Could I really buy an Audi?

The i3 has visible carbon fibre door sills too, which is (to me) part of its future-starts-here charm. The iX is a bit different, built in a different plant to a hybrid aluminium-CFRP design. I can’t confirm your 14x steel figure

(OK, maybe I can. This looks worth a careful read: 
www.researchgate.net/publication/282853443_The_manufacturing_energy_intensity_of_carbon_fiber_reinforced_polymer_composites_and_its_effect_on_life_cycle_energy_use_for_vehicle_door_lightweighting#:~:text=A%20review%20of%20commercially%20available,is%20only%2050%20MJ%2Fkg. You do, of course, need far less CFRP than steel to do the same job, so MJ per kg may be a little misleading.)

but what I understand is that BMW uses carbon fibre made with hydroelectricity and aluminium smelted with solar electricity, although both are then shipped to Germany for manufacturing. The epoxy resin is added there, and baked at just 120°C, which doesn’t sound like it would challenge a press shop or a steelworks for energy consumption, so does the curing process release a vast amount of CO₂?

BMW’s own claim is that the lifetime (including manufacture) CO₂ emissions of an i3 are less by a third to a half than a 118d, itself a green award winner back in the day, while the iX’s are 45 percent lower than the — admittedly not hard to beat — X5. And any iX I might buy has already been built, so the saving I can influence is the operating difference between it and the rather inefficient CLS. 

Of course, the same applies to the steel-bodied but smaller and still more efficient iX3 — but that doesn’t have frameless windows. Doesn’t mean I won’t still end up with one, of course, but indulge me while I enjoy this latest little thought experiment. 😊

Incidentally, parked near the venue for my Reading appointment on Wednesday was a gleaming bright blue Renault Avantime, another piece of technical wackiness I’ve previously coveted. I suspect an iX might be an easier thing to live with, if not always to park. 

Fancy? Plenty, and new stuff coming out all the time. Fancy and consider value for money? Not so sure but I’m enjoying auditioning them.

Certainly had the speed limit warnings in the iX3 and the Polestar 2. Haven’t yet noticed an active intervention from the car. Of course, as an above-average driver (like you, Humph and everybody else) I’ve never needed one. 🌟

How's that for a kick in the plums. As if a deity who hasn't taken a driving test is somehow anyone's equal behind the wheel 🤔 they could be but they haven't proven it.

The recent OTA update to the I5 came with much binging and bonging for speed cameras. Driving along a motorway, especially later at night when people in the car are trying to sleep is deeply irritating. Not sure I can turn it off permanently,

I'm trying to work out what the benefit of such a test is. Lithium Ion batteries don't like being run flat. Your mobile phone manual tells you that as does the app for my EV. Once the battery is below 20% the app flags it as needing a recharge.

That's like saying let's drain all the oil out of your petrol engine, run it with no oil, and see what happens when the manual tells you don't run it with the oil pressure light on.