Cheaper, richer, tastier coffee: How to roast your own beans at home

Cheaper, richer, tastier coffee: How to roast your own beans at home

For many, coffee isn't just a luxury, but a habit that adds structure and satisfaction to the daily routine. With states mandating you to stay inside most of the day and even Starbucks stores closing to foot traffic, chances are you're making more coffee yourself. Now's the chance to uplevel your skills and consider roasting your own coffee right at home. 

Raw coffee lasts for years on the shelf, yet still retains its flavor. It's only when you introduce intense heat through the roasting process that the powerful coffee essence unlocks, and then begins to slowly fade. But if you roast your own beans, you can stock up in bulk on raw product and roast only as much as you need in the short term. In some ways, it's the perfect quarantine staple. 

Plus, freshly roasted coffee is outrageously delicious compared with the standard store-bought variety that's typically months old, even the whole roasted beans.

Unroasted, or green, coffee costs less, too, so you'll save money in the long run. In fact, you can get your hands on green coffee for as little as $4 to $5 a pound. Sure, the idea of home roasting might sound intimidating at first, but the payoffs are huge. Here's how to get started. 

These are raw, or green, coffee beans that have not been roasted.

Tyler Lizenby/CNET

From raw to roasted coffee

With enough heat energy applied to green coffee, the hard structure of a bean breaks down to release its complex mixture of contents. This cocktail includes everything from water to sugars, proteins, fats and, yes, caffeine.

The high temperature of roasting chemically alters many of these compounds (such as by caramelizing sugars and oxidizing lipids, proteins and starches), and ultimately creates what we expect to see, smell and taste in freshly roasted coffee.

Read more: The best espresso machine for 2020  

Gather the tools and hardware you need for this project.

Tyler Lizenby/CNET

Build a backyard roaster

You can build a coffee roaster easily from inexpensive items you can buy at a hardware or kitchen supply store. Here's a list of the parts I used.

To begin, drill a hole through the center of the base of each colander with a three-eighths-inch metal drill bit. Next, spin one nut and one wing nut onto one end of the threaded rod (go about halfway) and from the opposite side, slide one washer down the rod. Then, slide one of the colanders onto the rod through its drilled hole, next to the washer, with the open side up. Follow with another washer and two regular nuts, and tighten all nuts so the colander stays fixed in place. 

In the same way, attach the other colander to the rod so that the rims of the bowls face each other. Leave a 6-inch gap between the two vessels, hold the rod vertically and add your green coffee to the lower colander. It's a 5 quart model with plenty of room for the 1 pound batches I suggest you roast. Finish by slipping the second colander down to close the gap and securely tighten the nuts.

The roaster you've constructed should rest above the burners and be able to spin freely around its threaded rod.

Tyler Lizenby/CNET

Prepare your barbecue 

I suggest using a gas grill to roast coffee. These grills have responsive burners powered by propane. That makes their internal temperature easier to control compared with charcoal grills. Begin by removing your grill grates, heat diffuser (bars or pan) and warming rack. If your grill has a slot for a rotisserie accessory, use this opening to place the threaded rod across the burners. If not, lay the rod across the hood's sides with the hood open. (Many grill hoods have sections cut out of their sides to make room for accessory mounts when closed. Line the rod up to match these gaps.)

Your roaster should now be suspended and centered over the barbecue's burners. To spin the apparatus, connect an electric drill to one end of the roaster's rod as if it were a drill bit and tighten the drill's chuck jaws around it. 

Use a cordless drill as a motor to rotate your roaster.

Brian Bennett/CNET

An adjustable hose clamp wrapped around the drill's trigger is a simple way to apply steady pressure and spin the roaster drum at a constant rate. Aim for 120 rpm (I count revolutions for 30 seconds and then double the number). 

That's quick for a rotisserie motor (10 to 55 rpm) but easy for a power drill (600 to 1,500 rpm). The goal is to mix the beans quickly enough so heat hits them evenly, yet slowly enough to minimize stress on the drill and avoid loosening any nuts and washers.  

Fill your roaster with raw coffee beans.

Tyler Lizenby/CNET

Roast, baby, roast

How long any given roasting session will take can vary greatly depending on factors like the coffee variety, how hot your roaster gets and whether you'd like a light, medium or dark roast. As a general guide, expect a small batch of beans (1 pound or less) to take about 10 minutes. 

