“It’s a BMW, so there you go.”
For a long time, the Tesla Model 3 seemed unbeatable in its segment. Only at the end of 2021 did the American sedan receive real pushback from Germany. It was BMW that built a fully electric i4 based on the 4-series Gran Coupé. There are now around 5,000 of them driving around in the Netherlands and the end is not yet in sight. Is the i4 really a match for a Tesla and what are the most important pluses and minuses in practice? Owners share their experiences.
The BMW i4 is available as an eDrive35, eDrive40 and the M50, the sporty top model. The first variant has a net 66 kWh battery pack, the two heavier versions offer 80.7 kWh. The powers also differ, with 286, 340 and 544 hp respectively. The eDrive 35 and eDrive 40 have rear-wheel drive and only with the M50 the power is distributed to all wheels. The vast majority of cars in our review section are an eDrive 40. So buyers do choose the large battery pack, but ignore all-wheel drive and extra power.
Practical ease of use
A BMW is known as a driver’s car. It seems logical to start with the driving characteristics, but to be successful in this segment, more is needed. First the practical matters. “The car is almost 4.80 meters long and that creates expectations in terms of interior space,” says the owner of an i4 eDrive40. He continues: “Let’s just deal with that right away: it’s quite disappointing. It is really spacious in the front. There is more than enough space in all directions. There is some work to be done at the back. It’s not cramped or anything, it’s not a Polestar 2, but you just expect a little more.” The trunk space is well appreciated. “The trunk is pleasantly large and has a wonderfully large filling opening through the gigantic hatch. The benches can be folded down in a 40/20/40 ratio.”
The following rider shares this experience. “I was also pleased with the amount of luggage I can take with me, coming from a Passat Variant, I had to switch gears. Small bag in the compartment under the trunk. Large suitcase, small suitcase and stroller in the trunk, with loose bags around it and a pillow that fit perfectly!” No complaints about passenger space? Anyway. “In terms of space in the back, there is no room left. My children in the Maxi-Cosi in the reclining position touch my chair with their feet. I’m 1.77 meters and sit quite low and back, but still.”
The passenger compartment also does not score full marks when it comes to space for loose items. Several drivers, including the following M50 driver, indicate that this space is limited. “It is not that the BMW i4 M50 no longer has any potential for improvement. There is no logical place to store your sunglasses. The M50 in which I took a test drive had a storage compartment on the left under the steering wheel that could fit glasses, but my i4 does not have that. The BMW also makes no effort above the windshield, where many cars offer such a storage option.” Good to know: no complaints about the seating comfort. The seats are apparently fine.
How does the i4 drive?
Then the promised driving. “It’s a BMW, so there you go,” says an eDrive40 driver. “Tight through the bend, any bend, but not board hard. It’s not an M3 or anything. This is more the BMW interpretation of a grand tourer and the i4 does the grand tourer with verve.” We notice a catch there. Doesn’t the i4 do everything with verve? “The city is not the i4’s territory,” the driver continues. “For example, driving over a speed bump can sometimes result in a crash. The air suspension on the rear axle apparently finds the weight of more than 2,000 kilos quite a lot.” Another rider also notices this behavior. “Due to the high weight of an electric car, you notice that the car is quite stiff at speed bumps and you therefore have to go over speed bumps very slowly.” Another striking thing about the handling: “Now 20,000 km further and a drive to Poland. The i4 drives wonderfully and works perfectly. The only thing I noticed: if you carry more cargo, the car bounces better (more comfortably).”
How are you liking the performance? “The power of this engine (340 hp/430 Nm) is really good. You get a good push when you stomp on the pedal and the intermediate sprints are fierce. The car accelerates quickly and smoothly to very illegal speeds. At 190 km/h the cake is suddenly gone,” says the eDrive40 driver who was introduced to the speed limiter.
