• iX’s vast battery takes a long time to charge
• Long range, even in motorway driving
• Can be cheaper to run than luxury petrol cars

Running an electric car can prove much cheaper than a petrol or diesel alternative, especially if you make use of low-cost overnight electricity and charge at home rather than using expensive public charging.

The iX comes with a choice of two battery sizes at the moment. xDrive 40 models have a 76.6kWh battery, good for a WLTP claimed maximum range of 249 miles, while xDrive 50 cars have more than 100kWh of capacity and a maximum claimed range of 380 miles.

We tested the xDrive 50 and didn’t give it an easy time, cruising on the motorway in atrocious weather and making good use of the car’s ample performance when we could. And during this we saw a real-world range of around 250 miles – during normal driving with less prolonged periods at high speeds, we’d expect this to exceed 300 miles on a charge. Despite having the same size battery, the more powerful M60 won’t go as far on a charge especially if you don’t play with launch control.

Those large batteries do take a long time to charge if you totally empty them – a 7kW home charge box will take more than 10 hours to fully charge the xDrive 40 and close to 15 hours for the xDrive 50. When it comes to public charging, you can charge the smaller battery at a 150kW public charger and up to 200kW for the larger battery – chargers this powerful are still quite rare, though.

Servicing and warranty

BMW’s warranty covers you for three years but unlimited miles, ideal for those who plan to do an awful lot of miles. The battery is covered by its own warranty of eight years or 100,000 miles, covering you against excess loss of capacity as the vehicle ages.

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BMW offers a three-year servicing plan for its electric models, covering all scheduled maintenance for a monthly fee. This will usually be lumped into your monthly finance package.

Reliability

The iX is far too new to have any meaningful reliability data. BMW’s reputation is mixed but its i models, like all pure-electric cars, should prove more mechanically sound than combustion-engined rivals with fewer moving parts and fewer wear components.