BMW i4 - Practicality, comfort and boot space

The BMW i4’s hatchback tailgate offers more practicality than the more traditional letterbox-style opening found on the Tesla Model 3 and Hyundai Ioniq 6, while the three-way split rear seats provide increased flexibility for carrying passengers and bulkier items. Up front, the standard fabric sports seats offer lots of adjustment to help you find a comfortable position, although if you fancy leather upholstery you’ll need to pay an extra £1,300.

There’s plenty of other standard kit designed to make the i4 easier to live with, including an automatic tailgate, a rear view camera, cruise control, and three-zone climate control. BMW provides a heat pump for all models that boosts overall efficiency by reducing the load on the battery.

Meanwhile, the door bins are large enough to hold drinks bottles securely, there are phone storage and charging sockets ahead of the gear lever, and the armrest cubby is deep, too.

Size

At 4,783mm long, the i4 is longer than the Polestar 2 and Tesla Model 3, but is a touch narrower which should help when navigating through town traffic and dealing with narrow parking bays. In fact, the i4 is only 79mm longer and 25mm wider than a 3 Series saloon, so it’s far from unwieldy and should be an easy car to handle on the road.

Leg room, head room and passenger space

The i4 offers a low-slung driving position, but the cabin doesn’t feel cramped and has plenty of space upfront for the driver and front passenger. Those travelling in the rear aren’t as well catered for, as there’s quite a large hump in the floor, which takes up valuable space in the footwell – a downside of not using a bespoke EV platform.

Two adults can sit happily with a fair amount of headroom to enjoy; however, because the rear bench’s outer seats are so heavily sculpted, you get a narrow centre seat that doesn't offer much room for a third rear passenger. Two ISOFIX mounting points for child seats are provided on the outer positions of the rear bench.

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Boot 

With a 470-litre boot capacity, the i4 offers more luggage space than a Polestar 2, Tesla Model 3 or Hyundai Ioniq 6, and it benefits from a practical hatchback tailgate, so the boot is much more accessible than the Tesla and Hyundai’s. However, unlike its fellow electric saloons, the i4 doesn’t get any extra storage under its bonnet. If you’re after a little extra practicality, then folding the i4’s 40:20:40 split rear seats opens up a 1,290-litre space for carrying larger items.

Towing

If you’re looking to tow a trailer or perhaps a smaller caravan, then the i4’s 1,600 kg maximum braked trailer towing capacity should be enough for a reasonable-sized caravan.