[FCX5]

Originally Posted by hugo_nz

Hi folks!

After only a short 5/6 months I am dumping my e-tron and ordering an iX. The e-tron is pretty capable and the ride and handling are excellent but Audi's MMI and car software are a hot mess and now that there's a BMW alternative I'm coming back home.

Our order spec:
Xdrive40 Sport
Mineral white metallic
Amido interior
Comfort and Enhancement Packages


I drove the iX (test car photos attached) this week and wrote a quick comparison to the e-tron:

https://evforum.co.nz/quick-reads-bm...on-50-quattro/

[SIZE="4"]BMW iX Xdrive40 vs Audi e-tron 50 Quattro[/SIZE]

Another fresh new entry into the local EV market comes in the form of the BMW iX Xdrive40. Just landed at Auckland City BMW I jumped at the chance to do a quick comparison to my Audi e-tron. I wish I had more than an hour with it because there is simply so much new tech to take in.

Let me start off by saying that this is the freshest design from BMW in a very long time. It's unlike anything else in their portfolio and according to the salesperson (and some quick research on my part) the iX shares almost no components with other BMWs. The design is very polarising in the press photos, but my test car came in a rather normal dark shade of grey which makes the design much easier to stomach.

• The interior is splendid. Nothing you can touch feels cheap and the interior takes on a modern twist not seen in any recent BMW. I have never been a fan of BMWs crystal glass appliques but in person, it doesn't look all that bad. The massive panoramic glass roof lends an airy feel to the interior, and it has a party trick too…it goes from seethrough to milky white at the touch of a button. A-la Maybach.
• The seats are probably the most comfortable I've experienced in any car in a long time. The way they have been bolstered and clad in sustainable leather is fantastic. They are ventilated and come with massage programs too. I did not play around with the seat configuration much and thus my only minor complaint would be that the seats could grip you better around bends.
• The iX comes with BMWs latest iDrive 8 and honestly, I have nothing bad to say about it. Much like iDrive 7, it's dead simple to use. The HUD in the iX is even better than the iX3 and then there's augmented reality navigation too that shows you when to turn overlaid on the main iDrive screen using the front view camera.
• The Xdrive40 comes with Harman Kardon sound, and it's pretty damned impressive. The Bowers & Wilkins system would be an impressive next step up (at $8.5k on the Xdrive40) but the Harman Kardon system should suffice for most people.
• Driving dynamics. If I had to compare the driving comfort with anything I would say Range Rover or X7. It's just incredibly effortless. It's a big car, there's no denying that, but it is plenty fast enough and easy enough to maneuver. There is plenty of power on tap, and comparing it to the iX3 it feels a bit more "normal" to drive. The pedals feel pretty much like any other car. The steering wheel on the other hand may take some getting used to. Why BMW decided to go with a 6-sided steering wheel is a mystery.
• Cabin noise/operation. The cabin is dead quiet. If your goal is to waft from place to place in effortless silence then the iX may be the car for you. As with pretty much any modern BMW, everything is simple to operate. One minor complaint is that the climate control is hidden a level deep in iDrive, and at a glance, it's not all that intuitive to use. I may just take some getting used to, and then there's also "Hey BMW" to help do most things for you.

There's no denying that the iX is damned expensive…as in more expensive than the BMW X7, Mercedes GLS, Audi Q8. The Xdrive40 starts at $163k followed by the Xdrive50 at $197k but for that price, you get something truly special and unlike anything else on the market. If I'm being honest the e-tron interior feels rather pedestrian compared to the iX but driving around town today on roads I drive every day the e-tron holds its own very well. Would I buy an iX…probably, but I'd wait for a demo rather than paying a premium for a brand new one.

Thanks for the review. We are looking forward to our iX 50 sometime in June. It will replace a Tesla Model Y.

FWIW, I first got interested in the iX when I met a developer on the iDrive 8 system at a conference and he was telling me how iD8 and the iX was totally going to blow away the Tesla Model X for most people and how much effort had gone into all aspects of the engineering. He used to work at Google before BMW.