BMW iX1: Review: The Powerful Electric Entry-Level SUV Gets It Right

As a first luxury car, the BMW iX1 LWB is a good buy at Rs 49 lakh (ex-showroom). It has a lot of space and comfort, but the list of features isn’t very good.
What amount of money would you spend on a badge? Rs 1 crore? two or three? As of now, you don’t have to spend a lot of money because BMW has released the iX1 LWB for Rs 49 lakh (ex-showroom). At this price, it’s the brand’s least expensive SUV. You get all the nice things that come with a BMW, but there is a trade-off that you may not like.

BMW X1 pricing

• The starting price of the BMW iX1 is ₹49.90 Lakh. iX1 is available in a single variant.

• Compare the top selling iX1 LWB variant, which is available for ₹49.90 Lakh* and has 66.4 kWh, 531 km, and 204 horsepower.

Less Outside
BMW iX1 LWB Side

Thanks to the longer wheelbase, the iX1 LWB looks BIG. The longer wheelbase does more than just give you more space inside. It stands out more because of its size, which gives it the power you’d expect from the name.

BMW iX1 LWB Front

That’s because the design is so subtle that you might not even notice that it’s an EV from far away. You can tell it’s an EV when you see the big kidney grille that’s closed off. These grilles are unique to all electric BMWs, and the SUV’s size fits well with its shape.

BMW iX1 LWB Tail Lights

One thing we really liked was how the lights were set up. It makes sense. The lights are surrounded by smooth, curved DRLs that also work as turn signals. The tail lamps have small triangles that make the car stand out.

Less Dashboard for the BMW iX1 LWB

When you get inside the iX1 LWB, you see that the cabin is like any other BMW, which is beautiful. Every corner is padded with soft material, and the quality of the materials is so good that it makes you fall in love with the car.

Wheel for the BMW iX1 LWB

Half of the dashboard is taken up by screens, but the other half stands out with its well-placed ambient lighting and thin AC vents. The M Sport package from BMW comes standard with the iX1 LWB. This package makes the car look and feel better.

BMW iX1 LWB Centre Console That Floats

Most of the controls are on a floating centre panel that has the drive selector, drive mode button, and volume control. This space is made for a driver, even if it’s an SUV for a family.

Front Seats for the BMW iX1 LWB

Both of the front seats can be moved in eight different ways with power, and the driver’s seat can remember its position. With the tilt and telescoping steering wheel, it’s very easy to find the right position for driving.

Specifics

At this point, you might ask yourself, “Is this really a BMW?” Many features are missing from the iX1 LWB because it is the least expensive SUV from the German brand. This is not what you would expect from a car at this price.

Let’s look at what the brand doesn’t offer first, then talk about what you do get. There aren’t any heated front seats, a 360-degree camera, or ADAS features like adaptive cruise control. Also, even though it’s an EV, it doesn’t have vehicle-to-load (V2L) technology. These features can be found in cars that cost a lot less, which is going to hurt.

10 7-inch touchscreens on the BMW iX1 LWB

What you do get is a curved screen setup with a 10.7-inch tablet and a 10.25-inch digital display for the driver. A 12-speaker Harman Kardon sound system, dual-zone climate control, and a panoramic glass roof are some of the other features.

The BMW iX1 LWB is a wireless phone charger.

A portable phone charger is also there. It stands upright and has a clip to hold your phone in place. It also comes with parking assist, which lets you handle the steering wheel when you need to park. But as we used it, we saw that it needs clear marks to work right.

You need more buttons.
More and more car brands are getting rid of buttons on the centre panel to make the interior look “less complicated.” The dashboard looks better with this change, but some tools should still have their physical controls.

Setting up the BMW iX1 LWB AC

AC comes first. You can’t change the temperature or fan speed of the air conditioner with buttons on the wall. Instead, you have to play with the tablet. It might be hard to do this while moving, and having real buttons for the climate control won’t hurt. At least there is a quick-launch button at the bottom of the touchscreen that lets you get to the AC settings.

But there isn’t a quick way to get to other tools. There are paddle shifters on most EVs that let you change the amounts of regenerative braking while you’re driving, but the iX1 LWB doesn’t have one. You have to go to the driving settings, find regenerative braking, and choose the amount you want to change back to.

For this reason, you need to stop the car and make the change before driving again. This is because it will be hard and dangerous to do it while driving. It would have been nice to have physical tools.

Usefulness and Charging Options
Front Storage for the BMW iX1 LWB

This place has plenty of room. There are two cupholders in the front, a glovebox that keeps things cool, bottle holders on all four doors, and a huge tray under the centre desk that floats. But there isn’t much storage space in the front armrests. You can leave the key or some cash here, but that’s it.

