Test drive: 2022 BMW i4 puts electric moves in 4-Series body

On Aug 23, 2022

The 2022 BMW i4 electric sedan feels familiar, despite being new. The i4 shares a chassis and liftback body style with the BMW 4-Series Gran Coupe, and the cabin makes it even harder to discern the difference between the two. It’s a different story under the hood and behind the wheel.

This represents a new approach for BMW as it makes its electric cars more interchangeable with its existing gas models. Until now, BMW had steered to the quirkiest side of EV development. The i8 plug-in hybrid sports coupe had butterfly doors that opened like wings from its insectoid body. It had a supercar stance with a supercar price and less than supercar performance. On the other end of the spectrum, the i3 hatchback was an eco-pod with suicide doors and excellent interior space made mostly of recycled materials. Both underwhelmed.

2022 BMW i4 M50

The 2022 BMW i4 M50 most certainly does not, at least from a stop. The burst of instantaneous torque that happens in other electric cars is a hammer drop in the i4 M50. Time and again, in Sport Boost mode, the torque pinned me to my seat hard enough to check for pocket change and key fobs engorged in the crack of the tester’s leather seats.

The blazing acceleration derives from a dual-motor all-wheel-drive system that generates 469 hp and 538 lb-ft of torque. In 10-second bursts, Boost mode boosts output to 536 hp and 586 lb-ft of torque. BMW quotes a 0-60 mph time of 3.7 seconds but it felt quicker than that, quick enough to barely gasp.

It lacks the more visceral feel of the twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline-6 powering the two-door M4 and the four-door M440i Gran Coupe. The i4 splits the difference between those two in both price and performance. The top M4 Competition all-wheel drive hits 60 mph in 3.4 seconds, while the M440i xDrive Gran Coupe does it in 4.4 seconds.

It’s a quieter, calmer, and cleaner take than either of those models, even though it has the similarly polarizing iron butterfly wings in place of what used to be a twin kidney grille. It retains similar proportions as the 4-Series Gran Coupe, with a long hood, short rear, and identical wheelbase, length, and width.

2022 BMW i4 M50

The difference between these models is a big one, or 850 big ones. The i4 weighs 5,018 lb compared to 4,169 lb for the M440i Gran Coupe, and it feels every bit of it. It makes the acceleration that much more impressive and the propulsion system that much more promising. The bulk of the weight comes from the 81.5-kwh usable battery pack suspended between the axles and under the floor, as well as other structural upgrades. When it’s not sprinting, the i4 feels that weight, rolling though long sweeping turns like loose love handles over a tight waistband. The lower center of gravity combined with a standard rear air suspension and adaptive damping counters some of the physics, but the i4 M50 doesn’t feel as agile as other M models.

With the artificial engine noises shut off, the i4 delivers on its quieter, cleaner promise. It’s solid and serene while cruising, absorbing road hiccups like a grand tourer and deadening most road noise. It’s more efficient than the equivalent Gran Coupe, but it’s not efficient for an electric car.

2023 BMW i4

The M440i xDrive has a 25 mpg combined rating, while the EPA rates the i4 M50 at an equivalent of 96 mpg. There’s a steep penalty on efficiency based on wheel size. With the 20-inchers, it drops to 80 MPGe and the range drops from 270 miles to 227 miles. Its efficiency lowers from 2.84 miles per kwh to 2.36 miles per kwh, making it one of the least efficient electric cars on sale now.

Charge rates are above average, thanks to the i4’s 400-volt electrical architecture. On a 240-volt Level 2 charger, it charges at up to 11 kw and can replenish fully in less than eight hours. On a Level 3 DC fast-charge of up to 195 kw, BMW estimates the i4 M50 adds 90 miles of range in 10 minutes, or it can charge from 10% to 80% in about a half hour.

2022 BMW i4 M50

BMW gives drivers plenty of efficiency options with at least four different regenerative braking settings. The easiest one to activate is by shifting the gear selector left to the B setting. In most situations, it can stop the car without the driver pressing the brake. If that’s too aggressive, there are four other settings—low, medium, high, and adaptive—buried deep within the touchscreen. It takes at least four presses to get there, and is a pain to access on the fly. I suppose BMW figures you’ll set it the way you like it and leave it. Paddle shifter regen brake settings work better.

Another complaint is the buried climate settings on the otherwise excellent graphics and deep functionality of the 14.9-inch touchscreen that curves toward the driver under a pane of glass shared with the 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster. Climate buttons are better, quicker, clearer, safer. There’s a volume dial, and defrost and hazard buttons, but I’d prefer temp and climate buttons as well.

2022 BMW i4 M50

The shared platform results in a cabin that lacks one of the big packaging advantages of an electric vehicle. With a motor powering either axle, there’s no reason for a thick driveshaft tunnel spanning the length of the interior. Volvo Recharge and Polestar models suffer the same fate as well. The i4 feels more cramped than other EVs, especially in back, and it lacks the clever innovations that benefit from an open floor plan. The dimensions are within a fraction of an inch of the Gran Coupe, except the cargo volume in the hatch area falls from 16.6 cubic feet to 10.X cubic feet in the i4. Fortunately the seats can be laid flat for more versatile hatch space.

2022 BMW i4 M50

The tester started at about $67,000 including destination, but with a $2,500 High Performance tire package that added 20-inch M alloy wheels and Pirelli P Zero summer tires and some other extras, it added up to $76,670. That’s not bad for an M-ish sedan. The new federal EV tax credit precludes the BMW i4 since its final point of assembly is not in North America.

The BMW i4 M50 steers the brand down a new yet familiar path of electrification. It’s so similar to the M440i Gran Coupe that it would be hard to discern it as an electric vehicle until you drive it. And once you do, it has few of the EV advantages except for its propulsion and emissions systems. It’s not a Tesla, however, and it’s not a crossover, and that may be enough for the i4 to stand out. For now.