2023 BMW i4 M50 Review

This is the electric version of BMWs 4 Series, Grand Coupe, which is essentially just going to be their four door luxury sedan, but with a bit of a sloped roofline in the back, this first debuted in the 2022 model year so now its in its second model Year, the 2023 and all they did for this year is They just added a new base, trim thats more affordable with a weaker motor, so the I4 M50 is going to be the performance version of that, essentially giving you a lot more power outputs. So this one starts at an MSRP of just about 67 000 as tested this ones pretty much fully loaded about 76 000. For that, so quite a big chunk of money there. The M50 has a dual motor setup with an 81.5 kilowatt hour battery, and it makes 536 horsepower and 586 pound feet of torque. You get some insane 0 60 times of about 3.7 seconds. This thing is very, very quick, and it feels even quicker than something like the M3 competition, which is kind of crazy to say, because this isnt even really a full end vehicle right. This is all mated to a single speed automatic transmission with standard all wheel, drive across the entire lineup and gets you interesting. Uh ranges depending on what sort of Wheels you have. So essentially, if you have the 20 inch wheels, you get less range, but if you have the 19 inch like this one, does you actually get 270 miles of range? The 20 inch wheels.

Give you a much smaller one of 227 miles. Definitely not the greatest over. The past few days of driving this I have noticed, though, in some winter chilly weather here, weve been getting more like 205 miles, which is a pretty steep decrease from the 270 that the EPA estimates you do get pretty good efficiency, though you have 96 miles per Gallon equivalent so definitely better than some other things like the each one I recently viewed and since the electric vehicle Market just isnt that large, yet this vehicle actually doesnt have that many direct competitors. I think the closest thing is going to be the model 3 Performance, similar hatchback style, similar storage, similar practicality, but a cheaper price tag on that Tesla Model 3 Performance, but I mean I think this car is way more gorgeous and its a lot more interesting right. You see the model 3 everywhere now you do get similar performance, though, but of course this one has that famous BMW M Heritage to it lets get into this gorgeous exterior. I love the paint job on this. This is called sunset orange metallic, which is a 650 option, I think probably the best of their 650 options. I will say that BMW has some excellent paint choices here. Youve got some really gorgeous ones that can go up to like the 3 000 plus dollar Mark, but I think this is probably the best cheap one going into the grill here.

Youve got the basic 4 Series. Grill right youve got that huge, hognose kidney grill that everyone talked about when the m440i first came out. I think what two years ago now, you can actually check out my review of that one Ill link it in the corner um, but I its kind of cool because Ive been able to drive both the uh ice version of this car and the EV version. So The Grille here you can see, is actually a plastic Grill, so you dont have any vents, because why would this car need that? But you do have? The M badge looks pretty nice and honestly, I think it matches this orange. This burnt orange color really really well going into the actual front. Here, though, or the actual hood you dont actually have a front which is really interesting, so that makes this car a little less practical than some of the competitors right. You would think almost all EVS have some sort of front, but this one doesnt have anything like that. Another subtle way to differentiate this between the um internal combustion engine version of this and the EV is that the EVS have this nice blue circle around the BMW logo, signifying that uh. You know electricity sort of thing that I think a lot of other manufacturers do like Toyota going into the headlights here. These are classic BMW gorgeous headlights. These are the ICONic headlights that do corner and swivel, so they look really nice at nights and youve got that nice, like blue laser light in the background, which I think looks really gorgeous and then going into the side profile here.

Youve got your typical muscular body lines on the side. You do have some aerodynamic, looking vents, there, obviously not cooling. Anything though, and then these are the 19 inch wheels. So this ones a pretty nice option. This one does come with a shadow line package, which is why you get things like the blacked out, mirror caps and some of the blacked out vent elements in the front grille and moving along the side profile here. Youve got a nice black side. Skirt also looks really nice with this orange color right. I just think that, like dark orange and black, they really complement with each other on this vehicle. Youve also got flush door handles right, pretty much what you would expect from any EV these days. They look decent, but Ive heard that they can freeze and make it difficult to open. So something to consider if youre going to have winter weather, like here in Chicago so going over to the fuel tank looking thing here, which is actually obviously not a fuel tank. Its kind of cool that they made it look exactly like a normal fuel tank, but this is actually where youre going to plug in the charging cord here. So pretty simple, I can show you guys a video here. You just kind of unplug these things and youve got your typical adapters for your EV charging stations and now moving into the rear here. Youve got very typical design language. This looks a lot like before series um the ice version of it at least theres.

