(By Tom Lohnes) – Do electric cars need giant kidney grilles? Of course not, but apparently it is a BMW tradition now to stamp those tall front teeth on to every single car they make and the new electric iX crossover is no different.
Taking inspiration from the rather strange i3 and the grilles off of the new 4-series, the iX looks a lot smaller than it actually is. Meant to compete with the Audi E-Tron and Mercedes EQC, which have not made it stateside yet, the iX has 2 electric motors, over 400 horsepower, and a BMW-like interior.
Thankfully, the electric car movement is moving away from weird, bulbous small hatchbacks, and moving toward normal cars that just happen to be electric. Although the iX isn’t exactly a looker, it pulls off the i3 better than the i3 actually does. Inside to everyone’s surprise, is not the standard interior literally every single BMW has, rather a nice mix of leather, alcantara, and Eucalyptus wood that fits the iX’s green look on the outside. 0-60 is “Under 6 seconds”, and range is over 200 miles.
This is all great, but the E-tron and EQC were supposed to arrive here January of 2019, and still haven’t been refined for American use. Will the iX make it? Only time will tell.
One thing for sure, making ugly cars is something BMW has perfected. This is a prime example.
Never could understand why hybridized vehicles needed to look so ugly.
Time for the styling dept. at BMW (Bring More Wallet) to do the pee in the cup test. And, whoever okayed that front end should be at the head of the line….