BMW i4 eDrive40 2023 Review

Pricing starts at $99,900 plus on-road costs for the 2023 BMW i4 eDrive40, which is a rear-drive, single-motor (250kW/430Nm) entry-level model grade.

Unlike the BMW iX and many other ‘clean sheet’ electric car competitors, the BMW i4 rides on a ‘crossbreed’ platform architecture that was co-developed for combustion vehicles – namely the BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe.

There are pros and cons with this design, but for what it’s worth you can nab the EV’s petrol-powered 4 Series Gran Coupe cousin from $77,900 plus on-road costs, so you’re essentially paying a bit over $20K for the electric gubbins.

There is a more powerful version dubbed the BMW i4 M50, which comes with a much sportier look and feel, not to mention spleen-pulping acceleration thanks to a dual-motor set-up with 400kW and 795Nm. It also adds $25,000 to the price.

There is also a cheaper version overseas, the BMW i4 eDrive35, but this is unlikely to come to Australia.

Despite being the entry-level model in the range, the 2023 BMW i4 eDrive40 comes with plenty of fruit including a good deal of exterior bling such as 19-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights, M Sport brakes and adaptive suspension along with an M Sport package exterior kit.

It looks handsome from 30 paces away, and when up close and personal it’s also very appealing with tastefully sculpted and power-adjustable sports leather seats, dual screens integrated into one enormous, curved piece of glass and futuristic-looking air vents.

Other features fitted as standard include a head-up display, wireless phone charge pad, keyless entry/start, three-zone climate control, a 10-speaker sound system, parking sensors and a suite of cameras.

Four option packs are offered to up-spec the entry-level BMW i4, including the Visibility Package ($5800) adding metallic paint, a glass electric roof and BMW Laserlights.

The Comfort package ($1500 or $1300 for i4 M50) adds lumbar support and seat heating plus steering wheel heating, while the M Sport Plus Package ($1700 or $1200 for i4 M50) adds an M rear spoiler, M lights and M seat belts along with glossy accents.

Finally, the Executive Package ($3600 or $2100 for i4 M50) brings an alarm system, tinted windows, tyre pressure monitoring, a 16-speaker audio system and the BMW drive recorder into the fold.

All BMW i4 models come with a complimentary five-year/unlimited-energy subscription to the Chargefox infrastructure network. Mode 2 and Mode 3 cables are also included.

BMW has finally joined its German rivals with a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty. The battery in the i4 is covered by an eight-year/160,000km warranty.

Owners will be looking at ‘condition based’ service intervals which vary depending on how often the car is used. But as a guide, expect to service the car every two years or 20,000km, whichever comes first.

Service packs are priced at $1240 for four years or $1765 for six years.

The 2023 BMW i4 has received a disappointing four-star (out of five) safety rating from Euro NCAP, which puts it behind the field and a rung down on what we’ve come to expect from the German brand.

Click here for a full report on the crash safety assessment of the BMW i4, which levels criticism at the electric sedan on a variety of fronts.

The i4 is fitted standard with many of the safety systems you’d expect, such as autonomous emergency braking (AEB), lane departure warning, speed limit info and loads of parking assistants.

We’re talking about a reversing assistant, parking assistant plus surround-view cameras and even an interactive 3D view, plus the basic but always useful parking sensors.

Out on the road, the autonomous driving controls are really good, offering adaptive cruise control and active lane keeping to make things super-relaxed on the freeway.

Unlike some EVs, the interior (and exterior) design of the 2023 BMW i4 eDrive40 is not devoted to virtue signals and doesn’t scream ‘look at me, I’m helping the planet and you’re not’.

The cabin is dominated by twin digital screens that share one extra-wide curved pane of glass, compromising a massive 14.0-inch central touch-screen using BMW’s iDrive 8 software and a 12.3-inch digital driver’s display.

The user experience with the central touch-screen is very good, the native menu system easy to navigate and the weird background designs are unique.

We’re not taken by temperature controls being located on the touch-screen, but so many cars do it these days it’s probably going to be the norm soon.

Using Apple CarPlay and Android Auto on the big 14.0-inch screen is a delight as it looks absolutely phenomenal on the massive wide screen, filling it from corner to corner. It’s arguably the best use of smartphone mirroring we’ve seen.

The driver’s display is suitably futuristic, with lots of angles and harsh edges to the optic overlays and the overall sharpness and visual acuity is excellent.

The head-up display is clear and concise, and a little tech treat is the integration of what BMW calls IconicSounds Electric, which are a number of different drivetrain sounds designed to replace the conventional combustion engine thrum.

