BMW iX

Shop for a car and as long as it's a battery electric vehicle (BEV), it's likely to get the thumbs-up from an eco point of view, because any EV is progress for ...

So the most sobering aspect of the car on Kiwi backroads is its width, because it takes up a lot of tarmac and you have to be quite precise with your inputs. It’s an incredible engineering (and coding) achievement, a measure of just what BMW can do with a bespoke BEV platform. We’re okay with that, because despite the extreme speed, the M60 is not really supposed to be a sports star. The M60 is not a pure M car, of course. Except to say it’s sensational, with a massive curved display, lounge-like ambience and more futuristic light and sound than you could possibly imagine (some of the latter created by Hans Zimmer). We love it and the performance of this top M60 version is simply phenomenal; it’s entirely fit for M-brand/purpose and grins all-round. The acceleration and traction are simply phenomenal; and they do go together, because the former would be terrifying without the latter. But it’s also an interesting case study: massive performance brings extra financial and environmental cost in a BEV, just like it does in a petrol/diesel vehicle. In DRIVEN’s experience, there’s still a widespread belief that all EVs cost about the same to run; but that’s not true, because some are very frugal with their battery power, while others are tuned for performance first and who cares about the bill? although the iX can replenish at up to 200kW per hour on a suitable paid DC Hyper Charger. We tend to think of all EVs as being roughly the same, but of course they’re not. But as we mature into a more mainstream-EV world, doesn’t it make sense that eventually we’ll stare disapprovingly at plug-in cars that have a bit of an amperage addiction?