We liked this luxury EV at launch, but has it been improved enough to remain BMW’s flagship five years later?
The descriptor ‘flagship model’ is used a lot in this industry and at a base level is really easy to understand. It’s the top car in a brand’s line-up—the biggest, fanciest and most luxurious option.
The BMW iX certainly fits that bill: it’s the biggest, most expensive car in the brand’s electric car line-up, loaded with tech and intended to push BMW into the true luxury sphere. But for BMW, its real flagship purpose was to push and develop its EV technology.
We ran an iX on our fleet in 2023, when editor Mark Tisshaw was won over by the car’s ability to deliver true electric luxury to the point that he even forgave the styling of that grille. But much has changed in the years since then. Because while the iX has just had a substantial mid-life update, it’s no longer the shiniest, newest EV in BMW’s range.
That would be the iX3, which sits on an all-new platform, heralds a new design language and introduces a raft of new electric and digital technology—technology the iX was used to pioneer and develop. So while the iX remains BMW’s most luxurious and expensive EV, in some aspects it’s no longer a technological flagship.
So what role does it now serve in BMW’s line-up? That’s what we’re here to find out. And if we’re going to see if the iX is still a true flagship, then it makes sense to run the top version. Last time we ran the mid-spec xDrive50, but this time we’ve opted for the full-fat, full-performance M70 xDrive.
If you follow your BMW model codes closely, you might note that’s different from the previous range-topper. The change from M60 is a reflection that the M division’s engineers have been working quite hard. Hard enough to make you wonder, really. Who, for example, looks at a 2.6-tonne electric SUV with a peak output of 610bhp and says: “You know what that needs? More power.” BMW M engineers, that’s who. Bless them.
For the most part, the iX M70 produces 570bhp from its pair of electric motors, but if you select the launch control system (because every luxury SUV needs launch control), that leaps to a slightly ridiculous 650bhp. With that sort of power, we’re thankful BMW fits a hefty battery: it’s 108.9kWh in capacity, and has been developed specifically for the high performance required. Fast charging at speeds of up to 195kW will surely prove useful, especially as the official efficiency is a mere 2.6mpkWh for a range of 326 miles.
Despite the extra power, the £114,305 starting price of the M70 is actually cheaper than that of the old M60. But there has been some judicious option box ticking on our car that raises its list price to £134,255. Given this is supposed to be a flagship, we felt it worth paying £4500 for the Bowers & Wilkins surround-sound audio system and shelling out for the Comfort and Technology packs, which add features like ventilated front seats and parking assistance.
The Frozen Deep Grey paint – which looks more of a matt black in some lights – wouldn’t have been my choice, but it certainly would help the iX fit in in a Premier League training ground’s car park. Still, the dark paint and dark grille design does somewhat mask the still contentious big grille design – at least in the daytime. At night an LED frame lights up and, well, it’s a choice. More on that another time.
Inside, the iX still feels like a proper luxury car. The seats are deep and comfortable, the steering wheel is chunky and pleasing (M models also get a round version, rather than the unusually shaped one on other iX variants) and the physical switchgear is pleasingly tactile.
The infotainment system has plenty of tech but is generally easy to use – especially because the iX retains a rotary controller. I’m very much a fan of this, although it’s somewhat incongruous, given that later versions of BMW’s iDrive system, such as that introduced on the new iX3, have gone without.
Early impressions are positive: even on 22in wheels, the iX has a notably smooth ride – very luxury flagship-and it steers amazingly for a near-five-metre-long SUV. Its standard rear-wheel steering is a huge help in that regard. Those early impressions match well with Tisshaw’s verdict from running the pre-facelift iX three years ago, and I’m really looking forward to experiencing it as a slice of luxury in the coming months – even if I suspect I’ll rarely exploit all 650bhp.
In fact, as ever with EVs, my worry is that the sweet spot in the range remains the xDrive60 below, which has less power but an official range exceeding 400 miles. The other question to answer is whether BMW’s engineers have done enough to keep the iX up to date: EV technology is progressing relentlessly, and what was cutting edge just a few years ago can quickly become pedestrian – especially when there’s a model below it in the line-up that’s now shinier and newer.
