BMW i4 2026 review | The electric BMW that still drives like a BMW
BMW i4 cars for sale
5.0
Expert review
Pros
Rewarding and comfortable to drive
Superbly made cabin
The M50 is savagely fast
Cons
Not as well equipped as some rivals
Cheaper EVs like the Hyundai Ioniq 5 have more space in the back
Expensive to buy
The CarGurus verdict
The BMW i4 is genuinely great to drive. Whether you want something with a bit of enthusiasm or a car that’s calm, confident and comfortable over long distances, it does both very well. It also offers a better driving position and more polished ride and handling than key rivals such as the Tesla Model 3 and Polestar 2.
The compromise is the price. The i4 is more expensive than most alternatives, and while standard equipment levels have improved, you’ll still find yourself dipping into the options list more than you might like. Still, if you can justify the extra cost, the BMW i4 remains the most complete and satisfying mid-size executive electric car you can buy.
What is the BMW i4?
The BMW i4 is a fully electric version of the 4 Series Gran Coupe. It’s aimed at buyers who want an electric car that still looks and feels like a traditional BMW, rather than something more overtly futuristic. That means you can expect the familiar hallmarks of smart styling, interior quality and sharp driving dynamics.
The current i4 line-up is built around three powertrain options, starting with the entry-level eDrive35, which utilises a 67.1kWh battery and a rear-mounted electric motor to deliver an official range of 299 miles. The mid-range i4 eDrive40 has a larger 81.1kWh battery and more power, to deliver an official 365 miles of range – making it the best choice for those who cover long distances.
At the top of the ladder sits the BMW i4 M60, which replaced the i4 M50 in 2025. It uses the same 81.1kWh battery as the eDrive40 but adds a second electric motor for four-wheel drive and a 0-62mph time of just 3.7 seconds. The official WLTP driving range is between 311 and 338 miles, depending on specification.
How practical is it?
The BMW i4 shares its body and platform with the BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe. That car is a swoopy, four-door version of the two-door BMW 4 Series coupe, which is itself a sportier version of the four-door BMW 3 Series saloon. Work that one out… Anyway, you get four doors and plenty of space for four adults. However, those in the back might find it a bit dark, and it’s easy to clout your head as you duck below the sloping roofline to get into the rear seats. Alarge central tunnel also eats into passenger foot space.
It’s a perfectly fine family car as long as you don't need masses of legroom in the back, which you can have if you look to similarly priced but larger electric alternative such as the Hyundai Ioniq 5, Audi Q4 e-tron or Ford Mustang Mach-E. In the BMW i4, you trade SUV interior space for slinkier styling, and, to be fair, it does look great. Just bear in mind that lanky teenage kids may feel a bit cramped in the rear seats.
The 470-litre boot has a large, hatchback opening, and the rear seats fold flat in a 40:20:40 split. The load bay is more than sufficient for a chunky single buggy or a medium-sized dog, but it is fairly shallow (the Tesla Model 3 and Polestar 2 both have the same problem) so taller items or really bulky double buggies could be a tight fit. There is charging cable storage beneath the boot floor, but there’s no ‘frunk’ storage space in the nose of the i4.
What's it like to drive?
Very good – and that’s just the entry-level BMW i4 eDrive35 model. It's very precise and responsive, and fun even at relatively low speeds, thanks to nicely weighted steering and keen handling. The powerful M60 version is even more playful. The peculiar electric soundtrack that the i4 emits into its cabin, developed in collaboration with composer Hans Zimmer, is also quite entertaining – but we’re glad you can turn it off when you want to.
At 6.0 seconds and 5.7 seconds to 62mph respectively, the eDrive35 and eDrive40 versions deliver brisk acceleration. Still, you’ll really want the BMW i4 M60, which cuts that to a blistering 3.7 seconds for Tesla-style launch hysteria. Ideally, we’d like a slightly softer and more progressive throttle response, especially in Sport mode, but otherwise the performance is exceptional. The i4’s driving position is excellent, too; it can be adjusted so it's lower than most EVs, which makes the car feel sportier.
