Autoportal India

To anyone who was concerned that electrification would ruin BMW’s core sedans, all we can say is this: You have nothing to worry about. The future looks bright, even at the single-motor end of the spectrum where the rear-drive 2022 BMW i4 eDrive40 resides.

As its designation suggests, the i4 is an EV take on the 4-series Gran Coupe. Its sleek four-door sedan-esque body is indistinguishable from its gas-powered counterpart’s and features the same longer roofline, frameless door glass, and rear liftgate rather than trunk. This absolutely works in the i4’s favor, as the Gran Coupe offers superior rear-seat space and better cargo access than any 3-series sedan. And it looks fantastic to boot. Besides, the name i3 was already taken.

We’ve previously tested—and been mightily impressed with—the high-performance variant of the i4, the M50, calling it “an EV M3” because, among other things, it outaccelerated the last M3 Competition we tested. The eDrive40 is the more mainstream, less expensive version, but in many ways that makes it an even more compelling EV, not to mention a serious alternative to its gasoline-powered counterpart, the BMW 430i Gran Coupe.

ICE-Beating Performance

In contrast to the M50, with dual motors making 536 horsepower and powering all four wheels, the eDrive40 has a single rear-mounted motor that sends 335 horses to its rear wheels. Still, that easily outclasses the 430i, whose turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four puts out just 255 horsepower. At the track, our eDrive40 scampered to 60 mph in 4.8 seconds and dusted the quarter-mile in 13.4 seconds at 106 mph. That makes it quicker than a rear-drive Tesla Model 3 Long Range, which reached 60 mph in 5.0 seconds and crossed the stripe in 13.8 seconds at 101 mph. Meanwhile, the last 430i we tested (admittedly a convertible, not a Gran Coupe; their engines are identical, and weight differs by little more than 100 pounds) achieved 60 mph in 5.5 seconds and covered the quarter-mile in 14.1 seconds at 98 mph. Bottom line: The single-motor i4 is sufficiently quick.

It turns out to be even quicker in real-world acceleration situations, where direct-drive and instant torque (the 317-lb-ft peak begins at zero rpm and carries on to 5000) leads to total annihilation of the 430i, which must build boost and kick down to a lower cog in its eight-speed automatic before it can head off in pursuit. The eDrive40 handles the 5-to-60-mph street-start test in 5.1 seconds, whereas the 430i needs 6.8 seconds. The rear-drive i4’s passing times of 2.0 seconds from 30 to 50 mph and 2.9 seconds from 50 to 70 mph are even more telling, with the 430i requiring 3.4 and 4.0 seconds, respectively.

BMW i4 Range Results

It’s not all about speed. Range, the other side of the EV coin, is an even bigger concern to many, and here the i4 eDrive40 handily outperforms the M50. Both i4 variants use the same 81.5-kWh liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery pack, and as is typical in such cases, the less powerful single-motor car delivers greater range. For the eDrive40, that’s an EPA-rated 301 miles with 18-inch wheels or 282 miles with the optional 19s, versus the M50’s 270 miles on 19-inch rolling stock or just 227 miles with high-performance 20-inch rubber.