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Every carmaker worth their salt is scrambling to shift towards a greener, electric future. BMW was quite early to the party with their i3 compact cruiser, but nowadays, the German automaker is making great strides in rising up among its increasingly electric competition. Their newest effort is the controversial all-electric standout flagship SUV dubbed the iX.
With its unique design, sporty stance, and what will certainly be a sophisticated driving experience, the iX is one of the most impressive cars of the new generation. A massive battery pack that is equal parts power and equal parts range is simply the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this awe-inducing tech marvel, and we’re here to see what’s under the surface that is the most impressive.
Here are the coolest features of the 2022 BMW iX that make us wish to bring one home right from the assembly line.
10 Fast Charging
The BMW iX is the German brand's all-electric flagship SUV. With the plethora of features that they've packed into the car, it would have been a shame if the car didn't have a range that let you relax and enjoy said features without always thinking about the next charging station. That said, the 2022 iX offers some pretty fast charging to take care of the miles you'll munch on the tarmac.
The vehicle's xDrive50 model comes with fast charging which juices up the car from 10% to 80% percent in under 40 minutes. Moreover, a quick charge of ten-odd minutes makes you good to go for 75 miles! All the beauty, features, and power figures of this SUV would have been rendered moot had it not been for the fast charging system that lets you enjoy each one of those unique characteristics without too much of a break.
9 New iDrive 8
The 2022 BMW iX comes loaded with the new iDrive 8 system, which is by far the best version of BMW's communication and entertainment system. BMW massively improved the graphics of the system, along with a brand-new, beautiful LCD screen. Not only are the graphics sharper than ever, but the system itself is also the most intuitive it has ever been on a BMW.
Furthermore, the User Interface for the new iDrive 8 system has a plethora of new features you could spend hours exploring, and the huge LCD instrument curved screen is actually two screens. In fact, the car screen is a massive 14.9-inch screen with the highest pixel density (206ppi) among all mass-produced cars today. Talk about being ahead of the curve.
8 Electrochromic Panoramic 'Eclipse' Sunroof
The BMW iX comes outfitted with a panoramic sunroof that also boasts of being the largest glass roof ever in a BMW model. The lack of any cross-struts on the glass roof also accentuates the beauty of the cabin. What takes the cake, however, is the PDLC (Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystal) technology that the roof comes loaded with.
While making the cabin airier with its massive size, the sunroof can also shade the interior, as it comes with variable transparency that you can change with the press of a button. The roof can go from transparent to translucent, to opaque in a matter of seconds by running voltage through the liquid crystals in the glass. BMW quite aptly named it the 'Eclipse' sunroof.
7 iX Flow—Change The Color Of The Car
BMW truly blurred the lines between magic and technology at the CES 2022 with its iX M60 concept. The BMW iX M60 would become the world's first color-changing car through its mind-blowing iX Flow feature, something the world simply couldn't stop talking about.
Supercar Blondie isn't alone in losing her mind over the color-changing technology of the BMW iX M60 concept. The very idea of having a white SUV on hot days and a black one on colder winter days is something that will now very well be a reality through the use of E-ink, which is essentially the same tech used in a Kindle.
6 Remote Theft Recorder
How could the most advanced SUV by the Bavarians not also be their most feature-loaded? The new BMW iX's Remote Theft Recorder feature begins recording on the overhead interior camera when the alarm system goes off, simultaneously notifying the owner on their mobile phone. You could then access and save pictures from the interior camera, the cameras on the front and rear fascia of the car, as well as the cameras embedded in the rearview mirrors.
While that's a lot of angles for a potential burglar to be caught in, you could also use the feature to take pictures on the road, both inside and outside, enabling you to capture moments in the cabin with your family or friends by either voice command, touch, or even a self-timer option.
5 Haptic Touch Buttons In Wooden Central Console
Of course, the iDrive knob made it to the BMW iX 2022. This time, however, it's been treated to a crystal finish, much like a lot of other buttons and levers across the cabin. The center console of the BMW iX is wooden, beautiful, compact, and follows the 'less is more' design ideology.
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Most of the buttons that control the iDrive are on the center console, but the kicker here is that they're embedded into the wooden panel. This is what BMW has dubbed 'Shy Tech,' meaning the buttons are embedded into the wooden panel but still return haptic feedback when pressed.
4 30-Speaker Sound System
The all-new BMW iX comes loaded with a 30-speaker sound system that promises to deliver a true 4-dimensional, cinema-like experience when it comes to your media. Keeping in line with their Shy Tech philosophy, most of the speakers are hidden throughout the panels of the cabin, while several are embedded into the headrests of the seats.
There are even bass-boosters embedded into the base of the seats to enhance the entire experience! The 30-speaker sound system by Bowers & Wilkins is complemented by the iX's sounds being crafted by none other than Hans Zimmer, one of the greatest music composers of our time. Zimmer specially crafted the sounds and compositions for the new iX, from the start/stop sounds, to the pedestrian warning alerts.
3 Self-Healing Grille
The iconic BMW kidney-grille being present on the company's all-electric SUV was a no-brainer. While grilles on EVs are not functional at all, one might argue that BMW went ahead and made it so. Not only does the grille lend the iconic heritage of this grille to their trailblazing EV SUV, but it also hides within itself a plethora of technology, from the cameras to the radar systems that assist the autonomous driving as well as the driver assistance features.
What truly blows our minds, however, is that BMW describes the grille as 'self-healing.' A polyurethane coating on the grille greatly reduces the BMW iX's kidney grille's susceptibility to damage. In fact, it can actually heal all minor scratches with just five to ten minutes of warm air, or a day at room temperature!
2 The Logo Hides A Secret
If you go ahead and try to pop the hood on the new 2022 BMW iX, you'd be in for a surprise, because the iX's hood doesn't open. While this is a bummer because Bayerische could certainly have provided some front boot space, it also leaves you wondering where to put the washer fluid for the windshield and rear window.
This is where the nifty little feature of the BMW roundel on the hood comes into play. Simply push the logo inward, and it should pop open to serve as the filler neck for the iX's washer fluid for the front and rear shields. While it certainly might come off as a little gimmicky, the functionality of this little feature can not be denied at all.
1 Dynamic Charge Station Navigation
Working seamlessly in tandem with the new iDrive 8 system, the 2022 BMW iX is capable of not just charting your course to your destination, but also ensuring that it goes absolutely without hiccups. Thus, if the destination you feed into your navigation system is farther than the current range of the car according to its battery level, the car will automatically add a charging station stop along your route.
Along with mapping charge stations along your route should your destination be out of the current range, the iDrive navigation system also checks if the current charging station you're headed to is occupied fully or not. If it is, it would automatically re-route you to the next free one.