Update 2: Pre-heat function is welcome in winter
Being able to turn on a car’s heating remotely isn’t new, but it’s still a marvellous function once you’ve got used to it. After an early flight into Heathrow on a freezing morning recently, I felt deep joy when I started to warm the iX’s cabin from the passport control queue. It meant that when I clambered in to drive home, I could enjoy the car’s premium sheen from the off, rather than shivering initially.
Mileage: 1603
Update 3: Showing off without being a show-off
Can a car be understated yet brash at the same time? I’m not sure, but if any car can, I reckon it’s our BMW iX. Clearly it’s a whopping great big BMW with a massive kidney ‘grille’ (sensor panel) on the front.
The car is so substantial that it has presence even when parked, in part because it has a propensity to fill every available centimetre of even larger parking spaces. Yet some of my family insist the iX is quite subtle. It’s the paint, I think: the frozen deep grey finish has a slightly matt effect and as a result tends to suck in the light in much the same fashion I’d imagine a black hole does if I were smart enough to understand science.
Add in a black grille, wheels and details and it definitely gives off ‘move on, nothing to see here’ vibes. Except, well, you still notice it, because it’s big and black and it’s impossible not to. It’s about as subtle as a stealth fighter: sure, the F-117 Nighthawk was designed to disappear when flying high above Earth but, given its size and matt paint, I’m pretty sure you would spot one parked right in front of you.
But I think that’s the intended effect. Surely if you’re buying a £130k luxury SUV you want to be noticed a bit? But you maybe don’t want to admit that. So I reckon, after some criticism of the styling based on the big grille when the iX was originally launched, BMW now enables you to spec it in a way where you can at least pretend you don’t want to be noticed.
This occurred to me recently when I had just finished reversing into a space in a Tesco car park. As I exited the iX, a man more or less ran over to ask me about it. He wanted to know if the paint was a factory option. Yes, I told him: it’s a £3000 BMW Individual option.
Which cheered him greatly, because his Mercedes-Benz EQC was coming to the end of its lease and he had read positive reviews of the upgraded iX, and he was basically sold on his colour choice when he saw mine in a car park a few days earlier. So when he saw it a second time, he detoured from his journey to find out more.
The attention on me while reverse parking also made me very grateful for the iX’s rear-wheel steering. As noted, this is a big car that fills parking spaces, so, not wanting to be antisocial, I’m always keen to get as squarely into a space as possible. And the turning back wheels give the iX impressive manoeuvrability for a car of its size. The excellent reversing cameras and sensors help too, even if the rear sensor is a bit overly cautious.
Admittedly, when going forward at slow speeds the rear-steer system does occasionally make the iX feel slightly unnatural to manoeuvre, but that’s a minor issue. And at speed it’s far more assured and subtle, helping to give the car a little extra agility without robbing it of driving feel. But it is reversing in car parks where I most notice the difference, especially because no matter how subtle the iX wants to be, people can’t help noticing it.
Mileage: 1692
Update 4: It’s not all just touchscreens
You can’t accuse the BMW iX of skimping on physical controls. The centre console is full of them, including a rather blingy crystal- effect rotary dial that has wowed a couple of passengers. I’m more taken with the genius design feature just ahead of it: a small slot in which you can stand a mobile phone, with a small hole at the bottom through which you can feed a charging cable.
Mileage: 1784
Update 5: Exploring the M part of our M70
In my time driving the BMW iX, I’ve come to revel in its remarkable refinement and cosseting, enveloping interior. This car was conceived as BMW’s luxury flagship, and it really delivers on that score: most of my journeys are pleasingly calm and relaxing. The thing is, I was concerned that I must be missing out, because my iX isn’t just a luxury cruiser: it’s the M70 version, developed with performance in mind.
And enjoying its relaxed cruising credentials barely stretches the 650bhp offered by its dual electric motors, nor the specially tuned air springs, adaptive dampers and anti-roll bars that M division engineers added to keep its 2655kg weight in check.
Time, then, to head to a favoured driving road, switch from my preferred Efficiency setting into Sport and experience just how M the M70 is. Selecting Sport turns the LED cabin lighting a moody shade of red, but the visual reminder isn’t necessary: you know which mode the car is in the moment you touch the accelerator.
The response is sharpened dramatically and if you press the pedal hard you really feel the torquey electric acceleration. It’s that vaguely unpleasant instant whack of car sickness sensation, rendered more surreal for the silence of your surroundings and just how comfortable the seat that you’re being involuntarily squished into is.