The BMW i4 is also a hushed and comfortable motorway cruiser. Its adaptive brake regeneration has a few different modes to toggle the rate at which it slows down when you back off the accelerator. Unfortunately, you have to select the modes via the touchscreen, so few drivers will bother to faff about with them. In the default mode, it’s progressive and easy to get used to, and we think it has the best brake pedal feel of any of the electric cars in this price range. Only the Porsche Taycan can better it, and you’d also have to look to cars like the Jaguar I-Pace for similarly engaging handling. Put simply, the i4 is one of the best driver’s cars in the executive electric class.
Technology, equipment & infotainment
The BMW i4 doesn’t have the novelty value of the Tesla Model 3’s in-car gaming or comedy sound effects. In fact, it has a pretty conventional cabin, with rather more physical controls for things like adjusting the steering wheel.
Whether you prefer blue-sky, super-modern design or this more conventional affair, there’s no doubt that the BMW i4 has all the technology you could want. Its large curved display combines the 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and 14.9-inch infotainment screen into a single, seamless unit, and runs BMW’s latest updated voice control, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, built-in navigation with charger search functionality and online services. The latest ‘QuickSelect’ interface relies more heavily on the touchscreen and voice commands than older BMW systems, which helps keep the cabin looking clean and modern, even if some drivers will miss having more physical buttons for functions like the climate control.
Thankfully, you can still access the infotainment system using a rotary dial, which we prefer to a touchscreen, as it’s easier to use without taking your eyes off the road. Having said that, the touchscreen is responsive and has crisp graphics. The menus aren’t as logical as they were on the previous generation of BMW’s iDrive system, but it becomes easy to use with familiarity. We’d prefer to have the heating and air-con controls separate to the screen, but at least you don’t have to exit any other functions just to change the temperature.
Equipment levels are adequate, as the entry-level Sport trim gets LED lights, climate control, a reversing camera, an electric tailgate, heated seats and 17-inch alloy wheels. M Sport adds part-Alcantara upholstery, 18-inch wheels and a greater choice of interior finishes. Finally, M Sport Pro also has 18-inch wheels, along with an increased array of cosmetic upgrades, including a rear spoiler.
You’ll likely want to spend a fair bit on options. Indeed, if you want keyless entry, a heated steering wheel, a sunroof or BMW’s semi-autonomous driving assistant with traffic jam stop-and-go, you will need to fish out your credit card. The M60 is much better equipped and gets adaptive suspension as standard, but even here you have to pay extra for keyless entry, adjustable lumbar support and the semi-autonomous driving function. Most of the BMW’s rivals are better equipped as standard.
BMW i4 running costs
The BMW i4 sits right in the thick of the premium electric saloon class in terms of price. It’s more expensive than a like-for-like Tesla Model 3 in most trims, and usually a touch pricier than a Polestar 2 as well, although BMW’s strong residuals can help the i4 look more competitive on lease deals. It’s also notably dearer than a BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe with a petrol engine, but once you start comparing similarly quick and well-equipped versions, the gap doesn’t feel quite as dramatic as it does at first glance.
Running costs are where the i4 makes its case. If you can charge at home – especially on an off-peak overnight tariff – you can get your cost-per-mile down into single figures, and it’ll be dramatically cheaper to ‘fuel’ than a petrol car. Rely on public EV chargers, though, and that advantage will shrink hugely, so it pays to treat home charging as part of the i4 ownership package.
One thing that has changed is VED (road tax). Electric cars are no longer tax-exempt: from 1 April 2025, EVs pay VED, and new cars registered after that date pay a small first-year rate and then the standard rate thereafter. Also worth noting: because the i4’s list price is comfortably above £40,000, new examples are liable for the expensive car supplement in ownership years two to six.
Insurance is likely to be on the pricey side (especially for the M60), but it’s not wildly out of line for a powerful BMW. Servicing should be relatively straightforward compared with a combustion model, simply because there’s less to maintain – and BMW backs the i4 with a three-year, unlimited-mileage warranty, plus eight years/100,000 miles for the battery pack.