Really nothing. You can tell that you know this is an EV aside from the fact that you have no exhaust vents right. So definitely no exhaust note, which is a little bit of a bummer, but you do have this sick, looking rear, diffuser right. I love this rear diffuser. I think it looks a lot more muscular and sporty than the normal ice 4 Series. Weve also got their new taillight design looks fine, I kind of wish there was some sort of light bar, but it looks pretty cool. You do have again that blue outline signifying that this is an electric vehicle and then going into the actual trunk. Here it is a power liftgate which is pretty nice. You also do have the kick function. If you want to use that this is pretty much jam, packed full of stuff here and you can see its about 16.6 cubic feet of cargo space which is decent for this size. But again you dont have a frunk. So this is pretty much all the cargo. You can put in all right lets jump into the interior of the 2023 i4m50 first thing. You cant really see that, or at least its just faded away is the welcome carpet. I think thats, a really nice feature of this youve also got those flush door handles, like I said before, pretty nice. Of course, youve got uh entry and exits without having to actually take out your key um.

Speaking of the key youve got typical. Bmw key fob. Does have the M badging on it, though it looks pretty nice, so the first thing youll notice, definitely is thats gorgeous its Cora red vernasco leather that they have here. This is a 1500 option. I think well worth it because it looks a lot nicer. Has the contrast, stitching and looks a lot nicer than the base seats? I also I I dont know I still dont love the red color with the orange exterior, but I dont know I think it looks fine. I had a little watermelon theme going on with the green ambient lighting. I think you can see there. It looks pretty nice. I do also love the carbon fiber trim, thats, actually a really cheap option, so I would highly recommend people getting that one. If you like carbon fiber, of course, Im going to the door panel really quickly. You do have two uh way: memory control for the drivers side; unfortunately, nothing for the passenger and you do have a way like 10 Way adjustable seats or something like that, so not the greatest, but definitely easy to get comfortable in these really nice seats. Looking at the steering wheel, I absolutely love the contrast, stitching the uh, the blue and red. I think it looks awesome and that really hones into M theme. Youve got the M badge on the steering wheel. Heated steering wheel is in the exact same spot.

Unfortunately, they moved all the climate controls into this menu. Here I hate it. I dont know why people do it. You do have a nice heads up display with a lot of different configuration options. I do like having it in a different uh view, but yeah look at that, its pretty cool and I like the graphics, theyre, very smooth, but I usually keep it in this display which they call Sport and going over. Here you have your typical BMW steering wheel. So none of this has actually changed compared to their ice vehicles. I think the biggest update is going to be the screen with the iDrive 8 infotainment system, and then, of course, just some of the badging right youve got that blue again, signifying that is an electric vehicle and going into here youve got a 12.3 inch. Digital gauge cluster looks very nice, pretty configurable, but you cant really change what actually appears so definitely not as configurable as Audi or even Mercedes. The star of the show here is going to be that 14.9 inch display here, as you can see, youve got perfect Apple. Carplay, so I love it, the entire screen looks like genesis, fantastic choice there. Unfortunately, the climate menu, like I said, is hidden in this menu. Weird I hate having to reach in here just run a heated seats. I just that shouldnt be a thing in my opinion, but otherwise its pretty easy to use. You do also have the choice of using this manual version, so you dont have to actually use the touchscreen, but I dont know this area is old now and I feel like BMW could definitely refresh this.

I do like the carbon fiber and the contrast stitching here, though, in the aluminum very very little use of um piano black plastic, which I think looks really good, and I think that makes it look a bit more upscale. I think, and definitely it definitely helps the build quality. I think you do have that blue lined gear shift, so I think that you know helps. You know know that youre not in just a normal ice vehicle and then, of course, the blue start install Button as well. Youve got wireless charging pad. That is like a 100 or 200 additional option. Cup holder is pretty standard and um yeah I mean overall. I think the actual cabin itself and the greens are impressive right, like you get in this cabin and you know youre immediately in a luxurious vehicle. However, the problem, I think, is that once you start using it more, you realize that its not the most practical thing right, like um, the infotainment system, is just I drive 8 as nice and fast as it is like look. This looks awesome. I love that its the exact same car and you have a really nice 360 camera and you have all the cool, BMW Tech that you could ever want. Um, its all widget, based and like I get that theyre trying to do it like an app or like an iPhone right or like a Android, but the problem is that this is its just not the same, I think, and its so smooth right.

This is amazing. In terms of like technologically advanced but its just not the most practical thing, I think thats kind of the problem with this vehicle is like I dont know how much like you usability, testing BMW does because I just feel like no one wants integrated climate controls into The screen right, I just want some physical buttons here, but people keep doing it in the car industry and I dont know why, but overall the actual cabin feel very nice ambient lighting, good Tech. You pretty much have everything you want in this car. All right now were going to go into the second row, so definitely not the Forte of this vehicle, but I mean one kind of cool thing is yes, that is a tree in the back seat. We are transporting this, but um. The nice thing is that you do have a decent amount of space. Just you know its, not a real tree, its a like Fast, a fake plastic one, but anyways you do have a decent amount of space here like it. You know it fits this pretty large tree backpacks, you do have a kind of not really a piano sunroof, but you at least do have a sunroof and getting into the vehicle a little hard to show you but Ill show you in a different shots. What leg, room and Headroom actually looks like? Definitely not the nicest Headroom Im five foot, eight and Im pretty squeezed back here, so this car is not going to be the most convenience if youre looking for actual practicality in the back seat.

