Review: BMW iX xDrive45

The BMW iX is a weird car.

There. We said it.

Even several years after it first appeared, it still looks slightly like somebody at BMW accidentally enlarged a concept car and then nobody had the courage to tell them they weren't supposed to put it into production.

There's the enormous grille.

The strangely narrow headlights.

The almost completely flat sides.

And an interior that looks like it belongs in a Scandinavian furniture showroom sometime around the year 2040.

But here's the problem.

Spend some time driving one and you start to forgive an awful lot.

Because underneath the unconventional styling is an exceptionally comfortable, beautifully engineered and remarkably refined electric luxury SUV.

And with the updated 2026 BMW iX xDrive45, the entry point into the range has become considerably more interesting.

More power.

More range.

Improved efficiency.

And still one of the most distinctive cabins BMW has ever put into production.

You might not love looking at it.

But you may very well love being inside it.

Price and Key Specifications:

The updated 2026 BMW iX xDrive45 replaces the previous xDrive40 as the entry point into the Australian iX range.

And entry-level is a fairly amusing description for something costing comfortably into six figures.

Power comes from two electrically excited synchronous motors — one on each axle — giving the xDrive45 all-wheel drive.

Combined output has increased substantially over the previous xDrive40, with 300kW and 700Nm now available.

That's enough to send this enormous electric SUV from 0-100km/h in 5.1 seconds.

Which is objectively ridiculous.

Not because 5.1 seconds is particularly shocking in the modern EV world.

But because the iX doesn't feel like a car remotely interested in drag racing anyone.

Its performance is almost incidental.

The xDrive45 uses a 100.1kWh usable battery, with claimed WLTP driving range stretching beyond 600 kilometres depending on specification.

That's important.

Because we're reaching the point where electric SUVs like this no longer require their owners to organise their entire lives around finding a charger.

And that fundamentally changes the experience.

Design:

Right.

The grille.

We have to talk about it.

BMW insists on calling the enormous panel between the headlights a kidney grille, despite the fact that the iX doesn't require a conventional radiator grille and these particular kidneys appear to have consumed several other internal organs.

It's enormous.

But here's the strange thing.

I'm not sure I'd change it.

Because the iX was never supposed to look conventional.

BMW could have designed another handsome, anonymous luxury SUV, removed the exhausts and called it electric.

Instead, it made this.

And whether you love it or hate it, you're unlikely to mistake an iX for anything else.

The 2026 update subtly revises the front-end treatment, including new lighting signatures and a redesigned interpretation of that grille, but the basic silhouette remains familiar.

From some angles, particularly the rear three-quarter, it's actually quite handsome.

From others?

Well.

Beauty is subjective.

Let's leave it there.

What deserves credit is that BMW hasn't attempted to make the iX look unnecessarily aggressive.

There aren't dozens of fake vents or enormous wings pretending this 2.5-tonne luxury SUV is about to qualify at Bathurst.

It's unusual.

But it's confidently unusual.

I can respect that.

Interior and Practicality:

Then you open the door.

And suddenly you stop caring about the grille.

The iX interior remains one of BMW's best.

Not necessarily because it has the most technology.

It doesn't.

Not because it has the largest screens.

It doesn't.

But because it feels like BMW actually reconsidered what the interior of a luxury electric vehicle should be rather than simply replacing the engine with batteries.

The dashboard is incredibly minimalist.

BMW's curved display floats above it, combining the digital instrument cluster and central infotainment display into one sweeping panel.

There's very little physical switchgear.

Normally, that sentence would annoy me.

And there are still functions buried within BMW's operating system that I'd prefer to access with a button.

But importantly, BMW kept the iDrive rotary controller on the centre console.

Thank you, BMW.

Because sometimes a beautifully engineered physical control really is better than stabbing at a touchscreen while travelling over a bumpy road.

The controller itself sits amongst an unusual collection of crystal-effect switchgear, while the open centre-console design gives the front of the cabin an enormous sense of space.

The steering wheel isn't even round.

It's somewhere between a hexagon and something BMW's design department found in a geometry textbook.

But strangely, it works.

Material quality is excellent.

There's leather, metal, beautifully finished trim and interesting textile options throughout the cabin.

More importantly, it feels special.

That's something increasingly difficult to achieve when virtually every modern luxury vehicle contains a large screen and ambient lighting.

The iX doesn't feel like another BMW interior.

It feels like an iX interior.

Rear-seat space is enormous thanks to the flat floor and long wheelbase, and three adults can genuinely occupy the second row without immediately negotiating who gets the least terrible seat.

There's also a substantial boot behind them, making this a properly useful family SUV rather than an electric technology showcase with nowhere to put the groceries.

Driving:

This is where the iX starts making a lot more sense.

Because whatever you think of the exterior, BMW hasn't forgotten how to engineer a car.

Pull away and the first thing you notice is silence.

Not simply the absence of an engine.

Proper silence.

Wind noise is remarkably well suppressed.

Road noise is distant.

Even at highway speeds, conversations happen at almost living-room volume.

Then there's the ride.

The iX has this wonderfully relaxed way of moving down the road.

There's significant mass underneath you — batteries are not famous for being light — but BMW has done an exceptional job of disguising it during normal driving.

