Bad news: BMW is discontinuing its lovely all-electric iX crossover for the U.S. market, as first reported by BMW Blog yesterday, to make way for the upcoming iX3. Good news: Pre-owned examples are getting cheap enough that I think they might be the best used car deal on the market right now.
Say what you want about the iX’s polarizing looks—I won’t blame you, there’s a lot to say—but as a car, I think the iX is actually one of BMW’s best in years. I drove one back in 2021 when they were new, and didn’t really have any expectations (I sort of dismissed it based on looks alone, which is shameful for me). But it handled better than any other modern non-M BMW I’ve driven, went pretty quick, and had an interior design to die for.
As great as it was, the iX was not a cheap car. The cheapest model, the xDrive45, started at $76,600 including destination. That made it inaccessible to a large swath of people looking for a solid EV, and harder for me to recommend. But now, thanks to the miracle of depreciation, there are iXs out there you can purchase for less than half the price of a new one.
What Made The iX So Great, Anyway?
It’s not just one thing that makes me love the iX; it’s a bunch of small stuff, done right, that adds up to a lovely package. Despite its 5200-pound-plus curb weight, the crossover still handles pretty well, with typical BMW-like steering feel and chassis response. At the same time, it didn’t have a crashy, overly stiff ride. You can daily drive this thing and be perfectly comfortable.
The tech is also pretty good, even for a five-year-old car (in the world of EVs, that’s really old). The iX uses a trick aluminum space frame with some of the unibody components, like the side panels, the rear window frames, and the roof, made from carbon fiber. The resulting lightweighting, as well as the controversial design’s aerodynamics, meant even the earliest versions could squeeze 324 miles out of a charge, according to the EPA. While that’s not a gigantic number by 2026 standards, it’s certainly more than enough for most people.
What really sold me on the iX, when I drove it, was the cabin. The floating center console, the interesting materials, the nicely sized and designed steering wheel, the spacious dashboard area—it all came together to form a really nice place to spend time. Plus, it seemed to have all the leg and arm room you could ever want. The only point against it is that the climate control buttons are embedded in the infotainment screen. But if you can get past that, you’re in for a nice time.
How Cheap Are We Talking?
Those first 2022 model-year iX xDrive50s are now five years old, and some of them have been well-used, with lots of miles on the clock. Pair that with the typically heavy depreciation you see on EVs, and you get a handful of very tempting deals.
The cheapest I could find right now is this first-year iX painted in grey for sale at a Nissan dealer in Florida with 83,000 miles on the clock, listed for $29,500. That’s a far cry from the $76k starting price of a new car, obviously, but it’s also just a few hundred dollars more than the cheapest new EV on sale right now, the Chevy Bolt.
If you prefer a splash of color, there’s another iX painted in a lighter shade of gray with a staggering 112,000 miles on the clock listed in Cincinnati for $29,999. Like the first car, there doesn’t seem to be any damage or crashes reported on the CarFax, which is probably good for the integrity of those carbon fiber chassis parts (if those get damaged, I’m sure the repairs aren’t cheap).
High-mileage examples aren’t the only iXs that have gotten affordable. Here’s a black one, another ’22 model, with under 40,000 miles on the clock, listed for sale at a Honda dealer in Georgia for just $36,000. This white example with under 50k miles can be yours for just $32,900. Want a color that isn’t grayscale? Here’s a blue model with 44k miles for just under $39,000.
If you’re not content with the iX xDrive50’s 516 horsepower, don’t worry, used examples of the performance-oriented M60 model, which came out in 2023, are nearly as cheap. Here’s one with 83,000 miles in Chicago for just $35,888, and another in a nice shade of beige for $44,971. As a reminder, these M-badged iXs make 610 hp and a gargantuan 811 pound-feet of torque, and are capable of sprinting to 60 mph in just 3.2 seconds, per Car and Driver testing.
I know the iX’s design isn’t everyone’s style, but if you’re on the fence, consider this: You won’t be looking at the car when you’re driving it, and from the driver’s seat, there’s a lot to like. At a time when gas prices are spiking, it feels like a great used buy. Would you spend 30 grand on a used BMW EV? How cheap would the iX have to be for you to put up with its appearance? Let me know in the comments.
Top graphic image: BMW
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