BMW iX Facelift Will Be More Powerful But No Prettier

BMW’s electric portfolio racked up another stellar sales performance last year, with the brand’s EV registrations growing by 92 percent worldwide. And to help drive that last percentage even higher, the iX SUV will get a mid-life makeover that won’t improve its gawky looks much, but will boost its power and range.

The huge kidney grille isn’t going anywhere, but our spies tell us it will be subtly tweaked and that the facelifted iX’s snout will feature BMW’s Iconic Glow illumination package. Unlike other high-end BMW luxury cars, including the 7-Series and X7, the iX won’t switch to a double-deck headlight arrangement, instead settling for a new DRL pattern to bring it in line with other recently facelifted BMWs.

Related: BMW Sold 62% More EVs, Now Make Up 13% Of All Its U.S. Sales This Year

There are new air intakes in a reprofiled bumper that gives the new iX a stronger chin, and we hear that the door mirrors have been updated, though it’s hard to see anything different looking at these spy shots of different black and white iX prototypes.

Many of the most important changes take place under the skin – though the final production cars will point to them through their new badges. The BMW iX xDrive45 will replace the xDrive40, the xDrive60 will replace the xDrive50 and the range will be headed by the iX M70, which takes the place of today’s iX M60.

Each of those models will do the same job as the iX grade they replace, but they’ll do it better due to some important electrical and mechanical changes. Every trim should make more power than the one that went before it – the iX currently starts at 322 hp (326 PS / 240 kW) and tops out at 610 hp (619 PS / 455 kW), but is likely to get the i7’s 650 hp (660 PS / 485 kW) setup – and BMW will also improve the driving range.

That improvement can’t come soon enough for Europe’s entry-level iX xDrive40, which is rated at an unimpressive 264 miles (425 km). Last year BMW teamed up with Michigan-based battery company Our Next Energy (ONE) to fit an iX with a Gemini dual-chemistry battery capable of taking the SUV 608 miles (979 km) before it needed charging, but it’s not confirmed that the updated iX will be quite so long-legged.

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