Fire up your grills burners and start roasting.

Tyler Lizenby/CNET

Start by firing up the grill and turning the burners up to maximum. Close the hood to let the grill cavity warm up and when the grill thermometer hits 400 degrees Fahrenheit, turn the burners down to medium. Next, add green coffee to the drum, tighten the two colander halves together, carefully set the rod in place and start spinning. 

Now you're ready to close the hood while keeping your ears, nose and eyes peeled to monitor what's going on inside. It's OK to take a few quick peeks, but open the hood too many times and you risk losing vital heat. Ideally, you want to keep temperatures in the roaster consistently between 400 and 500 degrees Fahrenheit. Since it's difficult to mount a heat sensor inside a spinning roaster, just use your grill's built-in thermometer instead.  

Pay close attention to what you see, hear, and smell as the beans roast.

Tyler Lizenby/CNET

Listen out for the pop and don't burn your beans

The first change happens visibly when the beans shift from a muddled green to yellow to a darker golden hue. As the beans' internal temperature approaches and exceeds the boiling point of water, steam forms and trapped water vapor fights to escape.

When it finally does, the coffee beans begin to snap with an audible pop. In what's known as the "first crack," the beans split open down their middle and swell in size. At this point your beans are technically roasted, but they'll have a bright acidity on the edge of sourness. Drinking coffee from this roast level is perfectly fine, but to develop a traditional coffee flavor, you must go a little further.

Roasting coffee beans definitely creates a lot of smoke. That's why it's best to do this outdoors.

Tyler Lizenby/CNET

As the temperature climbs higher (435 to 445 Fahrenheit) fats, sugars and proteins break down. The beans are now roasting in earnest. Be careful at this stage because the pace of these reactions will speed up. If you're not paying close attention, you'll end up with burnt beans in no time. 

As gases including CO2 (carbon dioxide) form, they cause another round of sustained snaps called the "second crack." The beans will then release oils giving them a shiny, glossy look. Roast longer and the beans will darken further to dark brown, even bordering on black. This creates dark roasts such as French roast.     

Transfer the just-roasted coffee beans to another vessel. An extra metal colander will do the trick.

Tyler Lizenby/CNET

Cool things down

Once you've reached your desired roast level, turn off the grill and gas and quickly transfer the roasted coffee beans from the roaster to a metal oven sheet pan. Remember to use heat-resistant gloves or oven mitts to handle the apparatus.

Set the pan and contents aside for 24 hours to let the beans cool. As long as they're not smoking you can do this inside. Technically you can brew coffee from these beans. However, it's best to hold off for another 24 hours. Freshly roasted coffee typically gives off CO2 gas that can create funky flavors. Finally, preserve your roast by storing it in an airtight container, a special valve bag or at least a zip-closure pouch. 

Brew, sip and tweak

Congratulations! You've turned raw green coffee into the essential ingredient for brewing a uniquely delicious beverage. Of course, you'll need a quality brewer and grinder to harness all that coffee flavor. And if the joe you've made isn't to your liking, there are a ton of ways to tweak the roasting process for an outcome more to your tastes. 

Even with the same coffee variety, changing the roast level will greatly alter the flavors that ultimately land in your cup. And just wait until you start experimenting with beans and blends sourced from exotic locales. Better hold onto your mug.

For more tips to brew better coffee at home or fun projects to help pass the time while in self-quarantine, check out how to make wine in your Instant Pot, how to keep bread from going stale and cleaning your oven without harsh chemicals.     

Read more: Best coffee accessories of 2020  

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Elden Ring: 2 Secrets to Farming Runes Quickly

Elden Ring: 2 Secrets to Farming Runes Quickly

Luck, skill and runes. To make good progress in Elden Ring, you need all three of these. 

Runes double as currency and experience points in Elden Ring, as they're what you'll use to buy items and upgrade your character. That applies both to leveling up weapons, which also requires Smithing Stones, and traditional character leveling, for which you'll need a vast quantity of runes.

You'll get those runes by killing foes, slaying bosses and selling items. But if you're looking to earn them quickly, there are easy ways to farm them. This article contains two rune farming methods. One is available to you early on, and the second much later in the game. 

The first method I'll describe will net you about 50,000 runes in 15 minutes. The second, which is best suited for post-game rune farming, is dramatically faster. It easily gets you a million runes in 10 minutes. 