Kids, what do you find? Adults probably wouldnt, be the happiest for a long road trip, this isnt a normal seating position, so you can see that my legs are quite uh crushed here. Otherwise, the actual rear, aesthetic looks pretty good. Youve still got that nice leather and it is quite comfortable, and I mean I kind of wish – I had a larger sunroof but its large enough – that it lets in enough light and feels pretty Airy for the actual rear passengers. Lets. Take this on the road and see what its like to drive the new I4 M50. Does it live up to the m badge, I I will say from an acceleration standpoint it more than lives up to it. In fact, it surpasses many of the actual full m Vehicles, like the M3 competition, for example. So I mean honestly, I dont think anyones gon na have any problems with the acceleration here. However, I – and you know this is one of those things that you just have to expect with some electric vehicles. This car is much heavier than the 4 Series, so thats just one of the biggest yeah. I dont even want to say its a disappointment, because this is something that I think I really expected but, like you know, youve got the acceleration of an M vehicle, but you dont have the handling, I think thats. The problem is, like some Die Hard enthusiasts out. There are probably not going to like the fact that this car doesnt corner, as well as the M4 competition, for example, but you do have a lot of power at your disposal and the instant torque, is still nothing that you know like it.

It far surpasses what the M3 or M4 could do right. So I mean at the end of the day this instant torque is going to have uh. You know such an impact on how much fun it is to drive around town when you can really just rock it off of any uh starting point. I think another thing this car does better than the ice. Equivalent is just the ride quality in general, so I feel like, with the heavier larger, more imposing uh. You know just design language of this vehicle. It actually is quite a bit more quiet. I think thats also because theres no engine, obviously but um overall. I just think this car is much more of a quiet Cruiser. I think thats the thing its like this car isnt, so much athletic and crazy, like the M3 competition right, but this car gives you that more quiet composed ride that some people might want right. When you go to an Eevee like this, I feel like a lot of EV buyers are really looking for that luxury experience. This car definitely gives you that quiet composed ride without sacrificing the acceleration and the fun factor. I think, overall, this is just not going to be the canyon Carver that the M3 and M4 are, though, so in terms of pros and cons of this vehicle. I mean the pros: are the prices quite compelling right, like getting a 0 60 time of 3.7 seconds for about 75 000 or if you dont, want to spec out some of the driver assistance package things around? Seventy thousand dollars is pretty great, and this car gives you the 7 500 Federal uh tax credit still, whereas something like the Tesla Model, 3 Performance wont get you that um.

So I think just overall, like this is a pretty good price point for the performance of this vehicle and just just the overall luxury I feel like this car looks fantastic. It gets stairs everywhere, it goes and you dont have to have that boisterous crazy exhaust. That might come with the M3 or M4 right, so you can really kind of slip under the radar. Depending on what color you get. I guess, overall, this is still going to be a sporty car. It looks very muscular on the outside. I think, like the the fender flares, The Body Lines, the side skirts, the rear, diffuser looks really excellent. You know itd be cool if theres, some more carbon fiber, maybe theyre, trying to save it for an i4m or something like that. You know but um the carbon fiber on the interior, the contrast stitching, it is just a really well put together thing. I feel, like BMW, clearly thought this one through and didnt just half hazardly throw you know some platform on top of their normal 4 Series. They wanted to differentiate this and make sure that the performance was still there really when it comes down to it. The only cons of this very vehicle that I can think of are you know, I guess the styling can be a little polarizing and then its really that infotainment system right, like iDrive 7, was fantastic still a little confusing, but I drive 7 was good.

I drive eight, I mean I love the screen right. The 15 inch screen is huge, it looks, fantastic apple, carplay looks fantastic on it um and I think just you know, the general look of the interior looks really good and the build quality is there and nothing rattles. It feels really well put together, but I mean just I just want some more physical controls. I I hate having to go into the climate menu to turn. On my heated seats. I think thats a little ridiculous. I think these center console is a little outdated too. I really dont think you need some things like that. Little touch pad um just clean that up a little bit make the make the shift knob a bit more interesting, and I think this vehicle could have such an excellent interior um, and I mean it already does. But it could be even better, so thank you guys so much for watching this video. This was really fun.