- The 2026 BMW iX xDrive60 has an EPA range rating of 364 miles.
- That’s one mile more than the longest-range Tesla, the Model 3 Long Range Rear-Wheel Drive.
- The BMW i5 sedan also gets slightly more range for the 2026 model year.
BMW isn’t messing around when it comes to improvements to its cars. They might seem minor, but under the skin, the upgrades are significant.
The 2026 BMW iX xDrive60 that debuted at the beginning of the year with a slightly larger battery and several efficiency updates is proof that BMW is taking the EV game very seriously. When BMW first showed the refreshed iX, it estimated its 113.4-kilowatt-hour (usable) battery pack would result in about 316-340 miles of range on a full charge.
That was pretty good to begin with, but the official EPA rating of 364 miles on a full charge is even better. In fact, it’s 7% better than BMW projected, which makes the 2026 BMW iX xDrive60 the longest-range EV in BMW’s portfolio.
What’s more, the facelifted iX now trumps all Tesla EVs in the driving range department, going one mile over the 363-mile rating of the updated Model 3 Long Range Rear-Wheel Drive. Meanwhile, the only Model Y on sale in the United States, the Long Range All-Wheel Drive, has an EPA-rated range of 327 miles.
Besides a slightly larger battery, the facelifted BMW iX got an upgraded inverter with silicon carbide components, as well as improved wheel bearings and less energy-hungry headlights. According to BMW, all the small changes led to a 10% improvement in efficiency. There’s also more power for the top tier iX–536 horsepower instead of the 516 hp of the xDrive50 model it replaces–while the 195-kilowatt maximum charging rate remains unchanged.
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Source: BMW
But that’s not all. The 2026 BMW i5 electric sedan also gets a range boost across the lineup. The longest-range i5 is the eDrive40 version with 19-inch wheels, which has an EPA rating of 310 miles–5% more than the outgoing model. The biggest improvement is for the i5 eDrive40 with 20-inch wheels, which can go 300 miles on a full charge, up 8% from before. An i5 with bigger wheels or xDrive all-wheel drive will drive between 259 and 278 miles on a full charge, according to the EPA rating.
Last but not least, some of BMW’s plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) get an AC charging rate boost for the 2026 model year here in the United States. The 550e Drive, X5 xDrive50e and M5 can now charge at a maximum of 11 kW, up from the previous 7.4 kW.
