BMW i4 eDrive 40 and i4 M50 review

April 28, 2022May 6, 2022 Toby Hagon 5851 Views bmw

SUVs may be the flavour of the decade, but sports sedans are what BMW is known for.

From the iconic 2002 to the 3-Series that lives on today, BMW has created some of the most rewarding four-doors to drive.

Now the luxury brand is hoping to transfer that expertise to the EV space with the BMW i4.

Slotting into the expanding i family of electric cars, the i4 not only fleshes out the German brand’s EV lineup, but it also lays the foundations of an electric sports sedan that for some will no doubt replace ICE.

BMW i4 eDrive 40 — The i4 shares its body with the 4-Series Gran Coupe

The i4 shares its body with the 4-Series Gran Coupe but replaces its oily bits with batteries and electric motors. That’s a similar strategy to what BMW employed with the iX3 and upcoming iX1 and i7, whereas the new iX started from a cleansheet EV design.

That makes it slightly longer but narrower than the popular 3-Series and with a wheelbase (the distance between front and rear wheels) that is only 5mm longer.

While using an existing architecture no doubted helped bring the car to market relatively quickly, it also ensures familiarity for the BMW faithful – especially with the proportions that have served it so well for decades.

As for competitors, the i4’s closest rival is the Tesla Model 3 and Polestar 2, although the price positioning to some extent leaves it above that.

Value

The i4 will initially be available in two flavours: brisk (for the i4 eDrive 40) and quick (for the i4 M50), the latter with development input from BMW’s M (for motorsport) division.

The i40 eDrive 40 is the entry-level model, but it starts with a price tag well into six figures once you get it registered. The ask is $99,900 before on-road costs and options.

For that you get a single motor driving the rear wheels and an 84kWh battery pack with a usable capacity of 81kWh. There are also 19-inch alloy wheels, electric front seats, ambient lighting, wireless phone charging, head-up display, powered tailgate, smart key entry and a five-year charging subscription that allows free charging across the Chargefox network.

The only standard colour is white, with metallics starting at $2000. There’s a healthy smattering of blue highlights – the start button, exterior trim elements, brake calipers and even stitching in the cabin – to reinforce the eco nature.

Optional packs include a $5800 Visibility pack, which includes seven metallic hues, laser headlights and a glass sunroof.

A Comfort pack is $1500 and includes heated seats and steering wheel as well as lumbar support for the front seats.

The M Sport Plus pack is $1700 and includes styling enhancements such as a rear spoiler, Shadowline highlights and M seatbelts (with the M colours embedded).

The Executive pack is $3600 and gets an alarm, tyre pressure monitoring, tinted windows, a 16-speaker Harman Kardon sound system and a drive recorder that uses the cameras as a dashcam.

It’s another $25K for the i4 M50 ($124,900 before on-road costs) that gets a dual motor system driving all four wheels and the same 84kWh battery.

BMW i4 M50 — The i4 M50 gets stickier tyres, an extra electric motor and various M styling touches

It also gets grippier tyres (still on 19-inch wheels), a sunroof, laser headlights (they see further down the road), front seat heaters, a rear spoiler and a 16-speaker Harman Kardon sound system. There are also M styling treatments to ram home the M (for motorsport) connection with other famous BMW M machines such as the M3 and M4.

The M50 also gets the choice of seven metallic colours included in the price, with additional colours at a premium.

The M50 is also available with three optional packs, although they are more affordable because some of the equipment that’s added to the i4 eDrive 40 are already standard on the M50. So the Comfort pack is $1300, the M Sport Plus pack $1200 and the Executive pack $2100.

Inside

Sharing its body with the 4-Series Gran Coupe means there’s lot of BMW familiarity and flavour to the i4.

That means high quality finishes and the sort of attention to detail luxury buyers love. It’s all beautifully presented and easily slots into the broader BMW family.

But the i4 comes with enough i-car touches to ensure buyers won’t forget the EV DNA.

There’s no shortage of tech, for starters, including a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster with i4 specific displays and a 14.9-inch curved central infotainment unit tilted towards the driver.

The blue start button and blue circle surrounding the logo on the steering wheel are some of the numerous blue highlights reserved for BMW’s i cars.

Being a sports sedan, you sit low in the cabin and there are pillarless windows for some coupe-like touches. Major controls are focused on the driver and the crisp, clear curved infotainment screen runs BMW’s latest 8.0 operating system. That means new menus and layouts and a fresh explosion of icons and apps we didn’t get to explore on this first acquaintance.

Part of the shift to the new operating system means no more programmable fixed buttons, with people instead directed to the screen.

Storage includes dual cupholders, a decent centre console and door pockets.

Those in the rear are more hemmed in. Riding on a traditional ICE architecture means there’s a tall tunnel in the floor – so the middle row occupant might feel short-changed on foot space – and the sleek roofline takes its toll on head room. It’s not the sort of place taller adults will feel comfy in over long distances.

But at least they share in the quality presentation as well as benefiting from a couple of USB-C chargers.

Accessing the boot is done via power-lifting hatch-like tailgate that reveals a useful 470-litre space, as well as 40/20/40 seats to more easily accommodate longer items.

The boot compartment is identical to a regular 4-Series, although beneath the floor there’s less to play with, the deep but compact binnacle only enough to store charging cables.

Performance and efficiency

The most affordable i4 eDrive 40 gets a single electric motor driving the rear wheels. As with other BMW EVs the i4’s e-motor doesn’t rely on magnets, instead providing an electrical current to create the required magnetic field.

It produces an impressive 250kW and 430Nm, which is among the highest of any single-motor EV.

Acceleration to 100km/h is claimed at 5.7 seconds and it feels every bit as quick as that. It’s delivered in a seamless way and with effortless enthusiasm that reinforces the brand’s heritage.

