Key Highlights– 2026 BMW iX xDrive60
🔋 Battery: 113.4-kWh pack with updated management software
🚗 Range: Up to 364 miles (356 miles tested, 20-inch wheels for max)
⚡ Charging: 195-kW max DC fast charging, 10–80% in ~28 minutes
🏎 Performance: 536 hp, 0–60 mph in 4.4 seconds, dual-motor AWD
🛋 Features: Highway Assistant with hands-free lane changes
💰 Price: $89,675 base MSRP | $98,475 as tested
2026 BMW iX xDrive60 Review: Luxury SUV Gets Range and Tech Upgrades
The refreshed 2026 BMW iX xDrive60 brings some serious upgrades for long-distance driving, and my nearly 900-mile loop that took me from the northern edge of Montreal, Quebec, deep into the heart of Toronto, Ontario, and then back to the mountains of eastern Quebec was the perfect opportunity to stretch its long electric legs.
The iX proved to be a worthwhile road trip companion. In fact, just about the only thing loaded iX couldn’t do as the hours stretched was keep me happily fed with snacks, the time-honored tradition of any good co-pilot.
More Battery, Better Software, Extensive Range
The key to the 2026 BMW iX xDrive60’s update is its battery and energy management system. This mid-tier model gets a 113.4-kilowatt-hour unit that delivers up to 364 miles of range, thanks in part to revised software that monitors every electron while keeping temperatures in check and efficiency high.
Achieving BMW’s maximum range estimate requires sticking with the base 20-inch wheels, but even on optional 21-inch rollers my test vehicle managed to exceed expectations. At 100 percent charge, the range estimator on the dash showed an impressive 379 miles of available driving range.
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That’s enough juice to travel from Montreal to Toronto without stopping for a charge, but I've learned from experience not to trust an EV's range estimates implicitly. I charted a charge midway between the two cities, in Kingston, Ontario, just to be safe.
Good thing I did. Over the full trip, the iX xDrive60 averaged 31.7 kWh per 100 miles. Factoring in the size of the SUV’s power pack, that works out to about 356 miles of driving on a single charge. That’s impressive, but about 6 percent less than its software claimed.
Impressive Battery Performance Even When Nearly Drained
In regular, everyday driving, you probably wouldn't notice a difference that small, but on a longer trip like mine, it came into play, especially when dealing with summer heat.
After our mid-way charge on the homebound leg, the dashboard showed nearly 300 miles of driving at 80 percent charge. This was roughly enough to get us the 250 miles between us and home with a fairly comfortable reserve.
The estimated range, however, began to drop steadily as soon as we hit the highway. With 60 miles or so remaining before we’d arrive home, I switched into the vehicle’s energy-saving drive mode to coax as much range as possible from what was left in the battery.
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At the 20-mile mark (after warnings flashed in the gauge cluster at both 40 miles and 25 miles remaining) I killed the climate control for a final efficiency assist. We coasted down our gravel lane with a hair over 22 miles of driving available from a battery whose charge had dropped to a scandalous 5 percent.
I could've stopped at any of the numerous DC fast-chargers available once I’d crossed back into Quebec, but I deliberately didn’t. I wanted to push the iX to see if I could swing the 420-mile run from Toronto to my home with just a single top-up, staying within the 80 percent battery window most road trippers deal with when using public chargers.
The result was very impressive, with no loss of performance or functionality, even with the BMW’s battery ready to wave the white flag.
Quick To Guzzle At A DC Fast Charger
Charging from 5 to 100 percent at home on my Level 2 plug proved to be an exercise in patience. It took nearly 16 hours before the iX was once again filled to the brim, which is to be expected when trickling power into such a large battery.
Fast charging on the road, though, was far more impressive. Of four DC fast-charger stops, three pulled between 135 and 160 kilowatts, the latter very close to its 195-kW maximum. None took more than 28 minutes to hit 80 percent. The slowest speed I saw was 98 kW at a Petro Canada Electric Highway location that a local EV owner warned us was underperforming that day.
I encountered just one hiccup when plugged in: a mysterious disconnect from the same Electrify Canada charger in Kingston on the way home that had worked perfectly earlier in the week on my outbound leg. It cut power after 11 minutes, after boosting the battery from 22 to 43 percent, but restarting the session solved it.
The BMW iX Is More Than Just A Rolling Battery Pack
Range and charging speeds are important aspects of any EV road trip, but so is the experience behind the wheel. Here, the iX shines. There’s plenty of muscle available from its dual-motor, all-wheel drive setup, which is good for 536 horsepower and a 0-60 mph sprint of just 4.4 seconds. That’s incredible for such a large, hefty vehicle, and it made for effortless highway passing.
BMW’s Highway Assistant helped reduce some of the fatigue from logging major miles. The system activates with a single button push, allowing for hands-free driving and even lane changes (the driver just needs to confirm the pass by looking in the side view mirror).
For the most part, it worked very well, and I like that BMW has outfitted the iX with big LEDs in the steering wheel spokes that let you know when the system is operational and when it’s time to take the wheel. However, the vehicle’s attention-monitoring system couldn’t handle my prescription polarized sunglasses, which meant I had to take them off, so I wasn't scolded every 90 seconds for not looking straight ahead (even though I definitely was).
Road trips also mean luggage, and here the iX put in another laudable effort. There was plenty of space in the cargo area for a full week’s worth of bags, the boxes of books and movies plundered from Toronto’s shops, and an oversized cooler to bring home apple crisp from Colborne's The Big Apple en route. I didn't need to fold down the second row or ditch the cargo cover, which isn’t always the case, even in generously proportioned EVs.
Well Worth The Price of Admission For Luxury EVs
Despite its rosy range estimate, the 2026 BMW iX still delivered the real-world stamina and comfort needed for long-haul EV travel. Its driver-assistance features are actually useful on long-distance drives, and it packs considerable practicality under its brawny exterior. It's a good fit for road trippers eager to cut the internal combustion cord, while still taking everything, or everyone, with them on the journey.
You’ll pay something of a premium for it, though, as the xDrive60 trim starts at an MSRP of $89,675 (including delivery fees), with my tester checking in at $98,475 after options like the Driving Assistance Professional and the M Sport packages. Still, that’s comparable to several other large electric luxury SUVs, like the Cadillac Vistiq, Volvo EX90, or Rivian R1S.
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