ELECTRIC cars are drawing huge attention for their green credentials, cheap running and simplicity of engineering.

What's more difficult for them is to excite the emotions and win over petrol heads, especially those used to snortingly powerful V8s or turbos.

Then the BMW iX M60 comes along, and it's a whole new ball game.

Not only does the massive SUV look racy and suave in the way that no other large high-rider has managed, but it's packed with a performance close to supercar status.

Yes, it has the obvious credentials of all EVs - fewer moving parts than an ICE unit and zero mechanical clatter. But it possesses that hard-to-define quality of character, personality and pure joy that has proved elusive to most green rivals.

Of course, much of this is due to its sheer thrust.

With 611bhp available at the dab of the throttle, the two and half tonne projectile will surge past 62mph in less than four seconds. This abundance of power is fed through to all four wheels in a nanosecond, pinning its occupants back in their seats like few other large SUVs.

It's not just about rapid squirts down the straight. The M60 is a car to drive down country lanes as well as clearways.

Sure, its width and weight have a negative effect when corkscrewing country lanes but it handles neatly and precisely with a ride that smoothes the irregularities while remaining poised and controlled when pressing on.

There's negligible noise on the move, the main utterance comes from the hugely wide low profile tyres that shod giant 22-inch alloys.

The cabin is a clear step into the future. Hip and a tad bling, there are glass controls and splatterings of wood veneer.

But the star of the facia is a huge curved, oblong touchscreen that spreads from in front of the driver across the centre of the car.

Even the door handles are unusual - press buttons on a inside panel, which I took a while to find, and flush openers on the outside.

Of course, the furnishings are lavish, as befits a car costing close to £120,000 - deep leather, electric controlled seats, heads-up display, heated steering wheel and ample family stowage space help make this both luxurious and usable transport.

The premier picture is completed by soft-close doors, Bowers and Wilkins sound, laser headlights and BMW's latest excellent iDrive 8 system.

The heavy duty 116kWh battery which, in theory, allows a range of 350miles, is slung low beneath the cabin to aid balance and weight distribution.

Of benefit to efficiency is the iX's amazing aerodynamics. Despite being a tall, near five metres long, it manages a drag coefficient of just 0.26, making it one of the cleanest shaped models in its sector.

In real life driving, you can expect to squeeze around 300-miles from the electric power supply. Regenerative braking plays a big part in harnessing the juice and retards the car to standstill unless over-ridden.

It's possible to rapid charge it from 10per cent to 80 per cent in less than 40 minutes thanks to a 195kW peak charging speed.