2022 BMW i4 | Review & Road Test

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It is hot as nuts out here not at all like the say bavarian alps where you might expect to find this thing the bmw i4 m50 it’s all electric and it’s smoking let’s get some nitty-gritty things out of the way the i-4 is a grand coupe that follows in the ev footsteps of bmw’s i8 i3 and ix of all of those this sexy sedan with the sloping roofline is my favorite body

Style the base model version of the i4 is the e-drive 40 which gets decent horsepower and is a rear wheel drive configuration i managed to get my sticky fingers on the m50 yes that m means that this particular model is from the m performance division of bmw and yes even though this is an electric vehicle it still needs to live up to that m that’s what we’re

Gonna find out today the m50 pushes 536 horsepower around with all four tires and gets up to 275 miles of range that is less than the e drive 40 which manages 300 miles but am i disappointed that i have less range when i have this under my right foot that’s about i don’t know 0 to 60 in like 3.9 seconds the answer to that question is no power feels quick zippy

Jazzy immediate however you want to say it it’s there i’m not feeling like i need more even though this isn’t a shrinking violet of a car it weighs in at over five thousand pounds so i did have a chance to talk to a bmw rep and he was explaining to me that the engineers really wanted to put their best foot forward here the engineering the dynamics the way that

This car drove was the most important thing no matter that customers were absolutely screaming for it bmw would rather have taken the time and done it right have they succeeded yeah i mean i would say that this is definitely worth the wait from the balance of the i4 to the weight distribution to the stability this car just feels good i love it when i get into a

Sports sedan and it actually feels sporty from the get-go the i-4 to me feels taut it feels clenched like it’s already ready for action now i have heard some journalists who are pushing it to eight nine tenths and who are way better drivers than i am say that they’re feeling a little bit of understeer when they’re in sport mode or that they are feeling a little

Bit of torque steer honestly i’ve pushed this card as hard as i can and i have not felt that but you know i think also most people who are buying this car are not going to take it to that level so i don’t think they’re going to have any issues in that regard no my limits might not be as extreme as someone else’s but on regular legal road and highway driving even

In a spirited manner i am not feeling the i4 lacking it also comes with an adaptive suspension that has an air setup in the rear helping out with that composed and comfortable ride if i had one complaint it would be about the steering there’s an artificial feel and really no feedback here but when you’re in sport mode the weight of it is great and there’s no dead

Spot on center so like i said i’m just nitpicking let’s talk regenerative braking for a second shall we the i4 gets four different settings to customize your braking regen needs including shutting the system off completely for a more natural feel i say more natural because well you’re not going to get 100 natural this is break by wire so take that into account

There is a setting on the regen braking system that i really like it’s called adaptive and what that does is it works with the navigation system and it will anticipate elevation change it will anticipate a turn that you have coming up and already get into braking mode for you which i think is kind of pretty cool of course you can control it yourself i’ve used it

I think the adaptive is a really cool setup and a cool feature try them all out driving a sport coupe with one pedal is a totally different experience especially if you’re mashing the throttle and then doing some hard braking but once you get used to it there’s a synchronistic feel that you start to get with the car and i really dig it it’s like left foot braking

While rally driving and to me that’s just the best kind of driving there is so one small complaint about that you can switch from whatever setting you’re in into adaptive just by moving the shifter over to b but you cannot switch it all the way off or change the setting of it unless you go pretty deeply into the ux system you know the more that these cars are

Tech based like the more we are going to have layers in the infotainment system but it would be great if there was like a paddle here or some kind of i don’t know maybe physical button or something that was just a little bit easier to get to the i4 gets an 83.9 kilowatt hour battery that is dc fast charging capable up to 200 kilowatts at that capacity you’re

Looking at a 10 to 80 percent charge in 31 minutes and like mercedes mercedes-benz and cadillac bmw is throwing in free charging sessions with evgo so just one word about the batteries that bmw is using for the i-4 they are exclusive for this vehicle and bmw has said that they’re going out of their way to source cobalt especially in conflict-free zones so what

That means is hopefully countries that have really strict child labor laws and a little bit more environmentally conscious which i always think is a good thing let’s talk about the interior for a second the iforce cockpit is driver focused and friendly the way a grand coupe should be there’s a massive curved display that orients toward the driver and incorporates

Both drivers information and entertainment climate controls and smartphone connectivity i like how the gauge cluster the infotainment screen and the head-up display all work together they’re super customizable and you can put information either individually on each of these screens or you can have everything all in the same place all at once drivers like it when

They can have stuff where they want it the seats are a gorgeous vernasca leather this color happens to be called tacora red and it is beautiful the seats are highly adjustable and fit like a glove without being super restrictive goldilocks says just right thanks space is pretty decent back here especially when you’re talking about behind my seating position now

When i move over not sure why the transmission tube is here but okay when i’m here behind ryan the intern say hi ryan hi ryan room does get a little bit more scarce he’s a little bit further back and i can say the same for the roofline too even though you know what i like the sloping roof line but hey i’m never sitting back here that’s where the intern goes some

Great standard features in the i4 include a power tailgate keyless entry moon roof rain sensing wipers a lynn favorite dual climate control intern ryan thanks you bmw and adaptive cruise control additional driver assists include blind spot detection lane departure warnings rear cross traffic alerts and a fatigue and focus alert the m50 adds 19 inch wheels m sport

Brakes with blue calipers so everyone knows you’re emming it the badging does that too but you also get that adaptive m suspension and variable sport steering you can load up on more options should you choose including heated steering wheel lumbar support heated seats and get this the iconic sounds electric feature what’s that i’m glad you asked if you are a fan

Of the movies at all then you probably know the name hans zimmer he composed music for pirates of the caribbean and gladiator so yeah like we know him well bmw commissioned mr zimmer to make all of the sounds in the i4 and some of them are just absolutely super cool and otherworldly especially when you get into sport boost mode i mean listen whether you like

It or not or think it’s just too weird or not what i love is the fact that bmw has made something that’s really bespoke this is a premium brand and i love the fact that they’re adding little touches that make it feel like it coming outside the i-4 looks every inch of bmw down to the kidneys up front instead of cooling through those nostrils though that’s where

Bmw stashes the radar sensors in this ev i think here they’re nicely proportioned yeah i can’t say that about other bmws the m50 gets the bulged hood and signature bmw headlights you know exactly what it is when you see it you like some other competitors to look at if you’re in the market for a luxury electric sports sedan are the tesla model 3 the kia ev6 gt

And the pulstar 2 with the performance pack pricing for the i4 e drive 40 starts at 55 400 the m50 i4 gets a higher base price of 65 900 both of these prices do not include the federal tax credit of 7 500 that you could be eligible for the m50 i tested that comes with special paint the parking assistance premium and high performance packages has a retail price

Of 76 670 and that does include the 995 destination charge you know what that seems kind of like a bargain bmw i am still sweating and not just because of the southern california summer the i-4 m50 lives up to the m badge thanks in part to some stellar driving dynamics some really engaging tech and classic bmw looks do you want one go snagit it’s already in dealerships you

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2022 BMW i4 | Review & Road Test By Kelley Blue Book