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

 

[oldsport]

tesla is tesla... they ain t dogs waitin on their knees and hands to make you feel special...

mercedes audi bmw has tons of folks standing around to talk and make you feel special... go there... meet the sharks in doggy costumes...

 

[alexgr]

Nice! Please share your experience if you can. Thanks in advance!

I had a glance at the iX today. The focus of my 10-15 min visit was on ergonomics, room, and controls. It seems to have slightly more room in the front than the Model Y, and feels wider in the rear seats. The seats comfort is good, and very close to the Model Y (the one I drove to the BMW dealership). The door windows are frameless, the doors open with a button on the door handle, and the seats control are on the door in the shape of the seat. Yes, my first thought was omg they copied the doors from MB and Tesla. However, the doors on the iX are as heavy as an old Lincoln car's doors, and it feels just bad. The front view is somewhat obscured (depending on your driving position) with a big hood which reminds that the vehicle wasn't designed as an EV originally. Then, there is a nice little horizontal screen, or two screens actually. Nothing premium though about the screen that looks smaller than the screens in some Kia or Hyundai EVs, and it feels already outdated compared to Tesla's or MB's screens. Some of the controls are relatively intuitive, but the fact that some functions can be controlled from the screen itself, from the little sad engineering disaster place under your right arm, and then from the buttons on the steering wheel makes me question the purpose of the BMW engineering. Is it to just overwhelm you with multiple repeating controls and then ask to pay big $? The space behind the rear seats is hopelessly small compared to the Model Y (no need to compare to the X really). My verdict: if you want a poorly designed car similar in size (and smaller in cargo size) to the Model Y for the price of the Model X, then the iX is your car. If you believe that the smoothest possible suspension and the butt massage are the most important features, then please check out the MB EQS for the price similar to the iX.

 

[maytaurustiger]

I had a glance at the iX today. The focus of my 10-15 min visit was on ergonomics, room, and controls. It seems to have slightly more room in the front than the Model Y, and feels wider in the rear seats. The seats comfort is good, and very close to the Model Y (the one I drove to the BMW dealership). The door windows are frameless, the doors open with a button on the door handle, and the seats control are on the door in the shape of the seat. Yes, my first thought was omg they copied the doors from MB and Tesla. However, the doors on the iX are as heavy as an old Lincoln car's doors, and it feels just bad. The front view is somewhat obscured (depending on your driving position) with a big hood which reminds that the vehicle wasn't designed as an EV originally. Then, there is a nice little horizontal screen, or two screens actually. Nothing premium though about the screen that looks smaller than the screens in some Kia or Hyundai EVs, and it feels already outdated compared to Tesla's or MB's screens. Some of the controls are relatively intuitive, but the fact that some functions can be controlled from the screen itself, from the little sad engineering disaster place under your right arm, and then from the buttons on the steering wheel makes me question the purpose of the BMW engineering. Is it to just overwhelm you with multiple repeating controls and then ask to pay big $? The space behind the rear seats is hopelessly small compared to the Model Y (no need to compare to the X really). My verdict: if you want a poorly designed car similar in size (and smaller in cargo size) to the Model Y for the price of the Model X, then the iX is your car. If you believe that the smoothest possible suspension and the butt massage are the most important features, then please check out the MB EQS for the price similar to the iX.

Thank you sooo much for the insights! I truly appreciate all the details! For now I'll just stick with my MX and we will see how other EVs improve in the near future haha.

 

[alexgr]

Thank you sooo much for the insights! I truly appreciate all the details! For now I'll just stick with my MX and we will see how other EVs improve in the near future haha.

The iX feels inside (outside it is a different story) pretty good, but I would be considering it against Model Y, definitely not the Model X. I want to believe it's a good car, but with the price of the iX starting at 90k I am not surprised we have 7 of them dusting on our local dealership in Tulsa, OK.

 

[voxel]

Keep that In mind when you buy an EV that you will need to travel with and not solely for commuting.