That, I should note, is without even messing with the launch control system, which deploys the full 650bhp and allows the iX M70 to hit 62mph from standing in 3.8sec. I will try it at some point, I promise: I just need to build myself up to it and find somewhere wide open and safe enough.
Of course, ‘powerful EV accelerates faster than you would ever need’ isn’t exactly a revelationary finding. Where many performance EVs struggle is when they reach the twisty bits, where outright acceleration plays second fiddle to poise, chassis balance and handling – areas in which you wouldn’t expect a 2.6-tonne, large SUV to shine.
But the M engineers have done a remarkable job, because you really can tackle corners in the M70 in a surprisingly spirited fashion. Sport mode also sharpens the steering and firms up the air suspension, and with the rear-wheel-steering and powertrain set-up, there’s a slight rear bias to the handling that gives you confidence in corners. The M70 is relatively agile, too, which is something I really hadn’t expected to say, given its size and weight.
Mind you, there’s emphasis on the word ‘relatively’ there: the laws of physics remain undefeated, no matter what M’s engineers try. But they have tried hard. In fact, the anti-roll bars and suspension keep the iX so calm in corners that it’s almost unnerving. A fun performance car? Well, yes, sort of. There’s a remarkable poise and agility to the M70, but you never forget its size, especially on tight and uneven British roads.
You really can’t push the car to anywhere near its potential, either, and frankly nor would I want to. More to the point, while it’s enjoyably spirited to hustle, it’s far nicer to cruise along in relaxed comfort, because the M70 is just better at being a luxury car than a performance SUV – which is the opposite of how a good M car should be.
Mileage: 2375
Update 6: The iX’s helping hand
My BMW’s personal assistant really wants to help me out. It occasionally tries to show me the benefits of reversing assistant, in a way that makes me wonder if it has analysed my parking and thinks I need help. The other day, a prompt even popped up randomly when I was on the M4, suggesting I employ the assisted cruise control. I did take its advice on that one.
Mileage: 2492
Update 7: Climbing the national leaderboard for efficient driving
I tend to think the concept of gamification – adding a fun or competitive element to an everyday task-to be rather silly. Surely the satisfaction should come simply from doing something, not by turning it into a contest? Except, well, a few months back the My BMW phone app showed me I was driving less efficiently than my fellow iX M70 drivers, and I’ve become a little bit too obsessed with trying to address that.
Like many car makers’ apps, My BMW contains a host of features designed to help the driver, ranging from the slightly gimmicky – such as access to the ‘BMW community’ (basically just a bunch of photos of people’s cars), locking or unlocking the car without using the key and remotely turning on the headlights – to the genuinely useful. These include the ability to control charging, turn on the pre-heating, find a local service centre and, most pertinently, a record of all my trips and my driving efficiency.
If you’re the sort of person who is wary of the amount of data that big corporations can hold about your life, you might not welcome the ‘trip history’ section. Yes, you can look back at every journey you’ve made, the app having stored not just how far you travelled but the time of day and your destination.
Before you get too paranoid, the app does offer extensive control of your privacy settings, and it seems that nobody else can really delve into your personal data. But having all that information does let BMW compare your driving efficiency with the community average-which apparently is defined as everyone in your country with the same model variant as you. And that’s where I’ve become locked into a weird personal battle.
At the time of writing, my average has reached 2.5mpkWh-and while that might not sound a particularly impressive figure, I can tell you it has been hard-earned. As noted before, the sheer power offered by the M70’s performance-honed set-up means this isn’t a tremendously efficient car in the outright sense.
But that’s a trade-off many will be happy to take for the power, so I was prepared to accept it not being that efficient when, a few months back, in the winter, I was struggling to hit 2.3mpkWh. That seemed fine to me – until I looked at the community average in the My BMW app and found that the average consumption was 2.4mpkWh. And, really, how are other people driving M70s that much more efficiently than me?
Since then, I’ve been selecting Efficient mode wherever possible, feathering the accelerator, coasting towards traffic lights and working harder than ever to spot gaps to neatly merge into. I’ve become hyper-competitive about hypermiling-and I realise that I’m not doing it in some effort to lower my running costs but because I’m really annoyed that others are driving more efficiently than me.
