BMW iX xDrive50 Achieves Impressive Range In Cold Weather

Bjørn Nyland reports close to 500 km (311 miles) at 90 km/h (56 mph).

23:14

Mark Kane

By: Mark Kane

Feb 13, 2022 at 2:41pm ET

Add InsideEVs as a preferred source in Google

Comment

The all-new BMW iX xDrive50 premium SUV achieved pretty good results in Bjørn Nyland's range test in cold weather conditions (1-4°C).

The vehicle is equipped with a 111.5 kWh battery (105.2 kWh net usable), according to the manufacturer, and in optimum conditions is expected to get up to 550-631 km (342-391 miles) of WLTP range (depending on the version).

The company reports that the EPA range exceeds 300 miles (see full report here):

20" wheels (235/60R20 108H XL): 324 miles (521 km)
21" wheels (255/50R21 109H XL): 305 miles (491 km)
22" wheels (275/40R22 107Y): 315 miles (507 km)

According to the video, the tested BMW iX xDrive50, with 21" wheels, has a range of 489 km (304 miles) - at 90 km/h (56 mph) - which is very good, considering the low temperature. The energy consumption amounted to 217 Wh/km (349 Wh/mile).

The limited power Turtle mode engaged at about 2% state-of-charge (SOC), and the car reported about 10 km (6 miles) more range. The power limit at the time was about 75% of the maximum value. The car arrived at a charging point at 1% SOC.

Bjørn Nyland's 90 km/h range test usually runs until low state-of-charge as he does not expect that regular drivers would go beyond "zero" (0%, 0 km, ---, or equivalent appear on the display). The cars still have some reserve at that point. The full range is calculated based on the remaining state-of-charge.

The 120 km/h test is an estimation of range, based on energy consumption and estimated battery capacity (from the 90 km/h test).

Bjørn Nyland reports that the car consumed some 106.6 kWh of energy, which is, interestingly, more than the 105.2 kWh net usable capacity, according to BMW.

At 120 km/h (75 mph), the energy consumption increased by 35% to 292 Wh/km (470 Wh/mile), but it was slightly colder and wet. The estimated range decreased by 25% compared to the 90 km/h test, to 365 km (227 miles).

Both range results are pretty good, not far from the Tesla Model X Long Range Raven (respectively 520 and 402 km, but at 15-18°C), and much better than the NIO ES8 (respectively 397 km and 293 km at 6-11°C) and Audi e-tron 55 (respectively 330 km and 257 km at -5°C), which is probably the closest competitor.

BMW achieved a high range through an increase in battery capacity to 111.5 kWh, as well as making the iX quite efficient for its size and weight of 2,720 kg.

If the fast charging power is consistently good, we might see a decent 1,000 km (621 miles) test result as well.