New BMW iX vs Audi E-tron: costs
BMW has finally joined the luxury electric SUV party with the radical iX. To be counted as a success, it must beat the likes of the Audi E-tron...
Buying and owning
Costs, equipment, reliability, safety and security
Not only does the BMW iX cost around £5000 less to buy outright than the Audi E-tron, but once you factor in its significantly better predicted resale values, it will cost private buyers around £5400 less to own over three years. There’s barely anything in it for servicing and insurance costs, and while the iX uses less electricity for every mile travelled, that still only works out to a saving of around £150 every 12,000 miles (assuming you charge up at home).
You won’t need to worry quite so much about depreciation if you’re signing up to a PCP finance agreement, but you’ll still be paying for it indirectly. It’s one of the reasons why monthly repayments are £1307 for the E-tron and £1022 for the iX, assuming you put down an £8000 deposit, with a 36-month term and a 10,000-mile annual limit.
As is the case with all electric cars, these SUVs are cheap options if you’re a company car driver paying benefit-in-kind tax. Anyone in the 40% tax bracket will sacrifice just £24 of their salary per month for the iX and £26 for the E-tron until April this year. The figure is due to rise after April to £49 for the iX and £52 for the E-tron; this rate will remain fixed until at least April 2024.
As for charging, both cars are pretty evenly matched, with the E-tron accepting a rate of up to 155kW and the iX 150kW. If you can find a public charging point capable of delivering that sort of power (there aren’t too many of these in the UK yet), a 10-80% charge will take 26 minutes in the E-tron and 31 minutes in the iX. That might sound quick, but it’s worth pointing out that the iX xDrive50 (which has an even larger battery) can charge at up to 200kW, while the much cheaper Kia EV6 can handle 233kW for a 10- 80% top-up in just 17 minutes.
You’d expect plenty of luxuries for this sort of outlay, so you’ll be pleased to learn that both come with 21in alloy wheels, leather seat upholstery and LED headlights, but it’s frustrating that keyless entry is reserved for their options lists, as part of packs. The iX scores over the E-tron by coming with adaptive cruise control and four-zone (versus two-zone) climate control, though.
In terms of safety kit, both cars get automatic emergency braking and lane departure warning systems. The iX adds to this with a lane-keeping assistance, a predictive efficiency assistant and a cross-traffic warning to stop you from pulling out into the path of an oncoming car. All of these features are available on the E-tron, but you have to tick the box for the £1950 Tour Pack.
Both cars earned a full five-star Euro NCAP safety rating, but the iX scored slightly better for adult and child occupant protection.
