You have to look past the grille of the iX. Just accept it for what it is or ignore it all together because that polarizing piece of design that actually doesn’t feed a radiator like it does the gas-powered X5. Instead it has a few sensors and it’s really a design feature. But look past it because behind it is BMW’s fifth-generation EV system, which is actually great.
While the inside of the iX carries the torch of the now-discontinued i3, the limitations of that vehicle, namely its short range, are gone. The iX starting at $83,200 has a targeted range of about 300 miles. Beyond the design, it handles and drives like a next-generation EV with a plethora of features that’ll make first adopters and those migrated from the gas-powered BMWs happy. We had a chance to drive it around Germany; watch the video above for our thoughts.