BMW i4 review: A mid-engined sportscar in disguise?
BMW's newest electric vehicle feels like a mid-engined sports car in some ways.
Singapore
HAVE you ever wanted to stop thinking about the future for a moment and just focus on enjoying the present? The beauty of the BMW i4 is that it lets you do both at once.
The newest in BMW's growing stable of fully electric cars, the i4 has just gone on sale in Singapore. It's a taste of tomorrow because all cars will be electric someday, and probably sooner than you think.
All the clues to its future orientation are there, from the closed-off front grille to the wind-cheating alloy wheels to the flashes of bright blue that adorn BMW's battery-powered cars.
Yet, the i4 is a cosily familiar take on electric propulsion. It still looks like a BMW, and more to the point, it feels like one. That's largely because the i4 is effectively a 4 Series Gran Coupe with its combustion engine excised (leaving plenty of fresh air under the bonnet but no cargo area) and a motor installed under the boot to drive the rear wheels, with a lithium-ion battery pack beneath the car's main floor, where it does the most good.
Climb into the cabin and if you've had a bimmer before, you'll feel right at home. There's a bright blue Start button to boot the car up and even a gear lever to tip into Drive, even though electric cars don't have gearboxes.
That said, while the latest user interface, BMW OS8, looks slick enough to be in an Apple product, it does take some getting used to - because unlike an Apple product, its menu system is all over the place.
But who needs menus, because the car fulfils sensible wishes when you simply utter them.
The i4 understands commands as diverse as "Take me to Sentosa Golf Club", "Pair my phone" and "Open my window" - and, take it from a married man, it's a sweet thrill to get a response that isn't "Do it yourself, buster".
There are other digital delights, such as the ability to fire up the car using your phone as a virtual key. You can also get the air-con running remotely by tapping an icon on a companion app so that a cool cabin awaits you, and if that isn't the height of civilisation, I don't know what is.
But none of that would be worth a darn if the i4 were a dud from behind the wheel.
Thankfully for driving fans everywhere, the BMW is a delight instead. For a start, the steering has a nice heft to it, helping you feel connected to the road intimately. Better than that, the i4 not only attacks corners like they owe it money but feels sublimely balanced through them. If anything, it almost feels like a mid-engined sports car, with a gracefully weighty tail end that lets you adjust the car's attitude all through a bend by feathering the accelerator.
In a straight line, the basic eDrive40 version has just about enough oomph to make things interesting, with its 340 horsepower motor launching it to 100 km/h in 5.7 seconds. That's brisk rather than violent, unlike Tesla's cheaper Model 3 Performance, which gives your abs a stiff workout every time you merely look at its accelerator pedal wrong.
Yet, the i4 does have a sound generator that's surprisingly effective at building a sense of climax when the motor starts to spin its heart out. Even if it isn't all that fast, the BMW does remind you how much a fruity, intensifying whirr can add excitement to a bit of hard acceleration.
If you want something more ballistic, the twin-motor i4 M50 is on its way. It's nearly 2 seconds quicker than the eDrive40 (but still slower than the Tesla), so if the funds permit, it ought to be a blast to own.
Speedy performance does gel well with the i4's low-slung and coupe-like form, too.
BMW has 2 electric sport utility vehicles for family men (the iX3 and iX), so this is one for the driving enthusiast who prioritises fun over cabin room. Given how tight the space in the back is, he would have to.
Nevertheless, the boot is large and well-shaped, and on a full charge the i4 can comfortably exceed 400 km, so if you don't have tall children the BMW is still an acceptably practical car.
Of course, it's early enough in the transition to electric cars that there are other reasons altogether to consider this BMW. We all have a certain image of ourselves that we like to project to the world, and the i4 allows you to signal that you're progressive, tech-savvy, eco-conscious and well-to-do.
Lots of electric vehicles do that, come to think of it. But buying this particular one lets people know how much you enjoy driving, too.
BMW i4 eDrive40
Electric Motor / layout Single / Rear Motor power / torque 340 hp / 430 Nm Battery type / Net capacity Lithium-ion, 83.9 kWh Charging Type / Time 11 kW AC wallbox / 8.5 hours Fast Charging Type / Time 200 kW DC / 20 mins 10 to 80 per cent Electric Range Up to 590 km 0-100km/h 5.7 seconds Top speed 190 km/h Efficiency 19.8 kWh/100 km Agent Performance Motors Ltd Price S$311,888 with certificate of entitlement
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