The EV acoustics were fashioned by Hollywood composer Hans Zimmer, whose most recent work, the score to the seminal Denis Villeneuve-directed ‘Dune’ feature film, won an Academy award.

It’s safe to say the BMW i4 ain’t going to win any awards for the sounds emanating from within, but it’s nice to have a bit of choice.

The 2023 BMW i4 eDrive40 gets one electric motor that generates a very healthy 250kW and 430Nm of torque, the latter hitting the rear axle almost instantly.

Indeed, the rear-drive BMW is very quick off the mark, and although its 5.7sec 0-100km/h time isn’t scorchingly rapid, consider the vehicle weighs roughly 2.2 tonnes or around 500kg more than its equivalent rear-drive BMW 4 Series combustion cousin.

In terms of recharging speed, the 80.7kWh lithium-ion battery’s electrics can cope with an ultra-fast charger output up to 200kW. At that rate the battery can be topped up from 10 to 80 per cent in roughly 30 minutes.

While it can’t accept bandwidth of up to 350kW like some EVs from Kia, Hyundai and Porsche, it’s still pretty quick to recharge if you find an ultra-fast charger.

If you’re charging the i4 from a household power point, at about 2kW, it’ll take almost two days (46 hours), while a wallbox will do it in 11.5 hours.

The single e-motor in the 2023 BMW i4 eDrive40 is fed by a relatively dense 80.7kWh lithium-ion battery pack which is good for a claimed 520km using the ADR measuring protocol.

We struggled to get more than 460km out of a charge (when driven like an anxious agoraphobe), but that figure is pretty good when you consider the US-market EPA measurements put the BMW i4’s cruising range at just over 430km.

Like most EVs, the i4 does its best work around town and at slower speeds, but even on the freeway we saw figures of around 15kWh/100km which is surprisingly efficient for such a heavy unit.

When it comes to driving dynamics with the 2023 BMW i4 eDrive40, expectations are high: BMW has a long history of making balanced and involving vehicles.

The lowdown? Well, this EV is proper heavyweight in every sense of the word, but it doesn’t disappoint when you turn up the tempo.

It’s certainly not as nimble as its combustion-engined BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe sibling, which makes sense given it’s moving almost 500kg of extra mass. But the suspension tune is appropriate for the car’s look and feel.

Indeed, the German EV tracks through corners with an assertiveness that BMW enthusiasts will appreciate and newcomers will be pleasantly surprised with.

There’s also slightly more connection between car and driver (compared to most EVs) when you flip it to Sport mode and the Hans Zimmer-created ‘motor’ acoustics rise in volume and intensity as the road speed climbs.

While the steering is a little lifeless, the car is generally very satisfying to drive enthusiastically, especially with the instant thrust on tap from the electric motor.

The ultra-light steering is a boon around town and in busy suburbs, making the Beemer effortless to drive in slower scenarios.

Ride comfort is reasonably good, the car maintaining a good level of stability over most bumps and cracks in the road. It can be a little unsettled over small, harsh corrugations, but gone are the days of BMWs being so stiff they’ll rattle the amalgam fillings right out of your molars.

Just like the exterior, the interior of the 2023 BMW i4 eDrive40 is fairly conventional and certainly not like stepping into a futuristic transportation device from 2043 like some EVs, such as the new BMW iX. That SUV is wild.

The cockpit has a familiar BMW feel, thanks to a familial dashboard design augmented by huge twin LCD screens, which along with a few high-tech touches and blue buttons make it feel a bit fancier than your garden-variety Beemer.

The gear shifter and car control buttons scatted around the lever are neat and tidy, there’s plenty of incidental storage, twin cup holders, a wireless phone charger, average-size central bin and twin USB ports (type A and C).

A small rear window somewhat obscures vision in that direction, but the back seats are fairly roomy and the big boot via the liftback design ensures excellent boot access.

Despite having a very heavy kerb weight and a giant transmission tunnel bisecting the cabin, the 2023 BMW i4 eDrive40 is an impressive car.

Given the average price of an entry-level EV is pushing well into the $60,000 bracket, the premium for this $100K vehicle isn’t so outrageous, particularly given the BMW i4 has genuine 450km cruising radius.

After spending a week in the saddle of this (sometimes) silent German electric car, it’s definitely one of the more complete packages we’ve tested and is well worth a test drive.

2023 BMW i4 eDrive40 at a glance:
Price: $99,900 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Powertrain: Electrically excited synchronous motor
Output: 250kW/430Nm
Transmission: Single-speed reduction gear
Battery: 84kWh lithium-ion (80.7kWh usable)
Range: 520km (ADR)
Energy consumption: 22.2kWh/100km (ADR)
Safety rating: Four-star (Euro NCAP 2022)