Back pocket on the BMW iX1 LWB seats

There are pockets on the back of the seats for the back riders and cupholders in the middle armrest.

The BMW iX1 LWB has Type-C ports on the back.

There are three ways to charge: a wireless charger, a 12V plug, and two Type-C ports on the front. Under the back AC vents, there are also two Type-C ports for the people sitting in the back.

Experience in the Back Seat
BMW iX1 LWB Back Seats

The back seats of the iX1 LWB are the best thing about it. There is a lot of room in the back because the length is longer. There is room for you to sit with your legs spread out as far as they will go.

BMW iX1 LWB Back Seats

The pillows and angle of the recline make long trips very comfy. The back seats have just the right amount of support for your thighs. If you have a driver, this car is a great choice. If you have a big family, the back seats will be large enough for everyone.

Not as safe
ADAS camera for the BMW iX1 LWB

What makes the iX1 LWB safe? It has 8 airbags, dynamic stability control, a tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS), ISOFIX child seat anchors, a rear parking camera with guidelines, and Level 1 ADAS (advanced driver assistance systems) features like blind spot alert, lane departure warning, and autonomous emergency braking.

Not as much boot space
BMW iX1 LWB Boot Space

With the push of a button, the powered tailboard opens very fast. When you open it, you’ll see that the battery pack has raised the floor of the trunk, making it a little tight.

BMW iX1 LWB Boot Space

Still, you can store a few small bags and two or three cart bags that are cabin size here. Moving the floor mat up gives you a little extra space to store your shopping bags, but not much more. Overall, the trunk room is enough for your commutes as long as you use smaller bags to make the most of it.

The floor is raised, so you won’t be able to stack suitcases on top of each other. It can fit two big suitcases for your airport runs. You can fit a lot of things in this 490-liter boot, but you have to be careful about how you store them.

Not as well perform

A front-wheel drive system with a 66.4 kWh battery pack and an electric motor that makes 204 PS sounds like it will be fun and fast to drive. It’s not in this case, though. You can quickly pass other cars and have some fun with the speed, but it’s nothing special.

BMW iX1 LWB

If you want to drive your family around in the iX1 LWB, it has enough speed for that. It’s easy to pass people and reach triple digits. There won’t be a lack of speed, especially since this BMW that costs less than 50 lakh is meant to take you and your family places.

That would have been more exciting with a little more power and speed, but this isn’t a car for drivers. It will be used mostly for having a driver drive you around, and the iX1 LBW works well enough for that. The power transfer is important because it is smooth and calm, which makes both driving and being driven a calm experience.

How to Drive a BMW iX1 LWB

The only thing that makes driving this car different from driving other cars in this price range is the fake sound. BMW gives something called “Iconic Sounds,” which works with the speed. So when you press down on the gas button, it sounds like an orchestra is playing inside the cabin, which is pretty funny.

Read more about How to Ride and Handle a BMW iX1 LWB

Not a single complaint. The movement of the cabin is well controlled, and there isn’t a lot of movement from side to side. It doesn’t have any trouble with bigger bumps or speedbreakers, and it doesn’t mind little ones either.

The iX1 LWB stays put at higher speeds, which also makes it easy to handle when turning. You can have fun with a car here and not feel like something is missing.

The suspension sound, on the other hand, could have been better. It can be very annoying if you’re driving on a broken section of road, which is not hard to find. You can hear that thud even on small bumps.

Overall, the iX1 LWB is comfortable, easy to ride, and works well in most situations. There will be enough space for everyone in the car, and you won’t want for anything else.

Not as much of a verdict
It makes sense to own that car. A lot of room, good handling, and BMW quality are all things that you should look for. The iX1 is even more appealing because it costs only Rs 49 lakh (ex-showroom), which isn’t too much.

This car does not have many features and doesn’t work very well, which is not what you expect when you are thinking about buying a BMW. It also has a feature set that is more focused on utility than flash value. One of the best things about having a BMW iX1 LWB is probably being able to brag about it.

For less money, you could get better performance and more options. The question is whether you would give up the badge for it.

Not as much

What We Like and Don’t Like About the BMW iX1
The space in the back seats is by far the best in its class.
Excellent quality and finish of internal materials
In real life, a range of about 400 km is plenty. We don’t like
It doesn’t come with heated front seats, a 360-degree camera, or adaptive cruise control, and it costs less.
There are no real buttons for the AC or regenerative braking.