How an electric BMW works with busy family life

In fact, BMW’s comprehensive fast-growing line-up of electric models all deliver plenty of range to help you take your passions the extra mile, while offering a choice of all-electric saloons, estates and SUVs to fit your lifestyle. The sporty BMW iX2 SUV coupé boasts up to 283 miles (WLTP)[2] – enough to get you from Birmingham to Bristol and back on one charge – while the BMW i7 can go up to 387 miles (WLTP)[2]. That could get you from London to the Lake District on one charge.

Enjoying the benefits of home charging

Like most electric converts, Graeme has had to learn how to get the most from his BMW iX3’s impressive range and the benefits of its flexible charging. After all, it’s not just how much range you have that matters. It’s how you use it, and how you top it up. And that’s where we all need to rethink range, because most of the time we don’t drive as far as we think. 

In fact, the typical daily mileage for the average UK driver is somewhere between 20 to 40 miles[3]. So, any of BMW’s all-electric models could easily cover a healthy batch of days doing work commutes, school runs, trips to the shops, or evenings out with family and friends without needing to use public charging.

Equally, since most journeys start and end at home, you can take advantage of the fact that your car will spend a large portion of its time parked up – particularly overnight when you’re not using it. That’s perfect for home charging on lower-cost overnight energy rates that let you start every journey each morning with maximum range at the lowest possible cost, with minimum time and effort. 

And that’s why Graeme does most of his charging at home, although he also charges on the go when needed. “We’ve got a PodPoint just outside the front door,” he says. “It’s easier, it’s time efficient.”

How BMW Maps makes navigating charging easy

When it comes to helping drivers with on-the-go charging, BMW has focused on how always-online connected technology can make the process easier and smarter. 

First, there are probably more options for public charging than you might think. According to zap-map.com, as of June 2024 there were over 64,000 devices at 33,800 UK locations. And the network continues to grow fast, with around 2,200 new devices added in June 2024 alone. 

The way the network has been laid out also makes real sense. Around 20% of chargers are 50kW+ rapid chargers and 150kW+ ultra-rapid chargers that add a lot of miles in short periods of time. These tend to be located at motorway service stations and petrol stations on major A-road routes, where drivers want to do a quick top-up around coffee and lunch breaks.

The in-car BMW Maps on all of BMW’s electric models uses always-online cloud-based Connected Navigation with Connected Charging and Connected Parking to ensure that navigating this wealth of chargers is even more efficient.

BMW Maps can dynamically plot your ideal route: seamlessly syncing the latest real-time traffic with the best, fastest or most cost-effective charging solutions – whether it’s ultra-rapid chargers on your route or charging options near your destination where you can park your vehicle and charge at a slower, more cost-effective rate.

That means you can use natural breaks in your journey to incorporate short bursts of top-up charging – something electric converts call ‘grazing’ – before finding a more cost-effective and time-effective ‘destination charging’ option at your final halt.

Charging that’s smarter with the My BMW App

Thanks to the always-online connectivity of electric BMWs, you can also interact seamlessly with your vehicle remotely using the My BMW App on your smartphone. 

You can view your battery’s range and charging status from anywhere – whether it’s from the comfort of your sofa when your car is plugged into a home charger, or while you’re grabbing a coffee while your car is plugged into a public charger.[4] It helps you control the time and cost spent charging.[5] 

You can then plan the next leg of your journey remotely using the My BMW App, before syncing it seamlessly with the BMW Maps system in your vehicle. You can also pre-condition your car’s interior while it’s plugged in and charging, meaning you don’t waste a minute of your time or any valuable range to ensure your car is at the right temperature – whether cool or warm – for you to get in and head off.

“Having an app to do it [find chargers] is something that makes finding chargers so much easier,” says Graeme. “We can just put in where we’re going, charging options come up. It takes us there, tells us what to do, and it’s something that the kids can embrace as well. They love it.”

Equally, BMW has made accessing the UK’s fast-growing charging network even easier with BMW Charging. It’s an account with simple tariffs that give you easy one-card access to over 36,000 UK chargers and over 760,000 chargers across Europe – all without having to juggle multiple charging accounts and multiple charging cards, while offering the opportunity to take advantage of preferential rates with selected suppliers.[6] 

Embracing the opportunity of electric

As Graeme has discovered with his BMW iX3, going electric isn’t just for the kids. All it takes is an appreciation of the benefits, a subtle change in mindset, and the willingness to try it out for yourself.

“When I talk to people, some of them say we're not ready for that,” Graeme points out. “But I’m pretty sure we are because I’ve got an electric car. It doesn’t hold me back in any way and it’s actually better. And the negativity that flies about with it is from people that have never even driven an electric car or charged an electric car. You’ve got to experience it. And, for us, it’s been simple. It’s been easy.”

Learn more about BMW’s electric line-up

[1] Electric vehicles have zero CO2 emissions whilst driving

[2] Battery electric vehicle require mains electricity for charging. These figures were obtained after the battery had been fully charged. Whilst we recommend the battery for this vehicle is normally charged to 80% to help optimise the health and life of your battery, this WLTP figure was obtained after the battery had been charged to 100%. Figures shown are for comparability purposes. Only compare fuel consumption, Co2 and electric range figures with other cars tested to the same technical procedures. These figures may not reflect real life driving results, which will depend upon a number of factors including the starting charge of the battery, accessories fitted (post-registration), variations in weather, driving styles and vehicle load.

[3] Based on UK Government Department Of Transport research into average UK mileage: 2020 average private car mileage of 6,300 miles, and average company car mileage of 14,400 miles. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/nts09-vehicle-mileage-and-occupancy

[4] Features and functionality dependent on vehicle type and specification.

[5] Charging time dependent on charging station power, as well as other factors such as battery temperature, condition and starting charge.