All-electric BMW iX1 coming with hot-hatch power

Thursday, 27 October 2022

BMW has revealed the all-electric iX1, and it's coming to New Zealand.

BMW has detailed the electric iX1, set to arrive in New Zealand early next year in two grades, xLine and M Sport, and one overarching model, the xDrive 30.

Pricing is yet to be announced, but it’s shaping up to be quite a weapon. BMW says it uses two electric motors to drive all four wheels with a maximum output of 230kW and 494Nm of torque. That’s enough to hit 100kph in 5.6 seconds, right up there with the current crop of hot hatchbacks like the Golf GTI and Honda Civic Type R.

The battery is a 65kWh pack supporting charge rates up to 130kW, allowing a 10-80% charge in a smidge under half an hour. BMW says the iX1 will be able to drive up to 440km per charge, and that the motors are built entirely without rare-earth metals. The battery uses cobalt and lithium mined from responsible mines.

The iX1 is bringing a decent gob of power to the small electric SUV segment.

BMW has included M adaptive suspension as standard, as well as M Sport steering. Low-mounted batteries have allowed boot space to remain high, rated at 490 litres with the rear seats up.

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Two trim levels are coming, xLine and M Sport.

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The new X1’s interior, complete with curved dash and vertical phone mount.

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Design changes for the new X1 include a larger, upright kidney grille, arrow-shaped daytime running lights in the headlight clusters, and coloured accents in the lower fascia. The wheel arches are almost square, while the taillights are quite long, swooping up at the edges.

The lights are LEDs at both ends, and trick Matrix headlights with variable light distribution and “pulsating” turn signals and are standard kit.

Meanwhile, the xLine model gets satin aluminium roof rails and window trim, pearl chrome on the grille and a silver finish for the wing mirrors. The M Sport adds larger cooling intakes at the front and a diffuser at the rear.

Inside is a slightly reworked version of the new BMW interior seen on the iX and refreshed 3 Series, featuring a sport leather steering wheel, two-zone climate control, and two digital screens as standard. The curved infotainment screens run BMW Operating System 8, and includes the BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant.

There’s also a smartphone charger in the front section of the centre console, secured by a movable clasp and positioned upright in a portrait position to be visible to both driver and passenger while being charged wirelessly. Wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are both standard as well.

As for safety, BMW says the iX1 has the most advanced suite of driver and parking assistance systems in the premium compact SUV segment. These include a head-up display, augmented reality navigation, adaptive cruise control with lane keeping, a 360-degree camera, reversing assistant and anti-dazzle mirrors.

A sports leather steering wheel, panoramic glass sunroof, harmon/kardon surround sound system, intelligent two-zone automatic climate control and a rain sensor with automatic headlight activation all come as standard in the new BMW iX1, as do four USB-C ports and two 12-volt power sockets.

While pricing hasn’t been confirmed, BMW will include a ChargeNow (BMW’s rebranding of the ChargeNet network, using the same charging stations) membership with a 10% discount on charging with the iX1.