BMW is finally ready to enter the electric SUV game. Following in the still-fresh footsteps of automakers both near and far, the 2022 BMW …
BMW is finally ready to enter the electric SUV game. Following in the still-fresh footsteps of automakers both near and far, the 2022 BMW iX looks poised to hit the ground running in the first quarter of 2022, offering some seriously stylish concept-car-adjacent looks inside and out. It’s promising to be pretty darn efficient, to boot, with fifth-generation electric powertrain tech promising a manufacturer-estimated 300 miles of range. Sounds like a pretty solid package, right? Well, nobody stands alone, especially in this burgeoning segment that’s only gaining momentum as time inexorably marches onward. Already, this luxury electric crossover will have a solid little chunk of competition from the Audi E-Tron, the forthcoming Cadillac Lyriq, the Ford Mustang Mach-E and the Tesla Model Y when it arrives in dealers. Let’s dive a little deeper into the nitty-gritty specs and see how these five rivals stack up on paper. BMW’s iX is a two-row, midsize SUV but with an overall length that’s equal to a Toyota Land Cruiser, it only barely fits that midsize category. Of course, overall length isn’t that important, unless you need to see if it’ll fit in your garage. Wheelbase is a lot more important and the iX offers 118.1 inches in between its aerodynamic rolling stock. That’s a longer than the Tesla, Ford or Audi in our comparison, but is a good bit shorter than the Cadillac. Of course, the Cadillac Lyriq is quite the big boy. In a few ways — in fact, were it not for a patently insane price delta, I could almost compare the Lyriq to Tesla’s larger Model X. The Lyriq dwarfs the E-Tron, Mach-E and Model Y when it comes to overall length, width and wheelbase. That last figure is especially interesting, as the Lyriq promises a whopping 121.8 inches of space between the wheels — in excess of four inches beyond what Ford’s Mach-E can muster. Yet, at the same time, the Lyriq (this name will never get easier to type) is actually the same height as the Model Y, coming in about an inch-and-a-half beneath the E-Tron, although the sleek Mach-E remains the shortest of the bunch. Curb weights are pretty close, too, with the Lyriq’s 5,610-pound chonk being the second-heaviest of this bunch, beating the E-Tron but piling on the pounds over the Tesla and Ford.