My efforts are paying off: in March my average was 2.5mpkWh, which was an 8% improvement on February and, most crucially, 1% ahead of the community average of 2.4mpkWh. Even better, so far in 2026 my average of 2.4mpkWh is 3% above that community average.
So I can relax now, right? Not a chance. I’ve got a lead over the community and now I want to build on it. Gamification, you see. It’s stupid, but come on, fellow M70 drivers: can you top my efficiency?
Mileage: 2519
Update 8: Large proportions make for tricky parking
I know the iX is a great big SUV, but such is the ease of driving it that I often forget just how chunky it is. Then I found myself parking next to a Peugeot 107 in a Lidl car park (other supermarkets are available but don’t have quite such random offerings in the middle aisle) and, well, it was quite the contrast. Given it took me several goes to ensure I backed into the space fully inside the lines, it was dispiriting to see how easily the 107 owner could swing in – leaving a short walk between it and my car.
Mileage 2684
Update 9: Divisive? Distinctive? The grille will always split opinion
It may be somewhat tempered by a combination of black trim and dark matt paint, but the most distinctive design feature of the BMW iX remains the whopping kidney grille. That’s especially true at night, because my M70 model features the firm’s ‘Iconic Glow’ – basically LED strips that surround the grille to ensure everyone can see it at night. And, I’m sure, quickly form an opinion on me.
It’s part of the contradiction of the way this iX has been specced. As mentioned in my first report, the matt Platinum Grey paint isn’t technically showy in the way that painting a car like this pink or orange or green would be, but it’s still really distinctive.
Same with the grille: the darkened surface suggests it’s trying to be demure, but after dark it beams into life with all the subtlety of a lighthouse. Still, judging by the number of iXs I see on the roads, plenty of people don’t mind the design, and I respect BMW for not playing it safe, at least.
Besides, it’s worth remembering why the grille on the iX is there: in fact, it’s not really a grille at all. In BMW parlance, it’s a ‘digital intelligence panel’, housing various cameras, radar units and sensors for all the car’s whizzy high-tech functions. By putting all that behind a panel, BMW says it can integrate heating elements and cleaning systems to help ensure they aren’t rendered useless in the cold or if they get dirty – and it does seem, from my mileage so far, that they’re less prone to being ‘temporarily disabled’ than similar systems in other cars.
BMW also claims the grille has a self-healing layer that can repair minor scratches, but I’m not sure I’m brave enough to test that by deliberately damaging someone else’s £130,000 car.
Of course, when you’re in the iX, you can’t see the grille, so the main issue with it from a driver’s point of view isn’t one of style but about how well all the sensors and systems it houses work. This car is a ‘tech flagship’ after all. Probably the area most drivers will notice is adaptive cruise control merged with a lane keeping aid, and the system in the iX is generally really very good.
It adjusts speed both when you close in on vehicles in front and approaching posted limit changes (when it recognises them) and is generally fairly smooth in doing so. In some countries, the iX is even capable of ‘hands-free’ driving in certain scenarios, but that level of autonomy isn’t yet legal in the UK. Still, subtle lights on the steering wheel glow green when the lane guidance is active and turn yellow when there are any issues, making it easier to spot when you might need to take back full control.
Another interesting use of the cameras behind that grille comes with the ‘Augmented View Navigation’. You can set the digital instrument cluster to show the images from the front-facing camera, on which are overlaid sat-nav directions, such as turn arrows. Quite neat, even if the warning telling you not to look at it while driving does rather highlight the limitations of the system.
It’s also odd, since the iX features a reasonably decent head-up display that puts things like your speed and sat-nav information in your line of sight. Which is useful, even if it’s a small display and it’s taken a lot of adjusting to get it right for me.
It’s even more odd that you can, if you wish, have the augmented reality display and head-up display active at the same time. Do you prefer your augmented reality in the form of limited information projected into the real world or lots of information shown on a fancy digital display?
Ultimately, I choose to trust neither and rely on my eyes.
Mileage: 2782
Update 10: Predictably practical, but where’s the frunk?
A family visit combined with an airport run gave me a chance to really test the iX’s 500-litre boot capacity. It’s predictably capacious, and the flat floor means it’s easy to make good use of that space. Removing the parcel shelf took a little bit of dexterity, mind you. There’s a useful underfloor store for charging cables, but I’m still confused about why a car this big doesn’t have a frunk.
