Believe it or not, there is a small subset of the population who believe their steak is too juicy and their lobster tails too buttery. They probably believe their crossovers are too practical as well, as the sort of two-box vehicular catch-alls offer enormous cargo flexibility compared to their low-slung separate-trunked sedan equivalents. However, for consumers in that niche who don’t wish to enjoy the benefits of a sedan, there’s a new electric crossover that might scratch their itch. It’s called the BMW iX4, and it’s essentially an iX3 that’s been sat on by a giant.
Like the iX3, the iX4 rides on BMW’s Neue Klasse platform that’s designed from the ground up for EVs and EVs only. State-of-the-art 800-volt architecture? Check. A big 112.2 kWh battery pack with cylindrical cells? Check. Impressive 400 kW DC fast charging? You bet. It even supports bi-directional charging. With standard dual-motor all-wheel-drive on the iX4 50 xDrive trim, you’re looking at a tremendous EPA range of 428 miles. That’s just a hair under the longest-range iX3’s 434 miles of EPA range but still absolutely excellent.
The base iX4 is quick, too. Dual-motor all-wheel-drive produces 463 horsepower and 475 lb.-ft. of torque while promising to deal with the zero-to-60 mph sprint in 4.7 seconds. Solid stuff, but if that’s not enough for you, an iX4 M60 xDrive is coming. Thanks to new motors, it kicks out 603 horsepower and 645 lb.-ft. of torque. BMW claims that’s good for zero-to-60 mph in a hair under four seconds.
Of course, there’s more to the iX4 M60 xDrive than just output. Revised daytime running lights include a series of parallelograms that signal you’re looking at the quick one, while unique spring rates and adaptive damper tuning along with variable-ratio power steering and revised anti-roll bar hardware promise increased stick in the corners. Should you ever find traction boring, a limited-slip differential on the rear axle ought to help encourage the toasting of rubber, although its chief goal is to help the iX4 M60 xDrive fire out of corners even quicker.
From the driver’s seat, the iX4 sure looks a lot like the iX3. It gets the same pillar-to-pillar projected display and oddly-shaped italicized infotainment screen as every other new BMW with the marque’s latest infotainment setup. It might look funny, but despite ditching the rotary knob, it’s a reasonably usable system with more top-level hard functions than the old iDrive 8.5 system. Haptic controls on the steering wheel activate advanced driving assistance functions, including available hands-free highway driving at up to 85 MPH. That’s quick enough for even Texas’ fastest toll road.
The BMW iX4 shall likely be a fine conveyance, largely because the iX3 upon which it’s based is a fine machine with enormous range and surprisingly user-friendly tech. However, the iX4 throws a curveball at the formula that we need to talk about: Dat ass. It’s a rather severe interpretation of the coupe crossover formula, starting the slope of the roof and greenhouse massively early before finishing with a blunt, brusque kammtail. It’s a roofline befitting of a future i4, but on the iX4, it comes with some compromises.
Even though BMW hasn’t published official cargo volume for the iX4, a quick glimpse with the hatch open reveals two big hinges that really hang down below the roof opening. If you’re only loading items beneath the cargo cover, you’ll be fine, but it’s not hard to imagine the hinges being a problem when loading to the roof. That being said, the rather severe slope of the cargo area means you’ll need something wide but slim if you’re looking to load well above the backs of the rear seats. The iX3 likely has an advantage here, so that’ll be the one to get unless a pragmatic silhouette makes your skin crawl.
Really, the big announcement of the iX4 M60 xDrive has me excited for the potential of an iX3 M60 xDrive or better still, an i3 M60 xDrive. Just over 600 horsepower and a limited-slip rear differential in a more conventional form sounds hugely appealing. Still, for those who like their crossovers a little less practical, the iX4 seems like it’ll be just the ticket. Expect the xDrive 50 model to start at $66,200 plus a to-be-determined freight charge when it goes on sale in March of 2027, with the hot M60 xDrive model following later next year. That’s $4,700 more than an iX3 50 xDrive, which begs the question: What’s style worth to you?
Top graphic image: BMW
It looks like they took a Model Y, made the headlights a gash instead of a slit, then said “crap, the kidney grill!” and stamped a disproportionately small one on the front.
a smaller grill worked great on the E30, but that’s because the grill extended horizontally as well
Honestly and with no exaggeration: I flinched a little when I scrolled down from the headline and saw the topshot. Holy gods in hell that is not just ugly, it’s disturbing. My reaction was some mix of fear and disgust at the same time, like if you turned around and saw a 10” bug crawling on the wall both with sharp bits and oozing pus. The red one looks a little better, which is to say hideous but not disturbing.
I hope I never see one of these parked while I’m walking, because I’m going to waste five minutes of my life staring with jaw agape. Actually, I hope I never see one, period.
Last week I was stuck at the BMW dealership for half the day waiting on service. I did exactly one lap around the showroom. The exteriors speak for themselves. I peered in the first one and thought “man that’s an ugly interior.” I peered in the second and thought “man that’s the same interior.” I skipped the rest in favor of staring at the wall for a few more hours.
