2024 BMW i4 xDrive40 proves fun while literally sacrificing horsepower

2024 BMW i4 xDrive40 Gran Coupe: Can electric power make a BMW even more fun?

Price: $77,920 as tested. Mora Metallic (purple) paint, $4,500. (Pay it; it’s my favorite color and easy to find in the parking lot.) M Sport Package added $2,200; Premium Package heated the seats and more for $1,900; extended traffic jam assist and driving assist added $1,700.

Conventional wisdom: Consumer Reports liked the “quick acceleration, short dry braking distances, sharp handling, front-seat comfort, impressive fit and finish,” but not the “cramped rear seat, complicated controls.”

Marketer’s pitch: “Pure driving pleasure.”

Reality: Pure driving pleasure.

What’s new: The i4 xDrive40 joins the electrified 4 Series lineup for the 2024 model year as a slightly reduced-performance version of the i4 M50. The rest of the feature list carries over since its 2022 introduction without much change.

Some design changes are coming for the 2025 versions.

Competition: Lucid Air, Mercedes EQE and EQS, Porsche Taycan, Tesla Model S

Up to speed: Whee! BMWs tend to have superb acceleration, of course, but the electric motor goes one better. Stomp hard on the accelerator to get onto a limited-access highway or pass another vehicle, and the car will jerk with the force of a drag-racing-ready unit. Remember for next time to ease up a bit.

The trip to 60 mph takes just 4.4 seconds in the 396-horsepower test model, according to Car and Driver. The more souped-up, 536-horsepower M50 version gets to 60 in just 3.3 seconds. Both of these xDrive models feature two motors, one driving each pair of wheels. BMW says rear-wheel-drive versions boast a respectable 281 horses and a 5.8-second 0-60 time.

Range: The i4 performs all these feats with a range that BMW says is 282 miles for the version with the 19-inch wheels as tested; 18-inch wheels boost the range to 307 miles. (The test model showed about 260 total miles available; it was set to only charge to 90% so that’s my extrapolation.)

Shiftless: No gears here, of course, with a pair of electric motors. It just goes, smoothly.

The new large toggle-style shifter common to most BMWs is found in the i4 as well.

On the road: Do I like the acceleration or the handling better? Do I really have to decide? The i4 is as fun on winding roads as it is for straight-line acceleration. The slight hills, the turns, everything about the back roads of Chester County were a delight. (For a different view consider Car and Driver, which called the handling “indifferent.” But they made some other points that left me scratching my head so hard I referenced Consumer Reports’ more applicable report instead.)

Highway travel was comfortable as well, although the i4 could hit the bumps a little hard.

Driver’s Seat: The Oyster Vernasca leather seat ($1,500) was as cushy as any BMW has to offer, although the Lovely Mrs. P was not as enthusiastic. BMW sedans sit a little low, but I never found the entry-exit to be difficult.

The gauges are the odd hexagon shape BMW offers, and I could take or leave it. I really miss the simple, very German dials of 10 years ago.

Friends and stuff: First off, note that “Gran Coupe” does not mean two doors. Thankfully. One more plus for getting in and out.

The rear seat is about as snug as you’d expect from a sedan closely related to the BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe. Headroom, legroom, and foot room are all restrictive.

The seat itself checks all the comfort and touch boxes, but the large floor hump makes the center spot a nonstarter.

The i4 also offers something the other 4 Series sedans lack — a hatchback door. We had to carry a large box and it never would have worked in a straight-up sedan with a trunk.

Play some tunes: Sound from the $875 Harman Kardon system was very good, about an A- or A. I discovered the equalizer setting, and it graphically shows you how the added components are set between the bass and treble functions. It helped make the playback extremely good, but I couldn’t get it to the level of superb that some offer.

Control of the system remains through the easy-to-work dial and buttons if you like old school, or from the touchscreen.

Keeping warm and cool: The HVAC controls sit at the bottom of the touchscreen, and they are fussier than they need to be. A little fan button opens a window that graphically shows you the fan speed and location, but change it at a stoplight because it’s a real feat to perform when in motion.

The temperature controls also have up/down arrows in their little corner of the touchscreen, and these could be easier to manage as well.

Air comes from horizontal vents, which I couldn’t even up — the corners were weak while the center was eye-drying.

Where it’s built: Munich, Germany

How it’s built: Consumer Reports predicts the i4 reliability to be a 3 out of 5.

In the end: BMW really proved all the ways an EV can be sportier than a gasoline-powered vehicle.