When a company introduces a flagship, no matter if it's a popular manufacturer or the whipping of the automotive industry, the car itself is only a small part of the story.
The vehicle itself is a list of statements of intent towards competitors, customers, investors, the people who see it on the street and in our age even in front of policymakers in different countries, those who have marked a pretty-nice circle of purpose on the roof of petrol cars.
So when BMW puts out its first dedicated electric vehicle, it does so wholeheartedly, trying not to leave a single stone unturned in the way of putting up a product that will make it clear to everyone who is who.
These are 10 points you should know about.
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He mainly declares: I'm BMW and I'm different (Photo: Manufacturer's website)
1. For God's sake
So it's called BMW iX, which's weird. Because that name does not have a number and BMW cars always had a number in the name. Except for two cars - the 1928 Dixie which was BMW's first car and the 1955 Izta which was BMW's completely different car. Mitigating Circumstances: Both were not BMW Dixie cars was actually an Austin 7 and the Izta was of some Italian origin. So to a large extent it can be said that the iX is really the first serial model of BMW that does not include a number in its name. And I say this because in BMW there is no such thing as "coincidence", or "just like that". When I asked them why he does not have a number, and what will his little brothers be called when they are like that, because that's how it works in BMW. They told me that it would not have small siblings, that the purpose of this vehicle was to produce a purposeful display of manufacturing capabilities, but that does not mean that it necessarily produces a mold into which more models will be poured. So the audacity and innovation here we would take with a limited guarantee. Yes,Some of its features exist and will seep into future models, but to say that it represents the manufacturer's definite future? I was not convinced. General direction? Yes, but not much more than that.
So much grill, so little practical meaning ... (Photo: Manufacturer's website)
2. Design, taste, fact
I'm not going to talk about the design in terms of beautiful or not, I also suggest you do not do it at least until you see it in person.
Beautiful or not beautiful is a matter of taste, for the fact that it is designed there is nothing to argue.
And it's designed to stand out, declare, clarify: 1. I'm BMW and I do not mind being controversial, 2. I'm electric and different.
He does it with a monstrous grille that can not be mistaken and can not be mistaken for being completely airtight - BMW and electric remember?
Speaking of grill, the iX has a pretty amazing patent that one can only hope to see in more and more cars, its grill is made of a polymeric material with "self-healing" properties.
In case of a stone or scratch that damages its top layer, all it takes is to heat the plastic a bit, or in the case of Israel to put it in the sun for a while and the plastic just lifts the small scar created in it and returns to its original appearance.
The profile is much less dramatic than the front (Photo: Manufacturer's website)
Indeed, in the pursuit of optimal efficiency in terms of his movement in the air, a bit like in Olympic swimming and reality shows - the aim is for the body as smooth as possible.
Its designers have done what they can to still give it a bit of character, but it still has angles where it is just a huge chunk and even a bit of clumsy metal and recycled aluminum underneath which is a carbon fiber reinforced aluminum structure.
Again, controversial and different.
But the bullshit was this quote in the press presentation: "A new minimalist design that expresses a futuristic form of driving pleasure", there is not enough beer in Bavaria for me to understand what this sentence means, but I was not sure so at this point I went to the hotel bar.
A cabin that mostly leaves you stunned by its appearance (Photo: Manufacturer's website)
3. A cabin made of soup from the north
In the cabin, too, this story of a technological demonstration and design is raging at full force.
Parts of it are stunning looking and leave you staring at them in hypnosis.
Like the layout of the dashboard and the huge multimedia display on top of what looks like one convex and endless screen that takes up the bulk of the dashboard.
With some of the best resolution and sharpness we have come across, with the most amazing augmented reality system imaginable.
How insanely sharp is she?
When it uses the highest-resolution front-facing camera in the automotive industry (K4) it displays on the dashboard an arrow that "hovers" over the turn with an incredible level of accuracy.
Let’s put it this way, there were times when I was rewarded with the temptation to just drive with it and not raise my head to the road, there were times I really expected to see this arrow hovering in reality as well.
4K camera is responsible for the best augmented reality system we have encountered (Photo: Manufacturer's website)
The space is exceptional, front and rear and no less than it the airy feel that is not measured in inches or inches. The combination of excellent materials in their feel, rich look, textures and the fact that you know that quite a few are made from recycled ones somehow works beautifully here.Suddenly the floor mats are made from recycled nylon, some from fishing nets pulled from the sea (by the way, environmental purifiers? R-B-H is more problematic than pollution from the sports cars you want to kill ...), that the upholstery, the center console, the upholstery are made of recycled materials in part or in full, that the wood comes only from an industry that does not harm afforestation, that the processing of materials is done in an environmentally friendly way. In a sense of luxury, but even gently pats the driver's ego and finely nourishes his personal environmental conscience.And God forbid it does not sound like I'm underestimating here, although it's hard not to think that it's terribly similar to the fact that right now and according to their statement, the iX is one model and not necessarily what they'll have in the future. Just saying.
