[A_Camera]

Oh I agree with most of the above. Overall the i4 is a brilliant EV and has proven to be in all reviews. I suppose I was thinking about the packaging, i.e. cabin space in the rear and the often mentioned transmission tunnel hump. Little insignificant details to most tbh but theyre the little details that are a constant callout in reviews.

I collected a new BMW M3 last October and my brother-in-law who works at my local dealership, keeps teasing me with the i4 M50 as an alternative. With 2 kids just hitting their teens, the M3, well the 3 series has acres of room in the rear for them and their friends which has been great. The i4 is just wee bit cramped, however I do know the i4 to be a top EV and I much, much, much prefer the quality both inside and out of the i4 when compared to a Tesla. Its a really nice place to sit.

I don't know what you mean by "cramped"... Yes, the rear floor is a bit higher than in an ordinary ICE or in my 330e, but the space is enough for an adult. The roof is leaning back, but unless your kids are huge, or expected to grow to over 2 m in height, I think the rear sitting space is plenty enough. Take them out for a ride in that i4 M50 and you will see that they will never again sit in a BMW M3. Anyway, my choice of buying the i4 was partially based on the shape of the car. I love REAL cars, not the touring or SUV types. My "kids" are 1.86 m and stopped growing and they have no issue sitting back there. Of course, the car may not be practical for long holiday trips with four adults if you bring a lot of luggage, but for more "normal" trips, I think it's more than enough.

 

[A_Camera]

Ignoring the loss of the rear footwells, their appears to be wasted space in the ICE engine bay and yet no frunk. BMW have done a good job on the conversion but would do even better, as they did with the i3 10 years ago, on a dedicated design.

You should see the i4 e40... I mean talk about wasted space in the front... BMW could have easily fit in a 60-70 litre frunk in there, after all, the Kia EV6 RWD Plus has one which is 50 litres, and that car is a bit smaller. I agree that BMW should have made one for that car also. It is a pretty easy design and simple to fit in an i4 e40.

 

[dirk362]

I went to test drive a BMW i4 M-Sport Pro and didn't even get as far as actually driving it.

I've learnt to try and sit in the car in both front and back first before anything else. Sadly with the raised lip on the rear doors that you have to step over to get in, plus the largish drop to the actual floor, and the fact it's not a full-sized door due to the i4 being a Gran Coupé, I struggled to get in. I'm slightly under average height and had a bit of trouble. But I know my ageing parents would never be able to get in it and they're in my car a few times a month at least.

So rather than getting all keen and enamoured from the front and driving, it doesn't fit my needs/lifestyle. Shame as on paper it's a great car. Just not for me. May look at the BMW i5 when that gets released later this year.

 

[A_Camera]

I went to test drive a BMW i4 M-Sport Pro and didn't even get as far as actually driving it.

I've learnt to try and sit in the car in both front and back first before anything else. Sadly with the raised lip on the rear doors that you have to step over to get in, plus the largish drop to the actual floor, and the fact it's not a full-sized door due to the i4 being a Gran Coupé, I struggled to get in. I'm slightly under average height and had a bit of trouble. But I know my ageing parents would never be able to get in it and they're in my car a few times a month at least.

So rather than getting all keen and enamoured from the front and driving, it doesn't fit my needs/lifestyle. Shame as on paper it's a great car. Just not for me. May look at the BMW i5 when that gets released later this year.

Well, that's personal. I have no problems sitting behind myself if I would ever need to. The car fits my needs perfectly and looking forward to receive it. The only bad thing about the car is the long delivery time. I signed my order last week of October 2022 and expect delivery in October this year. This is how my car will look like. The images are based on my current configuration.

Personally I am not a SUV or touring car man, I like coupe cars, which look like cars, not oversized shoe boxes. I don't buy cars out of rare occasions when the car will have 3 large sized rear seat passengers, if that will ever happen it will only be for short trips anyway, so I can't consider that as important. I know that my adult sons will fit without problems, even though they are 185+ cm. As for the rear door not being full size... perhaps you confuse the car with something else. To me, it looks and feels like full size. Rear doors are always smaller than front doors, at least for BMW, but all the other cars I know about also. The only BMW I know of which does not have a full size rear door is the i3. But if you worry about the comfort of rear seat passengers then you must buy a SUV, not a coupe. Even the i5 will be too small and uncomfortable for you, since it will be based on the 530e, so it will be marginally larger (if at all) than the i4.

 

[dirk362]

Please don't take my original post as a view that the BMW i4 is not a good car. Indeed it is a very good car.
If I was buying for myself, and me alone, I'd have bought one.

But a car has to fit your lifestyle, and the coupe nature of the i4 sadly does not fit mine.

All of my recent cars have been saloons, and indeed two of those were BMW 5 series. Which were perfectly fine for my lifestyle and passenger needs. I am therefore hopeful the BMW i5 will be a good fit and look forward to being able to see the full spec and details, and ultimately take it for a test drive.

