i'm driving the all-electric bmw i4 and
it's really quick
how quick
that quick
[Music]
until recently automakers earnestly
produced electric vehicles that looked
like props from the jetsons the bmw i3
being exhibit a from 20 paces this
bavarian looks exactly like a 4-series
grand coupe but it's the i4 all electric
it's refreshingly normal right down to
the door handles and the current bmw
conviction when it comes to grills you
know how you feel about this compared to
the gas drinker the biggest clue is
engine air intakes that are filled in
for better aerodynamics
there's an m car mindset happening here
especially with this m50 model the first
all-electric performance model to come
out of munich the architecture developed
for the 3 and 4 series is flexible and
let's not forget the 3-series is
available as a plug-in hybrid for those
who fear a purely electric vehicle but
that shouldn't be a problem with i4
let's talk about range the epa rates the
rear drive single motor e drive 40 model
at 301 miles not bad i'm driving the
more powerful m50 dual motor all-wheel
drive and it's 270.
that's if it were rolling on 19-inch
wheels this one has the 20 inchers with
wider stickier rubber so it drops
significantly to 227
why does fun always cost
buyers have some soul searching to do
i've got to believe the 19s will satisfy
all but the most discerning hooligans
and you'll save the cost of the 2500
high performance package as tested in
mineral white metallic this one stickers
for seventy thousand seventy dollars
with destination that's before any
federal or state tax incentives those
can easily lop 7 500 bucks off the price
the dual motor setup on the m50 makes
536 horsepower and 586 pound-feet of
instant torque the rear motor is more
powerful than the front bmw's unique
in-house motor design has no rare earth
metals this keeps costs and
environmental concerns down and supply
chain assurances up apparently engineers
have the flexibility to tweak the
strength of the rotor's magnetic field
bmw says any cobalt used in the
low-profile liquid-cooled 81.5
kilowatt-hour lithium-ion pack is
ethically sourced and the car is
manufactured using wind and solar energy
to reduce its carbon footprint the
initial experience is completely normal
other than that sound replacing pistons
firing while the selector looks like the
one in any four series it's a single
speed transmission built into each of
the motors the optional head up display
is large and clear don't skip it the
drive modes will look familiar to bmw
faithful m50 has adaptive dampers and
self-leveling rear air suspension so
things can be tailored nicely
i'll cover charging later but i'll point
out that bmw has the best port covers in
the business no dangling rubber dew
hickeys and the door won't close if they
aren't in the proper position simple and
elegant it's easy to schedule charging
for optimal electric rates and limit the
charge level of the pack
look you know this is going to be quick
dual motor all-wheel drive all that
horsepower all that instant torque
0-60 easily in three and a half seconds
and because it's an ev
it just feels faster than it is
there's launch control for maximum
g-forces the traction control system is
part of the motor management eliminating
the signal paths bmw says this is 10
times faster than standard systems
this thing really moves off the line and
even at highway speeds
plenty of thrust and reserve this weighs
a skoshe over 5000 pounds a lot more
than an m3 but this this is quicker so
if you're looking for thrust this is the
one to buy
need to pass a slow-moving truck or a
mitsubishi i mean there are no turbos to
spool up just instant oomph it has all
the acceleration of an m4 probably
quicker
and much quieter so fun romps don't
attract nearly as much attention
these
make more sound
one pedal drive is definitely a thing in
the i4 put it into b mode and it adds
substantial drag this will come to a
complete stop now if you leave it in
regular drive mode there's adaptive one
pedal drive meaning it will cost
efficiently
until sensors see a car ahead and then
it adds more regeneration drag it's all
automatic and it works really well
also the brake feel the transition from
recuperation to the actual physical disc
brakes is very good in this car for
efficiency the m50 prioritizes rear
drive dynamics and it uses the front
motor only when your right foot calls
for it only you can tell if the
performance tires are worth the range
penalty but i will say this
it's pretty true to the estimate
i'm seeing about 200 miles on a charge
now that said
it's a little on the cooler side in the
high 40s and i've been launching this
thing hard numerous times bmw says its
motors have an efficiency factor of 93
percent compared to less than 40 percent
for gas engines and i-4's coefficient of
drag is as low as .24
at highway speeds the i-4 is pretty darn
quiet you're going to hear some wind
rushing over the body but nothing much
and
it's comfortable everything is very
controlled but it remains sporty a
really good blend diving deep into the
ride quality the air suspension and
adaptive dampers didn't completely
eliminate head toss or slight bounding