Totally unrelated, I don’t remember seeing a single customer come into the showroom.
it’ looks like they built it based off the reflections from a funhouse mirror of the actual car.
That thing is just ugly from absolutely EVERY angle.
I’m sorry but.. this vehicle is an automotive abomination and the fact that Autopian keeps gushing over these monstrocities is coincidental at best. Everything anyone on this site writes about these is a paid advertiesment at worst.
I’m sure you’ll close down my account for speaking my mind (that’s what you do) but I don’t care. Someone needs to call you guys out.
(It’s because it’s German)
While I prefer BMW’s outgoing styling (the 8 series in particular is a beautiful car), I still like this quite a bit. It’s definitely an improvement over, say, the current 5 series.
That said I think coupe SUVs as a concept are dumb, so there you are.
There’s a big difference between unearned praise and undisclosed spon-con. Even if you put the integrity of the staff aside, if such a thing were to ever come to light, they’d lose our trust (and membership).
Not worth it, especially for a car this unfortunate.
I think this styling direction is vastly better than anything BMW’s put out in the last… decade? (M2 aside, maybe). And no car companies are paying me squat.
Perhaps, and stay with me here, Thomas holds a similar (and genuine) opinion?!
Given the length of leash they allow for some badly behaved commenters and the number of critical comments that still exist on articles like this, I’m gonna go ahead and call BS on this.
I’ll take yesterday’s Jaguar please.
I’ll go with Option C (the bus).
There’s a special place in automotive hell for sedan SUVs
it’s weird how radical/unorthodox designs tend to look more “normal” over time. And, yet, this style has been around for a while now and looks just as ugly as the first time I saw it (the first one I remember is some mutated Accord).
An interesting point that I think is generally true. But these are just an ugly automotive mullet. There’s that old saw about how good design usually equates to form following function. These remove function for a dubious improvement in form that to my mind is at direct odds with why someone buys an SUV in the first place-Utility. Like what is the point of this, some people just love high seating positions?
The Accord crosstour was hideous though this is worse imo, and of course there’s the just as awful X6 and whatever fugly Mercedes competitor it had.
Crosstour! Am I right that that’s what started this “design”?
I had to know and looked it up lol, the BMW pre-dated the Crosstour by one year, 2008 vs 2009, in what I suppose was a rather ugly glimpse into the brand’s future.
I’m laughing because they must not have sold enough for me to have seen one. And their takeaway was “let’s lean in more.”
I have a soft spot for the brand, but they did this to themselves…
AMC Eagle, 1980, and Subaru Outback Sedan, 1998.
Looks like someone punched an ix3 in the dick
And then slammed its face into a curb!
American History X?
American History iX
COTD.
I’m impressed in that I really can’t find anything good to say. It’s ugly from every angle, the proportions are ass (not in a good way), I dislike the interior… oh, that range is impressive! 66k? Well… not that impressive I guess.
I would have guessed $93K based on the irrational prices we’re seeing. So…I guess it’s a deal?
Haha, yeah our collective expectation for pricing has become so pessimistic that we’re starting to see 66k and not flinch.
Hell, the Lucille Bluth 10$ banana joke is starting to feel more like a prophecy every day.
yup. I walk into a supermarket and think “Oh, I guess cereal costs $8 now.”
It’s like they are not even trying. Is the design AI generated or something?
IF there are buyers to such an abomination, I just don’t understand anything anymore. It’s probably that…
It’s becoming evident why BMW called this design language the Neue Klasse. It’s the Neue Ära of ugly, the Neue Ära for haters. The Ära of creating engagement with rage baits, distorted truths and twisted facts. Harmony, beauty and classic elegance doesn’t generate clicks and brand engagement anymore. When they go high, we go low.
It’s like Boring and Ugly had a baby behind a dumpster.
I really thought The Aztek would teach the automakers horrendous styling was a cancer on the brand, then Toyota pulled out the 4-gen Prius (the one before the current one) and Im sorry there is no bleach that can unsee that travesty, and now BMW is on a roll churning out one turd after another. This is the ugliest POS I have ever seen. Designers may be making banger sketches but everyone else is phoning it in. Torrential creases, sharp lines going whichever direction. Current BMW design language is a monument to the narcissism
“Toyota pulled out the 4-gen Prius (the one before the current one) and Im sorry there is no bleach that can unsee that travesty”
If you hate that you’ll REALLY hate the 1st gen Mirai.
The thing that bothers me is that they made no effort to make the taillights look different than the iX3. Whatever you thought of the X4, at least the taillight treatment was completely different than that of the contemporary X3. Same with the X6 and the recently replaced X5.
I actually like when cars (or Silverados and Tahoes) share looks like that. It reminds me of when you used to be able to get a coupe, post coupe, sedan, wagon, or ute from one body.
I’m not against different body styles having a “family” look, but too little differentiation ends up looking lazy.
They’re just fucking with us now, right? Like, there’s no way they actually expect anyone will voluntarily be seen in this hideous contraption, is there? There isn’t a mother on earth who could love that face.
Or profile. Or rear end.