Goa is a tiny state, with equally tiny roads for the most part. The ideal car for the state is therefore a small, compact one; a hatchback, in other words. This being the case, BMW naturally decided to send me the iX xDrive50, a car that is almost five metres long, over two metres wide and weighs in at 2.2 tonnes. Absolutely perfect.
Sarcasm aside, living with the iX is quite an experience. My parking spot can barely contain it; its bum sticks out no matter how carefully I try to place it. Getting it in and out of the spot is also an exercise in automotive tightrope walking, with millimetre-perfect manoeuvres required; many teeth are clenched
during this process, most of them mine. Charging it also requires plenty of pre-planning; the entire shebang, door-to-door, takes just over two hours. Ironically, I take it to a Mercedes-Benz showroom to charge, where they’re nice enough to let me sit in the waiting area and serve me Merc-branded coffee. I could try and charge it at home using the extra-long extension cable I have for the other EV in my garage, the MG Comet, but two things are preventing this – BMW didn’t send me the 15 amp charging adapter, and if I used the one for the Comet, I would probably melt it (and trip the grid in my district).
Driving the iX, on the other hand, is sensational; it’s what I imagine driving around in a small, fourwheeled house would feel like. It’s ridiculously plush and comfortable, absolutely rock solid on the road, hilariously quick and fast (517 bhp and 78 kgm will do that) and offers more than decent range; I get around 430 km per juice-up from the 111.5 kWh battery, give or take. BMW has requested that I put ‘at least 5000 km on it’ during its time with me, which would require me to drive Goa’s length around 50 times; I’m not sure I have the enthusiasm for that, but I certainly intend to drive it as much as I possibly can, given how great the car is – no wonder it’s India’s best-selling luxury electric SUV.