 

[sunstoner]

Well, that's personal. I have no problems sitting behind myself if I would ever need to. The car fits my needs perfectly and looking forward to receive it. The only bad thing about the car is the long delivery time. I signed my order last week of October 2022 and expect delivery in October this year. This is how my car will look like. The images are based on my current configuration.

Personally I am not a SUV or touring car man, I like coupe cars, which look like cars, not oversized shoe boxes. I don't buy cars out of rare occasions when the car will have 3 large sized rear seat passengers, if that will ever happen it will only be for short trips anyway, so I can't consider that as important. I know that my adult sons will fit without problems, even though they are 185+ cm. As for the rear door not being full size... perhaps you confuse the car with something else. To me, it looks and feels like full size. Rear doors are always smaller than front doors, at least for BMW, but all the other cars I know about also. The only BMW I know of which does not have a full size rear door is the i3. But if you worry about the comfort of rear seat passengers then you must buy a SUV, not a coupe. Even the i5 will be too small and uncomfortable for you, since it will be based on the 530e, so it will be marginally larger (if at all) than the i4.

Nice combination with the chrome detailing. You more often see black detailing these days so its nice to see a classy finish on your i4.

This is just the thing with 'things'. We buy them to suit ourselves and thats that.

Hopefully with parts becoming more available I've noticed delivery times reducing so hopefully yours will arrive sooner than Oct '23 . With any luck.

 

[Charlie S]

@A_Camera glad to see the addition of the aluminium window trim!

I just noticed today a car with my preferred exterior configuration on Autotrader, nice to see some real photos of it... not sure the tail lights match up with the orange colour amazingly well which puts me off slightly but, I think it's still my favourite colour of the i4. Definitely prefer the "aero" 17" wheels over the standard 18" ones.

 

[A_Camera]

Please don't take my original post as a view that the BMW i4 is not a good car. Indeed it is a very good car.
If I was buying for myself, and me alone, I'd have bought one.

But a car has to fit your lifestyle, and the coupe nature of the i4 sadly does not fit mine.

All of my recent cars have been saloons, and indeed two of those were BMW 5 series. Which were perfectly fine for my lifestyle and passenger needs. I am therefore hopeful the BMW i5 will be a good fit and look forward to being able to see the full spec and details, and ultimately take it for a test drive.

Don't worry, I would not take it personally even if you'd "insult" BMW. It's just a car, nothing else. Of course it must fit your needs. When looking for new cars last year we did not take out all of them for test drive. For example the very popular ID.4 and ID.5 was dismissed by my wife after sitting 2 minutes in one of the displayed cars. The reason is simple, we both must be able to drive our cars, and she saw immediately that she will never be able to drive it comfortably and feel safe in it. At the same time, she sat in the i4 in the show room but was not interested to test drive it because she felt that the car is the same as my current 330e so she will have no problems with that car, she gave me the approval. Personally I sat in an Audi Q4 but was not interested to test drive it because I did not like the car enough. I test drove the Nissan Ariya because my wife is a Nissan fan, but I didn't like the car so she didn't waste time on it. In the end, she ended up with an EV6, which we both agreed about being a very good car for us.

My only point about the i5 was that it's based on the 530e so don't expect too much differences. Older 5 series are larger. If I needed rear seat comfort I'd buy a SUV, though even in the SUV type cars, there are those which aren't that comfortable back there. But yes, of course the car you buy must fit your needs.

 

[A_Camera]

@A_Camera glad to see the addition of the aluminium window trim!

I just noticed today a car with my preferred exterior configuration on Autotrader, nice to see some real photos of it... not sure the tail lights match up with the orange colour amazingly well which puts me off slightly but, I think it's still my favourite colour of the i4. Definitely prefer the "aero" 17" wheels over the standard 18" ones.

View attachment 172447
View attachment 172448
View attachment 172449

Sunset orange was on my list also, together with Skyscraper grey, but I could not make up mi mind so I let my wife decide and she voted on the Aventurin red. I like colours which are not far too common, which is why I am not interested in black, white or blue, at least not the standard BMW blue. My current 330e is "Blue Ridge Mountain" which is also very uncommon. Also, the colour is changing as light changes, it turns a bit greenish in certain light, just like the Aventurin Red of my coming i4, which is varying between different red(ish) and even a bit brown(ish) colours.

Note that your car does not have laser lights and 360° camera and no DAPP. Those are a "must have" for me. Regarding the aluminium frame, I just added this week together with the 17" aero wheels. I actually like the 17" wheels more because they provide more comfortable ride, quieter car and more range. The Aero type supposed to give even more range (5-6km extra) but the cost difference does not cover that, however, the car looks better with it, especially with the aluminium frame. I have the frame now also on my 330e, and I like it more than the standard black.

