Money Week - UK (2021-10-08)

42 Cars

MONEYWEEK 8October 2021 moneyweek.com

Wine of theweek:thefinest VinhoVerde Ihaveevertasted

BMW’sbig, comfy home on wheels

Price:from£69,90 5 (£91,9 05 fortherange-toppingxDrive50)Range: 380 miles(xDrive50)

ThenewiXelectricSUVmarksachangeofdirectionfortheluxurycarmaker.NicoleGarciaMeridareports

B

MW’sdesignchoicesraisedeyebrowswhen
thecompanyunveileditsnewflagship
electriccar.Online,peoplecalledtheiXa
“BugsBunnylook-a-like”andanalien,and
askedforbleachfortheireyes.Butit’sashame
thatitsexteriorishoggingtheattention,says
ShaneO’DonoghueinTheSundayTimes,
“becauseunderneathisacutting-edgeelectric
SUVthatpreviewsthetechnologythatwill
underpinthenextgenerationofBMWs”.
Thecar’sfiguresareimpressiveenough.
Itcango 280 milesonasinglecharge( 380 if
yousplashoutforthexDrive 50 model),can
rechargeprettyrapidly,hasatopspeedof
12 4mphandgoesfromzeroto 62 mphin 4 .6
seconds.Italsodebutsa“swish”newoperating
system,anew direction forBMW’scabin
design, and“thenear-future pr omiseof‘ level3’
self-drivingcapability,meaning drivers will be
able to hand control over to thecar completely
under certaincircums tances”.
TheiXis“acompetent,practical cross over-
styleEVthatfully delivers BMW’sexcellent

crafts manshipand quality”, says

Hannah El liottonBloomberg.

“BMWhasdoneenough here

to retain ,evenexcite, itsbrand

loyalists” anditi sgreat to

drive too. Theride“is really

good”, agrees Andrew Engl ish

in TheDailyTelegraph.Itm ay

weighinat2.5 tonnes,but it is

“astonishingly qu ick... overtaking

is absurdly quick andeasy.Itc an

even be quit efun.”

TheiXisnot asportscar,and BMW“isn’t

sellingthisasadriver’schampion”,saysTop

Gear.But it is neverthele ss “prettygood”,

accelera ting smoothly, andthrowingits weight

around neatly enough.The carisr eallyall

about“comfort, sile nceand relaxation”–it is a

“big comfyhome-on-wheels” with alot of new

technology that will al lowthe driver to remain

soothe dand thoseinthe passenger seatsto

“kickback” andrelax –evenwhen“covering

thegroundatsurprisingspeeds”.

“BMW has done

enough here to

retain,even excite,

its brand loyalists”

2020 Soalheiro,Primeiras
Vinhas,Alvarinho,
VinhoVerde, Portugal

About£26,
thegoodwineshop.co.uk,
wineandwhisky.co.uk

Iexperiencedaeurekamomentin

August. Whilediningatasmarty-

pantsfishrestaurantinPortugal, a

winewaiter askedmeifIwantedto

tastea“specialwine” theyhadjust

received butthat hadn’tyetmadeit

onto thewinelist. Of course,my

answer wasyes.Iamsuremany

readerswillbefamiliarwith

Soalheiro–Portugal’smost

famous,ubiquitous,bargain-

pricedand,it hastosaid,delicious

VinhoVerde.Goodnessknows

howmanycases aremadeofthis

stuffbecause it linesuponevery

supermarketshelf in thecountry. In

fact,it is oneofthe most

excitingthings aboutsumm

hols!Iwasaware of ahierar

of VVsfromthisterrificwine

butIrarelycomeacrossthe

andsowhenIwaspresente

with 2020PrimeirasVinhas

asommelier whowas burst

with prideandeagertoknow

mythoughts,Iwasalittle

more than excited.This is,

withoutany shredof doubt,

thefinest VVIhaveever

tasted,andit arrivedin the

countryafewweeksago.

Wetendto drinkVinho

Verdeice-cold undera

blazingsun,but this top-of-

the-rangewine,madefrom

theoriginalandoldest

andseeingthemerest hint

k, is atrueepicurean’s

ht.Itisexquisitely

essive ineverydepartment

outeveroversteppingthe

k. Chablisfanswill know

tImeanwhenIsay it is the

eneauofVinhoVerde.And

n youhaveexperienced

sepic treat, trackdown

20 Granit (handford.net,

utlers-winecellar.co.uk,

vinoteca.co.uk),another

sensationalwinefromthe

Soalheiroportfolio.

MatthewJukes is awinnerof

the InternationalWine &

Spirit Competition ’s

Communicator of theYear

(MatthewJukes.com)

Matthew Jukes

Wine columnist