Beautiful? Ugly? Where do you stand? When BMW first showed the iX xDrive 50, it was revealed and reviled. Enthusiast forums lit up with people hating on the shape, the size, and of course those kidney grills large enough to warrant a visit to your doctor.

But the 2023 BMW iX M60 is the future of autos, just ask Arnold Schwarzenegger and Salma Hayek! Like it or not. It might be a decade too early for most peoples' taste but the design, sound, features, and performance will be so commonplace in the next 10 years with the EV revolution, we won't even bat an eye.

BMW says this is the perfect intersection of their 'i', 'X', and 'M' brands. But at $109,000 base and a range of less than 300 miles, is this just an EV flex for the Patagonia vested finance bro? Or is this a viable daily driver for regular people today? We left our vests behind and grabbed the keys to see for ourselves.

The Looks: Love It? Hate It?

​​​Let's lead with the elephant in the room, or in this case, the Kidney grills on the iX. If the internet has anything to say about it, the 2023 BMW iX M60 looks terrible. But we all know the internet exists for trolls and cat videos. So we tried to wipe away any pre-conceived notions and look at the iX with clear eyes and guess what? We liked it. Sure the profile has a strange resemblance to a GMC Terrain (not a great comment for $110,000) but that is probably due to the very popular "floating roof" design that so many automakers have adopted, rather than an actual comparison.

Let's start at the front. Of course BMW had to keep their iconic Kidney grills but, as you know, an EV doesn't need a grill because it doesn't need to bring in air to cool a radiator like a traditional gas vehicle does. So why have it? In this case the grille--which have a heat-induced "self-healing" coating in case a rock chip or scratch happens--are a front for a bevy of sensors. Cameras, radar, sensors, and software are the heart of EVs, and in the 2023 BMW iX M60, that proves in the performance. Keep reading.

As the looks of the grill grew on us, so did the laser light slits, and large gloss black intakes near the front wheels. Speaking of wheels, BMW outfitted our iX M60 with the optional 22" Aero Bi-Color (21" is standard). Behind those large brushed silver pieces of art came the M-Sport blue calipers. Other than those stand-out elements, the rest of the design is fairly subtle. Some titanium bronze around the lower sills of the window and as badges in the rear keep the exterior clean. The profile is low and wide--ideal for making a 6,800 lb vehicle sporty--with a bit of a bubble butt at the rear.

The door handles are worth noting as well. Tesla has the flush door handles that pop out when you approach the car but BMW opted for something else. You have to reach your hand into a small cutout where the door handle would be and pull back toward yourself to open it. *Note: it might take a few tries for the teachers in your kid's carpool line to figure out how to work them!

In terms of practicality, the low ground clearance takes it out of the "off-roading SUV" category, and the shape of the rear hatch makes it tough to load larger items--like a table we needed to drop off at Goodwill. Speaking of space, something worth pointing out: BMW does not give the iX a frunk. The frunk--or front trunk--is a major benefit to an EV such as we found out in the Ford F-150 Lightning. So the fact it's absent will annoy alot of people; including us.

RELATED: 10 Things To Know Before Buying The 2022 BMW iX

The Performance Is The Intersection Of 'i', 'X', and 'M'

So there isn't a frunk and you can't take agressive overlanding trips, but one buys an M-Sport vehicle to rip up paved roads, not dirt ones. Thankfully, the 2023 BMW iX M60 shines here. The dual motor setup brings 532 horses to the table, plenty. But the Sport mode (which creates an acceleration sound tuned by famous film composer Hanz Zimmer) allows software to send more electrons to those motors giving an extra 78 hp. That means the iX M60 in all it's big butt, large grill goodness hits 60 mph in 3.6 seconds. And it feels faster. The woosh of torque, the push in the back, the sound of the wheels cracking the leaves beneath the vehicle. We loved all of it.

BMW is incorporating highly futuristic materials in the iX they first experimented with in the i3 and i8 back in 2014. Specifically the us of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic (CFRP) which you can see when opening the doors or the trunk. They also use an aluminum space frame with a carbon cage. All these innovations mean lighter and stronger. This innovation is necessary thanks to heavy batteries located within the wheelbase. This lowered weight help the iX M60 feel much more planted and rebound quicker than a more traditional X5 M.

The M60 also gets sporty upgrades over it's less athletic regular iX sibling. The stiffer anti-roll bars in the front and back combined with the adaptive dual-axle air suspension had us turning corners at speeds usually reserved for BMW's M5. The iX M60 had enough umph that we felt fully confident flinging it around tight turns with very little wheel chirp. It was very balanced.

