The BMW iX era has officially begun, the electric crossover’s configurator going live with prices. The bidding starts at $83,200 before a $995 destination fee, for a total of $84,195 before options. That sum buys a dual-motor, all-wheel drive family carriage with 516 horsepower and 564 pound-feet of torque, able to reel off the dash to 60 miles per hour in 4.4 seconds and run for an estimated 300 miles on a charge. That sum is also just $400 more than the MSRP for the gas-powered BMW X5 M50i, which has a wee bit more horsepower and is a wee bit quicker.
The iX starts with Shadowline trim standard and sits on 20-inch wheels. The $2,800 Sport package adds dark clear taillights and upgrades to 21-inch wheels, but when wheel options are either $950 or $1,900 a la carte, the Sport seemed like a lot of money for some smoky taillight lenses. Of course, bypassing the Sport version cuts us out of options like the two Individual paint colors Storm Bay Metallic and Aventurin Red Metallic, which each add $1,950 to the price. Those paints also require a set of 22-inch wheels for an additional $950 instead of the usual $1,900. However, getting premium paint and needing to buy larger wheels really would mean paying $1,850 for dark clear taillights after the $950 discount on the wheels. There are six free colors, we chose Blue Ridge Mountain Metallic, and the 22-inch Aero Bi-Color wheels at their full price of $1,900.
Inside, BMW offers three standard Sensatec fabrics free, a $500 Stonegrey Microfiber/Wool Blend cloth option, and two perforated leather choices in either Amido or Castanea Chestnut for $2,450. We chose Amido.
After that it’s all about how much convenience and safety a buyer wants. There’s a $2,300 Convenience Package, a $4,000 Premium Package, a $1,600 Dynamic Handling Package, and a $1,150 Luxury Package. An alert in the configurator says the Dynamic Handling Package will be automatically added to any iX built from now until next February, so there’s that. We specced the $1,700 Active Driving Assistant Pro, which requires the Convenience or the Premium Package — we went Premium — the front ventilated seats for $500, the Radiant Heating Package for $950, and the $1,000 adaptive LED headlights with Laserlight, with capabilities we might one day be able to unlock thanks to the infrastructure bill being signed into law. There’s also a $3,400 Bowers & Wilkins Diamond surround sound system with 30 speakers, 2 subwoofers, and 4 bass shakers in the front seats to replace the premium Harman Kardon system if you really don’t want to hear BMW’s symphonic EV Natural Sounds.
The tally after destination fee: $98,120.
Although the configurator is live, the first retail units won’t reach the States until next year, and that’s assuming suppliers and the global supply chain don’t endure another round of terror over the holidays.
Source: www.autoblog.com