Lots of space in the back seat, including split climate control there as well (Photo: Manufacturer's website)
The huge glass roof has an elegant and sophisticated solution to prevent the cabin from becoming a greenhouse on sunny days of rising world temperatures.
At the touch of a button the panoramic roof becomes almost completely airtight.
This is of course an option for an additional fee and one can only hope that it will reach Israel as well, otherwise it would be a shame.
And there are some other interesting features here, like a selfie camera that is at the base of the rearview mirror and a panoramic photo camera of those sitting in the car.
You can send it to people or to yourself, you can also assume that it has a completely different purpose than an amusing gimmick.
BMW still does not really say what it is, but it probably has something to do with the fact that technically, this vehicle is ready to have already quite advanced autonomous driving capabilities and that this camera will be used as a means of control that the driver remains in control of the vehicle if necessary.
At the push of a button, the roof is sealed (right) (Photo: manufacturer's website)
4. Wealth and happiness?
And even within all the wealth of materials and technology of this cabin, a few things here are still far from being what you expect from a BMW.
Take for example the operation of the climate control system, besides having so many functions and it can probably also control the change of seasons, it is sometimes exhausting in the dizzying abundance of possibilities.
So is the screen that fills up with apps and requires probing and browsing.
Or the steering wheel ... I do not want to write this.
Why?
Why BMW?
Why a hexagonal steering wheel?
And if hexagonal why without one normal angle for grip?
And there are the hidden buttons that are under the wood paneling in the center console it looks like "wow!"
Absolutely, but you know what's less good about hidden buttons?
Hint - Buttons should not be hidden unless it is an escape room.
I would also argue about Swarovski's crystal circles, but the Chinese are crazy about it, so how did Judge Aviv Geffen say: "In honor of a billion billion wrong ..."
This does look cool, but you're right hk it could be very dangerous in the wrong hands.
(Photo: Manufacturer's website)
5. Motivation and enjoyment
At this point, the iX is marketed in two propulsion versions, both of which drive all the wheels using two motors that are each responsible for two wheels.
In the 40 version, the combined power is 326 hp and the jump to 100 km / h takes 6.1 seconds.
The 76.6 kWh batteries are expected to provide a declared range of 425 km.
For the launch, BMW has brought the senior version for now, the 50, which has a combined power of 523 hp, 4.6 seconds acceleration and with huge batteries of 111 kWh declares a pretty amazing range of 630 km.
System
.
Its charging supports charging up to 195 kilowatts in direct current (DC), which means that in a suitable position you can get 150 km every 10 minutes of charging, and if you have more time, it will reach from 10 to 80 percent in a little more than 35 minutes About.
This steering wheel, it's hard not to emit a juicy curse (Photo: Manufacturer's website)
How does it travel?
Well, just like you would imagine 523 hp instant electric. And even though in the first second or two of rolling it still does not feel like the kick of really powerful trams, from the moment these 2.5 tons start to move, it's like shedding a few hundred good pounds. Intermediate accelerations In normal mode and sporty mode surprising every time, just a huge push forward from the moment the pedal is stroked.And after speeding out of the traffic lights and giggling silly every time this huge white thing just flashed indirectly, I realized that everything we said so far could be said about any streetcar Otherwise.But this is BMW in BMW something else needs to happen.
500 liters in the trunk, enough for most of your uses (Photo: Manufacturer's website)
6. Repay the check
The launch took us through the country roads south of Munich towards Austria, deep within the homeland of BMW - Bavaria.
Between the small towns you could find some roads that meander gently between soft hills and as you head south towards the Alps the turns become sharper and you can really feel what this car knows how to do.
And it turns out that BMW did not neglect this part either.
Despite the dimensions, despite the weight, the iX knows a thing or two about the laws of turn and behavior.
The steering wheel is precise, and the translation of his turn to a quick entry before turning and maintaining the chosen line even with a load of speed or very impressive braking.
This is neither the X5 nor the Porsche Cayenne, the speed and performance do not translate into something that can be called "fun", but simply a lot of grip and a lot of weight that attaches it to the asphalt.
Knows how to hold, turn and move at a pace you would not expect from a vehicle of this size (Photo: Manufacturer's website)
The engineering flexibility of an electric car, with the possibility of placing its center of gravity low and in the center of the car are a very important factor in its dynamic characteristics.
But much of the ability to keep the body restrained and prevent its weight from overpowering the tires and smearing everywhere comes from two optional systems that by and large are a crucial factor in such situations - air shock absorbers and rear steering.
How much of this ability will be deducted when these two get out of the vehicle?
It will be interesting to see when he arrives in Israel.
The ride comfort is excellent, as is the noise isolation in it (Photo: Manufacturer's website)
The brakes here are very strong and effective, but the desire to compress as much sophistication and technology, efficiency and charging capacity as possible through braking has a price here.