The early method: 50,000 runes in 15 minutes

You want to head to the Third Church of Marika, here. 

Bandai Namco/Screenshot by Daniel Van Boom

To start off, you'll need to head to the Third Church of Marika, which is encircled on the map above. If you've not already found the Site of Grace there, travel to Agheel Lake North, where you were granted Torrent by Melina. Travel on the path, running past everything, including a giant that'll be waiting near the Church. Once you've activated the Site of Grace inside, go around the back and you'll find a transporter by a little cove. 

Follow the light and you'll find a transporter. 

Bandai Namco/Screenshot by Daniel Van Boom

Here's where the transporter is on the map. 

Bandai Namco/Screenshot by Daniel Van Boom

Once you go through the transportation portal, you'll be taken to a place called the Bestial Sanctum in a region called Dragonbarrow. Inside the Sanctum is Gurranq, a creature that rewards you for bringing it Deathroots. That's a whole other guide though: What we're interested in here is outside.

Once you look out into the fields, you'll see a giant dragon knight guarding the Sanctum. It's a boss, the Black Blade Kindred. Do not fight it. It will kill you dead.

Instead, walk to the left side of the steps you're standing on and jump into the field. The boss won't notice you unless you're directly in front of it, so just avoid that. Go into the fields, however, and you'll see a bunch of diminutive, statue-looking warriors walking about. These are what you've come for.

They're easy (by Elden Ring standards) to kill at almost any level, since they stagger from being hit. And you can sneak up behind them to perform a critical hit from behind, which will either defeat them straight up or take a chunk off their health. And best of all, killing them grants you a little over 1,000 runes each. 

This is the Black Blade Kindred. Avoid the Black Blade Kindred.

Bandai Namco/Screenshot by Daniel Van Boom

These little buggers are what you've come for. Killing them gets you over 1,000 runes each. 

Bandai Namco/Screenshot by Daniel Van Boom

On the left side of the balcony you jump off, all these enemies are walking around alone. The right side is more challenging, since they travel in packs of two or three. If you're a low level, I recommend hanging to the left and picking them off one by one. Either way, you can rack up lots of runes quickly by killing a set, respawning them by traveling to the Site of Grace inside the Bestium Sanctum, and doing it all over again.

End Game rune farming: 1 million in 10 minutes

As you progress through Elden Ring, 50,000 runes in 15 minutes may no longer do the trick. The best method I've found will get you that amount in under a minute, but there are a few prerequisites.

To optimize results, you'll need the Sacred Relic Sword, a weapon that you can only get by beating the final boss. You can do this method with any other weapon, it's just that the Sacred Relic Sword's special move has a huge area of effect that expedites the process. You'll also want a Golden Scarab talisman, which boosts rune acquisition by 20%. 

The area in question is an optional area called Mohgwyn Palace. You can access this area in one of two ways: Go through White-Faced Varre's questline, which you can do by finding him at the Rose Church after you beat Godrick The Grafted, or by finding a portal in the west side of the Mountaintops of the Giants. If you're confused about how to access the western half of the Mountaintops, it involves collecting two halves of the Haligtree Secret Medallion and presenting it at the Grand Lift of Rold. 

I chose the latter method, since I had already unlocked the western side of the Mountaintops. You can find the portal and its location on the map below.

This little number will take you to Mohgwyn Palace.

Bandai Namco/Screenshot by Daniel Van Boom

Here's where you'll find the teleporter on the map.

Bandai Namco/Screenshot by Daniel Van Boom

Where the magic happens.

Bandai Namco/Screenshot by Daniel Van Boom

If you arrive via transporter, you'll find yourself in a little cave. Exit and you'll be greeted to a panoramic view of Mohgwyn Palace, as well as a Site of Grace. This Site of Grace is where you'll be farming your runes.

If you're standing at the Site of Grace and look forward, you'll see a bunch of sleeping ogre creatures. There's about a dozen of them hanging out. If you look to the left, you'll see another area separated from you by a big canyon. Wandering back and forth on the other side of the canyon is a very ugly bird. 

Luckily for us, the bird is an idiot. If you shoot it with an arrow, it will become incensed and run at you. As noted, there is a giant canyon between you and the bird. The bird falls down and dies, giving you about 11,000 runes for little effort. Then, it's time to kill the ogre dudes. This is where the Sacred Relic Sword comes in. It has a special move called Wave of Gold, which will hit almost every enemy in the space. Just by targeting one ogre and hitting L2, I killed a bunch of them and got about 40,000 runes.

