BMW i4 Review 2025

BMW looked to be at the forefront of desirable electric cars way back in 2013/2014 when it launched the truly innovative BMW i3 and the plug-in hybrid BMW i8 sports car. Things went quiet for a few years after that, but not too long after BMW EVs made their return with the garishly-styled iX SUV, the i4 was released, effectively an all-electric version of the BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe. And it's very serious about attracting customers away from upstarts like Tesla and Polestar. Find out more in our BMW i4 review.

We think that the BMW i4 one of the most desirable electric vehicles on sale today. Aimed at the kind of buyer that would have traditionally bought a BMW 3 Series, the BMW i4 doesn't have a great deal in the way of direct competition. There's the extremely popular Tesla Model 3, of course, and the more recent BYD Seal, while you might also be considering it alongside electric SUV competitors like the Audi Q4 e-tron or Mercedes EQA.

Initially, there were two key BMW i4 models available: the entry-level eDrive40 (which was available in Sport or M Sport derivatives), or the flagship BMW i4 M50. We rate the BMW i4 eDrive40, which produces a healthy-enough 340PS and 430Nm of torque.

Perhaps more significantly, the BMW i4 eDrive40 could cover up to 367 miles between charges, while the M50 had a 316-mile range. Meanwhile, 200kW charging means you could get a significant boost in range in just 20 minutes or so.

Later on, things were shaken up on the powertrain front. The eDrive40 remained, but improvements in efficiency boosted potential range up to more like 380 miles, while this powertrain was also supplemented by a new, more affordable entry-level version with less power and a smaller battery. The eDrive35 has a still-considerable 286PS, and is only a fraction slower than the eDrive40, but range drops to just 319 miles. The M50 was also replaced by the M60, boosting power up from 544PS to 601PS, and (thanks to those same efficiency improvements) range up from 316 miles to 338 miles.

Of course, electric cars aren't cheap, and BMWs aren't cheap, so an electric BMW? Predictably un-cheap. Even the entry-level car costs well upwards of £50,000, while the eDrive40 is more like £60,000 as a minimum, and the M60 is upwards of £70,000.

Still, it's clear where your money goes. As well as being one of the most entertaining electric cars to drive, the BMW i4's interior is simply brilliant. It feels every bit worth the cash, while its dual-screen infotainment setup is pure brilliance.

The BMW i4 scores quite well for practicality, too. It has a bigger boot than most rivals, while you can squeeze a pair of adults in the back without too much discomfort.

As an electric all-rounder, we reckon the BMW i4 is impressive enough to tempt many buyers away from their traditional premium cars. Read our full review to find out whether it should be on your new car shortlist.

BMW i4: Range and charging times

The precise range your car gives you will depend on a huge variety of factors, and we're not just talking all those real-world factors such as temperature, road conditions, speed, and how heavy you are with the accelerator: there's even quite a lot of discrepancy with the official WLTP laboratory figures.

Not only do i4s with different powertrain offerings have different figures, but i4s with the same powertrain offering, but a different trim level, also have different figures. That's due to the differing sizes of wheel they ride on, and the extra weight of extra equipment. There's also the fact that BMW has quietly made small incremental improvements to the efficiency of the car's electric powertrains over time, so if you buy a used one, even the year it was built will have an effect on the range figure of your car.

Here, we'll give you the minimum and maximum combined WLTP figures of each powertrain version, and you'll see what we mean about the size of the disparity.

Go for the eDrive35, and the official WLTP combined figures say you'll get anywhere between 287 miles and 319 miles of range from the car's 67.1kWh battery.

The eDrive40, meanwhile, has a considerably larger 81.3kWh battery, and so despite its extra power and weight, your range bracket stands between 343 miles and 380 miles (that's for the post-2024 facelifted car with the various efficiency improvements, so earlier examples will have marginally lower figures than that).

Both the M50 and M60 versions have an ever-so-slightly smaller battery capacity at 81.1kWh. In the M50, that gives you combined figures of between 290 miles and 318 miles, while the efficiency improvements made by the time the M60 came along extended these figures to between 311 miles and 338 miles.

BMW is slightly cheeky in that it quotes AC charging speeds at 11kW, because that's the maximum AC charging speed that the car can accept. Those figures are seven hours for the eDrive35, and eight-and-a-half hours for the rest.

However, most buyers will charge at home, and very few homes in the UK have the three-phase electrics needed to support an 11kW connection. Most home wallbox chargers have an output of 7.4kW, and on a connection like this, we reckon you're looking at a full charging time of more like ten hours for the eDrive35 and twelve hours on the rest. Don't rely on a normal three-pin domestic plug socket to charge your i4: you'll be waiting days, rather than hours.

