2022 BMW i4 M50i | Car Review | Driving.ca

Why is this electric car a little different than most of the others? Well Ill explain but first we have to get into the numbers and there are a lot of them. So BMW currently offers three EV models in Canada, The IX the I4 and the i7. Now the I4 comes in two different versions: the less powerful single motor rear wheel, drive I4, starts at 54 990 and actually has a longer range than our test car at 484 kilometers. Now we are driving the I4 m50x Drive, which is an eighteen thousand dollar price bump up from the base model. Now, for that money, you get a little less range at 435 kilometers versus 484, but you get essentially double the horsepower. You get 536 horsepower from 20 in electric motors. Essentially, the 2i4s are the same chassis, one is rear, drive single motor and this one is dual motor. All wheel drive you essentially just get a second identical motor driving the front wheels. You double the power. Of course, twin Motors means youre using more electricity from the same battery pack, so a little bit less range, but a lot of performance. As I will explain, you can expect zero to 100 kilometers an hour and 3.9 seconds now for the Americans, thats zero to 60 miles per hour and 3.7 seconds, and that is impressive when you consider that this thing weighs 5 000 pounds, no joke. This thing weighs 2 276 kilograms, five thousand pounds.

This is extremely heavy car, its heavier than the heaviest charger. You could configure from the Dodge website its a heavy car, but it doesnt exactly feel like that. So the I4 M50 starts at 72 990 dollars our test. Car has fourteen thousand dollars in factory options. In addition, it also has eighty two hundred dollars of dealer add on options which is entirely cosmetic carbon fiber, but were not really going to factor that into the value component of this review, because this is essentially a dealer. Add on that, you can have your dealership at if you wanted to, if youre interested the dealer add on carbon fiber on this car includes the front attachment under the bumper, the rear, diffuser rear bumper insert rear, spoiler, the armrest and Alcantara the M performance antenna cover And a limited edition carbon fiber badge so theres a lot of dealer add on carbon for this car, its not a factory option per se. Now what makes up that fourteen thousand dollars of options? Well, the big ticket item is the five thousand seven hundred fifty dollar premium enhanced package. This gets you a heads up, display 360 cam, Harman, Kardon premium audio and a BMW, Drive recorder, theres. Also, the two thousand dollar advance against driver assistance package, which includes Lane, keep front cross traffic alert radar, Crews and some other driver assist Tech, theres also 1500, laser headlights and 1500 for these premium leather seats with the m stitching and accents here and there.

Now, when you check that box for the M50 xDrive version of the I4, you get all wheel, drive Twin electric motors front and rear, and a fake engine like soundtrack called BMW, M iconic sounds electric very tidy name that and it was actually composed by Hans Zimmer Of all people now mechanical upgrades you get in addition to that second motor. Well, you get M sport, suspension, variable sport steering and M sport brakes theres, also a lower center of gravity than a gas powered. Bmw 3 Series. Both I4 models use the same battery and this is actually faster than a gas lean powered BMW m340i, which is, coincidentally about fifty five hundred dollars less expensive. Now the party trick, I think, of the BMW I4 – is that its one of the very few Electric cars you could drive and not immediately know its electric. Unless you really hammer on this thing, it just feels like a very nice car. It feels like a 4 Series, or in this case a 3 Series, its the 4 Series, Grand coupe with Hatchet trunk, but it just feels like a conventional nice car. This is different than say something like a Hyundai ionic or a Tesla product in which you get in, and it immediately feels different than any other gas car youve previously driven now for some thats, a selling point, they want their electric car to feel different to feel Novel, but perhaps we want a car that feels normal, but just has electric powertrain.

I think that is the strong suit of this car theres. Also, of course, no denying the appeal of instant ontap 535 horsepower like this. The immediate thrusts you get with electric theres, really nothing like it, including sport mode, so we put in sport mode and I will give you a taste of the Hans Zimmer composed sport soundtrack so put a foot on the brake all the way in the gas launch Control activated away, we go doesnt that sound cool, I mean in some ways electric cars feel like spaceships, but now they also sound like one listen to this, I think its pretty cool. So how is the I4 M50 as a sports sedan? Its really good? I mean it is very heavy and over some bumps it makes that mass known but theres so much torque to move it and the body mass is very well controlled. Bmw has really struck an excellent balance between controlling that mass and passenger Comfort. Ive driven BMW M models before like the x6m, which are far too stiff. They punish the driver to control that weight and this one its just right, theres, just the right amount of sportiness and the Adaptive suspension is quite good but Im going to turn off the awesome soundtrack uh. So I can talk to you guys a little easier. So, as is typical of a BMW, its a very customizable Drive experience. You can choose your level of regen brake, we love the gas, so it immediately begins to gather that energy back into the system, but you can set it to Coast when you let off the accelerator like a conventional gas car.

If you choose typical for a lot of new cars, it has a very large curved LED display, and I love it. This is really well done. I love the art of the gauges. They dont they havent tried to make them look like conventional needle and dial gauges because you dont have to. When you have a digital screen. You can do anything, and I like that theyve had some fun with this. The colors are clearly well thought out and they change when you put it into different modes, and it really does elevate the Driving Experience its nice to have a gauge package that isnt trying to be like a gasoline powered car now uh this giant screen here in The center is very cool. I like the way it works its very fast, its very easy to move uh through the different menus. However, uh the far right corner is a bit of a reach uh and, I think thats. The problem we have with these larger screens is theyre beautiful. They look great, but all that real estate means you have to touch it way over there and it can be a little difficult. It can be a little distracting at times as a driver. Now you do also have the classic BMW iDrive control wheel. I havent touched it since I got in this car its not very intuitive. I dont like it very much. I get that its there. It needs to have an alternative to the touch screen.

I dont know Im not a big fan of iDrive control Wheels. Overall, I do love the appearance of this interior. Bmw offers so many fun and exciting textures. I dont know why they keep handing out press cars with black Interiors. They offer red tan, caramel brown white. So many different, exciting interior options, and this one has black interior and its very nice. But I would love a little more pop of color, especially when youre working with these black pillars in a black roof liner does get a little cave like with all the black. That being said, the actual design of the tier is fabulous, feels very premium, and they have fixed that annoying thing where the climate menu only showed up theres. This tiny screen before now the climate menu is huge shows up on the big touch screen its much more intuitive. The seats are very well shaped, theyre very comfortable, and you really could do a long drive in this car, which is good because it does have 430 kilometers of range. But the standout highlight of this tier has to be the Harman Kardon stereo Ive driven cars is much more expensive premium audio systems than this, but this is among the best honestly top three stereo systems. In my experience, Id say, number one would be the nkg system in the Cadillac Escalade number two is the burm Easter, sound system you get in the G Wagon Im putting this in number three.

This is an excellent premium, sound system and it really does punch above its weight in the premium segment. The the highs are so crisp. The lows are so well registered its a great stereo and because the car is electric and so quiet you get to hear every single note in peace. It is a terrific stereo and I would not buy this car without doing the upgraded audio now, as opposed to the BMW, i3 and I8 of the past, and currently the BMW IX. The I4 is a lot more of a normal car. Those are very futuristic very forward looking and theyre so Tech forward. They may alienate some of the more faithful, BMW, core of buyers and drivers. The eye force people that, like what a BMW is the speed, the Comfort, the handling the driver Focus controls, but they want that electric powertrain and thats a rare offering in todays electric segment. So if you want the ultimate electric driving machine, I think the BMW I4 M50 is the ticket. Its got electric Thrills and Old World charm for driving.ca, Im, Clayton seams and for more EV reviews and news dont forget to check out our website at driving.