You'll see this bird walking back and forth in the area across the canyon. Hit it with an arrow and it will get mad, chase you, fall down the cliff and die, granting you over 10,000 runes.

Bandai Namco/Screenshot by Daniel Van Boom

Now it's time to turn your attention to these blokes. Killing them all gets you about 25,000 runes. 

Bandai Namco/Screenshot by Daniel Van Boom

If you have the sword you gain access to after beating the last boss, its special move can kill all of them in one or two hits. That's 25,000 runes in about 10 seconds. 

Bandai Namco/Screenshot by Daniel Van Boom

And that's it! Once everyone's dead and you've harvested those runes, go take a quick rest at the Site of Grace so the enemies repopulate the area. Then do it all over again.

Again, you don't need to use the final boss weapon. It won't take you too long to clear out all the enemies here, especially if you have another weapon with a big area of effect attack. Remember to equip your Golden Scarab talisman, which will boost your ruin acquisition by 20%. All told, you'll get about 60,000 runes per run. Once you get into a good flow, it's easy to farm a million runes in 10 minutes here. 

Spend an hour on this and you'll be the richest Tarnished the Lands Between ever saw.

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2023 BMW iX xDrive50 Review: Pleasing Performer, Vexing Design

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2023 BMW iX xDrive50 Review: Pleasing Performer, Vexing Design

The 2023 iX xDrive50 is one of two new electric vehicles BMW launched this year, alongside the i4 sedan. Of the pair, the iX xDrive50 is the bolder play: a completely new vehicle from the ground up, rather than a battery-powered version of an existing model. It also takes much larger risks. Many of those risks pay off in the form of excellent driving dynamics, comfort and range, but some of them don't. The electric SUV is plagued by some strange and interesting design decisions, and I'm not just talking about its polarizing exterior.

xDrive50 electric powertrain

The iX comes standard with all-wheel drive, pairing a 190-kilowatt electric motor on the front axle with a more powerful 230-kW rear unit. Combined output peaks at 516 horsepower and 564 pound-feet of torque, enough oomph to silently launch the iX from 0 to 60 mph in 4.4 seconds. The surge of g forces under hard acceleration is impressive, but the benefits of instant, precise electric torque can also be felt when merging on the highway or just casually pulling away from a traffic light. It's a well-rounded, confidence-inspiring powertrain.

The xDrive50 feels more than potent enough for driving on public roads, but if you need more power (or just have money burning a hole in your pocket), BMW added the 610-hp iX M60 to the lineup for the 2023 model year. That'll pull off the 0-to-60 sprint in just 3.6 seconds -- not quick enough to wipe the smirk off of a Tesla Model X Plaid, but it'll run neck-and-neck with a Model Y Performance or a Mustang Mach-E GT. 

The driver has two tools to customize the iX's performance to their liking: My Modes and regenerative braking. The three My Modes -- Personal, Sport and Efficient -- primarily control accelerator responsiveness (and by extension, how much energy is used), but they also affect the steering and other vehicle systems. For example, when equipped with the optional Dynamic Handling package, Sport mode can lower the suspension by 0.4 inches for, well, more dynamic handling.

The selected My Mode also affects the optional Iconic Sounds generated by the iX's speakers. Designed by German film score composer Hans Zimmer, this artificial powertrain noise fills the cabin as the EV accelerates, making use of Shepard tones -- an illusion of overlapping sound that seems to infinitely rise in pitch -- to create a sci-fi feeling of increasing speed. Sport mode sounds a bit deeper and louder than the other two settings. Alternatively, Iconic Sounds can be disabled altogether for those who prefer silent cruising.

There are four regenerative braking levels with the default being what BMW calls Adaptive Recuperation. This mode uses navigation data, battery level and the distance to the car ahead to determine how much regeneration to apply when lifting off the accelerator. This should net you the most efficient energy recapture but, in practice, it just makes deceleration feel inconsistent, difficult to predict and, at times, jerky. I prefer to choose one of the more consistent static regen modes: low, medium or high. Also, tapping the transmission from D to B mode with high regen enables one-pedal driving, where the iX can slow to a stop without touching the brake pedal -- my favorite EV braking method overall.

