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BMW iX M70 review: Too hard to sell?

The most powerful BMW EV isn’t headed for showrooms here. Here’s what we’re missing out on

After a facelift, the BMW iX still looks mostly the same, with its slab-sided body and carbon shell, but the grille now lights up and the headlights look a bit sharper. PHOTO: BIG FISH PUBLISHING

Leow Ju-Len

Published Fri, Sep 12, 2025 · 06:00 PM

[MUNICH] A couple of weeks ago, BMW lured me to its press fleet depot just outside of Munich with the promise of letting me drive something packed with power – 659 horsepower, to be exact. I rubbed my hands and looked up how long it would take to drive to the Nordschleife – the fearsome, twisting 21 km circuit so daunting that it’s nicknamed the “Green Hell”.

Then I found out that the press car on offer wasn’t something low-slung, but a sport utility vehicle, of all things. And it wasn’t loud, but electric. Worse, it wasn’t even something officially on sale in Singapore. Someone must have deemed a hulking, high performance EV too hard to sell.

That might well be the case, but it’s still a shame, because as BMW’s most powerful electric car, the iX M70 xDrive (yes, that is its actual name) does have a lot to offer. I found that out after I nixed my Nordschleife plans (too far for an EV, too undulating and twisty for an SUV) and headed for some mountain passes in nearby Austria instead.

After a facelift, the iX still looks mostly the same, with its slab-sided body and carbon shell, but the grille now lights up and the headlights look a bit sharper. Its interior has always been one of BMW’s plushest, and I’m happy to say that the steering wheel is round again (instead of weirdly semi-hexagonal). The front seats look tantalisingly sporty, and will massage you into thinking that maybe a coupe with firm springs and a roaring engine isn’t the best thing to drive for hours and hours.

The iX’s interior has always been one of BMW’s plushest, and I’m happy to say that the steering wheel is round again (instead of weirdly semi-hexagonal). PHOTO: BIG FISH PUBLISHING

Anyway, the iX M70 isn’t exactly a sloth. The motors churn out 1,105 Newton-metres of torque, enough to wrinkle the Earth’s crust during a frantic, 3.8-second dash to 100 kmh. At 2.7 tonnes, the burly BMW isn’t exactly scalpel‑sharp, but adaptive air suspension, rear‑wheel steering and mighty brakes keep it improbably easy to control.

That said, the iX is definitely built for high-speed cruising more than anything else. On the autobahn system, it surged to big speeds in eerie silence, and its hefty battery pack made my first European road trip in an electric car free of range anxiety. Germany and Austria have some solid classic rock radio stations, which made the Bowers & Wilkins sound system a treat to have, too.

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If you have a conscience about the planet, the iX’s sustainability cred goes beyond its being electric, too – the motors use no rare earth magnets, the cabin is trimmed in recycled materials, and the whole thing is put together in a factory that runs on renewable energy.

Overall, I’d say the iX M70 is as true to its badge as anything that ever had a petrol engine, especially if you think of BMWs as powerful, luxurious cars. I may not have wanted to drive it on the Green Hell, but the many hours behind the iX M70’s wheel felt like being in green heaven.

BMW iX M70 xDrive