Because EVs are essentially large pieces of tech like a laptop or smartphone, the battery life and charge time depend on various factors. After sitting on a charger all night--and getting a notification through the BMW app that the car was full--we noticed the iX M60 estimate was 300 miles. BMW claims 288 miles but there is hope for nearly double that range soon. As you drive the vehicle the range will fluctuate based on weather, road conditions, and which lead-footed journalist is driving. BMW claims it can recharge from 10%-80% in about 30 minutes depending on the charger. We found no issues running around Atlanta, draining the battery and then parking overnight to let it charge back up again.

Another benefit to the iX is the use of an app to control alot of the functions. You can lock, unlock, and even set a departure time so it will make sure the cabin in cozy and ready for you to leave. BMW also includes a few new (to us) features like a live view of the cabin in case you think you left something in the vehicle and also a 3D surround view to see the area around the vehicle. This feature is helpful if you parked in a parking deck but don't remember which level. Now, pull up the app and look around.

RELATED: A Detailed Look At The 2023 BMW iX M60, The Most Powerful iX EV

Welcome To The Inside Of The Future

With people divided on the verdict for how the exterior looks, there is a resounding "whoa" for the award-winning interior. We found ourselves sitting in awe of the clean, ultra futuristic feeling cabin. Plenty of brands are making vehicles with "clean and modern" interiors but the 2023 BMW iX M60 is next level. It felt like we were sitting in a concept car at CES, one that would never make production. But, it has.

The first thing we noticed as we stepped over the wide CFRP door frame was how the dash was essentially one solid piece of leather with the gorgeous 26.2" curved touchscreen (dash and infotainment as one piece) mounted to it. It was like a tv sitting on a large tv stand.

There are exactly three buttons on the dash: front defrost, rear defrost, and hazards. The door handle is a button instead of a lever, though there is a mechanical fail-safe hidden at the bottom in case the button stops or the power dies. The door itself looks different. It has angles to it utilizing leather, cloth, and plastic materials. There are crystal seat controls and on the center console which act as a type of prism when the sun hits them broadcasting ethereal lights throughout. We remain undecided on how we felt about those.

The Sport Package ($2,500) is standard on the M60 which brings even more design elements to make this seem more concept-y and less production-y. The hexagonal steering wheel, Connected package pro, curved screen, and the super cool Panoramic Eclipsing roof. The latter transitions the pano glass between opaque and almost clear. The upside, it impresses your friends and eliminates the need for the long scrolling screen that many other pano roofs have. The downside, it doesn't open.

Also standard on the 2023 BMW iX M60 is the 30-speaker (!!) Bowers & Wilkins Diamond Surround 4D sound system. We had sound coming at us from the front, side, and the seats themselves have speakers. Just lay your head back against the headrest, and sound flows into your ears. Additionally, you feel the music thanks to four "bass shakers" in the front seats. It makes you feel like you are mere feet away from the speakers at a concert. Unreal. BMW has also crafted various sounds in the cabin depending on your mood. They call it "Iconic Sounds." It will create a more agressive sounding acceleration if you are in Sport Mode (Hanz Zimmer's handywork) or you can go nearly silent in the Relax or Eco mode.

And that's the tip of the iceberg for tech and some of the best features. The 2023 BMW iX M60 offers an augmented reality live 3D view of your car which takes the 360 over-head view up a notch. There is radiant heating, which heats not only the seats and steering wheel but the armrest and door panels to warm you up quicker. Tired of pushing buttons? Gesture control allows you to spin your finger near the curved screen to turn up and down the volume. Try thumbs up to the right to skip to the next track. BMW has also created a technology called Maneuver Assist which will map how you pulled into your parking space. Then it uses that "map" to reverse itself when exiting. This prevents you scraping the side on a parking pillar or your spouse's car. It's all the type of tech we'll see in mainstream cars in the next decade.

RELATED: Here's How The Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV Compares To The BMW iX

Our Thoughts: Unplugged

Not for long, but at the moment, BMW has the market cornered if you want a luxurious electric SUV. Other than the are-you-pushing-my-delivery-date-again Rivian R1S, the only real competition for BMW is the $100,000 Tesla Model X, but it's pricier than the iX xDrive 50 at around $85,000. Also, the Tesla is not as cool or futuristic as this iX. Much like the i3 and i8, it's likely the iX is only a gateway for BMW to play with new ideas and test how interested the public is in having the car map your parking or letting the door radiate heat. We really liked this but, to be clear, this isn't going to sell like hotcakes. It's not the EV you'll be seeing show up in all the driveways of your neighborhood, but, it will definitely give Elon a run for his money. And you can tweet that.