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By Jonathan Crouch

The i4 takes BMW into uncharted territory. Jonathan Crouch looks at the updated version.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 61

BMW's i4 is a mid-sized EV sports saloon aimed at the very heart of the business sector, a car that incorporates all of the company's traditional brand values. And does so in a way that should appeal to EV customers looking for a more involving, individual choice in this segment. Here, we look at the lightly updated version of this model.

Backgroundword count: 234

The ICE age, as in 'Internal Combustion Era', is almost over and BMW is ready for what lies beyond. This car, the i4, was at launch the most important EV the brand had introduced to date. And there's a good case for calling it the most important BMW for decades. The company's been dabbling with EVs for a very long time now, ever since its 'Project i' division produced the ground-breaking little i3 back in 2013. After that though, there was a rather disappointing seven year gap, at the end of which we got a conventional looking EV version of the X3 (the iX3), then a year later, what looked like a properly dedicated design, the iX, which did in fact merely run on a (heavily modified) version of the company's combustion-orientated CLAR platform. The i4, launched in 2022, isn't designed around a properly bespoke EV platform either - that's coming with the 'Neue Klasse' EV models the company's introducing later in this decade. But it is very much a 'proper' BMW, as we're about to find out. It's proved to be the best-selling BMW EV worldwide, with over 83,000 sales in 2023. And the i4 M50 xDrive has been the best-selling M model in both 2022 and 2023. To build on that success, BMW introduced a light i4 range revamp in Spring 2024, which has brought us the car we look at here.

Driving Experienceword count: 218

i4 customers still choose between three powertrains. The eDrive35 model gets a rear-mounted electric motor putting out 286hp and is good for up to 311 miles. The eDrive40 model gets a rear-mounted electric motor putting out 335hp, enough to power the car to 62mph in 5.7s en route to 118mph - the WLTP-rated range is up to 373 miles. If that's not fast enough, your alternative is the high performance M50 variant, which offers a rear-biased xDrive all-wheel drive system. Here, the rear-mounted electric motor is joined by another on the front axle, creating a total output of 537hp, enough to get the car to 62mph in just 3.9s on the way to 140mph. The driving range figure falls though, to 324 miles. BMW hopes to set a fresh standard for handling in this segment and to that end has stiffened the chassis, given the car sharp, engaging steering and incorporated wider tracks than you get on a 3 Series. Rear air suspension is standard across the range and the M50 adds adaptive M dampers, plus a unique 'Sport Boost' function that can be used to release the drivetrain's maximum output when the car is being driven in 'Sport' mode. All i4 variants get a Dynamic Stability Control system that works 10 times quicker than a conventional set-up.

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