For those occasion where you need to charge up on the move as quickly as possible, the eDrive35 can accept DC rapid charging at up to180kW, while all the others have a maximum speed of 205kW. If you can find a powerful enough charging station that's running to full capacity (which would be a minor miracle in itself) all versions will take on a 10% to 80% charge in around half an hour.

BMW has form for making everyday cars that are excellent to drive and the i4 remains true to that. By positioning the batteries low down, the centre of gravity is lower than in the current 3 Series, which helps it remain very flat during cornering. Combine this with taut body control and slick, communicative steering, and the BMW i4 is genuinely one of the most enjoyable electric cars to drive this side of a Porsche Taycan.

There are some slight differences in the handling stakes between the various models. The eDrive35 and eDrive40 send have a single rear-mounted motor meaning that it's rear-wheel drive, so it feels a smidgen more nimble that both the M50 and M60, which both have an extra motor on the front axle, and are thus four-wheel drive. That said, you'd have to drive both cars back-to-back - and at breakneck speed - to notice a significant amount of difference, and the way the four-wheel-drive cars shuffle their power between wheels is mightily impressive.

What's equally impressive is the ride quality. With air suspension at the back, the BMW i4 soaks up bumpy road surfaces surprisingly well for a car weighing more than 2000kg. That makes the i4 a soothing car to drive, as well as an enjoyable one.

Initially, the i4 range consisted of just the eDrive40, with its single rear-mounted 340PS electric motor, and the M50, with its additional front-mounted motor to give a total of 544PS and four-wheel drive.

Even the former can polish off the benchmark 0-62mph sprint in just 5.6 seconds, and with the vast slice of instantaneous off-the-mark torque it possesses, it actually feels a good bit brisker than that. The M50 trims that figure to just 3.9 seconds, and predictably, feels even more bonkers, both when tearing off the line and when piling on the speed while already travelling at a rate of knots.

Later on, BMW introduced a new, more affordable entry-level version of the i4 in the shape of the eDrive35. This has quite a bit less power than the eDrive40 at 286PS (again, this one is rear-wheel drive), but even so, its official 0-62mph time isn't far behind at 6.0 seconds. We haven't tried this version yet, though, so we can't yet comment on the sensation of speed it delivers.

The same goes for the M60, which replaced the M50 as the i4 range-topper, although with a total of 601PS and a 0-62mph time of 3.7 seconds, it sounds pretty fearsome.

If you're remotely interested in top speeds, it's 118mph in the rear-drive cars, and 140mph in the four-wheel-drive M cars.

But while performance is impressive across the board, we were even more impressed by how refined the BMW i4 is. You might think that's a given for a car that uses electric motors rather than an engine, but many EVs manage to be surprisingly noisy with high levels of wind- and road noise, not to mention clonks from the suspension. The BMW i4 is ultra cosseting, doing a superb job of shielding you from the outside world.

The BMW i4 has been driven at high speed into various concrete structures by the good people at Euro NCAP, and has been awarded four stars (out of a possible five) for its crash safety as a result.

However, there's no shortage of systems on hand to help you avoid concrete structures, or any other sort of obstacle for that matter. These include the Driving Assistant, which uses cameras and radars to operate things like an Approach Control Warning, Rear Crossing-Traffic Warning, Lane Change Warning, Lane Departure Warning, Rear Collision Prevention and Speed Limit Info.

The optional Driving Assistant Professional builds on that with Automatic Speed Limit Assist, Crossroads Warning with City Braking Function, Emergency Stop Assistant, Evasion Assistant, Front Crossing-traffic Warning, Lane Change Assistant, Lane Keeping Assistant with Active Side Collision Protection, Steering and Lane Control Assistant, Steering and Lane Control Assistant with Active Navigation Guidance, Traffic Light Detection and Wrong-way Warning.

Many EVs do surprisingly poorly when it comes to official towing weights, but the i4 actually does OK. Whatever, version you pick, it'll be rated to pull a braked trailer of up to 1600kg.

The BMW i4's boot can carry 470 litres of luggage, which makes it a very versatile electric car. The batteries are positioned under the floor of the cabin, which means boot space isn't affected, and it can carry more than the Tesla Model 3. Unlike the Tesla, though, there isn't a useful 'frunk' at the front of the car, but there is an area underneath the boot floor for stowing away your charging cables. The rear seats can be dropped to open up a maximum of 1290 litres of loadspace.

Space for rear-seat passengers is fine, but not much more: legroom is okay, but headroom is a little on the tight side, and a lump in the floor will get in the way of anyone using the middle seat. Not that you'll want to carry three back there on a regular basis, mind, because the cabin is too narrow to do that comfortably.

Things are better in the front, where you'll find loads of space and plenty of adjustment in the seats. You do sit rather low down, but that adds to the BMW i4's rather sporting vibe.

