BMW iX xDrive45 review 2025: Divisive looks remain but updated electric SUV is otherwise superb
Has the ugly duckling become a swan?
There’s an old saying along the lines of, “You can’t put lipstick on a pig and expect it to be attractive.” There’s a similar one that’s even ruder, and if people were being really unkind, either could be applied to BMW’s task in updating the styling of its most contentious model, the pure-electric iX SUV (or, apparently, “SAV” in BMW-speak).
Launched in 2021, the iX’s design didn’t exactly win over the critics. But it was an important moment in the BMW electric vehicle (EV) story because it was only the firm’s second model conceived from the ground-up to run on battery-electric power, after the groundbreaking i3. And of course, coming eight years later, the iX moved the game on rather a lot.
Frankly, though, BMW’s stylists at the time seemed to be on a spectacularly quick race to the bottom to give us ever-uglier product after product, and the iX was very much part of that movement. BMW said it was designing for the future and, though this is very much matter of personal taste, to my eyes it becomes increasingly acceptable with every passing day.
The visual changes wrought on the iX family as part of this 2025 model year update might not change anyone’s mind, but for what it’s worth they include new aprons (that’s the lower bits of both the front and rear bumpers) to give it a little more visual aggression and sportiness; some new headlight clusters informed by the “Skeletor’s Face” appearance of the Neue Klasse Vision X concept car; and then the usual gewgaws that all manufacturers tend to give their cars during these refresher cycles — namely, new paint colours and alloy wheels, with 23in rims being optionally offered on the iX for the first time.
One of the examples of the latter, incidentally, is called Dune Grey, but we reckon Surgical Stocking Beige might’ve been a better bet.
If, however, this sounds like we’re serving backhanded compliments at the BMW iX, that’s not quite the case. Even finished in Dune, we have to confess this isn’t a terrible-looking car these days. It’s certainly eye-catching.
The news gets much better from here, too. The cabin of the iX, though only ever a five-seater despite the SUV’s sheer external physical size, remains replete with plush material finishing, classy design flourishes and a high degree of practicality.
Quite what you make of the success or otherwise of the 2025 tweaks will depend almost entirely on personal taste. The German company has introduced a new seat, reduced the amount of copper-coloured trim and replaced the iX’s formerly hexagonal steering “wheel” with a perfectly round item in the M Sport-grade car we tested.
Some will lament the deletion of the last two items mentioned above as a retrograde step, but not us. Sure, we’d like it if BMW didn’t insist on making the rims of its steering wheels so needlessly, er, girthy, which makes holding the wheel for long periods of time an uncomfortable affair, but we reckon the addition of a circular design in place of the old squished effort is an ergonomic boon.
Ditto the gorgeous seats, which feature a quilted stitching pattern and cup your back beautifully, so not only do these snazzy chairs look good, they’re terrifically padded and supportive, too — sitting in them for extended periods is a pleasure rather than a chore.
From there, the vast amounts of interior space, the impressive integration of the onboard technology and the general usefulness of the iX’s cabin goes some way to reaching the pinnacle of BMW interiors.
The running gear has been made a lot more desirable, too. Prior to the facelift, there were three models in the iX family: the xDrive40, the xDrive50 and the ultra-rapid M60 xDrive.
Reflecting the fact that all three have seen significant technical upgrades, they’ve all got fresh badges, which are (respectively) the xDrive45, the xDrive60 and the M70 xDrive.
At the far end of this scale, the M70 now has a goliath 650bhp, an increase of 39bhp from its previous headline figure and the sort of power that supercars once dreamt of. Even more sensational is the 749lb ft torque (twisting force) figure, which makes acceleration not just lightning quick but face-rearrangingly rapid. It’ll do the 0-62mph sprint in just 3.8 seconds, which is quicker than a Porsche 911 Carrera (just).
Meanwhile, its gigantic 108.9kWh battery pack allows for an official range between charges of up to 366 miles, depending on spec, the higher figure being an increase of 18 miles on the old M60.
However, at £114,215, we suspect many buyers will be looking a little further down the iX chain. The £93,115 xDrive60 M Sport is certainly still big money, but it’s definitely a little more reasonable and means it is actually a little cheaper than the xDrive50 model it replaces.
Despite the discount, it has also had a power hike (21bhp), taking it from 516bhp as the outgoing “50” to a new 537bhp peak, which is still punchy, I’m sure you’ll agree.
Yet the big news here is that revisions to the battery tech and energy efficiency mean that while the power pack installed in the xDrive60 is no bigger than it was before, this is the first BMW EV that can officially go more than 400 miles to a single charge of its battery. The maximum figure, in the right specification, is a healthy 426 miles.
This is the point where we cite our oft-stated note of caution, that buyers will rarely ever get near to the manufacturer’s range claims in the real world, due to a number of factors such as driving style and the ambient temperature (for example, EV batteries do not like the cold, reducing their efficiency).
But even so, the xDrive60 ought to be able to do a genuine 300 miles-plus to a charge of its battery pack, all year round, no matter what electrical drains the owner has on in its cabin, nor how they drive it. Within reason.
