New Delhi: Till now we have only seen electric SUVs in the premium space and all of these are expensive Rs 1 cr plus offerings with nothing available below that price point. All that changed when BMW recently surprised everyone when it announced the prices of its i4 at just below Rs 70 lakh. While it is a sizable sum of money, it is a huge step forward in terms of making EVs popular in the premium space. The i4 makes other premium EVs look over priced as its value for money appeal is further strengthened by its 590km official range. These two figures automatically make the i4 the best value EV for now but beyond the numbers, we wanted to see how good the car is within real world conditions. So, we drove the i4 on a surprisingly pleasant Delhi day and drove it within congested traffic plus on the highway. A proper test, in other words, for the most important premium EV right now.
Before driving, the i4 needs to be explained here as the '4' in the badge means it is based on the 4 Series sold globally. That means it is a sportier coupe-like version of the 3 Series. When you see it, the i4 is lower, wider and much more aggressive looking than a 3 Series plus there is the grille of course. With any BMW, the grille is much talked about and here it is blanked off but huge in size nevertheless. The big grille makes it stand out plus the thin LED headlamps further makes the i4 look wide. It is very much a sports car with the way the roofline flows in and the rear tail-lamp design. The optional M kit gets up-to 19 inch wheels as well. Even in this subtle colour, the i4 attracts attention with its grille and shape plus there are more touches which show the fact that this is an electric BMW.
Open the heavy door and you sit low like any sports car while the driving position again is very BMW like with the way the steering or the dashboard has been designed. However, in the i4 a huge 14.9-inch touchscreen is the highlight with excellent display clarity. The huge screen makes using it easier on the go too and that is important since many functions have been moved to it like the climate control function. You can, however, use the i-Drive controller below. The digital display is also huge at 12.3 inch and of course customizable with the latest BMW infotainment system being easy to use. The quality or even the design of the whole cabin is typical BMW high quality stuff which you expect. In terms of features you get 3-zone climate control system, wireless charging, sunroof, a 17-speaker Harman Kardon Surround Sound System, a reverse assistant plus more. The i4 is not based on an EV specific platform and that means there is a central tunnel at the rear seat which makes it a strict four seater but on the other hand, its 470l boot capacity is quite impressive.
Let us get to the bit that we are more interested in and that's the driving, of course. The battery pack is integrated within the floor and is rated at 80.7 kWh. It is a slim battery (110mm) and the range is 590km (official). The version on sale in India is the i4 eDrive40 Sport which has a rear axle motor (with no earth metals used or no permanent magnets) with 340 hp and a single speed transmission. 0 to 100 kms/hr takes place in 5.7 seconds and that is believable given how fast the i4 is in real-world conditions.
However, I expected the i4 to be fast but did not expect it to be so comfortable. The RWD (with rear axle air suspension) i4 is easy to drive and the ride quality surprised me with the way it takes our roads. It is not too big and also the ground clearance is not bad as its 125mm figure suggests. We took the i4 on some of the biggest speed breakers and it did not touch its underside while some care needs to be taken since it is a low car. However, it is perfectly usable and comfortable plus the complete silence of an EV makes this more relaxing.
Like all EVs there are various modes and honestly the comfort mode is fast enough while Sport is best used for when you really want to go fast. In sport the car flies and has an aggressive throttle response hence you should use it carefully. The comfort mode is perfect for our traffic and performance is seamless. For everyday use, we would recommend that. Another surprise came in the form of how it drives as it is one of the closest in terms of replicating a conventional fast petrol car. The steering for example is similar to any fast BMW while the same is for the throttle response plus even the braking does not feel weird with all of the regenerative stuff removing the sence of using a standard brake pedal.
Of course you want to know about range and here the figure of 590km translates to 430km in the real world with mixed driving consisting of eco runs and acceleration runs. Our drive was in comfort mode and if driven sedately with eco pro mode, you can get more at around 450 plus. In the real world, the range of the car also does not drop sharply as we saw even with sport mode and you can be assured of getting at worst even 410km- even with extreme weather conditions. A wallbox charger means a full charge is around 8 hours with a 11 kW AC Charger while a fast DC charger (50 kW) juices the battery pack in 83 minutes for a 10-80 percent charge.
At this price, the i4 has no rival and has changed the luxury EV space as it squarely gives buyers an option of a fast EV at prices which are similar to competition petrol cars or even BMW's other petrol models. The performance is impressive but the range and the comfort is what ultimately makes the i4 a really good car. It is usable on our roads, good looking and luxurious plus it is like a typical fast BMW when you want it to. Plus there is so much range that you can drive for a week as a city runabout without charging at all. Overall, it is currently the best premium EV right now.
What we like- looks, value, performance, range, quality, features, handling
What we do not- rear seat is only suitable for two passengers
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