Tesla really needs to step up their SUV game (BMW iX impressions)

My situation is I'm getting divorced, and I either need to refinance my current car or get a new one. Today I test drove a 2024 BMW iX and I left blown away.

Yes, it's a little smaller (5 seats vs. 6, but considerably more useable cargo area). It lacks air suspension (they stopped that after 2023 apparently). It's not quite as fast to 60mph (I tested).

That said, the interior comfort is on a completely different level. Real leather seats with a decent massage function, the ability to change bolster shaping, outstanding sound system (I tested the Bowers & Wilkins upgrade w/ the bass shakers in the seats), the list really goes quite a bit on.

The HUD was excellent, as was the parking camera and a few other little features the X lacks. Car Play on a big, wide screen is just great. There isn't a back screen but after having that for a year in the X I'm convinced it's not a value add in any way.

The handling is considerably better, and the drive overall is very nice with much better road noise isolation than a model X.

It might not be your taste or whatever, but the important point is this: I can get a lease of an absolutely loaded out iX for less than I pay for my X currently. It's a better car in almost every way. I'll miss the windshield, and air suspension, and.... that's about it TBH.

I'm a huge Tesla fan, but IMO they really need to step up what they're offering for six figures if they want to stay competitive.

"BMW iX electric SUV in Costa Rica" by mariordo59 is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
Admin note: Image added for Blog Feed thumbnail

 

[BayAreaCelt]

I have the X Plaid and the iX. I drive the iX, and yes, overall the iX is the better car for most use cases and to drive and be in. Tesla is better in some things. But feels like a Kia or less inside. Panel gaps and paint quality and material quality is obviously way tf worse than Kia of course. Tech and power is better than anyone though. Get the m60 with the air suspension, and go further than the Tesla in the real world and in more comfort too... watch the out of spec m60 range test. It's nuts. Closing in on 400 miles range in a car with that much weight and power is crazy...

 

[Msicario]

I have the X Plaid and the iX. I drive the iX, and yes, overall the iX is the better car for most use cases and to drive and be in. Tesla is better in some things. But feels like a Kia or less inside. Panel gaps and paint quality and material quality is obviously way tf worse than Kia of course. Tech and power is better than anyone though. Get the m60 with the air suspension, and go further than the Tesla in the real world and in more comfort too... watch the out of spec m60 range test. It's nuts. Closing in on 400 miles range in a car with that much weight and power is crazy...

Can one have range and 0-60 in under 2.5 seconds?

 

[Msicario]

Can one have range and 0-60 in under 2.5 seconds?

There is only one EV that does the Quarter mile under 10.0 seconds: Tesla Model S Plaid, 9.3.. Totally Insane to drive a street legal car that fast

 

[Tiger]

There is only one EV that does the Quarter mile under 10.0 seconds: Tesla Model S Plaid, 9.3.. Totally Insane to drive a street legal car that fast

Also the Model X Plaid does it under 10.

 

[voxel]

I have the X Plaid and the iX. I drive the iX, and yes, overall the iX is the better car for most use cases and to drive and be in. Tesla is better in some things. But feels like a Kia or less inside. Panel gaps and paint quality and material quality is obviously way tf worse than Kia of course. Tech and power is better than anyone though. Get the m60 with the air suspension, and go further than the Tesla in the real world and in more comfort too... watch the out of spec m60 range test. It's nuts. Closing in on 400 miles range in a car with that much weight and power is crazy...

My biggest complaint about the Model X is the rough ride even with air suspension. The iX M60 with air is vastly smoother. I like a lot things about the Model X - size, roominess, audio system, acceleration. The ride quality is just poor.

 

[Tiger]

My biggest complaint about the Model X is the rough ride even with air suspension. The iX M60 with air is vastly smoother. I like a lot things about the Model X - size, roominess, audio system, acceleration. The ride quality is just poor.

Which one would you take if Model X came with either BMW ride quality or Tesla performance but not both (or if BMW came with either Tesla performance or BMW ride quality but not both)?

 

[digitaldriver]

I have the X Plaid and the iX. I drive the iX, and yes, overall the iX is the better car for most use cases and to drive and be in. Tesla is better in some things. But feels like a Kia or less inside. Panel gaps and paint quality and material quality is obviously way tf worse than Kia of course. Tech and power is better than anyone though. Get the m60 with the air suspension, and go further than the Tesla in the real world and in more comfort too... watch the out of spec m60 range test. It's nuts. Closing in on 400 miles range in a car with that much weight and power is crazy...

