BMW iX vs Hyundai IONIQ 9

The BMW iX costs £13,410 more than the Hyundai IONIQ 9. For that premium it adds 41 miles more WLTP range, 162 litres more boot space and 240 kW more power. The Hyundai IONIQ 9 is not just cheaper - it also offers 38 kW faster peak rapid charging and 2 more seats (7 versus 5). On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the BMW iX comes out ahead overall.

The Hyundai IONIQ 9 is £13,410 cheaper to buy. The BMW iX is cheaper to charge, roughly £152 a year versus £192 for the Hyundai IONIQ 9, at 8,000 miles on an off-peak home tariff. Add 5 years of charging and the Hyundai IONIQ 9 comes out roughly £13,210 cheaper overall. These figures cover list price and home charging only - insurance, servicing, tyres and depreciation will move the real total.

EVcarsguide estimates a real-world motorway range of about 355 miles for the BMW iX and 321 miles for the Hyundai IONIQ 9 - both below their WLTP figures, because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. The BMW iX goes roughly 34 miles further between charging stops. A rapid charge to 80% takes around 35 minutes in the BMW iX and 24 in the Hyundai IONIQ 9, so the Hyundai IONIQ 9 loses less time at each stop. So the BMW iX stops less often while the Hyundai IONIQ 9 stops for less time - pick on which you would rather do.

The two are within 10 mm on width, so neither is meaningfully easier to thread into a tight space. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 430 mm of total clearance for the BMW iX and about 420 mm of total clearance for the Hyundai IONIQ 9. The Hyundai IONIQ 9 also turns in a 0.3 m tighter circle, which helps with U-turns and multi-storey ramps.

Over a 8-year ownership window EVcarsguide's degradation model projects roughly 84% battery health for the BMW iX and 89% for the Hyundai IONIQ 9. That gives the Hyundai IONIQ 9 a modest edge in retained real-world range. Both use NMC-type cells, so for daily use keep the charge limit near 80% to slow degradation.