You talk like EV charging is ubiquitous like gas stations and that they can travel anywhere and fill up within minutes.

EV's strength is short sub 55mph trips like for commutes. EVs for 70+mph road trips are problematic due to charging speeds, lack of chargers, and low energy density of batteries compared to liquid fuels - efficiency and range are poor. Besides, road trips are basically 5% of a vehicle's ownership so folks often buy more car/range than they truly "need". I still recommend ICE for non-retired folks to take long road trips in. Modern ICE SUVs are vastly more comfortable than the eyeball shaking Model Y's ride. Heck, the Model X has a terrible ride quality too. I test drove a 23 X recently and hated the suspension. It's a $65K car IMO.

One shoe does not fit all and electrifying everything is just idiotic. I've always argued we could reduce pollution if we moved 50-80% of the population to PHEVs

My issue with the iX (while a vastly better EV than the Y) is the cargo + passenger space. It's priced like a Model X and luxury wise it is better... but practicality it is basically a slightly bigger Y. The air suspension and 30 speaker system are something to experience first hand though. The Model X suspension is brutal in comparison.

 

[SunnylandY]

Is this a parody account that bmw is hideous

 

[DCGOO]

Acess to phone? Service records? What are you talking about? Imagine this. You work in a place with about 10 employees . It’s a small isolated building. You just had a customer come in and ask for a different employee, as that is the employee who did the work and something is not right. That employee thought has left. So when you see that person the next day you ask them to phone the customer. Oh wait, do you want to me to break down, the myriad of ways that employee might remind them to give the message.

you wanted substantially more than to simply deliver a message. You wanted additional work done on your vehicle.

Sound advice? Why is it on me to get back to them? I am standing in front of them, during regular business hours!

Obviously outside of the hours of the service department

You probably like exchanging twenty emails, going back and forth on something that could all be done in a 2 minute phone call.

Absolutely Yes. Vastly faster than tying up a service writer making phone calls to people that probably won’t even answer! Give them a break, so they can do their job, which is fixing cars, not wasting time on the phone.

 

[yessuz]

You talk like EV charging is ubiquitous like gas stations and that they can travel anywhere and fill up within minutes.

EV's strength is short sub 55mph trips like for commutes. EVs for 70+mph road trips are problematic due to charging speeds, lack of chargers, and low energy density of batteries compared to liquid fuels - efficiency and range are poor. Besides, road trips are basically 5% of a vehicle's ownership so folks often buy more car/range than they truly "need". I still recommend ICE for non-retired folks to take long road trips in. Modern ICE SUVs are vastly more comfortable than the eyeball shaking Model Y's ride. Heck, the Model X has a terrible ride quality too. I test drove a 23 X recently and hated the suspension. It's a $65K car IMO.

One shoe does not fit all and electrifying everything is just idiotic. I've always argued we could reduce pollution if we moved 50-80% of the population to PHEVs

My issue with the iX (while a vastly better EV than the Y) is the cargo + passenger space. It's priced like a Model X and luxury wise it is better... but practicality it is basically a slightly bigger Y. The air suspension and 30 speaker system are something to experience first hand though. The Model X suspension is brutal in comparison.

Eh? You will have to stop for a oee every 3 hrs anyway. Maybe grab a cuo of coffee

Car charges in the meantime

Where is the problem?

 

[SunnylandY]

Eh? You will have to stop for a oee every 3 hrs anyway. Maybe grab a cuo of coffee

Car charges in the meantime

Where is the problem?

So many people are singularly focused on the few additional minutes required on road trip stops with an EV. Meanwhile the stats suggest they are rarely taking road trips of any length, and totally neglect the time they lose each week stopping to fuel for their local travel.
Las Vegas flourishes on such people.

 

[MidBaz]

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.

View attachment 943074
"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

Interesting that BMW are continuing with that 'huge' radiator grill - has no-one told them that there's no engine? So it's smaller, slower and uglier. On the plus side it has massage seats and real cow-hide (I personally prefer the vegan version). On the animal theme I guess its horses for courses. Which one fits the bill for you?

