New BMW iX1 vs Genesis GV60 vs Nissan Ariya: costs

Buying and owning

Costs, equipment, reliability, safety and security

When the Genesis GV60 launched last year, it was priced so aggressively that it made the closely related Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6 seem almost redundant. Not any more, though; a few months ago Genesis increased the starting price. 

Now, that isn't the full story, as we'll explain later, but it does mean that the cheapest version of the GV60 is now more expensive than the cheapest BMW iX1 – and many buyers will find that surprising. After all, Genesis is a fledgling premium brand trying to gain recognition, whereas everyone knows BMW has been building upmarket cars for decades. 

This probably explains why the iX1 is predicted to hold its value better than its South Korean rival, in turn meaning that it's likely to cost private cash buyers around £3000 less to own over a typical three-year period. Despite being the heaviest user of electricity for every mile travelled, the Nissan Ariya actually works out the cheapest to own in the long run. This is mostly because it costs the least to buy, especially after factoring in our Target Price discount of £1685.

It's the same running order if you're signing up to a PCP finance agreement. Put down a £6000 deposit and the Ariya will cost you £663 a month over the next four years, assuming an annual limit of 10,000 miles. On the same terms, the iX1 will set you back £717 a month and the GV60 £732. 

What this doesn't factor in is how much equipment you get for your money. You see, a lot of the GV60's price hike can be explained away by the fact that you now get a lot more standard kit, including massaging front seats with in-built ventilation, laminated side windows (for lower noise levels), heated rear seats and rear window blinds. In fact, the only thing we'd recommend adding is the quilted Nappa leather interior we discussed earlier. 

By contrast, the iX1 is relatively spartan in its standard form. It's the only one without adaptive cruise control, keyless entry, electrically adjustable front seats and a heated steering wheel, for example, and because of the way BMW packages up options you might want with things you might not, adding all of those things will push the price up by a hefty £5200.

While the Ariya doesn't have quite as many pampering luxuries as the GV60, it is the only one with a 360-degree parking camera (the other two have rear-view cameras) and a heated windscreen for easy de-icing on sub-zero days. 

We can't give you much of a steer on the reliability of these EVs, because all three were too new to feature in the 2022 What Car? Reliability Survey. However, BMW finished 16th (out of 32 manufacturers) in the overall league table, compared to Nissan's 25th-place finish. Genesis hadn't sold enough cars at that point to be included. 

As for safety, once again it's the iX1 that looks rather stingy. It's the only one that doesn't include a speed limit display, automatic high-beam assistance for the headlights or steering assistance (to help keep you in the centre of your lane). 

The regular BMW X1 has been appraised for safety by EuroNCAP (it got the full five stars out of five), but not this much heavier electric version. The other two each received five stars overall, with the GV60 proving to be slightly better at protecting both children and adults. 

All three cars have CCS ports for making use of public rapid chargers. However, while the GV60 can pull up to 239kW for a 10-80% top-up in as little as 18 minutes (in ideal conditions), you'll be waiting at least 29 minutes in the iX1 and 35 minutes in the Ariya (both of which can accept a maximum of 130kW). Meanwhile, a 0-100% charge at home using a 7kW wallbox will take around 10 hours in the iX1, 11hr 45min in the GV60 and 14 hours in the Ariya. 

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