BMW iX vs. Hongqi E-HS9: Which “Chinese” SUV is the best?

While we complain that the German premiums are increasingly focused on customers from the Far East, the Chinese meanwhile also think they know what we Europeans want. what is true

You can read this Autovisie review in full in Autovisie Magazine #11 or online. This article is a small preview of what you can read in the magazine!

BMW iX and Hongqi E-HS9 have “China Syndrome”

“A meltdown of such intensity that the glowing mass could melt, so to speak, across the earth towards China.” This is not only the definition of China Syndrome, but also, according to many, an appropriate description to describe certain external characteristics of the BMW iX to characterize.

Two and a half years after its unveiling, the front end still looks just as obscene as it did then, but the BMW is no longer, of course, the car with the most conspicuous front end on the market. Unsurprisingly, the competition comes from the country whose flavor profile is believed to have created the iX: China. This refers to the E-HS9 from Hongqi, the oldest active car brand from this region and it proudly advertises with it. ‘Since 1958‘ – Just so you know – Hongqi (pronounced ‘hongchee’) is best known for having opulent state limousines for transporting party members. Each of these state carriages features a grille with enough chrome to herald its arrival from afar.

Useless grill

In the case of the electric E-HS9, it is not even used to suck in cooling air, but only to give its driver the same access as the party bosses. Even if the two meter wide front fails, the profile will still gape at you. With almost the same distance between bumpers as a stretched Range Rover and a height maximized by the large field of view, the E-HS9 leaves the same unyielding impression as the Great Wall of China.

Both the BMW and the Hongqi have a large battery

And for 81,995 euros, such a complete driving fortress can be yours. It seems a reasonable price for a richly equipped, 435hp seven-seater with an 84kWh battery (of which 76.5kWh is usable) that allows for a WLTP range of 380km. At the same time, we can well imagine that you don’t feel like rushing to one of the four Hedin dealers for a test drive with a small Euroton in your hand. But anyone who thinks the Hongqi are doomed to live in the shadow of the established order should take a look at Oslo. The E-HS9 can be found on every street corner there.

While in Norway you can also knock on BMW’s door to buy an iX for the same entry fee. It costs at least 85,000 euros in the Netherlands as an eDrive40 with 326 hp and a range of 425 kilometers from a battery pack with a capacity of 76.6 kWh, of which 71 kWh can be used. At 4,953 meters long, it is 25.6 centimeters shorter and has 10 centimeters less wheelbase than the Hongqi, but is otherwise just as present, distinctive and massive in every respect.

It doesn’t matter that your BMW isn’t really complete until you spend another 20,000 on options. After all, it is a 103,590 euro E-HS9 “President” with a 99 kWh battery (90 kWh usable), 551 hp and an interior with business class travel comfort for all six occupants. The white robe is included in the price, but we’d spend a few thousand euros more for a black finish and a “Black Pack” that hides all the chrome details. Paired with a set of jet black 22-inch wagon wheels, the thing secretly looks pretty cool, admit it.

The iX might not look like a prototypical BMW inside or out, but it drives in some ways, to the extent that’s possible in a 2.5-tonne electric crossover. Even without air suspension, all-wheel steering or other chassis frills, the iX sits on the road like a block as it looks from the outside. The weight is just a number, you notice that when you try in vain to imbalance the chassis. Whatever you throw at it, the iX takes it up stoically. It turns in at ridiculous speeds until the front tires start to wobble slightly, making you change your mind.

On the remaining 99.99 percent of the kilometers you can feel how the dampers do their best to let unwanted things through from below, but how they absorb the weight of the car in good time after a load change or when driving down a bump. Even as an experienced BMW driver, you can’t ask for more steering precision, but more feeling. We can also imagine that a certain type of customer would like more basic comfort. Because you’ll continue to recognize a certain rigidity in the iX’s chassis character to achieve such taut handling.

Who is a Hongqi for?

The Hongqi could be something for this customer group. Because with air suspension and what feels like half a meter of spring travel, it treads the path of uncompromising cuddly cushion comfort. Down, clouds, ducklings, hot air balloons – it works. The result is that if the speed is not moderate, one is faced with more than significant roll and camber tendencies, which, however, cannot upset the car.

Because the weight of this huge battery pack always weighs beneath you. This is low and nice in the middle and gives a feeling of security once the mass of dampers and airbags has come to rest. A wheelbase of 3.1 meters and 265 tires all around do the rest. Apparently, the Chinese have not been idle lately when it comes to adjusting the chassis.

Same weapons

While most Chinese brands are currently struggling through competitive prices (BYD, same guns.. Apart from spaciousness and a comfortable character, the E-HS9 has little to offer the customer compared to what they already know. In the home market and a version with a 120kWh battery is now available in Norway, which can go about 100-150km on a single charge.If Hongqi can offer it with an improved human-machine interface for less than a ton, it could be spread China Syndrome to more people.