Predictably, the Welsh government’s recent decision to roll out a blanket 20mph speed it on all urban roads was not met with a great deal of visible enthusiasm by the motoring masses.
Even in tighter, twistier environments like car parks and side streets, I’ve found the iX1 eminently manoeuvrable and confidence-inspiring, courtesy of intuitive driver aids and excellent visibility at all four corners – although the 11.9m turning circle is pretty unimpressive and makes shuffling into the tight spaces of the Autocar car park a bit of a challenge.
As I write this, though, I’m watching a lairy AMG G63 with 4D numberplates, a custom exhaust and a suspension lift kit cautiously edge its way down a busy high street in Zone 5, which makes our BMW seem like a Peel P50 by comparison. Because of my, erm, dependency, I decided to avoid using CarPlay for a while, and just a few days in I started to notice standard features of the iX1 I’ve been missing out on.
There is also a camera mounted just in front and above the head of the driver and, yes, you guessed it, there’s a ‘Selfie’ mode. I’ve used this a few times, much to the surprise of my passengers in the car, but I can’t see many instances where this would be of any real practical use, apart from security as a cab driver.
A standout feature for me is the serene quietness of the iX1’s cabin. Unless you have the Hans Zimmer-composed Iconic Sounds profiles activated, it’s remarkably hushed, with minimal road and wind noise. This makes my regular trips down the M4 truly tranquil occasions and means I can hear every word during my long podcast-listening sessions.
While your audio will continue to play, it comes from a speaker that sounds like it was taken out of a real old banger. It made me wonder how much power the system actually used in the first place. The system isn’t helped by a sat-nav mapping system that’s slightly out of date. For example, it thinks a now-finished piece of ‘smart’ motorway still has a 50mph limit rather than 70mph. Additionally, coasting is pretty much a no-go, because the system will interfere too much. Passengers have also mentioned how uncomfortable this makes it.
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Source: InsideEVs - 🏆 579. / 51 Read more »
Source: InsideEVs - 🏆 579. / 51 Read more »