Life with the super stomper version of this radical, technologically advanced electric sports utility is certainly a buzz.

Price: $238,900.

Powertrain and economy: Two electric motors, 111.5kWh battery, 455kW/1100Nm, AWD, claimed economy and range 21.5kWh/100km and 566km (WLTP).

Vital statistics: 4953mm long, 1967mm wide, 1696mm high, 3000mm wheelbase, luggage capacity 500 litres.

Like: Impressively smart technology, spacious and hugely comfortable cabin, good ride given the type and tyre size.

Not so much: Golden highlights just too blingy, letting anyone lacking due respect for those performance modes behind the wheel.

FRIVOLOUS cars can be fine choices - the only trick is to settle on one that’ll function well into the future.

For all the pros and concs it carries, that certainty must stand as the BMW iX M60’s most solid saving grace.

Argument that the uber-edition of Munich’s electric sports utility wagon line-up being more than a touch ‘too much’ cannot be contested. Because, on so many levels, it really is. That’s the point. But at least it fits into the future.

No, truly. Let’s face it, time when you can buy into any vehicle without giving some serious regard to the world’s state and the impact your decision-making will have is basically over.

You’d have to be thick-skinned indeed, or just plain thick, not to get that. Or to understand that the bigger the spend, the bigger the statement, the more likely your choice will be seen, noted and judged. Car shaming? It’s a thing and will likely become all the more so in the years ahead. Gas guzzle at your peril.

So, for all that the iX M60 might seem set to be judged as being excessive, even within the electric-sphere, in the overall scheme it is at least rather less ridiculous and has rather more of a future than any like-priced toy feeding on a fix from Big Oil. Such as the one I happened across in this week of test.  

I won’t name names, but here are some clues. Think super-sized Stateside. Think truck. Think V8 petrol. Think supercharged. And think … well, basically, ‘how many years’ use will I get before it becomes on-blocks impotent?’ That conclusion seems to have at last affected the mindsets of some keen on that particular monster. A mate who sells the type told me recently that three sure-fire buyers had u-turned on their deals, all citing economic and environmental reasons. Strangely, this was straight after Cyclone Gabrielle. Coincidence? It could hardly be. 

Back to the iX M60. You’re looking at the automotive equivalent of a degustation menu at a top-flight restaurant. Not something you’d ordinarily bib up to simply because of hunger. If that was the case, a burger would do.

 The base iX, the xDrive 40, isn’t exactly a cheeseburger, either, but by comparison it’s the more sensible choice. Visually, all the same wow factor as the big dog. Otherwise a lot cheaper and better suited for NZ. Sure, the performance and range are in a lower league, but it still holds good stead with 240kW/640Nm, 425kms’ WLTP. On top of that, it’s just under $168k from the box. Good enough? 

Clearly not within the BMW kitchen. Hence this chefs’ special, a plate loaded with everything in the technology larder that aims to sate the most performance hungry appetite. The most powerful electric BMW and also the fastest-accelerating one, too. It might not sound inviting to everyone, but don’t say you’re not impressed, or intrigued.

To cook up this stormer, out goes the 77kWh battery to a 111.1kWh type. The dual motor sets are fizzed up, to generate 445kW and – yes, you are reading this right - 1100Nm. The M60 will optimally go 141kms’ further on a charge.

Basically, then, a much more flavoursome repast. Which, at $238,900, requires a buyer to dig out another $60k from the family trust fund.

Too much? For many, yes. I get that and don’t necessarily disagree. While it is beautifully constructed and delivers with some lovely luxury elements, BMW’s most stupendous SUV until the XM arrives has challenges, too.

Though cheaper to run than anything fossil fuelled, on this test it was still a guzzler of electrons and the capacity for fast replenishment was hampered by the recharging infrastructure, despite a hypercharger being involved.

Beyond that, being designed primarily for high speed environments than ours, it’s not only very much over-endowed for our terrain but also irritated by it. Containing the thrust for the good of your license is possible, yet even though it’s most comfort-angled setting is surprisingly compliant, given that it’s a sports edition on 22-inch wheels, it’s not exactly a cloud on wheels. Plus the amount of road roar generated by coarse chip, a surface German engineers must hate, is always there.

Then there’s the visual challenge. Modern BMWs are all bold. And, fair dues, mean and meaningful are important elements for any model with a M badge. Performance machines aren’t supposed to be shrinking violets. 

But even with all that in mind, the iX pushes beyond the category’s comfort zone. With its larger wheels, phat additional styling elements and a load of gold highlighting, the M60 seemed 10 times shoutier than the base edition driven last year. Mind you, both test machines were in dark hues that I reckon enhance its bulk and menace. 

There’s less angularity within the cockpit, but it has some intriguing design elements nonetheless and is so modern in overall execution that the traditional luxury touch of classy wood in particular seems almost out of theme.

 The polygonal steering wheel being plain odd in its look might be acceptable were it comfortable to hold. But it’s just not.

 Doors with frameless windows make the cabin airier, as does the polychromatic glass roof, which darkens the brighter the sun. And the cabin as a whole is made to feel roomier by a raise centre console that allows a open, flat-floored channel between the driver and front seat occupant.

