BMW iX1 Review 2024

If you're looking for an upmarket electric car that looks normal enough not to attract conversations at charging stations, the BMW iX1 could be a really good choice. It's not a cheap option but it is well-equipped and the interior feels special (without being too weird), while it's practical enough to use as your main family transport. A generous electric range and rapid charging capabilities will help here, too.

You have the choice of two powertrain versions, the brisk eDrive20 or the ballistic xDrive30. If you're not bothered about bombastic performance, the former is quite a bit cheaper to buy and goes a little further on a charge of the battery. There's no denying the appeal of the latter's strong performance, though...

In terms of trim level, we haven't tried the entry-level Sport car yet. The equipment roster doesn't seem to be lacking much, but this version does without the adaptive suspension that the other two trims get as standard. We know that the iX1 is great with this suspension, but we can't be sure it's as great without it. To be safe, we'd recommend upgrading to xLine trim, and you'll also get a few other niceties on top.

There's no shortage of excellent electric SUVs on the market today. The BMW iX1's main competitors include the Audi Q4 e-tron, Mercedes EQA and Volvo XC40 Recharge, while the Tesla Model Y and Polestar 2 are also likely to be on your radar. We'd also recommend looking at Korean offerings in the form of the Genesis GV60, Kia EV6 and Hyundai Ioniq 5 - they might lack the BMW badge but they're three of the best electric cars you can buy. Other mainstream competitors come in the form of the Volkswagen ID.4 (and sporty Volkswagen ID.5), as well as the Ford Mustang Mach-E.

There's also the BMW iX2 - it's what BMW calls a Sports Activity Coupe, and in essence is a coupe version of the iX1. 

The fit and finish of the BMW iX1 is pretty impeccable, but what else would you expect from an expensive BMW-badged SUV? It's not something that can be taken for granted, though, especially in electric cars where the batteries and the development of the tech count for a huge chunk of the cost.

Fortunately, BMW has been fine-tuning how to make a car feel good inside for decades. Even with the sustainable Sensatec faux-leather trim fitted to most trims, it feels posher inside than mainstream alternatives like the Volkswagen ID.4.

The BMW iX1 pairs a slick 10.25-inch digital driver display with a 10.7-inch touchscreen infotainment system. It looks brilliant and is fairly easy to use, but we miss the rotary controller you get in the bigger BMW iX (and recently-updated 3 Series). Instead, you have to lean forward and prod the screen to navigate the display, or rely on the voice-activated 'hey BMW' personal assistant. Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are standard, too, so you can just call up Siri, but we always feel a bit silly doing that in a car with passengers.

It's not just the rotary controller that's been banished, either. BMW's going for a more minimalist approach with the interior of the iX1, which means fewer buttons in general, but it's still a lot more user-friendly than a Tesla's cabin. We're not keen on touchscreen controls for adjusting the temperature of the cabin, for example, but at least they're fixed on the display: no need to go traipsing through various submenus just because you're a bit cold.

In terms of exterior dimensions, the BMW iX1 measures much the same as the regular X1. That means it measures 4500mm in length, 1845mm in width and 1642mm in height.

Although the positioning of the BMW iX1's batteries in the floor of the body means interior space isn't hindered too much, the overall boot capacity has dropped 50 litres compared to the regular X1. It can still accommodate 490 litres of luggage, though, which is considerably more than the Mercedes EQA and only slightly less than the Audi Q4 e-tron.

Boot space aside, the BMW iX1 feels spacious enough for the smallest electric SUV in the brand's line-up, although the X1 - electric or otherwise - really isn't a small car any more. Four adults will be comfortable in the iX1, while access is easy (even for those in the rear). In the front, it comes with a similar floating centre console to the bigger BMW iX, which adds to the feeling of space, while there's a pair of cup holders and reasonably large door bins for storing away your odds and ends.

The BMW iX1 lacks the sliding rear seatbacks that you get in the standard X1, although they do recline. They can be dropped, too, providing a pretty big extended loadbay for those occasions when you're not carrying rear-seat passengers.

The BMW iX1 comes in two flavours, both powered by a 64.7kWh battery. The entry-level option is the eDrive20, which has a single electric motor on the front axle that delivers a healthy 204PS. It'll do the 0-62mph sprint in 8.6 seconds, and like with many electric cars, it actually feels a bit quicker than this figure suggests, so not only will the level of performance be entirely adequate for most drivers, it'll also be brisk enough to raise a smile for many.