on this undulating section of pavement
you'll see it if you look closely
might be an issue mid-corner i'm being
very picky here this is a heavy car and
it's tough to tame that dynamic bmw did
a solid job
remember batteries in the floor mean a
lower center of gravity and this is
wearing the stickier rubber so it's a
joy to toss into a corner
steering is precise and accurate the
heft of the wheel is nice plus
there is road feel coming up through
here not gobs and gobs but certainly
enough put a destination into the
navigation system and hal 9000 finds the
quickest overall route and optimum
charging strategy it even suggests
restaurants and venues while the car is
charging
when you're out here having fun on a
twisty turning road you're going to want
to put it into sport mode which triggers
a sport sound
that's courtesy of composer hans zimmer
you may like it
you may not
in case you're wondering bmw says the
sound can be turned off the optional
driving assistance professional uses
three front cameras a front-facing radar
and four side radar sensors for its
semi-autonomous driving system it
monitors the driver to make sure that
they're paying attention and unlike
super crews it's not totally hands-free
it does want your paws on the wheel
occasionally still it's quite good and
helpful on longer trips
[Applause]
while i-4's exterior might look
identical to a 4-series grand coupe the
interior is different for starters the
classic cowled gauge cluster look is
replaced by these dual displays that are
fused and curved to appear like one very
much like the ix it should come as no
surprise that the material choices are
excellent same with fit and finish this
brace isn't overly elegant but only the
passenger sees it door releases have a
solid tactile feel the meaty heated
wheel stitched up in m livery is a
lovely thing to hold
some consider a competitor tesla model 3
a luxury car
i don't know
this is what a premium cabin looks like
there's an excellent camera system and
it keeps the i4 ding free love car wash
mode
the seats will take on pilots of all
sizes and keeps them well planted during
hard cornering very adjustable too
i don't find the heating element very
powerful if you like to roast very high
isn't the hvac system is an efficient
heat pump so that helps with range
especially in cold climates as far as
the user interface is concerned bmw is
now up to idrive 8.
it's had some time to refine the system
this is now one of the best in the
business it can be controlled just about
every way known to mankind including
gesture controls to turn the volume of
the sound system up or down it's okay i
don't know that i would go for that
option but the casual voice commands are
terrific you use the prompt hey bmw
over-the-air updates our thing and they
can be scheduled to prove my point about
the interface there's the classic idrive
jog wheel and handwriting recognition if
you abhor fingerprints on the screen
if you're a hands-on person the response
is second to none on top of all that the
menu is straightforward it's deep but
things are easy to find a keypad for
charging phones is helpful since using
android auto and apple carplay
wirelessly drains batteries fast
tesla does have the best charging
experience it's simplified with plug and
charge but these days combining all the
players like chargepoint evgo shell
recharge and electrify america
there are at least as many charging
terminals the infrastructure keeps
growing traveling between large cities
there should be no issues it's just more
cumbersome having accounts with all of
them ifor's top charge rate is 200
kilowatts find the right commercial
charge station and it'll juice from 10
to 80 in about 30 minutes
most people charge at home some 80 85
percent in that case using level two
it'll take about eight hours essentially
overnight on paper the numbers seem to
favor the higher charge rate of cars
like porsche tycon kia ev6 and this
hyundai ioniq 5 that are good for speeds
around 240 kilowatts in reality it's
tough to find 350 kilowatt terminals
that would make a difference
these that are very popular top out at
150 kilowatts no matter how fast a car
takes on electrons it depends on the
terminal's capability to deliver
and if you seldom travel charging speeds
become less of an issue just saying
okay question for you now that there's
no gas engine to make motor sounds what
do you think of the electronic
performance tones wasn't paying
attention i'm playing wordle
what
hey
you're the car guy i'm the backseat guy
i just want to be chauffeured around
okay we have nothing in common except
for height we're both five foot nine
as far as the back seat goes headroom is
okay knee leg and foot room ah that's
getting a little tight and cushions are
low so my support is
and the door openings a bit on the small
side at least the door pockets are
pretty big two seat back pockets i'm
happy about that very happy i can charge
my phone up and that i have my own
climate zone back here when i think of
evs i think of flat skateboard designs
this is kind of hefty crowds foot room
so if you're going to put adults back
here make it too
that way they can enjoy a nice
refreshing
beverage