Wow i just watched out of spec and holly smokes. As i keep saying, this is really gen 1 products. Forget i3. In 5 years, Lucid is gone and tesla will shrink and will get cheaper if they want to compete. In other words, tesla needs to become Toyota pricing if they want to compete and it needs to be done worldwide, not just US. Im not convinced model s and x will survive, don't believe in cybertruck. Btw, where's the cybertruck, i thought the rich spoiled child, elon, promised it some time ago?

 

[alexgr]

Wow i just watched out of spec and holly smokes. As i keep saying, this is really gen 1 products. Forget i3. In 5 years, Lucid is gone and tesla will shrink and will get cheaper if they want to compete. In other words, tesla needs to become Toyota pricing if they want to compete and it needs to be done worldwide, not just US. Im not convinced model s and x will survive, don't believe in cybertruck. Btw, where's the cybertruck, i thought the rich spoiled child, elon, promised it some time ago?

I don't know where you spent the last year, but Tesla already is priced in the range of Toyota.

 

[Msicario]

I have the X Plaid and the iX. I drive the iX, and yes, overall the iX is the better car for most use cases and to drive and be in. Tesla is better in some things. But feels like a Kia or less inside. Panel gaps and paint quality and material quality is obviously way tf worse than Kia of course. Tech and power is better than anyone though. Get the m60 with the air suspension, and go further than the Tesla in the real world and in more comfort too... watch the out of spec m60 range test. It's nuts. Closing in on 400 miles range in a car with that much weight and power is crazy...

You’re very fortunate to have both great vehicles No doubt the iX way more luxurious, handles better, 8.8 ground clearance, resale value, and great name brand.
Model X Plaid, better Tech, longer range and super fast.
Both about the same price until Musk drops the price again

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Wow i just watched out of spec and holly smokes. As i keep saying, this is really gen 1 products. Forget i3. In 5 years, Lucid is gone and tesla will shrink and will get cheaper if they want to compete. In other words, tesla needs to become Toyota pricing if they want to compete and it needs to be done worldwide, not just US. Im not convinced model s and x will survive, don't believe in cybertruck. Btw, where's the cybertruck, i thought the rich spoiled child, elon, promised it some time ago?

"Where is Cybertruck?" is the wrong question. "How is 4680 production?" is the question.
Cybertruck, Semi and the Roadster all depend on 4680 progress. 4680 is late, so the others are late.

 

[voxel]

Which one would you take if Model X came with either BMW ride quality or Tesla performance but not both (or if BMW came with either Tesla performance or BMW ride quality but not both)?

Both are $20-30K overpriced (well iX is $30-40K overpriced and Model X is $20K overpriced). The iX M60 can achieve low 3s in 0-60 so I don't need more performance. It depends on the price a - Model X without BMW iX ride quality would be ideal at $80K. BMW iX M60 at $100K is the best value but in reality they are $120-130K.

Currently, BMW is offering $20-30K off iX leases ($7500 incentive plus a huge rebate plus dealer discounts) so folks are leasing them at sub $950/month with zero down.

You’re very fortunate to have both great vehicles No doubt the iX way more luxurious, handles better, 8.8 ground clearance, resale value, and great name brand.
Model X Plaid, better Tech, longer range and super fast.
Both about the same price until Musk drops the price again

I prefer the iX but don’t know about resale value given the crazy discounts for new ones. I’ve heard folks wanting to trade iXes in and getting offers $30-45K below MSRP after the first year.

 

[Richbot]

iX is getting the same depreciation curve of any circa-$100k BMW

 

[Msicario]

Both are $20-30K overpriced (well iX is $30-40K overpriced and Model X is $20K overpriced). The iX M60 can achieve low 3s in 0-60 so I don't need more performance. It depends on the price a - Model X without BMW iX ride quality would be ideal at $80K. BMW iX M60 at $100K is the best value but in reality they are $120-130K.

Currently, BMW is offering $20-30K off iX leases ($7500 incentive plus a huge rebate plus dealer discounts) so folks are leasing them at sub $950/month with zero down.



I prefer the iX but don’t know about resale value given the crazy discounts for new ones. I’ve heard folks wanting to trade iXes in and getting offers $30-45K below MSRP after the first year.

 

[Msicario]

Both are $20-30K overpriced (well iX is $30-40K overpriced and Model X is $20K overpriced). The iX M60 can achieve low 3s in 0-60 so I don't need more performance. It depends on the price a - Model X without BMW iX ride quality would be ideal at $80K. BMW iX M60 at $100K is the best value but in reality they are $120-130K.

Currently, BMW is offering $20-30K off iX leases ($7500 incentive plus a huge rebate plus dealer discounts) so folks are leasing them at sub $950/month with zero down.



I prefer the iX but don’t know about resale value given the crazy discounts for new ones. I’ve heard folks wanting to trade iXes in and getting offers $30-45K below MSRP after the first year.