 

[voxel]

Eh? You will have to stop for a oee every 3 hrs anyway. Maybe grab a cuo of coffee

Car charges in the meantime

Where is the problem?

The problem is not about stopping... it's the detours, charging time, etc.

An 18 hour road trip with a minivan with detours (due to charger locations) could easily be 24-26 hours in an EV and thus require another overnight hotel stop. Do that with kids and it becomes painful and expensive.

Too many are focused on range and charge times with an EV. Who cares. Road trip with an ICE car. Problem solved

 

[jboy210]

The problem is not about stopping... it's the detours, charging time, etc.

An 18 hour road trip with a minivan with detours (due to charger locations) could easily be 24-26 hours in an EV and thus require another overnight hotel stop. Do that with kids and it becomes painful and expensive.

Too many are focused on range and charge times with an EV. Who cares. Road trip with an ICE car. Problem solved

Hopefully this will get better as more and more chargers come on-line. For me, on the West Coast of the US, we have 6 supercharger locations within 15 miles, some of the locations have 20 charging stalls. We expect many more locations in the next few years as the Tesla Superchargers and its NACS standard also become the standard charger for Ford.

 

[EbS-P]

The problem is not about stopping... it's the detours, charging time, etc.

An 18 hour road trip with a minivan with detours (due to charger locations) could easily be 24-26 hours in an EV and thus require another overnight hotel stop. Do that with kids and it becomes painful and expensive.

Too many are focused on range and charge times with an EV. Who cares. Road trip with an ICE car. Problem solved

How many people regularly make 18 hour straight trips? We do. Every year 900 miles on i95. Our record day was 1200 miles. I like to think it’s possible to do 900 in a day with an EV.

I planned it ABRP. It was something like almost 3 hours charging. I’m pretty sure we spend that in the bathroom with 5 kids.

 

[yessuz]

How many people regularly make 18 hour straight trips? We do. Every year 900 miles on i95. Our record day was 1200 miles. I like to think it’s possible to do 900 in a day with an EV.

I planned it ABRP. It was something like almost 3 hours charging. I’m pretty sure we spend that in the bathroom with 5 kids.

but why would you torture yourself?!

 

[holeydonut]

Hopefully this will get better as more and more chargers come on-line. For me, on the West Coast of the US, we have 6 supercharger locations within 15 miles, some of the locations have 20 charging stalls. We expect many more locations in the next few years as the Tesla Superchargers and its NACS standard also become the standard charger for Ford.

Yeah but then you have to go to Dublin Tesla for service. Which is

 

[oldsport]

here s why

 

[zoomer0056]

Is that painter's tape to protect the trim?

 

[SunnylandY]

BMW has a long history of making their EVs ugly (see i3) Personally I think they are just playing along until this whole thing blows over and they can get back to doing what they do best: selling overpriced unreliable status symbols that cost a fortune to maintain

 

[jboy210]

The iX feels inside (outside it is a different story) pretty good, but I would be considering it against Model Y, definitely not the Model X. I want to believe it's a good car, but with the price of the iX starting at 90k I am not surprised we have 7 of them dusting on our local dealership in Tulsa, OK.

The fact that the car is not selling says a lot about the general public's feelings about the car. I can't get over the styling, especially the grill. And I used to lease 2 BMWs ever 3 years. I think we did that for 20 years. It is definitely not the same company and dealers today that it was 10 years ago.

 

[jboy210]

Yeah but then you have to go to Dublin Tesla for service. Which is

I go to Dublin and have been quite happy with their service. When I have had something that needed immediate attention like a flat tire or the car will not go into drive on my X75, it has been attended to immediately and resolved in a timely manner. The tech even showed me how he disconnected the first responder wire to resolve the drive issue. That issue never happened again, but if it does, I now know how to deal with it. And even minor issues like a factory dropped screw rolling around on the door of my 2022 X were handled in a day.