Then there's the high-performance version, the xDrive30, which has an electric motor on each axle. With the motors working together, the four-wheel-drive xDrive30 can produce up to 313PS and 494Nm of torque. That means it feels very rapid, especially when you pull the paddle behind the steering wheel marked 'boost'. This gives you all the power the iX1 can muster for a short 10-second period, great for rapid getaways from a standstill or a pain-free overtake.

Even staying away from the boost button (or the livelier driving modes), the xDrive30 feels very zippy to drive. It'll dart to 62mph in 5.7 seconds, and while that's not quite as quick as the fastest Volvo XC40 Recharge, it'll be more than rapid enough for the majority of buyers.

While BMW doesn’t offer multiple levels of regenerative braking like other manufacturers, you can use the gear selector to engage ‘B’ mode. This causes the iX1 to slow down quite significantly when you lift off the accelerator pedal, and with a bit of practice, you can negotiate city traffic without touching the brake.

The official range of the BMW iX1 xDrive30 ranges from 257 to 272 miles depending on things like the trim level and which option boxes you tick. The eDrive20 does a little better, ranging between 267 and 293 miles depending on spec.

The BMW iX1 is as calm and relaxing to drive as an electric car should be, with exceptional suppression of outside noises. It comes with a slightly annoying (in our view) ‘Iconic Sounds’ soundtrack, which makes it sound a bit like a spaceship when you put your foot down, but fortunately you can turn that off very easily and travel in near-silence.

Semi-autonomous driving goes hand-in-hand with electric vehicles, so the BMW iX1 is available with a long list of driver-assistance tech to help keep you safe on the road. This includes the Driving Assistance Professional pack, which will keep you in your lane at a set distance from the car in front on the motorway, while the Reversing Assistant can automatically reverse the car along the last 50 metres without your steering input (great if you meet an oncoming vehicle on a country lane). You'll pay handsomely for this optional extra, however. There are two other more affordable driving assistance packs, but they're not quite as clever.

The BMW iX1 has been crash tested by Euro NCAP, achieving the same five-star (out of five) rating as the regular X1.

The BMW iX1 is so new that we'd be concerned if any reliability issues were coming to light already. There aren't, fortunately, and neither are there any common problems with BMW's other electric vehicles. Generally EVs are more reliable than petrol or diesel cars as there are fewer moving parts and less to actually go wrong. BMW provides a three-year/unlimited-mileage warranty on the iX1, while the battery is covered for eight years/100,000 miles.

Go for the eDrive20 version, and your car will sit in insurance groups 29 or 30, depending on which spec you buy. Upgrade to the xDrive30, and your insurance groups will be either 37 or 38. This means that premiums won't cheap, but they shouldn't be ruinous, either.

A big perk of buying an electric car (at least for now) is the cash you’ll save in road tax. VED (car tax) is free on all pure-electric vehicles, even those with a list price of more than £40,000. These are usually hit by a heavy premium car levy, so the savings are considerable.

The entry-level BMW iX1 is the Sport, which is only available with the less powerful eDrive20 drivetrain. This version is still well equipped, coming with 17-inch alloy wheels, dual-zone climate control, an automatic tailgate, ambient lighting, a leather steering wheel, automatic lights and wipers, and a parking assistant (including the reversing assistant, parking sensors and a reversing camera). You also get the full infotainment system with a 10.7-inch curved infotainment display, along with a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster.

Standard kit on the BMW iX1 xLine includes 18-inch alloy wheels and adaptive M suspension. Inside, it comes with the brand’s sustainable Sensatec faux-leather trim, heated front seats, plus high-gloss black interior detailing.

The BMW iX1 M Sport adds 19-inch double-spoke bi-colour alloy wheels, M roof rails, racier exterior styling, an M leather steering wheel and sports front seats, but that's about it. 

On top of these trim levels, you can also get a number of desirable option packs. These include the Technology Pack (with comfort access, folding door mirrors, adaptive LED headlights, BMW Live Cockpit Professional and wireless phone charging) as well as the Comfort Pack (with heated steering wheel and electric memory seats) and M Sport Pro Pack (with 20-inch alloy wheels, Harmon Kardon sound system and high-gloss shadowline exterior trim).