BMW i4 reliability
The BMW i4 is proving to be highly dependable, finishing an impressive second among electric cars in the latest What Car? Reliability Survey. The fact that it was beaten only by the (now-discontinued) BMW i3 should offer further reassurance. Just 16 percent of BMW i4 owners reported a fault, with minor bodywork niggles and software glitches the most common issues. BMW as a brand also performed well, finishing sixth out of 30 car manufacturers overall.
As with most electric cars, the i4 benefits from a relatively simple mechanical layout compared with petrol or diesel alternatives, which tends to help long-term reliability. However, software-related issues can still crop up from time to time.
The BMW i4 is covered by a three-year, unlimited-mileage warranty, while the high-voltage battery is covered for eight years or 100,000 miles. BMW doesn’t offer a guaranteed minimum battery capacity within that period, unlike some rivals, but real-world evidence suggests modern EV batteries degrade slowly. Expect a modest loss of range over time, rather than any sudden drop-off.
- The BMW i4 is a fairly efficient electric car, with official figures suggesting it’ll do around 3.8 miles per kWh (the equivalent of mpg for electric cars), depending on the trim and wheel-size you choose. It seemed efficient on our test drive, too, so expect the eDrive40 to comfortably return more than 300 miles to a charge in warmer weather, even if you cover a lot of motorway miles. Colder weather could see that dip to around 250 miles. The range-topping BMW i4 M60 has an official WLTP-tested range of between 311 and 338 miles, depending on specification, although exploiting its huge performance will reduce the real-world range more quickly than in the eDrive 35 or eDrive 40. The eDrive35 is rated at up to 300 miles, but you should expect closer to 250 miles in typical use.
- The BMW i4 is charged via a CCS or Type 2 socket. These are the European standard sockets and compatible with most public chargers in the UK and Western Europe. You get the necessary charging cables for public and home wallbox use. Charging speeds peak at 180kW in the eDrive35 and up to 205kW for the eDrive40 and M60, which is not far off the Tesla Model 3 – and faster than most other alternatives. It’ll get you a 100-mile top up in 10 minutes or less from a DC ultra-rapid charger if you can find one offering speeds of 200kW and up, or 80 percent battery in around 30 minutes. The more common 150kW ultra-rapid chargers will deliver a 100-mile top-up into the i4 in more like 15 minutes. And the 50kW chargers that are still routinely found in UK motorway service areas will do the same in 45 minutes, depending on battery temperature and charger performance on the day.
- Plug into a 7kW home charger (which you can purchase through BMW when you buy the car, provided you have off-road parking) and you’ll have a full battery in 13 hours. Disregard the BMW website’s references to 11kW AC home charging, as very few UK homes have the three-phase wiring needed to support this charging speed. Most houses have single-phase wiring, which can support up to 7.4kW charging at most. Kerbside charging, or chargers located at industrial sites or offices, are more likely to be able to support 11kW AC charging speeds for the BMW i4.
- If you’re a company car buyer: For an employee paying Benefit-in-Kind (BiK) tax or looking for a lease through their own business, we’d recommend the BMW i4 eDrive40 M Sport. It looks the part and brings a bit of extra visual punch over the Sport model. We’d add a selection of the optional extras, including the Comfort Pack for keyless entry, lumbar support and wireless phone charging. If you do a lot of miles, consider the Technology Pack for its head-up display, parking assist and driver assistance systems.
- If you’re a high-mileage driver: As above, save the money on the M Sport styling and stick with Sport trim, then put the budget towards the option packs that make day-to-day driving easier. Fully adaptive LED headlights are also available and are genuinely useful on dark rural roads.
- If you want the sporty one: Obviously, the BMW i4 M60 is for you. It’s the car with the full performance punch, but it’s still worth budgeting for a couple of choice options – the Comfort Pack and any driver assistance tech you’ll actually use – rather than assuming everything comes as standard.
- If you want the best value version as a family car: The BMW i4Drive35 in Sport trim is the sensible entry point. Add a couple of family-friendly extras – such as the glass sunroof if you want to brighten the cabin, plus the Comfort Pack – and you’ll end up with a properly premium-feeling EV – even if some rivals throw in more equipment as standard.
