BMW i4 electric: A new EV with real pedigree at play

Published on 8 October, 2022

Overview

The thing about this week’s review car is that we’ve seen some of it before – and liked it.

Only this time it’s electric and these days that immediately raises interest to a different level altogether.

The BMW i4 is, in broad terms, an electric version of the BMW 4-series Gran Coupé (a 4-door motor you simply could not fail to like). It doesn’t end there. The 4-series is based on the BMW 3-series saloon. So there is real pedigree at play.

However, it has to be forcefully pointed out that the i4 is set up differently in many respects and it would be unfair to associate it too closely with its conventionally powered comrades. For example, it has a different suspension, floor (the battery pack is stored underneath), seats, etc.

How new tech will turn your car into ‘a battery on wheels’ – Volvo

It also has a new dash with its curved screens under one glass sheet illuminating infotainment and key functions.

I found the new operating BMW iDrive/Operating System 8 system a bit annoying at times though I got used to it the more I drove. That is a sign that serious thought set it up as it is but I think there is room for improvement.

You sit quite low in those new, svelte, seats: the car itself is something of a tarmac hugger. The benefits of that are you get the dynamics at play feeding back through the steering wheel as well as the general sense of pliancy in how it handles and copes with different road surfaces and cambers.

I know it is my job to describe such elements in a more technical fashion but sometimes it is the impact on me of just a sense of how energy is conveyed and dispensed. That’s why it can be a personal appraisal rather than a clinical critique.

For instance, it was particularly good at negotiating tight bends. Because it is so low slung and because the battery pack is underneath, its centre of gravity is lower than if it had an engine under the bonnet. And that means the car ‘sits’ on the road and you feel confident feeding power to the wheels.

Maybe the weight of the battery pack sapped a little bit of the action – these things weigh so much. But I hope you get what I mean about it being a subjective matter.

Others might have criticised it for not having a sharper suspension whereas I loved the bit of ‘give’. See what I mean about it being personal?

I could go on and on in that vein but the fact of the matter is I simply enjoyed the drive.
But if you want serious muscle there is a powerhouse M50 version though I feel the car I had, the eDrive40 in MSport guise, had as much energy as most people would want.

The car I tested had rear-wheel drive and one electric motor. The M50 has two motors and four-wheel drive.

That apart, one of the few downsides for me was getting in and out of the car with the old back kicking up a bit, but that’s not a deal breaker, I can assure you.

To other practical matters. The i4 has a combined charging unit which allows you to use DC high-power charging stations with an output of up to 200kW. You can increase the range by to 165kms – in the i4 eDrive40 – in 10 minutes at stations of this kind.
That is key – or rather it will be key as more really fast chargers come into play.

It means the car can, with some justification, combine performance with every-day practicality (negative alert: rear seat room is only so-so and headroom is a touch affected at the back due to the sloping roofline.

Just on charging: One crib in general of EV is about how far you can drive between charges. As it stands the official figures are often quite a bit off from what you can get in real-world driving. The i4’s claimed range of nearly 600kms on the entry-level model is, according to my experience of it anyway, a good deal more than I’d have achieved.

Sure, I could have spared the horses a few times but cars of this calibre are made to be enjoyed as well. Funny, but I am finding that some EVs can be really exciting to drive. What a wonderful thing to be able to say.

Of course the i4 isn’t the only good news story. You could certainly be diverted from it by rivals such as the Tesla Model 3 and Polestar 2 to name just two.

Yet somehow I feel current BMW owners of the brand’s genealogy will give this electric Beemer a priority setting as they tear themselves away from some of the finest petrol-and-diesel-driven executive motors that have been made.

Time moves on apace and the new electric dawn is well and truly upon us. Against that backdrop and with an eye to the future, I have to say that, after getting close up and personal, I wouldn’t mind owning this car at all.

Factfile

BMW i4 eDrive40, 4dr electric Gran Coupe; 18ins alloys standard, Live Cockpit, reversing camera, parking assistant, automatic air con, ambient lighting, LED lights front and back, acoustic protection for pedestrians.

BMW iDrive/Operating System 8. Twin screen infotainment system; i4 range starts from €63,565 (on the road). 83.9kWh lithium-ion battery pack; 340hp electric motor, claimed range of 590kms.

Broad spectrum of safety assists and alerts for both driver and the car.

How new tech will turn your car into ‘a battery on wheels’ – Volvo