BMW i4 - Electric motor, drive and performance
The BMW i4 shows that an electric car can deliver plenty of driving feel and enjoyment
The BMW i4 features the brand’s fifth-generation of eDrive electric motors, with the motor itself, transmission and electronics all contained in a single unit for greater efficiency. But, arguably, the manufacturer’s greatest achievement with the i4 is the way it drives. Despite weighing in at over two tonnes, the five-door Gran Coupe is superb through the corners with plenty of grip, a precise feel to the steering and no hint of understeer. Aside from the lack of combustion noise, we think you’d struggle to tell the difference between the i4 and a fossil-fuelled BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe out on the road.
Considering how heavy the i4 is, you might think it would deliver a firmer ride, but if you go for an M Sport model and specify the M Sport Pro pack, you’ll get adaptive suspension where you can customise the car’s ride. In Comfort mode, the dampers soak up most imperfections in the road and help keep things relaxed – whether on a twisty B-road or longer motorway journeys, making the i4 a great long-distance cruiser.
BMW has been particularly clever with the position of the i4’s battery; it sits low in the car’s floor and gives a centre of gravity that is 53mm lower than a BMW 3 Series saloon – going someway to offsetting the extra weight of the electric i4.
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The i4's refinement is excellent. This electric BMW was the quietest car in our company car group test, even against the improved Tesla Model 3, which has had a lot of work done to dampen down unwanted noise.
0-62mph acceleration and top speed
The rear-wheel drive, single motor i4 eDrive35 produces 282bhp, which enables it to sprint from 0 to 62mph in six seconds exactly, while the eDrive40 pumps out a more generous 335bhp, shortening the same sprint to a brisk 5.7 seconds. The top speed for both models is 118mph.
The quickest i4 is the four-wheel drive, twin-motor M50. Normally, it produces 469bhp, but this can be increased to 537bhp for 10-seconds in ‘Boost’ mode, allowing you to get from 0-62mph in a rapid 3.9 seconds. The M50 also has the highest top speed of 139mph.
No version of the BMW i4 feels particularly slow, with the base i4 eDrive35 getting a healthy 400Nm of torque, so it still seems very quick off the line. The extra power and torque (430Nm) of our preferred eDrive40 does a great job of contracting the additional weight of its larger capacity battery pack. Meanwhile, the M50 feels suitably rapid, but is likely to play second-fiddle to the updated Tesla Model 3 Performance, which is quoted to have a sub 3.0 second acceleration time.
