The Beautiful BMW iX M60 Electric Sports Activity Vehicle.

It is 1 celsius outside, and my breath turns to steam as I exhale. I have a long journey and am not looking forward to facing the traffic. I enter the gorgeous-looking BMW iX M60, and my mindset changes as the display lights up, the radio starts, and the steering wheel warms.

I have the electric Sports Activity Vehicle from BMW, their iX M60, and it might be the best car I have ever driven. I don't say this lightly and have to say it early as I think you will be able to tell how I feel when you hopefully continue to read my article.

The iX M60 has an impressive range and acceleration figures, but you need to know that it is a joy to drive. Figures only tell part of the story and are measured under controlled conditions, whereas driving the car in real situations is the best gauge of how it performs. Yes, it is fast, very fast, with acceleration to match any sports car, 0-62mph in 3.8 secs and without any gear changing, you feel the push into your seat if you floor the pedal. Pure adrenaline every time.

The car produces 619hp, irrelevant in everyday driving but shows how much power you can get from electric motors. What is relevant is the range of 348 miles which allows you hours of driving before charging. I drove the iX M60 in December with the temperatures nearing zero, which hurts battery capacity and range drop-off. On a full charge, the display showed around 260 miles, which quickly fell driving in the Performance mode I kept applying when starting the car.

As you would expect from a vehicle costing £111,905, the BMW iX M60 is crammed with technology to keep all occupants safe, entertained and comfortable. For the Driver, there are an array of settings to allow for how you want the car to perform. Two driving Modes, Sport and Efficiency, speak for themselves and alter handling and performance characteristics. In either mode, you will be pleased with the ride and comfort and confident in the ability of the car to tackle any road. Selecting performance mode gives a Red colour setting throughout the vehicle with door trims lit and the car display background red too.

You get a superb driver information display and a 14.9-inch curved touchscreen for selecting your car settings, apps and more. It suits the style of the interior, which is luxurious and spacious. Rear passengers get temperature controls and all the storage space they want.

The car has regenerative braking, which can be applied by selecting the B setting on the gear selection control in the centre console. Engaging B means you can drive the car using just the accelerator pedal. When you take your foot off the pedal, the brakes apply and put energy back into the battery, augmenting the range. On the console, you also set your driving modes and can adjust settings on the touchscreen.

Being high off the ground, you get an excellent driving position, and you can tweak this via the electric seat, which moves in every axis. You have the ergonomically efficient control cluster with a crystal clear display and Heads Up Display showing road speeds, warnings and more. The BMW iX M60 has multiple safety features as standard, including collision warning, lane departure warning and emergency stop assistance.

As with everything lately, you can connect your smartphone to the BMW iX M60, allowing you to open the doors by having your phone on you and much more. You get the intelligent assistant system meaning you can ask for things like the radio channel to be switched, the volume turned up or down and other information. To activate this, you say, "Hey BMW, ....." Combine all this with excellent sound from the Bowers & Wilkins Diamond system, and you have the perfect environment for any length of journey.

The BMW iX M60 is pricey, but you get a lot of car capable and enjoyable. It is called a Sports Activity Vehicle / SUV, but it offers much more, with its luxury interior and superb performance. Competition comes from the Tesla Model X https://www.tesla.com/en_ca/modelx

Aston Martin's DBX https://www.astonmartin.com/en-gb/models/dbx?body=DBX

and

Porsche's Cayenne https://www.porsche.com/canada/fr/models/cayenne/cayenne-models/

But I can safely say that this year, All I want for Christmas is the

BMW iX M60.

https://www.bmw.ca/en/home.html