Mileage 2841
Update 11: Public charging woes
There’s lots to say about the BMW iX, but it would be remiss not to start with this: not one person comes to my door without commenting on it. Most spoken about is the matt black finish, which certainly adds a certain je ne sais quoi (for £3300). One delivery driver persevered for quite a while to understand how one washes such a paint finish. It looks slightly drug dealer-esque for my tastes, but clearly there’s demand and it does seem to suit the aggressive, quirky (if you’re being kind) design of the car.
Speaking of which, when I first saw pictures of the iX a few years ago, I wasn’t a fan. Now? I can’t say I think it’s a masterpiece of modern car design, but I’ve adjusted to it and now find it as decent-looking as many models on the road today. Between its looks and its size, the iX feels a bit of a beast-but then I parked it next to a Land Rover Defender recently and it looked like a compact SUV. Perspective and all that.
Since custodian James Attwood kindly loaned me this iX a few weeks ago, I’ve been thoroughly enjoying it. It’s deeply comfortable throughout, ultra-premium in finish and a pleasure to drive with the BMW driving dynamics we’ve come to know and (broadly) love.
A few little things of note from living with it. The front central storage lacks practicality: there are two cupholders and a wireless phone charging place and then the large central compartment, but for the driver that isn’t accessible without turning quite pointedly sideways. I want somewhere for my keys, so they go in one cupholder; my water bottle goes in the one nearest me.
And my phone goes in its natural place. But then, when I want to get the keys, it’s practically impossible without having to move the bottle, because the control panel juts out (well placed for its purpose, to be fair). It’s a small thing but it has become a daily annoyance.
The lack of fitted rear sunshades seems an oversight for this level of car and is something I’ve noticed with my little boy present. However, one piece of simple, analogue and neat design in the back is the rotating suit hook.
My biggest problem caused by living with the iX is one that won’t concern most owners: a lack of a driveway with an EV charger. I’ve been driving to my closest fast charger at a Shell garage, which isn’t awfully fast. It has faulted as many times as it has worked; typically it seems to stop charging randomly, which if you leave the car charging – as I have on occasion – is highly problematic. (I should add that our iX hasn’t experienced similar charging issues elsewhere.)
This stuff just needs to work without fail to get everyone on board with EVs. And even if the vast majority of owners have home chargers, this could still happen on a long journey.
In part, I’ll be glad to return the iX to Attwood, because I feel conspicuous having a £135k matt black car on my humble suburban street. But on the other hand, this ticks so many boxes; it feels like the ultimate driving companion (touché), marrying enjoyable driving, performance and handling with great ride quality, practicality, space, interior luxury and more. Enjoy it while you can, Attwood.
By Rachel Burgess
Mileage: 3020
Final report: Divisive styling outweighed by grace, pace and comfort
Particularly with electric vehicles, automotive technology is advancing at a rapid pace. What was cutting-edge five years ago can easily seem very pedestrian.
So even with the benefit of a chunky mid-life update, you might think that the BMW iX, launched back in 2021, would be showing its age. It has new direct rivals such as the Porsche Cayenne Electric, Polestar 3, Lotus Eletre, Volvo EX90 and more, while BMW itself has launched its true next generation of EVs with the Neue Klasse iX3.
Faced with all those newer cars, can the iX still serve as a luxury flagship? Based on the past few months, my answer is an unequivocal yes. The iX is ageing incredibly gracefully.
Actually, ‘graceful’ isn’t the right term because, well, it’s not, is it? Look at it: it’s big, brazen and brash, especially in matt black. Whatever you think of the styling, and you will have an opinion, we can all agree that it’s not graceful. Normally after a few months with a car I grow accustomed to how it looks and it blends into the background of my life.
But having switched the iX for a Mazda 3 for a few weeks recently, on swapping back I was struck afresh by just how imposing this BMW is. Then, of course, I clambered back inside and remembered just how nice and cosseting it is too.
Because this really is a convincing luxury flagship, albeit in a very modern sense. In this top-spec M70 form, our iX costs about £130k after options, which is pretty rarefied air. But it definitely feels a step up from other cars in the BMW range. It’s a new type of luxury, though, built around digital screens and technology rather than acres of leather and wood. But it works really well. It feels spacious and there are lots of nice touches.