The xDrive45's 300kW doesn't arrive with the violent neck-snapping theatrics some EV manufacturers seem obsessed with.

Instead, acceleration is strong, immediate and beautifully progressive.

Put your foot down and the iX simply goes.

No gearbox kickdown.

No engine suddenly shouting at 5,500rpm.

No hesitation.

Just 700Nm.

Immediately.

And that's exactly how a luxury EV should behave.

The strangest thing happens when the road becomes interesting.

Because this enormous electric lounge room can actually handle.

The steering is accurate and beautifully weighted, body control is impressive, and the low-mounted battery means the centre of gravity sits considerably lower than the dimensions suggest.

No, you don't suddenly forget you're driving a large SUV.

And nobody is trading their M3 for one after attacking a mountain road.

But there's enough BMW DNA underneath the serenity to remind you which company engineered it.

That's important.

Because BMW could easily have made the iX merely comfortable.

Instead, it made it comfortable and surprisingly satisfying to drive.

Range and Charging:

This is arguably where the updated xDrive45 makes its biggest case.

A claimed WLTP range beyond 600 kilometres moves the iX into genuinely useful long-distance territory.

Real-world range will naturally vary with weather, wheel choice, driving style and highway use.

But psychologically, 600 kilometres matters.

It starts sounding less like an electric-car number and more like a normal-car number.

And that's exactly where EVs need to get.

DC fast charging allows substantial energy to be added during a relatively short stop, while AC charging at home means most owners will begin each morning with whatever charge limit they've selected.

And that's the part of EV ownership that's often overlooked.

You don't necessarily drive somewhere to charge an EV like you drive somewhere to refuel a petrol car.

You park it.

Plug it in.

Go inside.

The next morning, it's ready again.

For someone with home charging, that can be enormously convenient.

For someone without it?

The equation changes considerably.

As always, whether an EV makes sense depends just as much on where and how you live as the vehicle itself.

Technology:

Unsurprisingly, the iX contains plenty of it.

BMW's infotainment system remains one of the more comprehensive offerings on the market, with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, connected navigation, voice control and extensive vehicle configuration.

There's also BMW's excellent head-up display.

And this is one of those features that becomes difficult to live without once you've had it.

Speed.

Navigation.

Driver-assistance information.

Right there in your line of sight.

Exactly where it should be.

Depending on specification, the iX can also be equipped with an excellent premium audio system.

And given how quiet the cabin is, this might be one of the few cars where spending unreasonable amounts of money on speakers actually makes some sense.

Safety:

The iX offers the extensive collection of active safety systems you'd expect from a modern flagship BMW.

Autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assistance, blind-spot monitoring and surround-view cameras are all available within the package.

And the driver-assistance systems are generally calibrated well enough that you don't immediately start hunting through menus trying to turn everything off.

That's more of a compliment than it sounds.

Particularly in 2026.

Ownership:

BMW Australia backs the iX with its five-year, unlimited-kilometre vehicle warranty, while the high-voltage battery receives separate long-term coverage.

Electric vehicles also eliminate a considerable number of conventional maintenance items.

There's no engine oil.

No spark plugs.

No conventional transmission servicing.

No exhaust system.

And regenerative braking can substantially reduce wear on the physical brakes.

That doesn't mean EV ownership is maintenance-free.

Tyres still exist.

And when you've got 700Nm moving a very heavy SUV, those tyres have plenty of work to do.

But scheduled mechanical maintenance is inherently simpler than it is with an equivalent combustion-powered luxury SUV.

The Competition:

The electric luxury SUV segment has become considerably more crowded since the iX first arrived.

There's the Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV, the Audi Q8 e-tron and its successors, the Porsche Macan Electric, along with increasingly sophisticated alternatives from manufacturers that barely existed a decade ago.

And then there are vehicles like BMW's own electric offerings that have gradually expanded around it.

But the iX still feels different.

Some rivals are essentially electric versions of familiar luxury SUVs.

The iX isn't.

It was designed from the beginning around its electric architecture.

And you can feel that in the packaging.

The enormous interior.

The flat floor.

The unconventional dashboard.

The proportions.

Whether that makes it better depends entirely on what you're looking for.

But it unquestionably gives the iX its own personality.

Verdict:

The BMW iX is still weird.

After spending time with it, I'm not going to sit here and tell you that enormous grille suddenly becomes beautiful.

It doesn't.

But something else happens.

You stop caring.

Because you're sitting behind it.

And from there, the iX is exceptional.

It's incredibly quiet.

It's enormously comfortable.

It's properly quick.

There's enough range to make long-distance travel realistic.

The cabin feels genuinely special.

And underneath all the technology and sustainability messaging, there's still enough BMW engineering talent to make the thing surprisingly enjoyable when the road begins to twist.

The xDrive45 only strengthens that argument.

More power and considerably more usable range address two of the areas that mattered most, without fundamentally changing what made the iX interesting in the first place.

There are prettier electric SUVs.

There are cheaper electric SUVs.

And there are undoubtedly electric SUVs with more dramatic acceleration figures.

But few manage to combine comfort, refinement, technology and genuine driving ability quite as convincingly.

Perhaps the greatest compliment I can give the iX is this:

BMW built one of the strangest-looking cars in its history — and somehow made it good enough that you stop looking at it.

Honestly?

I'll take that over boring.