Facelifted BMW iX Gets 650bhp And A Light-Up Grille

You know BMW’s rather visually challenging electrified SUV? No, not the V8 hybrid-powered XM. We’re talking about the fully-electric iX, which has been on sale for over three years now.

That age makes it ripe for a facelift, which it’s just received, although this being a BMW facelift, you’d struggle to tell. Rather than addressing the iX’s more noticeable, erm, design… quirks, BMW has focused in on the details, giving it reworked headlights with new vertical LED signatures and a reworked pattern on the grille.

If it’s night time, though, you might have an easier job spotting the facelifted iX, because the massive kidney grilles now have an optional light-up surround. Anyone that’s encountered a similarly-equipped 7 Series coming towards them at night will definitely have opinions on this.

There are a couple of new visual packages too: the M Sport Package adds in new front air intakes and rear reflectors, and on the inside, multifunction sports seats; while the M Sport Package Pro augments this with something called M Dark Shadow headlights.

The big changes, though, come to the iX’s powertrains, which have seen boosts to both power and range across the board. The three available models have had name changes to boot, with the entry-level xDrive40 becoming the xDrive45.

This, like all iXs, features a dual-motor, four-wheel drive setup. It produces 402bhp, a big jump over the old car’s 322bhp, and will hit 62mph in 5.1 seconds. An increase in usable battery capacity from 76.6 to 94.8kWh, meanwhile, sees peak quoted range jump from 264 to 374 miles.

Next up is the xDrive60, which supersedes the old xDrive50. It makes 537bhp compared to the pre-facelift car’s 516bhp, good for 62mph in 4.6 seconds. Its new 109.1kWh battery means that in its most efficient spec, range is quoted at 435 miles, up from 391.

At the top of the tree, the M60 is replaced by the massively powerful M70, which now makes a peak of 650bhp. That’s up by 40bhp, although peak torque remains a healthy 811lb ft. It’ll hit 62mph in 3.5 seconds, and max out at a very Germanic 155mph (the lesser models are limited to 124mph). Peak range, meanwhile, is quoted at 373 miles – up from the old car’s 352 miles.

The M70 gets its own grille design incorporating the M logo, and a set of model-specific 22-inch wheels. On other versions, rim sizes can reach a gigantic 23 inches.

This all sounds well and good, and more range is never a bad thing in an EV. It’s just a shame the iX still looks… like an iX. If you can get past that, though, the refreshed car is on sale in the UK now, with pricing starting at £75,305 for the xDrive45 and rising to £114,205 for the M70.