Sport is the only customizable My Mode -- neither Efficient nor, ironically, Personal can be personalized.

Antuan Goodwin/CNET

Range and charging

The iX is powered by a 111.5-kilowatt-hour battery, of which a net 105.2 kWh is usable. Interestingly, the EPA breaks out separate range estimates based on the size of the wheels equipped. The smallest 20-inch wheels earn the best 324-mile rating. Range drops to 305 miles with the 21-inch wheels, but oddly climbs again to 315 miles for the larger 22s. My best guess as to why is the 275/40R22 tire's stiffer sidewall reduces rolling resistance just enough to make up for the additional rim mass.

Starting with an 80% charge, I cruised for 209 miles before stopping to recharging with 17% remaining. That's about 10 miles better than I should have based on the EPA's numbers -- still within the margin of error, but even more impressive given my testing including a good chunk of Sport mode driving up twisty mountain roads. Not too bad.

This is about as open as the iX's hood gets unless you're a BMW service technician.

Antuan Goodwin/CNET

When it comes time to recharge, the iX pulls up to 195 kW at an appropriately powerful DC fast-charging station. That's not as fast as a 250-kW Hyundai Ioniq 5 or the 270-kW Porsche Taycan, but it's quick enough to add 90 miles of range with just a 10-minute session, or to go from a 10% to 80% state of charge in 40 minutes. BMW partnered with EVgo, providing buyers and lessees $100 of charging credit at its stations. 

The most cost effective place to charge is at home during off-peak evening hours. On a Level 2 plug, the iX can pull 11 kW, meaning it will charge from flat to full in around 11 hours.

Ride and handling

Extensive use of lightweight materials -- like the aluminum and carbon-fiber composite chassis (which are visible when you open the doors or rear hatch) and aluminum suspension components -- help keep weight down. Still, the iX is a very heavy machine, tipping the scales at 5,769 pounds as optioned here. Fortunately, much of the weight is beneath the floor in the battery pack. This low center of mass helps the iX stay nice and flat around corners, which means BMW's engineers could tune the double-wishbone front and five-link rear suspension to be a bit softer for comfort. The SUV soaks up bumps well even on the optional 22s, and this is likely thanks to BMW's lift-related dampers -- hydraulic shock absorbers that progressively vary their damping force as the wheels travel up and down.

This example is equipped with the optional Dynamic Handling package, which adds an auto-leveling air suspension good for preventing sag when towing a braked trailer up to 5,500 pounds -- though who knows what havoc that will wreak on your range. As mentioned before, the air suspension automatically lowers to improve stability at high speeds and in sport mode and can be manually raised for 0.8 inches of additional ground clearance at very low speeds. Additionally, this package adds rear-wheel steering that both helps with low-speed agility and highway stability.

The seats could use more lateral support, but the heated and ventilated buckets are quite comfortable for long hauls and commutes.

Antuan Goodwin/CNET

Polarizing design

I'm willing to concede that the eye of another beholder may find beauty somewhere in the iX's tall wagon proportions, but I don't find the design very cohesive. For example, the severe L-shaped trim on the front bumper doesn't seem to line up with any other element of the fascia and feels tacked on in a way that annoys me even more than BMW's new corporate grille. Most days, I simply don't enjoy looking at the iX, but sometimes I catch an odd angle and it's not so bad. (Some of my colleagues have more positive opinions about BMW's styling.)

I do like that the buck-toothed grille hides a very cool technology: It's made of a self-healing polymer. Pick up a rock chip or a scratch on its glossy finish and the surface will gradually work its way back to shiny and flush again. Heat accelerates the process, so on a hot summer day (or with some coaxing from a hair dryer), you can watch it heal before your eyes. The BMW roundel just above the grille pops open to reveal a hidden washer fluid reservoir, which would be neat if it weren't necessary because the iX's hood requires a service technician to open -- a double bummer because it means there's no frunk. Still, this a more elegant solution than Mercedes-Benz's weird washer fluid fender slot on the EQS and EQE.

The iX's cabin, on the contrary, is absolutely gorgeous. It makes great use of materials that look fantastic and are tactilely interesting to touch, from the crystal cut glass iDrive control knob and seat adjustment controls to the unique wood veneer capacitive buttons on the center console -- all optional. The bucket seats are quite comfy with an upright position that offers great visibility in all directions around the airy greenhouse. Also optional is this model's electrochromic glass roof that boosts the feeling of spaciousness and goes opaque at the touch of a button to keep the sun off of your head.

