BMW Ultimate Driving Experience

Here we go again!

The BMW folks did it again! They came to town with the Ultimate Driving Experience and begged me to drive their new cars as fast as possible. These events give you just a sample of the cars, but it's always free, and fun, which are two of my favorite "F" words. There were three events that everyone could try behind the wheel of various cars; a small autocross, a normal street drive with various models, and a short run to go flat out with 100% braking. To see if the BMW crew are coming close to YOU, check out their page: 

            BMW ULTIMATE DRIVING EXPERIENCE CITIES

Drove both of these cars

In the autocross I drove two different cars (not at the same time, and oh by the way, DON'T try THAT at home!) First, I was in the 330e xDrive, which is a 2.0L twin turbo 4-cylinder with an additional electric motor. This bad boy has a total 288 hp and goes 0-60 in 5.6 seconds. It was very nice! The xDrive in this car is BMW's way of saying all wheel drive. Oh, and if you think that was a powerful and quick car, hold that thought!

BMW 330e XDrive

Next, I drove an i4 M50, which has dual electric motors, 536 hp, and hits 0-60 in 3.7 seconds. Did I mention the 586 lb-ft of torque? That's a lot of power, and it was fun! The course was too short to hit 60, but you could tell it was way more powerful than the 330e. Unlike previous BMW events, they were not timing the autocross runs, so I can't confirm that I was the fastest or slowest in my group. Oh well, no prize money again! Oh, and if you think THAT was a powerful and quick car, hold that thought too!

BMW i4 M50

After the autocross, I jumped into the iX M60. This all electric SUV type of vehicle has 610 hp and goes 0-60 in 3.6 seconds. Torque? Glad you asked! This vehicle has a LOT of it. BMW says 811 lb-ft of torque. In English, EIGHT HUNDRED ELEVEN FOOT POUNDS OF TORQUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The focus of our driving was to use SOME of the torque, hammer the "gas" pedal, go in a straight line for about 3 seconds, and then hammer the brake pedal and halt. After that we steered through a very tight set of cones to feel the 4 wheel steering. The acceleration was awesome, and the braking was great. The steering was very light feeling and I'm sure it's very maneuverable. The control panels, buttons, and switches were all over the place since I'm not familiar with BMWs in general, much less electric ones. I had trouble getting out of the back seat since I'd never had to hold a button and then push the door open. Like any new technology I'm sure you would get used to it pretty quickly. I'm just thinking that if someone rents one of these they'll need some instructions on how to operate it for sure. The huge amount of torque from electric vehicles is amazing. Here's a video from the back seat: 

Overall, the BMW iX M60 is very nice, and you can pick one up starting at $111,000 or so.