BMW announces model upgrades for 2023
BMW has announced a series of vehicle model upgrades for spring 2023, including the carmaker’s electric models. Starting in March 2023 all model variants of the BMW iX will be equipped with an improved version of the predictive heat management system for the high-voltage battery.
As is the case with the BMW i7, preheating of the battery can in future also be triggered manually. The system also uses waste heat generated by the electric drives to bring the battery into the best possible temperature window before charging, as if the battery is too cold, it cannot be charged at the maximum charging power.
Until now, the function was linked to active destination guidance in the BMW navigation system in order to take as much as possible from the customer, but also to avoid an extended charging time if the customer forgets to preheat the battery. This has previously caused problems for customers who prefer to navigate via Apple Carplay or Android Auto. In addition, the car could only preheat the battery if the charging station was also stored in the navigation system – which can take a while with newly installed stations.
Another new feature of the iX is the extended Parking Assistant Professional. This makes it possible to control the Remote Control Parking and Manoeuvring Assistant functions via the ‘My BMW’ app using a smartphone. For example, the driver can interrupt an already initiated parking procedure, leave the vehicle and then continue the manoeuvre while monitoring the vehicle’s surroundings from outside.
We already described how the manoeuvring assistant works in our driving report on the iX, however, it bears mentioning that the test was done using a test vehicle from BMW with a pre-release version of the software. The manoeuvring assistant can record and save up to ten manoeuvring processes at different locations, with a route length of up to 200 metres each and a total length of up to 600 metres. When the driver arrives at the starting point again, the system takes over the complete driving task, including acceleration, braking and steering, as well as multiple direction and gear changes in fully automated form if required – and can thus repeat a manoeuvre in a narrow underground car park that has been stored once, for example.
All model variants of the iX, as well as the i7 xDrive60 and iX1 xDrive30, also come with a Mode 3 Charging Cable Professional, which is designed for a charging power of up to 22 kW.
With reporting by Sebastian Schaal, Germany.
0 Comments