Fancy an iX3 but with less practicality? Meet the 514-mile BMW iX4

If the idea of a BMW iX3 feels too sensible, too practical and far too usable, what about that car but with less of the practicality bit? Here’s the brand new iX4, the latest car to emerge from BMW’s rather dandy Neue Klasse toy box.

It’s a ‘Sports Activity Coupe’, a moniker that might induce involuntary shudders, but its tech won’t: BMW reckons on up to 514 miles of range from a single charge of the iX4 50 xDrive’s 108.7kWh battery.

Not bad, huh? That’s the rangiest iX4 you can buy – the others at launch include the base iX4 40 xDrive (82.6kWh battery, up to 396 miles), and the iX4 M60 xDrive with a 108.7kWh pack and a claim of up to 483 miles.

Though, it’s not really a ‘pack’, as you well know by now, because BMW’s Neue Klasse tech means those cells are not put into separate modules, but instead bolted directly into the body that saves both weight and adds strength.

Theres 800V tech across the board so really fast charging (from 300kW to 400kW), and two electric motors (one on the front, one on the back) that are 30 per cent more efficient than the older BMW ones. Fast speed, too: they’re all AWD, so the 369bhp 40 manages 0-62mph in 5.6s, the 463bhp 50 does it in 4.9s, while the 604bhp – six hundred and four! – M60 nutjob (the thrusting red one above) can crack the benchmark in just 3.9s. Yeesh.

All the tech is controlled by BMW’s ‘Heart of Joy’ architecture as per its siblings, that carefully manages the steering, drive, brakes and regen. We’re assured a “low centre of gravity, near-perfect weight distribution and long wheelbase” for “agile handling, strong directional stability and assured comfort”. We’ll have to take BMW’s word on that until we’ve driven it, but the iX3 is a bit of a game-changer.

You can spec adaptive suspension (standard on the M60), and there’s tonnes of safety and driver assistance, too. Inside, it’s as per the Neue Klasse vernacular: pared back, massive touchscreen, new-fangled wheel, some buttons, and a display running the width of the windscreen. Standard-fit pano roof, too.

And the outside? Well, the face at least looks good, because all the NK BMWs look ace nowadays. With this being the try-hard, sportier sibling to the iX3 means the roofline’s been raked into a coupe form (said to help aero efficiency too), leading into a little boot spoiler at the back. Slim lights, big wheels, and a “wide stance” give it presence, that’s for sure.

“With the new fully electric BMW iX4, we are expanding the Neue Klasse portfolio with a particularly emotional vehicle,” said BMW’s Neue Klasse boss Mike Reichelt. “Its striking proportions, elegant coupé silhouette and Neue Klasse technologies combine to create a truly distinctive character.”

Prices for this ‘distinctive character’ kick off from £60,170 for the iX4 40, £66,075 for the iX4 50, though the M60’s prices are still TBC. Expect it to be… more.