WOW, what’s going on with EV’s holding their value?

 

[Richbot]

Until very, very recently, buying a $100,000 German car meant you had a $70,000 German car a year later. A $90k equivalent domestic would be worth $55k ina bout the same amount of time...

Our E63 AMG was $112,000 new in 2015 and we purchased it for just over $60k in 2018 with 27,000 miles on it, with a CPO warranty that expires this month.

This pricing is nature healing. Complicated, expensive cars that are expensive to fix depreciate quickly while in warranty and meteorically when out of warranty. What's been going on lately has been the bizarre residue of ":unprecedented times" and cartel-like behavior in the used car space in the past couple years with aggregators and huge sums of capital flooding the space for nationwide dedicated chains to jump off as the Next Big Thing *cough carvana cough*

And of course, the more expensive, uglier and more unloved a new car is when new, the more precipitous the depreciation...Bentayga I'm looking directly at you. iX might be worse than Bentayga in that regard...

If you hoped to make money on your new $100k+ vehicle, and it's not a Porsche GT car or similarly niche low volume car with reliably rabid, moneyed, fanboys, I wish you luck in this year's hunger games

 

[voxel]

Until very, very recently, buying a $100,000 German car meant you had a $70,000 German car a year later. A $90k equivalent domestic would be worth $55k ina bout the same amount of time...

Our E63 AMG was $112,000 new in 2015 and we purchased it for just over $60k in 2018 with 27,000 miles on it, with a CPO warranty that expires this month.

This pricing is nature healing. Complicated, expensive cars that are expensive to fix depreciate quickly while in warranty and meteorically when out of warranty. What's been going on lately has been the bizarre residue of ":unprecedented times" and cartel-like behavior in the used car space in the past couple years with aggregators and huge sums of capital flooding the space for nationwide dedicated chains to jump off as the Next Big Thing *cough carvana cough*

And of course, the more expensive, uglier and more unloved a new car is when new, the more precipitous the depreciation...Bentayga I'm looking directly at you. iX might be worse than Bentayga in that regard...

If you hoped to make money on your new $100k+ vehicle, and it's not a Porsche GT car or similarly niche low volume car with reliably rabid, moneyed, fanboys, I wish you luck in this year's hunger games

This.

Even in the craze of 2022 when 3/Ys were selling for over MSRP... Model S and Xs were depreciating fast and lost about $20K once you drove off the lot (wait times were minimal in the second half of 2022). I was about to pull the trigger on a few barely used 22 S LRs at $75K-80K in late 2022.

Currently, most luxury cars are depreciating 30% in the first year which is the norm pre-2020. Outside of rare exotics, holding value only applies to high-demand short-supply daily cars... strangely... things like minivans.

 

[DBV1]

You’re very fortunate to have both great vehicles No doubt the iX way more luxurious, handles better, 8.8 ground clearance, resale value, and great name brand.
Model X Plaid, better Tech, longer range and super fast.
Both about the same price until Musk drops the price again

I seriously doubt the iX has any better resale value than Tesla. None of higher end EV’s have good resale value. That is why iX, Mercedes EQS, Lucid and other have aggressive lease deals or purchase deals now. They are not moving, as there are only so many people that can afford an high end EV, especially if taking out a loan.

An iX is essentially an X5, but sure is not priced like an x5. Don’t get me wrong, as I am partial to BMW and not trying to be negative about them.

 

[voxel]

WOW, what’s going on with EV’s holding their value?

Too much supply.

YoY registration growth in the US was 68% but EV supply vastly increased and dealerships and carmakers are offering incentives.... much like how Tesla is discounting cars in the inventory page.

If you want to see horrible depreciation... go look at Polestar 2s. A rental agency dumped their fleet and flooded the used market.

 

[DBV1]

Both are $20-30K overpriced (well iX is $30-40K overpriced and Model X is $20K overpriced). The iX M60 can achieve low 3s in 0-60 so I don't need more performance. It depends on the price a - Model X without BMW iX ride quality would be ideal at $80K. BMW iX M60 at $100K is the best value but in reality they are $120-130K.

Currently, BMW is offering $20-30K off iX leases ($7500 incentive plus a huge rebate plus dealer discounts) so folks are leasing them at sub $950/month with zero down.



I prefer the iX but don’t know about resale value given the crazy discounts for new ones. I’ve heard folks wanting to trade iXes in and getting offers $30-45K below MSRP after the first year.

Wow - that much off a new iX? Wonder if that is regionalized? Might have to look into those on a lease.

 

[digitaldriver]

I don't know where you spent the last year, but Tesla already is priced in the range of Toyota.

Did you actually read my post - mr lol? I said worldwide. Credits aren't available everywhere. In US yes the base model.