The 2026 BMW iX is a best-case-scenario EV

BMW has been on a roll lately, selling more EVs in North America than most of its competitors, including fellow luxury brands like Mercedes and Audi. But while most of the automaker's lineup is soaring, its flagship iX SUV has been struggling to find an audience. BMW only sold 15,383 iX vehicles in 2024, down 11 percent year over year. Sales numbers ticked up slightly in the first quarter, but after being on the market since 2022, the iX is in need of an upgrade.

With those struggles in mind, BMW announced the refreshed 2026 iX earlier this year, which takes a lot of the best parts of the electric SUV and dials them up a notch. The battery is slightly larger, the range is longer, the tech is flashier, the interior is more luxurious, and the kidney grille is even more in your face than ever before. This bucktooted SUV is so happy to be getting a makeover that it's positively grinning from ear to ear.

I got a chance to drive the updated iX - once on a media drive through upstate New York and then again over a weekend in suburban New Jersey - and it's clear that it remains a near-perfect luxury EV with some noteworthy downsides.

Read the full story at The Verge.