The BMW i4 is the most important electric BMW yet

With astonishing performance and tech designed to emulate old-school ICE driving, the BMW i4 is here to convert the petrolheads
Rating: 8/10 | Price: from £51,905 
WIRED

Formidable power; faithful styling; a petrolhead converter

TIRED

Poor rear room; iDrive still not a great UI

Car companies like to have flagship cars. These let them show off their latest toys, new bits of tech and advances in designing engineering. This means that flagship models are not only the poster children for the brand, but they also often seen as the most important. And often this is indeed the case, but with BMW’s i4, a fully electric five-door GranCoupé, even though it undoubtedly plays second fiddle to the company’s flagship EV, the iX, one could certainly argue that the former is far more important than the latter. 

Why would the i4 be more significant than the iX? If you take a look at the sales figures for BMW cars, the clear majority of cars shipped are its 3, 4 and 5 Series sedans – the cars myriad executives drive up and down the motorways. If you check the data for 2019, before the pandemic temporarily nobbled the car industry, BMW produced some 360,000 3 and 4 Series, more than any other model it offers. The new i4 is aimed squarely at these buyers. It wants the i4 to be the new the first choice for company car drivers.

The Bavarian automaker has sold about 4.5 million of the sedans since the 3 Series’ introduction in 1975, making it the best-selling luxury nameplate in automotive history. But it has lost momentum in recent years, something BMW hopes to remedy with the launch next year of its next generation 3 Series — its seventh iteration.

And not only is this BMW’s first-ever electric sedan, if the instant torque of charged motors over engines was not enough, the i4 is also the first electric model from the company’s M performance division, proving even more allure for those executives looking for a fast company ride but with the added benefit of better tax breaks.

Now, it should be pointed out that there are some fundamental differences between the new i4 and the new iX. Notably, the i4 is not using the new, EV-specific architecture seen on the brand’s electric flagship. There is not self-healing grille hiding Level 3  autonomous tech. It has not been crafted from the ground up to be an EV at all, but using a heavily modified version of BMW’s aluminium and steel CLAR platform. 

The stats for the i4, which is available next month from £51,905 and comes in two versions - the eDrive40 and M50 - are fine: 367 miles (WLTP) for the former and 316 miles for the M50. The Combined Charging Unit can make use of 200kW DC high-power charging stations, and this means up to 102 miles (BMW i4 eDrive40) and 87 miles (BMW i4 M50) can potentially be added in a 10-minute charging stop. 

Crucially, it looks like a BMW. Unlike the design liberties that have been taken with the iX, with the company believing that it must make that range look new and different, the i4 looks very BMW. Only the closed front grille and flashes of blue trim give things away. This is entirely intentional. BMW wants this car to look like an old friend. New, but familiar. You can almost hear the designers whispering, “Don’t be sacred, just jump in and try it.”

The engineers have also worked hard shoehorning all the necessary EV tech into that ICE architecture. The i4 has BMW’s fifth generation eDrive, which sees the space required for the motor and battery cut while at the same time boosting the battery capacity compared to the last generation. The motor, gearbox and the power electronics have been unified in one housing, then given a bump In efficiency while at the same time condensing the whole shebang’s size by a third. 

More importantly, and rather remarkably, the M50 drives similar to an M car. Just take its all-wheel-drive system, for example. BMW has taken the electric motors at the front and rear axle and made both react to the speed of the wheels. This means it can effectively tweak traction and handling by adjusting just the drive torque, without traction control even having to intervene.  

So, while normally power is supplied solely to the rear wheels (better efficiency and range), put your foot down or generate wheel slip, and the motor acting on the front wheels kicks to even matters out. 

Speaking of spinning wheels, both i4 versions have something called “near-actuator wheel slip limitation”, which is another power distribution tech there to please lovers of rear-wheel drive, biasing torque towards the back. 

The result of all this is that the i4 is built for those who traditionally shun EVs thinking they are cold and clinical and are looking for, well, more spirited drives. 

Get in and despite the floor battery you sit remarkably low down. You could forget you’re in an electric car, in fact, and that’s all down to a super slim battery pack, just 11 centimetres thick. But the new iDrive system, as seen in the iX, complete with BMW’s digital assistant that is fine but has some flaws (no chaining of questions or commands being the main bugbear), as well as the expansive curved displays reminds you of the i4’s hidden electric powertrain. 

As for speed and handling, you have the famously precise steering and a planted ride coupled with the kind of performance that I am not entirely comfortable with, truth be told. If you don’t keep your wits about you, you could find yourself in a spot of bother very quickly. 

The i4 M50 offers up 544bhp and 0 to 62mph in 3.9 seconds, faster than Tesla’s Model 3, but the Tesla has more range. The ‘normal’ i4 is still good for 340bhp (more than the petrol 440i) and a 0 to 62mph in less than six seconds. 

I can’t imagine any fervent 3 or 4 Series fan being at all disappointed with a switch to this electric version. It is as agile and engaging as these ICE cousins, and if tearing up twisty roads if your thing then you won’t either. Just skip the Hans Zimmer fake electric noise and enjoy the natural sound of the car. 

It’s not all good news, aside from the BMW assistant shortcomings there is little room in the rear and the iDrive system, though certainly better, is still cumbersome to navigate. Once we nail voice control in cars, of course, matters like that will no longer be of any concern.

If you like EVs, and the serenity they offer, with a wafting ride coupled with that electric acceleration when you need it, the i4 is not for you. It’s for those who know they have to let petrol power go but can’t bear to see it leave. BMW itself describes the car as “a statement vehicle, putting all-electric mobility at the very heart of the BMW brand”. And that it does. Hopefully it will convert more than a few petrolhead to the cause.

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This article was originally published by WIRED UK