2024 BMW i4 M50 dials up the numbers, not the enjoyable

• The M50 is the top-performance mannequin of the BMW i4 lineup
• Acceleration numbers apart, it’s not the very best dealing with or driving i4
• The M50 gives much less driving vary than different i4s however expenses rapidly and predictably

Till BMW’s lineup of Neue Klasse automobiles arrives in 2025, with the “outsider” i3 EV far within the rearview mirror, the i4 stays the entry level for electrical automobiles within the German automaker’s lineup. Nonetheless, at almost $90,000 for the top-performance i4 M50 model I just lately drove, it looks like probably the most unlikely of entry EVs. 

Within the two years after the arrival of the i4 hatchback, the market round it has modified a bit. The Hyundai Ioniq 6 has proven {that a} sedan with one thing near its rakish roofline could be remarkably roomy and environment friendly. The Polestar 2 has made a swap to a concentrate on rear-wheel-drive. And maybe most notably, the Tesla Mannequin 3 Efficiency has been fully refreshed. 

Getting extra time driving the i4 jogged my memory that this household of electrical automobiles is a stable rival to these fashions however has a very completely different set of priorities—aimed extra to hold BMW’s signature driving expertise ahead to the realm of EVs. And it helped me understand that lesser variations of the i4 ship that in a much less heavy-handed method than the M50. 

Whether or not that is the Final Driving Machine of EVs or not, time spent with the i4 M50 made me respect its well-integrated wi-fi Apple CarPlay, spectacular Harman Kardon sound, abbreviated interface from the i5 and i7, and sharp head-up show that left loads of interface flexibility. 

Over a number of days this spring, I took the i4 M50 from Portland to an occasion at Ridge Motorsports Park in Shelton, Washington, and again. No, I didn’t take it out on the observe, sadly. However throw in some favourite backroads and a few in-town errands, and listed below are the professionals and cons of the i4 as I skilled it. 

Professional: M50 has punchy responses, fast steering 

BMW i4 M50 acceleration feels forceful and verging on supercar-quick. That’s as a result of a rear-power-biased pair of permanent-magnet motors makes 469 hp and 538 lb-ft of torque (or 536 hp and 586 lb-ft in Sport Enhance mode). At 3.7 seconds formally to 60 mph for the M50, it feels far faster than the rear-wheel-drive i4 eDrive40 and its roughly 5.4-second 0-60 mph time from its 335 hp and 317 lb-ft motor—partly, maybe, as a result of the M50’s tires are so good at delivering all of the traction they want. The M50 additionally has very fast, exact steering that mates nicely with the character of the AWD electrical powertrain, although we want extra really feel by the wheel.

Con: It’s not a 3-Collection driving expertise 

Take the i4 off on a backroad and it feels very heavy, particularly on this M50 construct. It feels far more prefer it ought to have an 8-Collection badge than a 4-Collection one. The i4 M50 ideas the scales at an official 5,018 kilos. That’s about roughly 1,000 kilos greater than at the moment’s 840i coupe and almost 1,500 kilos greater than a base 2024 3-Collection. Whereas I solely momentarily received near the immense cornering potential of the sticky, low-profile Pirelli P Zero PZ4 Elect summer time efficiency tires—255/35R20 in entrance, 285/30R20 in again—the steering doesn’t load up in a reassuring method or give indicators from the street floor the way in which the steering does within the iX electrical SUV. Or, for that matter, the eDrive40 I drove on a few of the similar roads two years in the past. Interstate-tarmac experience high quality within the M50 isn’t nice both. Between the air suspension, adaptive M dampers, specifically tuned anti-roll bars, and a entrance strut tower brace, one thing simply doesn’t compute. If it’s not weight, that factor could be simplicity. 

Professional: BMW i4 has predictably fast charging instances 

The i4 isn’t fairly one of many fastest-charging EVs, or an EV that expenses at an particularly excessive energy degree. However BMW EVs have supplied “no surprises” DC fast-charging because the i3, and this i4 M50 isn’t any exception. On a street journey cease, with a 350-kw EVgo connector plugged in at a 4% state of cost, the i4 rapidly blipped to round 205 kw and after simply half-hour  had reached 71%. 

As Inexperienced Automotive Reviews has emphasised earlier than, utilizing a 150-kw connector as a substitute gained’t sluggish you down a lot in any respect. With the earlier i4 eDrive40 I’d plugged right into a 150-kw connector at simply 3% and in half-hour I used to be at 67% Simply to see what would occur with a peace-of-mind plug-in in a sub-optimal scenario, I plugged the M50 right into a 150-kw connector at 40% and in 10 minutes I’d gained a 22% cost. 

Con: M50 underdelivers on vary and effectivity

The i4 M50 I drove had the accessible 20-inch wheels, with corresponding M wheels, M Sport brakes, and Shadowline trim and lighting. The stance of the i4 with this mixture is unbelievable, however the wheels price greater than the $2,500 up entrance. Trip high quality isn’t the identical with them, and you’re taking an enormous dip in vary by choosing them over the 19-inch wheels that in any other case include the M50. The official EPA vary of the M50 drops from 269 miles with the 19-inch wheels, and right down to 227 miles with the 20-inch wheels this take a look at automobile had. That’s already a dip from the 301 miles the eDrive40 model can extract from the identical 80.7-kwh usable battery capability. 

Word that a lot of the 2025 BMW i4 lineup does get a modest vary increase, plus a refreshed look inside. 

Over the 336 miles I drove the i4, it averaged 2.6 miles per kwh, in keeping with its journey laptop, over a highway-focused combine, with ambient temps within the vary of 55 levels and the local weather management set on auto to 69-72 levels. Whereas the eDrive40 appeared to overdeliver on its vary, I rapidly discovered 227 miles to be optimistic for the M50 in real-world situations. I’m fairly certain the Polestar 2 with the Efficiency bundle beats it in real-world driving, because it does by its 247-mile EPA score.

Professional: i4 front-seat consolation

The BMW i4 has unbelievable entrance sport seats, together with extendable thigh assist in addition to width adjustment for the motive force. Sure, the middle console feels a bit limiting versus wide-open layouts just like the Hyundai Ioniq 6 and Tesla Mannequin 3, however I received used to it rapidly and people seats left me refreshed after hours on the freeway. 

Con: Backseat the whole lot

The three-Collection has by no means been nice for backseat house, and the i4 follows in that custom after which some. The i4 has slim door cuts and a low roofline in again, particularly across the door openings, so it’s onerous to get into. With the entrance seat adjusted for a 6-footer there was subsequent to no legroom in again, and anybody close to 6–foot can be mashing their head into the comfortable headliner. On window stickers and in advertising and marketing, BMW is labeling the i4 as a Gran Coupe in 2024, whereas it wasn’t in 2023, so this can be a part of an effort to get buyers to see that that is the price of a extra trendy roofline. Cargo house with the again seat up is simply 10.0 cubic toes however greater than 45.6 cubic toes with them folded. Simply go for the latter; it’s a hatchback—and a coupe in spirit. 

2024 BMW i4 M50
Base worth: $70,695
Value as examined: $87,845 (M Sport Bundle Professional, HP tire bundle, varied different trim and tech choices)
Propulsion: Twin permanent-magnet motors, 469 hp and 538 lb-ft mixed, 536 hp and 586 lb-ft in increase mode; all-wheel drive
EPA effectivity: 227 miles of electrical vary, 2.4 mi/kwh mixed
The hits: Punchy powertrain, fast steering, predictable charging instances, supportive entrance seats.
The misses: Tight backseat house, heavy-handed dynamics, poor M50 vary and effectivity.