Despite its quirky, oft-maligned design, the BMW iX is a genuinely impressive car. In fact, it’s one of BMW’s very best. It’s powerful, great to drive, comfortable, quiet, and boasts a fantastic cabin. However, one of its most surprising attributes is actually its range, something that isn’t typically a BMW EV strong suit. The iX is BMW’s longest-range EV and its most impressive showing to date. And yet the Fisker Ocean—the plucky crossover from Henrik Fisker’s upstart electric car company—actually bests it.
Thanks to decent efficiency, and a whopping 111.5 kWh battery pack, the BMW iX xDrive50 boasts a WLTP-rated range of 612 km (380 miles) of range. Admittedly, the U.S. EPA rates the iX xDrive50 at 315 miles of range, which is a number I’ve achieved pretty easily myself. To be fair, though, Edmunds tested the iX and was able to get closer to that WLTP-rated range, so it’s certainly possible. However, the Fisker Ocean just released its official WLTP range and it’s a whopping 707 km (440 miles) of range. That beats BMW’s figure by 60 miles.
Admittedly, the BMW iX is bigger than the Fisker Ocean, as the Ocean is closer in size to a BMW X3 and the iX is closer to a BMW X5. However, the iX is also significantly less practical than the X5, with less cargo space and rear passenger room, due to being surprisingly poorly packaged, especially considering its bespoke electric architecture. So the Ocean will likely boast interior space that’s closer to the iX than their exterior sizes would suggest, closing the gap between the two. On the flip side, though, the top-sped, longest-range Ocean—the Fisker Ocean Extreme—starts at $68,999, which is almost $20,000 less than the BMW iX xDrive50. So the Fisker offers more range but slightly less size than the iX for a lot less money.
What about power? The BMW iX xDrive50 is a powerful car, with 516 horsepower and 564 lb-ft of torque, getting it from 0-60 mph in 4.0 seconds flat. The Fisker Ocean has 550 horsepower from its dual motors that helps it get from 0-60 mph in a claimed 3.6 seconds. So Fisker has the iX beat there, too.
It’a worth noting that the 440 mile figure is European WLTP, making the Ocean the furthest-range EV in Europe. In the ‘States, however, the Ocean has a 350 mile EPA-rated range.
Obviously, these two cars aren’t direct competitors. But in the world of EVs, where segments sort of blend and customers cross-shop vehicles differently, it’s interesting to see the Ocean boasting such impressive range specs. Hopefully that helps it become a more successful EV because, as we’ve covered before, it looks to be a promising one.
[Source: Fisker]
