BMW ix and i4

[Arm]

Honestly I'm not a fan of either.

 

[frictioncircle]

The i4 is based on the G22 4er Grand Coupé but gets the upgraded ultrawide iDrive display as is used in the iX.

I had a few moments with an iX fitted with a crystal iDrive controller. I was highly skeptical of such bling but after giving it a few twirls I would surely order it! Its feel of substance was very much an improvement over the two iDrive controllers I've used since 2014.

The above said, both the i4 and iX are far too large for my needs so I'll continue to enjoy my i3s.

 

[frictioncircle]

A good friend that is a multiple i3s owner as well as an open-wheel track driver had a bit of time with an iX at CES and was impressed by how "not heavy" it felt – along with its build quality.

As mentioned in my previous post, neither the i4 nor the iX are the a form-factor that I would buy – but I'm an edge-case customer (and hence a two-time i3 owner).

BMW will sell plenty of i4s and iXs in USA metros that have lots of high-income customers. As long as gasoline prices remain high here those two models will be even more attractive.

I hope both the i4 and iX are very successful for BMW – great sales of these two will (hopefully) give BMW the confidence to move ahead with something as gloriously weird as the recent i Circular Vision Concept!

https://www.bmwusa.com/concept-vehicles/ivision-circular.html

 

[Anonymous]

BMW will sell plenty of i4s and iXs in USA metros that have lots of high-income customers.

Yup. Fortunately BMW hasn't totally forgotten about us low-rent buyers. They have shifted their i3 tech over to their BMW/MINI line. The MINI Cooper 2-door Hard Top SE out now uses the i3 motor and modified battery pack for 114 miles of range (base price $30K), and they have a PHEV Countryman. The i3 BMW Group Plant in Leipzig is being converted to produce the all electric MINI Cooper Countryman, and possibly the electric MINI Cooper Paceman. According to BMW, the entire MINI Cooper line will be all electric by 2030. We will likely be looking hard at the electric Countryman when it comes out next year.

 

[websterize]

I'm kind of over the moon about how the iX drives and about its Eames-like interior. Ten years ago, I thought BMW landed a moon-shot cabin in the i3. Surely they couldn't beat it. They have.

I'm even more ecstatic about the exterior design vitriol. Not since the Edsel vagina has there been this much angst about a grill. When it was in production, revulsion of the i3 drove down the price of a new BEV to jaw-dropping amounts. (The 84-mile range likely played a role, too.)

But the best thing of all about the launch iX is its lease residual value — around 50%, according to U.S. dealers. It'll be a tempting, certified-used road-trip truck in a few years. Hopefully, gas won't be $10/gallon by then.

 

[stumbledotcom]

Both are too large for me. The i4 comes closest of course but it’s also so predictable and boring.

 

[Anonymous]

Not since the Edsel vagina has there been this much angst about a grill.

:lol:

Yeah - seeing the new grill in pictures, I absolutely hated it. Monday was at my BMW dealership for service and was very surprised. In person I thought the grille actually looks good!

 

[agzand]

In US both models will have much higher cost of ownership than i3. BMW offered great lease rates for i3, which is unlikely with i4. And ix will be a few times more expensive than i3 to run. As mentioned above the mini line will replace i3 as the low cost EV in BMW line up, but so far it doesn't have the same avantgarde design philosophy.

BMW is obviously is not interested in selling high volume of EVs yet. They want to sell fewer cars with higher margins.

I think currently the iD4 is the closes upgrade option in the US market.

 

[alohart]

I think currently the iD4 is the closes upgrade option in the US market.

Even the ID.4 is too large and heavy compared with the i3. The ID.3 would be a better upgrade, but, of course, we in North American don't get to buy many of the EV's available in Europe.

 

[frictioncircle]

... and about its Eames-like interior. Ten years ago, I thought BMW landed a moon-shot cabin in the i3. Surely they couldn't beat it. They have.

I haven't yet sat in an iX but I persuaded the folks at BMW [SPACE] a few months back to let me get a closer look at the iX's interior while floor traffic was low.

"Eames-like" – what a wonderful way to describe its interior... 100% agree that the iX interior takes the i3's moon-shot cabin and moves beyond!

Regarding the i4... doesn't it look like a G22 4er with a slapped on widescreen iDrive?

 

[agzand]

I think currently the iD4 is the closes upgrade option in the US market.

Even the ID.4 is too large and heavy compared with the i3. The ID.3 would be a better upgrade, but, of course, we in North American don't get to buy many of the EV's available in Europe.

Yes, iD4 drives much heavier and more conventional than i3, but it has incorporated some of the design elements of i3, like the shifter and the small turn radius (particularly RWD model). In terms of driving perhaps Tesla Model Y is the closest to i3 in US market.