That said, some of those features work better than others. I really like the slot at the end of the centre console where you can pop a phone in upright: it made it much harder to forget to pick up at the end of a journey. But I was annoyed by how the protruding centre console made it difficult to reach the cupholders. Generally, though, everyone who had a go inside the iX commented on what a quiet, comfortable and plush cabin it is.
Similarly, I liked that the iX retains a physical rotary controller for the infotainment – although I still found myself using the touchscreen for a lot of operations, just because there are so many functions on the operating system that it was quicker to do so. The Mazda 3 also features a rotary dial, and because the infotainment was simpler, I used it a lot more. As ever more software functions are added, you can see why firms like BMW are taking such controls out of their cars – but there’s a balance to be struck.
As noted, the iX recently received a facelift to keep pace with newer rivals, including considerable work to up the power and range of the various versions. We opted for the top M70 level, which produces 570bhp from its dual motors-rising to 650bhp with launch control. That’s a lot of power, even if the Cayenne Turbo Electric does now offer something close to twice that, and as a result our iX didn’t want for speed or urgency. Boot the throttle and the acceleration was, frankly, a bit unpleasant. Even with a bit more care the iX was astonishingly quick and responsive for a car of such heft.
Happily, it wasn’t just the sort of performance car that’s only quick in a straight line: for a big SUV, it’s actually reasonably engaging to drive. The steering is firm but precise and well weighted, while the suspension keeps things stable but is not overly firm. It does respond well to some spirited driving, and the single brake regen setting is well judged and trustworthy.
That said, as I wrote in previous reports, the iX always feels its size, so it’s hard to ever really relax when you’re pressing on. And it’s such a comfortable cruiser that it’s almost better at a more sedate pace, gliding along in near silence in Efficient driving mode. The various ADAS functions work well too, especially the excellent adaptive cruise control.
Not that the iX M70 is a spectacularly efficient car. Its official range is 326 miles, but even when fully charged the display never showed anything close to 300 miles, and my average efficiency of 2.4mpkWh was down on the official figure of 2.6mpkWh. Things did improve as the temperature rose during my time with the car but, as usual with these things, I’d think the ideal iX is one in a lower spec with a bit less power and more range.
If anything, that relatively low efficiency is the only area where the iX is really showing its age in any meaningful way – especially compared with its new iX3 sibling, which is close to half the price yet can do nearly twice the miles.
Still, if the range works for you, the iX M70 is the sort of car that conveys a sense of occasion. It may still be a bit jarring to look at, but from behind the wheel it is actually graceful and it’s ageing well.
Even so, the arrival of the iX3 still feels significant. In a way, the iX was a test bed for the next-generation BMW tech developed for that big new arrival. So I’m keen to find out if it’s worth sacrificing a bit of the iX’s luxury to access that newer technology and longer range.
Test Data
BMW iX M70 xDRIVE
Mileage
At start
1410
At end
5012
Prices
List price new
£114,305
List price now
£114,205
Price as tested
£134,255
Options
Bowers & Wilkins stereo £4500, Individual Frozen Deep Grey paint £3300, panoramic sunroof £3200, Amido interior design suite £2650, Technology Pack £2300, Comfort Pack £1650, 22in M bicolour jet black wheels and sport tyres £900, Clear and Bold interior £800, soft-close doors £650
Economy and Range
Claimed range
326 miles
Battery
111.5/108.9kWh (total/usable)
Test average
2.4mpkWh
Test best
2.9mpkWh
Test worst
1.8mpkWh
Real-world range
261 miles
Max charge rate
195kW
Tech Highlights
0-62mph
3.8sec
Top speed
155mph
Engine
Two permanent magnet synchronous motors
Max power
570bhp (650bhp with launch control)
Max torque
749lb ft
Gearbox
1-spd reduction gear, 4WD
Boot
318 litres
Wheels
9.5Jx22in
Tyres
275/40 R22, Pirelli P Zero
Kerb weight
2655kg
Service and Running Costs
Contract hire rate
£766 pcm
CO2
0g/km
Service costs
None
Other costs
None
Fuel costs
£604.80
Running costs including fuel
£604.80
Cost per mile
17 pence
Faults
None