Nevertheless, despite the 60 hogging the EV driving range headlines, it’s the new entry-level iX which fascinates us the most, and which is why we’re reviewing the xDrive45 M Sport here.
First of all, M Sport specification is phenomenally popular in the UK. BMW expects more than 90 per cent of all iXs sold here to be M Sports, with the remainder almost certainly going to be those flagship M70 cars, which qualifies as a model trim in its own right.
Therefore, the £75,315 xDrive 45 in entry-level Sport trim is simply a price-point exercise on BMW’s part; the M Sport upgrade that everyone wants is a three-grand price walk from there.
For your £78,315, you’ll get an electric SUV which is considerably more potent than it was before. Peak power has leapt 80bhp and torque swells to the tune of 125lb ft, resulting in the xDrive45 easily eclipsing the old 40’s numbers with its muscular 402bhp and 517lb ft.
That’s enough to trim a whole second off the 0-62mph time, the xDrive45 managing the run in just 5.1 seconds and proving itself to be all the straight-line performance anyone could reasonably need on public roads from a large SUV like this, but once again it’s the hike in usability that really seals the deal.
Both the Sport and M Sport derivatives of this iX have been blessed with a battery pack fully 20.7kWh larger than it was before, standing at a new net figure of 94.8kWh. This drastically improves the claimed range of the cars, the Sport gaining 110 miles for a new theoretical maximum distance of 374 miles and the M Sport just a handful of miles behind.
To compensate for the increased capacity of the power pack, the maximum DC charging rate has been improved accordingly, up to 175kW — therefore a 10 to 80 per cent top-up of the battery should take around 34 minutes on the fastest-possible connection.
And as it always has done, the iX still drives beautifully. It’s a 2.5-tonne vehicle in this specification, so it’s no lightweight, but it has a serene, almost floaty sensation to the way it rolls down the road that belies its vast bulk. The suspension really is magic in ironing out road imperfections.
Sure, there are times that you sense the 21in wheels hanging at all corners of the car, particularly when they meet a notably sharp edge or deep compression in the road surface, but generally the iX xDrive45 whisks you along in a cultured, comfortable tranquillity.
That is, of course, provided you’ve got the car in the sole driving experience mode in which it doesn’t generate one of movie composer Hans Zimmer’s otherworldly soundtracks. There are an array of these fitted to the BMW, some more successful than others, but our particular favourites are the groaning synth noises the iX makes in Expressive, the booming notes redolent of the old THX ident that used to preface films like Star Wars. There are also the gentle keening noises of Relax, which sound like a celestial choir is lovingly serenading you as you venture down the road.
They won’t be for everyone, of course, but we rather applaud both BMW and Zimmer for going “out there” with these synthetic tunes. An EV doesn’t have to sound like a combustion car to be a success, and we kind of like the fact that in none of its settings does the iX ever attempt to mimic the noises of the old propulsion types. It just does its own, distinctive thing.
As to the handling, there’s an agility and capability to everything the iX xDrive45 does that, again, masks the fact that it’s so heavy, but even at its limits it’s not quite as engaging and memorable as some of BMW’s greatest dynamic high points. That said, it’s still one of the better and sharper luxury electric SUVs out there, with particular praise reserved for the excellent blended brakes that provide plenty of bite when you need them to.
We also reckon those range claims are not figments of BMW’s imagination. We gave our test car a good workout for the best part of an hour on mixed roads in the Cotswolds, and at the end of it the display said it had managed 2.9 miles/kWh electrical efficiency. In simpler terms, after our test drive the battery read 84 per cent remaining and the car claimed it could go another 280 miles on what was left. If that’s to be believed, a real-world 300 miles looks very much on the cards.
So, it’s a successful update of what has always been, in fairness to it, an accomplished big SUV. No, the erstwhile ugly duckling of BMW’s range has not quite become a swan with this modest facelift work, but neither is it a porcine mammal wearing a nice shade of Dior lippy.
What you get here is more power, more range (genuinely, not just on paper), improved tech and tidied looks, all packaged up in a luxuriant and likeable SUV body. It’s not to everyone’s taste but from the driver’s seat, the iX might be (whisper it) the best all-round car BMW makes right now.
Related articles
- If you enjoyed our review of the updated BMW iX, you may want to read about the M5 Saloon
- You might also like to read our review of the BMW M3 Touring
- Have you seen the next-generation BMW M2?
Latest articles
- BMW iX xDrive45 review 2025: Divisive looks remain but updated electric SUV is otherwise superb
- F1 2025 calendar and race reports: The new Formula One season as it happens
- Extended test: 2024 Renault Scenic E-Tech review
- Aston Martin Vantage Roadster 2025 review: Still hardcore but with added pose factor
- Updated Skoda Enyaq vRS matches 0-62mph time of Czech firm’s fastest-ever car
- Long Way Home review — Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman hit the road again
- ‘I was a tear-soaked mess’ — Richard Hammond opens up on his last Top Gear show during new race with James May
- Best-selling cars 2025: The UK’s ten most popular models of the year so far
- Charley Boorman: Potholes? You should see the ones Ewan and I faced in Kazakhstan