In their automatic mode, they adjust the braking power to the way the pedal is pressed (gentle in caressing, aggressive in strong pressing) and also to the data the system receives from the car's navigation system and sensing means.
This mostly means the braking character is constantly changing.
In Mode B they produce very strong regenerative braking to demand maximum car charge return, and despite their aggressiveness, I personally preferred it over the inconsistency I experienced in auto mode.
Of course you can also calibrate the braking power using the car settings in the on-screen menus, but the launch was only 24 hours, and I preferred to spend most of the time driving ...
And this is just the screen of the air conditioning system ... (Photo: Manufacturer's website)
7. Map from there
The air suspension and the same rear-wheel drive also make a crucial contribution to dealing with it even when not sanding turns with it at a completely unreasonable speed.
It ends up being also a vehicle that is very pleasant to drive and drive on a daily basis.
The ride comfort is excellent with very good ironing of any type of disruption we were able to find on the area's too good roads and it all happens when it rolls on 22-inch rims.
Not only the diameter of the rim, but also the type of tire itself is one that should not do any favors with noise isolation, as the cars at launch are equipped with Michelin "Alpine" tires, designed for snow driving, which tend to be noisy under normal driving conditions.
Well, the iX has not heard of it and probably has not been told either.
Because his noise isolation was really, really good, a lot of what we expected.
Not all angles flatter him, but he certainly looks completely different (Photo: Manufacturer's website)
8. Promise and term
While the first day we spent mostly in relatively fast driving accompanied by lots of intermediate accelerations and dynamic sections with lightning detours. The second day lane passed through more problematic roads, with too many speed limits and too few winding sections. The speed cameras everywhere and the increased presence of police officers equipped with enforcement means make me suspect it was not accidental, and if you noticed the pattern, you are not wrong, I tend to attribute very little coincidence to what happens at the launch of a German car, a German manufacturer on German soil. However, these conditions led us to drive the iX in a way that is closer to its true use. And when we finished this driving day with a consumption of 18.4 kilowatt hours per 100 km, that means a practical range of 603 km. The trip computer that declared a 26 percent balance in the battery that he estimates to be 162 km claimed that the full range we could achieve is about 630 km. But again, this is an indication of a good energy management system,But a realistic measurement we can only make here in the local driving conditions and on the regular test track.
The space is excellent in both dimensions and feel (Photo: Manufacturer's website)
9. Dawn of a new era?
While its two competitors from home, Mercedes and Audi have already dipped their toes in the electric world, BMW which technically actually overtook them with the i3 withdrew from this matter for a few years and preferred to push its plug-in hybrid and hybrid engines to the front of the stage.
They say it was due to the desire to wait for the maturation of the technologies, the infrastructure, the possibility of producing a vehicle that would require a minimum of compromises on the part of the customer on a daily basis and more.
In practice it was probably a combination of all these with the fact that as the years went by, she could no longer "sit on the fence" and had to enter the game, and when she did, she preferred to do it not with another tram but with the tram in the know.
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But as I said in the opening, the iX is not exactly BMW's opening shot but a kind of purposeful display, one that comes to demonstrate its capabilities not only in the field of engine, and electric propulsion assemblies, but also in cabin technology, vehicle construction Combining steel, aluminum and plastic reinforced with carbon fiber to the widest range of production methods that use renewable energy, use of engines without rare materials and even adherence to "humane mining", ie one that does not come from mines where there is cheap labor exploitation.
And it's on its way to us, but it will not be cheap (Photo: Manufacturer's website)
10 and meanwhile in Israel
The iX is expected to arrive in Israel in the first quarter of 2022, if the supply of cars is not disrupted and the local market does succeed in receiving its allocation.
When it settles here it is not expected to be cheap, any number north of 600,000 shekels for the base version sounds like a pretty plausible bet.
Not because it has no direct competition (except perhaps Tesla Model X whose latest version we still do not know anything beyond technical data), but mainly because in view of its limited production volumes, it is not designed, supposed or has ambitions to determine exceptional sales numbers.
In the BMW iX as in the military, the purpose-built displays do not count hits on targets, but mainly applause from the audience invited to the podium.
In this case it gets applause, but on going into battle, BMW will also have to deal with competitors shooting at it back.
High-aimed opening shot (Photo: Manufacturer's website)
On the technical side: the BMW iX xDrive 50
Engine, propulsion:
electric X2, dual
power (hp):
523
torque (kg):
78
battery:
111 kWh
Gearbox:
automatic, single gear
Dimensions:
length (cm):
495
width (cm "M):
197
Height (cm):
170
Wheelbase (cm):
300
Trunk (liters):
500
Performance:
Acceleration 0-100:
4.6 seconds
Maximum speed:
200 km / h
Combined consumption (test) :
5.4 km / h
Competitors:
Currently: Tesla Model X
When in Israel:
First Quarter 2022
Price:
Not
yet determined