One thing about the iX is that it’s not as big in the metal – well, carbon reinforced plastic to be more precise – as it might appear in photos. What it is, though, is heavier than anyone who hasn’t good understanding of electrics might appreciate. Because? The battery, of course. These are unavoidably hefty items and BMW’s is one the biggest. This thing is 2.6 tonnes when empty.

 Here’s the thing. There was never a moment with the iX 40 when you weren’t aware of that kilo count. Whereas, with the iX M60, there are few occasions when you are, simply because it is so muscled.  

We all know even modest electrics have good step-off. It’s also clear that the output figures that BMW quotes are seriously big. Even so, the shove this model generates is to a level so staggering as to basically dumbfound.

Zero to 100kmh in a claimed 3.8 seconds, versus 4.6s for the next-size down xDrive50, is supercar territory. Schnicking everything into the absolute sports modes and letting fly is an exercise requiring considerable consideration, because it’s as if the thing is being flung out of a slingshot.

As is typical of fast electrics, the competence of the drivetrain electronics mean that kick-off is just a split-second fluidity of hunker, grip and go. Not so much as a chirp of spin from the super-fat rubber. There’s a Hans Zimmer-composed artificial soundtrack to associate, but that manic wail can be switched off, in which case it is really quite silent. Which makes the whole of its theatre even weirder, in a way.

Upcap with care. If unleashing full fury for the first time, I’d be doing so somewhere where there’s least chance of accelerating into solid objects. Keep it out of the hands of the inexperienced or, at least, steer L-platers away from the extreme setting, where a mere throttle brush is enough to unleash the dogs of phwoar with enough intensity as to raise crazy questions. Like, how is that the tyres do not turn in the rims or, for that matter, are not simply torn apart? And, how long before my internal organs return to normality?

It’s becoming an EV cliche that the lower centre of gravity (due to the floor mounting of the batteries) improves the handling. On paper, it’s simple physics.

In reality, it doesn’t always ring true, but you only have to note how little air sits between the car’s underside and the road to understand that BMW is serious about exploiting that advantage, and not just in this way. Its suspension uses a thicker anti-roll bar, combined with 20 percent higher damper rates, and there are revisions to the air springs and steering.

No surprise, then, that feels well planted on the road, with tight body control through bends. The only reason why it doesn’t exactly feel like it could do itself justice on a free-flowing country road is the sheer size, particularly the girth. The M60 is no wider than the standard iX but, perhaps by dint of its persona, it imparts as if it is even more of a lane-filler.

At same token, while it does things that are quite wondrous, it nonetheless also imparts when pushed into attack mode as a bit of a one-dimensional beast. Some will blame the lack of natural sound, but I don’t think it’s really that. The car’s construction also possibly influences; while CRFP is incredibly strong, it’s also utterly inflexible. It means the car comes with some creaks and groans that do seem a bit alien.

Turn the heat down and drive it to normal pace, in normal settings, and this doesn’t become obvious. Instead, it’s a really refined car. Great for long distance driving because the seats are brilliant, there’s heaps of room and the technology it delivers for occupant comfort all works seamlessly. You will rarely find a better audio system.

Why range should be so important to electric car operators is pretty self-evident; when electric cars lose zap, they’re pretty much immobile. 

In theory, the chances of that happening are now slim. On the face of it, the national replenishment network is now pretty solid. All sorts of set ups with all the different plugs, some still free, most now not, though even ‘high’ charging rates are pretty decent compared to what you pay for petrol.

 Good on paper, then. Less so in real life. My usual EV test includes a 360km run, mainly open road with a touch of urban. It’s a good test to judge real range, real consumption and, on top of that, it takes me to a specialist store at the halfway point that I like to visit.

That the iX M60 supposedly being up to 566 kilometres’ range from a fully replenished battery is not something to take too seriously. My experience is that no EV gets what is claimed. Just like internal combustion engine cars very seldom get the combined WLTP fuel figure.

However, I really did think that, with the battery being brought up to 90 percent charge at a new hypercharger handily sited just 30kms’ from journey’s start, there’d be every chance of getting there and back without need for further attention. Not so.

Though driving to around posted limits was always maintained, the fuel burn on the outward leg was nonetheless sobering: 27.9kWh. Coming back, it was better, down to a 21.1kWh. No, it’s not a downhill run. Anyway, at the halfway point, the battery was at 39 percent health, so I knew getting home would be close-run. When that hypercharger came back into view, I had 11 percent state of charge, supposedly enough to clock 63kms.  

Nothing that a quick splash and dash wouldn’t remedy, right? If only. The machine that was so super-fast that morning was now on a go-slow. It also timed-out three times on initial marriage; that issue only resolved after a call to the provider.

Anyway, total ‘fuel’ cost for the day was $52.94. A petrol M would of course have burned more. But a diesel BMW X5, on the other hand, would potentially use less. So too the iX xDrive40.

A good reminder, maybe, that large performance-themed vehicles of the unfolding electric age aren’t necessarily any better at thrift than their fossil-fuelled forebears.