i'm always carrying loads of gear to
produce these videos so kick to open
tailgates
very handy and hatchbacks
hatchbacks rule there are security
shades as you can see they're very
easily removable but when they're in
place they keep things out of sight
that's great just like a regular sedan
there's some storage under the floor but
the travel charge cord doesn't fit here
there's no spare tire it's a bmw after
all just a repair kit you'll find a few
extra things back here to make life
easier it's a bit of a reach to drop the
seats small folks will want to go around
to the back doors this is a very useful
space to haul larger things nearly as
useful as an suv plus it's got the 40 20
40 split that i like so much
seats up it's not going to have nearly
the same cargo room as say an x3 because
there's just 10 cubic feet to fill
at least the wide opening makes loading
stress free and an easy 5 packs that
borders on 6 is respectable the same as
a 3 series sedan or a 4 series grand
coupe
in case you're wondering there is no
storage in the nose of any kind time to
wrap this up with red light green light
green lights the i4m50s dual motor
powertrain is wicked quick a strong
argument for going electric over a gas
powered m car it looks and operates like
any bmw 3 or 4 series love the normalcy
it's got a great interior with high
quality materials and that's what you
look at the most right
it has m3 dynamics with a much lower
profile visually and audibly
yellow lights it's an easy to load
hatchback but the cargo area is on the
small side and no front the back seat
has belts for three i say stop at two
and avoid large adults there
real world charge speed is good and the
epa rated range is excellent and
attainable but
segueing into red light
there's a significant efficiency drop
when going with the 20-inch wheels and
performance tires buyers have full
control over that there's no spare tire
and i-4 doesn't get run flats finally
small stuff like tepid heated seats and
the polarizing sport sound
the gas powered 4 series lineup has a
two-door coupe and convertible to choose
from i-4 is strictly a hatchbacky sedan
at least for now imagine the dynamic of
an open roofed ev could be pretty cool
this is as close as you're gonna get to
an electrified 3 series sedan they
couldn't use the i3 name because it was
already on that funky little pod but
this has loads of performance it's fun
to drive the only thing you're giving up
is engine sound actually you'll be
leaving oil changes tune-ups and
transmission maintenance behind as well
theoretically evs require much less time
in the shop than gas engines there's a
lot to like here the i4 m50 has loads of
bmw performance and refinement without
any need to shout about its ev
powertrain
that's quiet confidence
i put a lot of miles on this test car i
even took it on a road trip when i
traveled to the mud fest suv of the year
competition even with the reduced range
of the performance tires i had no
problems with range i checked ahead with
the hotel and they had chargers my
electricity was free there i wish people
knew how it all works that they don't
need to be nervous about traveling with
just a little bit of planning
have to believe as eevees become more
popular friends and family will get the
word out as always thanks to martin
campbell and rob palero uh this is rob's
car
of four series
you drove the i4 what do you think
torque is fabulous
interior great handling awesome
would i trade it
i like my manual
yeah
but the torque is nice
martin disagrees we all love what we
love
we use rob's 4 series for the car to car
shots i stick a dji osmo on the back
with shock mount to smooth things out
what you may not know
is how close i have to drive to rob's
back bumper because of the wide-angle
nature of the lens i'm around five to
six feet away from the camera here
seriously and i also do a backup with a
gopro it's even wider i like good
photography this stuff takes a good
amount of time and
it doesn't always go smoothly so i
appreciate the effort of the dynamic duo
and then there was this guy who was very
happy to keep me company
but dogs and cars don't mix
i have stories
this is the end where i normally give
you guys a fun fact but this time i'm
going to talk about the automobile
industry a lot of people don't
understand how global it is
you know we're all rooting for team usa
go team but
you know even the big three
u.s automakers they don't make all of
their vehicles in the united states
they're manufactured in mexico canada
south korea the buick envision is made
in china
and toyota and honda have huge
development in engineering centers in
the united states they build a lot of
their vehicles here along with nissan
subaru hyundai kia to name a few bmw has
a huge plant in spartanburg south
carolina all of the company's gas
powered suvs are built there
x34567
all of them and 60 of those
are exported outside the united states
the raw carbon fiber that they use
that's in this car
it's made 220 miles away from here in
moses lake washington
so yeah the automotive industry it's
global
gets a little fuzzy
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that's driven
i'm tom volk