The iX's cabin looks so good I'm willing to forgive the awkward exterior.

Antuan Goodwin/CNET

But all is not well in this aesthetic paradise and a few ergonomic nitpicks stand out. There's the electronic door release, which is positioned too far forward and high on the door to get good opening leverage. I had to elbow and shoulder the door open awkwardly to get out, while my smaller copilot needed to shove with both hands to muscle it open.

BMW also simplified the iX's steering wheel controls significantly, using glossy capacitive touch pads surrounding a thumb wheel instead of discrete physical buttons for the cruise control, infotainment and whatnot. Additionally, there doesn't appear to be a toggle to disable cruise control; the system is always armed and ready for one tap to set or resume your cruising speed. So far so good, but twice when chucking the iX around a corner, my palm contacted the pad while turning the steering wheel 90 degrees, causing the cruise control to unexpectedly resume mid-turn, lurching forward while I scrambled for the brakes. I was able to catch it both times, but it left a sketchy mark on an otherwise exemplary driving experience.

Aside from this ergonomic gripe, the rest of the iX's optional and standard driver aid features work pretty well. Optional adaptive cruise works in stop-and-go traffic and integrates nicely with the lane-keeping steering assist and the hands-off Traffic Jam Steering Assist that works at speeds below 40 mph. Parking Assistant Professional is also available and can automatically guide the SUV into parallel and perpendicular parking spaces at the touch of a button. There's standard forward-collision avoidance that can be upgraded to add optional side collision avoidance, too.

Keep scrolling; there are dozens more nigh-identical looking icons on just this menu screen.

Antuan Goodwin/CNET

iDrive 8

The iDrive 8 multimedia software is a step forward from the previous generation, but also two steps backward. The system is still built around a pair of huge displays that now seem to float above the dashboard on struts. The left screen is the 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster while the right is a larger, 14.9-inch main touchscreen. iDrive 8 is a responsive system and, like the rest of the iX's cabin, the high-resolution screens look fantastic and are customizable with themes featuring nature-inspired imagery.

Unfortunately, the menu is a mess of tiny icons. I counted nearly 30 of them on the main screen in no particular order and with extremely flat organization. Rather than, for example, combining FM and Sirius XM radio into one audio sources menu, they both have separate buttons on the home screen that must be found amongst dozens of others at highway speeds. My colleagues reminded me that I could organize the menu myself by dragging the icons around and eight shortcuts can be saved to a favorites menu for quick access, so most users will be able to customize their way around the problem with a bit of tinkering, but it's a steep learning curve and I think the curated organization of iDrive 7 was a better out-of-the-box experience.

Back in the pros column, there's standard Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility with wireless connectivity for both. The iX even supports the latest quick pairing tech for either, so you don't even need to fiddle with the menus to get paired up and running. There are also six USB type-C charging ports scattered around the cabin (two in the front and four for second-row passengers) and neat little slots perfectly sized to hold mobile phones on the center console and in the doors.

One of the iX's coolest features is its self-healing grille. What? I didn't say it was the best looking feature.

Antuan Goodwin/CNET

Price, competition and final thoughts

The 2023 BMW iX xDrive50 starts at $85,095 including the required $995 destination charge. This example rolled into my driveway wearing a $101,075 sticker thanks mostly to $3,500 worth of premium leather upholstery on $1,600 upgraded seats, plus $1,900 for the 22-inch wheels. I've also got the $7,700 Ultimate package that rolls nearly every bell and whistle left to get -- including the Dynamic Handling upgrades, Iconic Sounds, the glass and wood interior trim, the iX's complete driver aid suite and more -- into one line item.

At that price range, the BMW iX skews more premium than most of its electric SUV competitors. The BMW is significantly more expensive than an Audi E-Tron SUV and Sportback, but it's also more powerful with nearly 100 miles of additional range. The iX also slots somewhere between Tesla Models X and Y. 

Judged solely on the driving experience, range and handling, the all-new iX is a spectacular new entry in BMW's electric car portfolio. However, BMW then went and made so many weird little design decisions -- from the steering wheel controls to the weird door openers, the complicated menus and, yes, my aesthetic hang ups -- that it doesn't quite stick the landing as one of my favorites in this class.

Your mileage may vary.

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