Thanks to four-wheel drive and astute traction control, the iX1 has no problems in putting down its mighty power and can even send a bit more power to the rear axle for a more dynamic corner exit, despite the two motors being identical.
Electric power suits the X1 well, then, but it comes with its own set of issues. Its battery is pretty small for the class and yields an official range of 260 miles – or just shy of 190 in winter. Call it 210 miles in summer, but it’s still nothing to shout about.
Its rapid-charging capability is unspectacular, too. Its 130kW peak is on par with the Audi Q4 E-tron but down on the Volvo C40 Recharge, let alone the Genesis GV60 (260kW). In our rapid charging test, the iX1 maintained at least 120kW to 40% before gradually dropping off. That’s not terrible, but it can’t make up for the short range.
That aside, the driving experience is mostly familiar from the petrol X1. In most circumstances, the steering is overly light, mute and inconsistently paced, which robs you of confidence. Sport driving mode adds some useful heft but also makes the ride blatantly unsuited to a bumpy B-road.
You see, every iX1 gets adaptive dampers, but the suspension setting is bound to the driving mode. So if you want weightier steering (you absolutely do) or looser stability control, you’re forced to accept the stiff damper setting, which makes the car disconcertingly bouncy over bumps.
As long as we kept to its standard mode, the ride of our xLine test car on its 19in wheels was decent enough and usefully better than the X1 sDrive23i M Sport on 20in wheels that we road tested recently.
The interior is the same as in the X1, so it’s mostly a lovely place to be, if quite spec-dependent. For instance, the ‘Sensatec’ leatherette seats and gloss black plastic trim of this iX1 test car conjured a far less convincing air of luxury than the real leather and aluminium trim of our X1 road test car. There’s no arguing with the excellent seats and flexible driving position, which ensure that anyone will be kept comfortable. BMW has done a sterling job with noise isolation, too.