Smoothened-out and charged-up facelift BMW iX revealed

Having flown under the radar since its global reveal almost five years ago, BMW has afforded the iX its first mid-life update ahead of the commencing of sales in March.

Subtly changed outside

Keeping its standing as Munich’s flagship electric SUV, the still controversially styled iX’s updated aesthetic requires careful spotting as apart from the availability of the M Sport package on non-M Performance variants, BMW has changed the front and rear aprons while also redesigning the headlights as well as the LED daytime running lights.

Taken from the new X3, the iX’s sealed grille has been restyled with the same internal diagonal pattern, plus the option of the Iconic Glow illuminated outer surround .

Unique to the newly introduced M70 is the standard fitting of the M Sport Pro package, black mirror caps, a unique grille design and model specific 22-inch M light alloy wheels.

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Completing the iX’s exterior are new alloy wheel designs ranging from 21-inches to 23-inches and a revised colour palette with five new hues; Space Silver Metallic, Dune Grey Metallic, Carbon Black Metallic, Tanzanite Blue Metallic and Arctic Race Blue Metallic.

Also, new on the colour chart are three options from the Individual catalogue; Frozen Deep Grey Metallic, Frozen Pure Grey Metallic and Titanium Bronze only available on the xDrive 45 and the xDrive 60.

Sharper underneath

Underneath, an equal amount of minor alterations have been made, namely a retuned chassis and suspension, new wheel bearings and wheels promised to reduce friction and rolling resistance, and adaptive electronically controlled shock absorbers as standard on the M70.

Included further on the latter are red M brake calipers, Active Steering, the M sport brakes and M-tuned anti-roll bars.

New inside

Inside, more subtle changes have taken place as the basic layout and Curved Display, consisting of the 12.3-inch instrument cluster and 14.9-inch iDrive infotainment system, have not been changed.

New to the latter though, is the latest 8.5 operating system, 5G and an improved voice recognition system.

Other additions include the M multi-function seats and steering wheel as part of the M Sport package, gloss black detailing on the centre console, darkened silver decorative inlays, the M pedals and an anthracite roofliner.

New optional extras are automatic soft closing doors, what BMW calls active seat ventilation, a new Heat Comfort Package, quad-zone climate control on the M70 and a 30-speaker Bowers & Wilkins Diamond surround sound system.

Surprisingly not changed or bolstered are the suite of safety and driver assistance systems. As before, claimed boot space ranges from 500-litres to 1 750-litres with 40/20/40 split rear seat folded down.

More power

Accounting for the most significant change is the revised model line-up, now headed by the xDrive 45 that replaces the xDrive 40.

Motivated by a new 94.8-kWh battery pack powering a pair of electric motors, the setup develops 300 kW, 30 kW more than the xDrive 40, which uses a 70-kWh battery and allows for a range of 602 km. The claimed top speed is 200 km/h, with 0-100 km/h taking 5.1 seconds.

Powered by a bigger and more powerful 109.1-kWh battery, the xDrive 60 loses its M Performance designation to the M70, as it now serves as the replacement for the xDrive 50.

Developing 400 kW, an uptake of 30 kW on the xDrive 50 and three kilowatts on the M60, the xDrive 60 will hit the same 200 km/h top speed as the xDrive 45 but accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.6 seconds.

More surprisingly is the xDrive 60’s claimed range of 700 km as a result of the battery pack that succeeds the 100-kWh module used in the xDrive 50.

Completing the range, the mentioned M70’s slightly smaller 108.9-kWh battery makes a total of 485kW/1 100Nm in Sport mode with the launch control also activated.

The same torque figure but 30 kW more than the M60, the M70 will get from 0-100 km/h in the same 3.8 seconds, and a hit a limited top speed of 250 km/h. The claimed range is 600 km.

Supporting DC charging up to 175 kW or 195 kW in the case of the xDrive 60 and M70, all iX’s can be had with a 22 kW on-board charger, though when using the former pair, waiting time from 10-80% takes 35 minutes for the xDrive 60 and M70, and 34 minutes for the xDrive 45.

Third quarter debut

On-sale from March, as mentioned, BMW South Africa has confirmed availability from the third quarter of the year, with pricing to be announced then.

At present, the outgoing xDrive 40 opens the range with a sticker of R1 735 000, followed by the xDrive 50 priced at R2 350 000 and the M60 at R2 975 000.

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