2023 BMW iX M60 Is a Comfortable, Practical Screamer of an EV

• The BMW iX M60 is an all-electric sport ute that performs as well on the Autobahn as on an Alpine pass.

• Two motors drive four wheels with 610 hp and 811 lb-ft of torque, which takes the 5769-pound beast to 60 mph in just 3.6 seconds.

• The five-seater will be out in June priced at $106,095.

If you’re concerned that the electric future of all cars, trucks and SUVs will be boring, you should have been there on the A9 Autobahn last week when we were flying along at 250 kph. That’s 155 mph in more familiar terms. I know 155 isn’t the fastest you’ve ever been, nor me, but it’s pretty thrilling nonetheless. And 155 mph in a big, roomy SUV full of luggage and three adults is even more exciting.

We were hauling along from Berlin to Lago di Como in Italy for the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este and we weren’t going to be late. Nor were we going to emit any tailpipe emissions because there was no tailpipe. We were flying along in the new BMW iX M60, the $106,095 latest, greatest, and most powerful all-electric SUV—or, rather, SAV in BMW parlance—to come from the automaker so far.

“By integrating a vehicle concept geared towards sustainability with the design of a modern Sports Activity Vehicle and thrilling dynamic driving characteristics, the BMW iX M60 embodies the best of three worlds; BMW i, the BMW X models and BMW M GmbH,” said the carmaker.

The i is BMW’s preface for its all-electric vehicles, the X means all-wheel drive, the M means it is leaning toward Motorsport, at least in performance, and the 60 refers, loosely, to horsepower, of which there are 610 when you put it in sport mode. Put it in launch control and the total torque will hit 811 lb-ft, or enough to blast you from 0-60 mph in 3.6 seconds, or to Pluto and back starting at 1 rpm.

“The extreme power and precise control of the electric all-wheel-drive, the highly responsive actuator-based traction control system, and suspension technology that includes a dual-axle air suspension with automatic level control provide the hallmark BMW M driving experience: power, agility, and precision,” BMW promises.

And they ain’t lyin’.

Our hosts chose the A9 Autobahn from Berlin to Leipzig to Munich at least partly because it has a lot of charging stations on it. BMW expects an EPA range of 280 miles, but that’s on our EPA cycle run at and below U.S. freeway and city street speeds. In Europe they use the far-more-optimistic WLPT cycle, which returns a range of 349 miles. Of course, range depends on how you drive and like I said, we were going 155 mph. Since aerodynamic drag is proportional to the square of speed, even with the M60’s very efficient 0.26 coefficient of drag, you eat up a lot more electricity at 155 mph than you would at, say, 55. As a result, we were stopping every 150 miles or so to recharge.