Sadly BMW removed the M steering wheel option, which I also had until now, but as of March, BMW will not have them on cars which does not have the full M trim. I am not interested to pay a huge sum for red brakes and coloured stitches plus a plastic spoiler at the back, all I want is the M steering wheel from that package, but I can't have that so I will need to accept the "standard" steering wheel, which is the same I have today on the 330e.

 

[Charlie S]

@A_Camera "Blue Ridge Mountain" is really nice. When I ordered my i3 it was not available, came out a few months after. I would have definitely got it if I could but I am happy with my Jucaro Beige car which is a fairly uncommon colour (it was not included in marketing/configurator in the UK but you could order it nonetheless).

 

[A_Camera]

Nice combination with the chrome detailing. You more often see black detailing these days so its nice to see a classy finish on your i4.

This is just the thing with 'things'. We buy them to suit ourselves and thats that.

Hopefully with parts becoming more available I've noticed delivery times reducing so hopefully yours will arrive sooner than Oct '23 . With any luck.

Thank you. I am also hoping for earlier delivery, but on the other hand, currently there are some first generation problems, which I hope will be fixed before I get mine.

 

[Shahev]

Happy with my i4 M Sport plus lots of options. Big enough front and back. Comfortable and sporty with great handling. Regeneration seems to work well. Came with Michelin Sport 4 tyres, a bonus. Lowest efficiency in deepest winter was.2.9 miles per kwh and best with temperatures below 9 degrees was 3.6 miles per kwh on mixed 200 mile journeys.

 

[sunstoner]

Happy with my i4 M Sport plus lots of options. Big enough front and back. Comfortable and sporty with great handling. Regeneration seems to work well. Came with Michelin Sport 4 tyres, a bonus. Lowest efficiency in deepest winter was.2.9 miles per kwh and best with temperatures below 9 degrees was 3.6 miles per kwh on mixed 200 mile journeys.

Decent showing for the i4 for this time of year.

My bro-in-law works at BMW Lincoln and he was telling me that the i4 can get a decent lick past 4 miles per kWh. Nice motors!

 

[Charlie S]

Happy with my i4 M Sport plus lots of options. Big enough front and back. Comfortable and sporty with great handling. Regeneration seems to work well. Came with Michelin Sport 4 tyres, a bonus. Lowest efficiency in deepest winter was.2.9 miles per kwh and best with temperatures below 9 degrees was 3.6 miles per kwh on mixed 200 mile journeys.

Wow that's better than I'd have expected, which is a plus! Is that a rear wheel drive on the 19s I guess?

 

[Shahev]

Wow that's better than I'd have expected, which is a plus! Is that a rear wheel drive on the 19s I guess?

Yes I opted for the 19 inch also meant got.the Michelins. Obviously I'm trying all the tricks to be efficient but wouldn't go less than 70 on motorways

 

[pressurized]

I've ordered a 40 M-Sport in Portimao Blue

Any chance of pictures? I'm keen on this blue based on the web page but haven't seen an example.

 

[A_Camera]

Yes I opted for the 19 inch also meant got.the Michelins. Obviously I'm trying all the tricks to be efficient but wouldn't go less than 70 on motorways

I chose the 17" for even better efficiency and range, as well as in my opinion better comfort. More rubber means smoother ride. Less rubber means higher consumption.

 

[Charlie S]

@A_Camera looks like they have switched away from the drive selector knob now, to the little switch like other models, per the UK configurator... ignoring left hand drive of course! The eDrive 35 is now available here as well, doesn't seem overly worth it financially for the loss of kWh and I would guess there is hardly any weight saving but I haven't looked into that yet!

 

[Charlie S]

Actually I guess the price increase has filtered through finally. "My" configuration (wishful) was about £61,500 with the eDrive40. Now, the eDrive35 with same spec comes to £60,500. I checked and now the eDrive40 is £68,380 - yikes.

 

[A_Camera]

@A_Camera looks like they have switched away from the drive selector knob now, to the little switch like other models, per the UK configurator... ignoring left hand drive of course! The eDrive 35 is now available here as well, doesn't seem overly worth it financially for the loss of kWh and I would guess there is hardly any weight saving but I haven't looked into that yet!

View attachment 173817

Yes, I knew about the removal of gear selector and that was actually expected, since every other car has the same also and the i4 was one of the last one to get this update. All cars manufactured after March will have the new selector. Personally I like the older one a bit more, but the new isn't bad and perhaps it's more practical, apart from more modern looking. What upset me more is that as of March, also the option of selecting M sport steering wheel is removed unless you select the whole M sport package. I had the M sport wheel but not the package because I only wanted the steering wheel from that package. Anyway, now it's removed and I will get the same wheel as the picture shows, except that I'll have a heated steering wheel and the command buttons look different since I'll have the DAPP as well. BTW, I hear that as of iDrive 8.5 even the multimedia controller dial will be removed...

Anyway, right now I just hope I get my car in time and no other options than the M steering wheel gets removed from the selections I made.