Drivers are generally enthusiastic about the travel capabilities of their BMW i4 and regularly indicate that the silence on board is striking. Nevertheless, several eDrive40 drivers believe that there are gains to be made. “A point of attention that I regularly see from other drivers is straight-line stability. At speeds between 100-140 km/h it is a bit searchy, so you have to continuously make slight adjustments.”
BMW i4 with caravan
Another eDrive40 driver likes to go out with the caravan. That seems like an ideal combination for holidays in the area. “I have driven the i4 several times now (with the family) and our caravan. That is a Bürstner Premio of 7.2 meters long and weighing about 1,500 kg.” How do you like that? “Driving the i4 with a caravan is great. The i4 has standard level control, a slightly higher nose weight is fine and does not cause the rear to collapse. The car is always heavier than the caravan and you especially notice this when overtaking trucks and the like. There are hardly any fluctuations and the car pulls the caravan along really nicely.”
Range BMW i4
Driving the caravan immediately brings us to another important point. How far does the BMW i4 actually go on a charge? An eDrive40 driver is initially shocked by the winter consumption. “Preheating the car is a blessing and saves a lot of scratching. Only the consumption was really shockingly high. Not 580 km WLTP, but rather a paltry 320 km.” When the temperature is around 10 degrees Celsius, the image looks better. “While the BMW i4 had difficulty staying below 20 kWh/100 km even over stretches of 40 kilometers or longer, the car now sometimes even displays values of 16 kWh/100 km. In the warmer months the car will come closer to the WLTP. Now 450 km is actually always possible.”
Another rider is immediately satisfied. “I can be brief about the efficiency of the car when it comes to energy consumption; this is almost on par with the benchmark, the Tesla Model 3. The Tesla does have more power at its disposal and is therefore king. The i4 can easily reach 400 km at an 80 percent charge and a driving behavior ‘with the traffic’.”
Even if you do not drive ‘with the traffic’, another eDrive40 driver is happy with the average power consumption. “The average consumption over 15,000 km is about 17-18 kWh per 100 km, and I also drove 160 to 170 km/h on the German autobahns, if possible. I also had days in France where I averaged 12-13 kWh per 100 km when I only drove on back roads. With a calm driving style, more than 500 km of range is certainly possible.”
It should come as no surprise that the range with a caravan on the hook shrinks considerably. The caravan tractor mentioned earlier indicates what you can expect in practice. “Normal consumption in recent winter months was around 19 kWh/100 km. Under normal conditions with the caravan the average was 32 kWh/100 km, but with slightly more wind and/or rain the consumption quickly rose to 40 kWh/100 km. This means, in a favorable case, a range of 230 km and in unfavorable cases 170 km.”
Disruptions and irritations
Anyone who reads this section regularly knows that a new electric car is not always reliable. The BMW i4 seems to escape that dance, because owners report no serious problems. There are, however, minor irritations. “After 6,000 kilometers I returned to the garage with the i4. The left mirror squeaked and creaked heavily when folding and unfolding. It sounded like plastic was rubbing against each other. The small covers of the charging port were also broken off,” said an eDrive40 driver. “Something that is quite early in three months.”
No complaints about the BMW i4’s lack of frunk.
Another rider is having problems with the door release. “It often happens that the car does not lock when I walk away. The release also does not work flawlessly when grasping the door handle. Irritating.” Anyone who has not experienced any problems, but has received updates for the door release, is the next M50 driver. “The past year went without any problems. The car has received some OTA updates and also a recall (software update) for possible problems with the automatic door unlocking.”
Judging from user experiences, BMW has made a smart move with the i4. Although the passenger space is relatively limited, it can accommodate a lot of luggage. The driving characteristics are generally fine, which also applies to the driving range. There are areas for improvement in the form of straight-line stability and suspension behavior on speed bumps. On the other hand, the i4 is not very sensitive to interference. We saw it before with the BMW iX3: the traditional EV approach is paying off for this brand.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl