2022 BMW iX Is An Extremely Quiet And Long-Range Highway Cruiser

Cruising in complete silence is one of the characteristics of vehicle luxury.

Many people believe that electric vehicles are completely silent because using electrons to power the motors eliminates the thrum and buzz of internal-combustion engines’ continual small explosions.

However, at highway speeds, EVs are no quieter than gasoline-powered vehicles, and they are subject to the same tire thrum and wind noise.

• See Also: Flagship M-badged BMW M760e xDrive And i7 M70 Electric Officially Coming In 2023

The $84,195 BMW iX, on the other hand, performs even in this atmosphere, proving to be one of the quietest cars we’ve ever tested.

Our test vehicle was a 2022 BMW iX xDrive50, which cost $104,020 when a suite of optional extras were added. In the United States, the xDrive50 is the iX’s entry-level trim, with an electric motor on each axle producing a combined 516 horsepower.

The iX we tested had optional 22-inch wheels with Bridgestone Alenza 001 B-Silent summer tires, which added to the car’s quietness.

• See Also: This Year’s Goodwood Festival Of Speed Will Honour BMW M

The iX’s tranquillity at highway speeds can be enjoyed for long periods of time, as evidenced by its 290-mile highway range in our 75-mph highway test. That’s the second-best performance we’ve ever had.

It also covers 92 percent of its 315-mile EPA range, which is a substantially higher percentage of rated range than is typical for electric vehicles.

Only the Tesla Model S Long Range Plus, which went 320 miles in our testing, has gone further, but we fully expect a Lucid Air to climb to the top of our EV range-test leaderboard once we test one.

• See Also: BMW And Mercedes-Benz Will Sell Their Car-Sharing Businesses to Stellantis