I’m curious what others think about the BMW i4. Personally, I’ve been surprised by how much I’ve enjoyed it. Anyone else feel the same?
Did anyone expect it not to be good? It’s pretty much an electric 4-series with M-Sport touches, right?
Ashwin said:
Did anyone expect it not to be good? It’s pretty much an electric 4-series with M-Sport touches, right?
Well, it’s built on a platform designed for gas engines, so there’s around 500 pounds of extra weight it doesn’t need. Despite that, it performs really well. I think once BMW moves to their new EV platform (Neue Klasse), things will be even better. They used to focus on high-performance gas engines, which would eventually break down. But with EVs, they’ll play to their strengths in suspension and handling.
@Dara
That’s a bit overblown. The B58 engine is super reliable and powerful. Sure, repairs can be costly, but if you maintain it regularly, it’ll run fine.
Harley said:
@Dara
That’s a bit overblown. The B58 engine is super reliable and powerful. Sure, repairs can be costly, but if you maintain it regularly, it’ll run fine.
Yeah, it’s funny. The B58 is considered bulletproof, even Toyota trusted it in the Supra. But yeah, maintenance is key.
BMW still makes solid cars. The issue now is people have become overly focused on reading spec sheets. Just because it doesn’t have a dedicated EV platform, they think it’s garbage, ignoring the fact that many EVs that share platforms with gas cars are just fine. Look at the Hyundai Kona, Kia Soul, and Polestar cars – they’re efficient and perform well, just like the i4.
@Sam
It’s close to being a dedicated platform though. The iX is much bigger but somehow feels more grounded than the i4. The i4 still feels like a compromise.
Oli said:
@Sam
It’s close to being a dedicated platform though. The iX is much bigger but somehow feels more grounded than the i4. The i4 still feels like a compromise.
There’s a difference between feeling ‘grounded’ and feeling heavy. Make sure you’re not mixing the two.
@Sam
The only truly efficient EVs are from Hyundai and Kia.
Dara said:
@Sam
The only truly efficient EVs are from Hyundai and Kia.
Actually, the BMW iX3 is one of the most efficient in its class, and it’s a blatant EV conversion. There’s a huge empty space where the engine used to be.
@Kirby
Does the iX3 have a front trunk at least, unlike the i4 and iX?
The i4 is a great car, but like many other EVs, they just can’t make them fast enough.
The long hood is a holdover from its gas engine design. It makes the interior feel cramped compared to EVs that are purpose-built. Plus, it’s more expensive. Check out Bjorn’s review on that.
Zion said:
The long hood is a holdover from its gas engine design. It makes the interior feel cramped compared to EVs that are purpose-built. Plus, it’s more expensive. Check out Bjorn’s review on that.
More expensive compared to what? It’s the second cheapest car that goes from 0-60 in under 4 seconds.
I had one on order but canceled. I couldn’t get over the design inside and out. It feels… I don’t know… kind of childish? There’s just too much going on with all the lines, chrome, and visual clutter. The other thing that made me back out was the infotainment system. It was hard to use, even the salesperson was confused by it. It also felt sluggish, like swiping around was laggy. I don’t know why reviewers say it’s responsive when it clearly isn’t. The screen layout is weird too. The active area is tiny, and the rest just fills up space. I’d prefer a simple single display instead of this stretched-out one. Also, why do I need so much horizontal space on the map when vertical is what’s really helpful? Lastly, the design of the interface itself… it looks like an old video game. Really not for me.
@Jonas
Interesting take. I had a test drive and didn’t experience any of those issues. The screen was responsive and I actually love the design. The horizontal map view doesn’t bother me either since I only look at it when a turn is coming up. But hey, that’s why there’s variety – some people prefer Tesla’s minimalism, others like Polestar’s chic, and some love Mercedes’ flashy approach.
@Dana
I saw some early reviews with laggy screens, so maybe they used pre-production models. My car doesn’t have any UI performance problems.
@Jonas
I test drove both the i4 eDrive 40 and M50. Compared to the Polestar 2, Ioniq 5, iPace, and EV6, the i4’s interior and infotainment felt the most polished to me. The only one that had noticeable lag was the iPace.
@Jonas
Sadly, the bar is really low for infotainment systems. Even Ferrari has poor displays. Manufacturers seem to think that having a touchscreen, even a bad one, is enough. Removing physical controls and making everything touch-based is also a problem. Look at Ford – they added a volume knob to the Mach-E and F-150 Lightning. Porsche and others have taken things further by making you write out text with your finger instead of typing, which reviewers somehow praise. It’s not just inefficient; it’s a step backward.
@Jonas
Car reviewers don’t seem to expect much from these screens. I’m not impressed by a laggy 2010-era tablet showing Google Maps at 20 frames per second.