This is an example of what the maker calls ‘shy tech’, like the rear view camera integrated into the rear BMW logo and the windscreen washer fluid hidden under the front one. Also in this category are the car’s flush-mounted, pop-out door handles which have clearly become the styling flourish du jour. The not-grille is flanked by what BMW says are the slimmest light units ever fitted to one of its cars, matched by those at the rear.
The interior is an exercise in minimalism with a curved display screen stretching from in front of the driver across to the centre of the car and, with the absence of any buttons on display other than an iDrive controller, will serve to control most of the car’s functions. Likewise the separation between seat and headrest has been done away with and there is of course no central tunnel thanks to the lack of a fore and aft driveshaft. The steering wheel for some reason is hexagonal and has two horizontal spokes. Perhaps the interior designers of the Allegro were on to something all those years ago.
On the road towards the end of 2021, the BMW iX will be taking on the Mercedes EQC and Audi Q4 e-tron, as well as a host of other new EVs coming next year.