In terms of dimensions, the BMW i4 is 4783mm long, 1448mm tall, 2073 wide (including the door mirrors), and has a wheelbase of 2856mm.

The i4's interior is typical BMW, which is to say, it's absolutely stunning. There are lots of soft, cushioned, touchy-feely surfaces, glitzy-yet-tasteful finishes, and a general sense of effortless upmarketness. You won't feel disappointed if you're trading in your BMW 3 Series or 5 Series, while it's on another level compared to anything ever produced by Tesla.

The BMW i4's infotainment is really impressive. You get a large curved display made up of a 14.9-inch central screen combined with 12.3-inch digital dials. The graphics are super sharp, and it's fast to respond. It'll take a bit of time to get used to the ecosystem of menus and sub-menus, but it's a lot better on that score than most similar systems.

And what's more, unlike most modern infotainment systems, it's not totally reliant on touchscreen operation. Yes, you can tap and swipe the central screen if you like, but you can also navigate your way through it using the rotary controller conveniently positioned next to the gear selector. Alternatively, there's a voice-activated personal assistant which responds to 'hey BMW' (a bit like Siri but in your car).

If you want to cut out the faff, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are both on hand to mirror apps from your phone. This means you can use Google Maps on the move, or access your favourite Spotify playlists.

There are a lot of things going for the BMW i4, but value for money isn't one of them. Even the entry-level eDrive35 Sport costs upwards of £50,000, while the cheapest version of the eDrive40 is more like £60,000. You'll be paying more than £70,000 for the M60, meanwhile. This not a cheap car, then.

More crucially, prices for the i4 are a good bit higher - we're talking thousands rather than hundreds, here - than they are for both the Tesla Model S and the BYD Seal, arguably the car's most direct rivals. As a result, you'll have to really like the i4 to justify spending the extra.

As always, though, huge savings can be made by turning to the used market, especially where EVs are concerned as residual values on them are traditionally shaky. A budget of around £28,000 should get you a choice of 2023 eDrive40 examples, likely either Sport models with around 15,000 miles on the clock, or M Sport cars with around 30,000 miles. That's around half the brand new price for a car that's still relatively new.

Charge your BMW i4 up at home, and it should be very cheap to run. Assuming that your domestic electricity is billed at the UK current average rate of 28p per kWh, the a full juice-up of the eDrive35's 67kWh battery will cost around £19, while the 81kWh battery packs found in the rest of the range will cost around £23 to fully replenish. That's a lot less than you pay for the equivalent amount of petrol or diesel.

That's not the full story, though, because if you get yourself on a domestic power tariff that allows you to charge your car overnight on heavily discounted off-peak electricity (and you'll probably be charging it overnight anyway, right?), you can get those costs down a lot further: easily down to half the amounts previously quoted, and maybe even down to a third. It's a no-brainer, frankly.

Conversely, make regular use of DC public rapid chargers, and you'll pay a lot more to charge your car. Prices of 90p per kWh aren't uncommon on such chargers, which equates to more than three times as much as those charging costs quoted at the top of this section, and that will sting. You have been warned.

Insurance groupings are a little punchy at between 34 and 45 (of 50, with group 50 cars being the most expensive to cover) depending on the version in question, but when all versions are both very powerful and very expensive, that's no great surprise.

Worse news is to come on the VED road tax front. Where once EVs were exempt, they are no longer as of April 2025, and what's more, the high price of the i4 means that all versions will be liable for the very steep luxury car surcharge. So, as well as the annual £195 flat rate, you'll pay an additional £425 per year on top for a temporary five-year period between years two and six of the car's life. From £0 per year to £620 per year in one fell swoop is quite the kidney punch.

Servicing and repairs will likely be more costly than on a non-premium-brand car, and BMW's three-year, unlimited-mileage warranty isn't much better than the industry's bare minimum.

The BMW i4 eDrive 40 is available in two main trim levels: Sport and M Sport. Standard equipment on the BMW i4 Sport includes:

• alloy wheels (a choice of 17-inch or 18-inch)
• LED lights front and back
• automatic air conditioning
• ambient lighting
• Live Cockpit Plus
• sport leather steering wheel
• high-Gloss Black interior trim
• Sensatec vegan-leather upholstery
• sports front seats with heating
• power tailgate
• reversing camera
• Parking Assistant
• cruise control
• automatic lights and wipers

Highlights of the BMW i4 M Sport are mainly aesthetic. You get:

• 18-inch M aerodynamic wheels
• M Sport Exterior Styling Pack
• M Sport Spoiler
• M Sport interior trim
• sporty cloth seats (although Sensatec is a no-cost option)

The BMW i4 M versions are very similar in spec to the M Sport versions, but they do get one or two more styling enhancements, plus adaptive M Sport suspension.