A synthesised soundtrack created by Hollywood composer Hans Zimmer adds some futuristic whirring as the acceleration intensity increases. Dial up Sport mode and that aural accompaniment is boosted further.

There are four levels of regenerative braking that can be selected through the central screen, ranging from pure coasting to moderate deceleration.

But the most aggressive form of regen is activated by shifting the gear selector to the left into B mode, in turn allowing one-pedal driving.

Even so, the eDrive 40 clearly has a focus on performance over efficiency. Average electricity use is claimed at 22.2kWh per 100km, which is higher than might be expected for a car of this size. Then again, it’s worth putting it in perspective; if you’re paying for all your electricity it’d cost around $6 per 100km – a fraction of what a petrol car with similar performance would drain from you.

The M50 adds a front electric motor to the equation, stepping up the peak outputs to 400kW and 795Nm. That’s well up on two of the most iconic performance heroes in the BMW range, the M3 and M4 (each makes 375kW and 650Nm). Acceleration to 100km/h is claimed at 3.9 seconds, identical to that of the M3/M4 rear-drive variants (the recently-arrived all-wheel drive versions lower than to 3.5 seconds).

Keep in mind that the i4 M50 is an M Performance car, rather than a full blown M model. That means from a positioning perspective it sits between those full M cars and regular BMWs. So when the M division eventually unleashes its full hot-rod fury on the EV development it should be quite the machine.

Little wonder the i4 M50 has a heap more thrust that makes any prod of the throttle more of an occasion. Always available, there’s no shortage of BMW sportiness. In its regular drive modes – and even Sport mode – it produces less power than the specs claim, at a still perky 350kW. The full 400kW is only available in Sport Boost mode.

The whole driving experience is amplified (literally) by a beefed up synthetic sound. But rather than just dialing up the volume, there’s also some added fruitiness with more of a grumble that has hints of BMW six-cylinder.

It’s a tad too much when cruising on a freeway, although thankfully you can get rid of it altogether if it’s not your thing.

The additional performance and weight of the M50 means electricity use is higher, with a claimed average of 25.6kWh/100km.

Charging

The i4 comes with a Type 2 plug for AC charging, which extends to a CCS combo plug for faster DC charging.

BMW also supplies a Type 2 to Type 2 charger to allow you to use those public AC chargers that don’t have a cable attached to them.

Both models get the same 84kWh battery that has a usable capacity of 81kWh.

AC charging can be done at up to 11kW. So to fully charge the 81kWh battery it will take around 8.5 hours. A typical 7.4kW home wallbox would take 11.5 hours and a regular powerpoint would be 46 hours.

BMW claims a 10-80 percent charge from a charging station able to supply the full 200kW (keeping in mind that the 350kW ultra-rapid chargers can only provide that much power when delivering it at 800V; the i4 charges at 400V) takes as little as 31 minutes.

BMW says the fastest charging occurs when starting at 10 percent state of charge (it will taper off as more charge is added).

Ride and handling

Starting with an existing BMW platform means there’s plenty of similarities between the i4 and the 3-Series and 4-Series that turn to ICE.

It starts with the steering, which is fluid and progressive across its arc. In Sport mode there’s just the right amount of weight added for cornering confidence.

Speaking of which, the i4 relishes some twist and turns. The eDrive 40 we drove was fitted with the optional 20-inch tyres (19s are standard) and there was no shortage of grip. Our drive was done mostly on sodden roads and the 40 gave no reason for concern. Any slip of the rear wheels under acceleration was quickly contained with almost no fuss, the slick progress maintained.

The M50 we drove was on the standard 19-inch rubber, although the ride is tenser as a result of the M Performance suspension tuning. Dial up Sport mode and the suspension stiffens markedly, taking the edge off compliance.

Still, it’s a well adjusted compromise that makes for an easy EV to live with.

Talking point

The i4’s soundtrack has serious Hollywood pedigree. As with the noises in the BMW iX3 it was crafted by Hans Zimmer, who has scooped up two Oscars and created some of the most memorable movie soundtracks over many decades.

While obviously synthesised and occasionally dominant – it can be turned off if you tire of it – there’s at least something more interesting than the natural whir of an e-motor. And while the aural enhancement is similar to that on the iX3, it somehow sounds more natural in the athletic skin of a sports sedan.

The sound also cleverly adjusts to speed and how much work the motor/s are doing, increasing intensity when they’re delivering more power.

Safety

The i4 gets six airbags surrounding the outer occupants as well as loads of driver assist systems.

They include auto emergency braking (AEB), blind spot warning, speed limit display, a 360-degree camera and parking sensors front and rear.

Verdict

If anything, the BMW i4 is proof that the BMW sports sedan formula can translate to the EV space. More than that, it’s a convincing low-slung four-door that oozes BMW flavour.

While there are compromises in starting from an ICE platform, there’s enough driving excitement and luxury zest to cement the i4 as a worthy – and sporty – addition to the BMW lineup.

While its pricing and tight supply early in the car’s life mean it’s unlikely to faze Tesla, the i4 is an important next step in the electrification of BMW.

BMW i4 eDrive 40 specifications

Price: $99,900, plus on-road costs

Basics: EV, 5 seats, 4 doors, sports sedan, RWD

Range: 520km

Battery capacity: 81kWh (usable)

Battery warranty: 8 years/160,000km

Energy consumption: 22.2kWh/100km

Motors: 1 rear 250kW/430Nm

AC charging: 11kW, Type 2 plug

DC charging: 200kW, CCS combo plug

0-100km/h: 5.7 seconds

BMW i4 eDrive M50 specifications

Price: $124,900, plus on-road costs