness and comfort. You might feel a little bit of patter on smaller imperfections in the road surface, but the same is true of most of the car’s rivals.