BMW i4 M50 review

But times change and, it seems, hearts change with them, for now i & M have finally had their back of the bike sheds tryst. Sort of. At the risk of allowing my slightly prurient metaphor to outstay its welcome, consider this i4 M50 as first base between i and M, it remaining to be seen how much further the two will now go together; but I’m betting plenty it will be all the way. In fact, given the way the world is going, it rather has to be.

For now, however, this is not a proper M car per se, because if it were it would be called the iM4 or the Mi4, leaving the customer to wonder whether it were a child’s birthday or a genuinely secret secret agency to which they were referring. Or i4M I guess, but that’s not as funny.

But it is significant because that badge is not there to denote a mere trim level as it does with lesser ‘M Sport’ models elsewhere in its ranges, but a dedicated performance model with 537bhp, or more than 200bhp more than the stock i4 (of which there is also an M Sport version, but let’s not confuse matters any further). It’s also more powerful than even the Competition version of the M4, so there’s no question this is a proper statement of intent.

Then again, it will need to be, because the i4 M50 weighs 10kg short of 2.3 tonnes which is, wait for it, almost exactly half a tonne more than the hardly sylph-like M4 Comp. That’s an entire Caterham. Put another way, this 3 Series size hatchback weighs more than an entire Bentley Continental GT, even if you choose the one with the full-fat twin-turbo 6-litre W12 motor under the bonnet.

It comes – at least for now – in Gran Coupe form alone which means swoopy styling but four doors. At £63,905 it is at least substantially cheaper than the £76,990 M4 Comp, so you get a lot more metal, or lithium or cobalt, for your money. The standard i4 is ten grand and 165kg less.

I guess one of the more important things to point out with the i4 in whatever form it comes, is that it is not built on a dedicated electric car platform like, say, the Porsche Taycan. Nor does it have that car’s 800V electrical infrastructure meaning its maximum charging rate is limited to 205kW, instead of 290kW, though that’s still rapid. Instead it shares underpinnings with everything from the 5, 6, 7 and 8 Series to Xs 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7, not to mention the similarly electric (and surprisingly excellent) iX3 and forthcoming full-sized iX SUV.

Which means that when you climb aboard it is either reassuringly or disappointingly familiar depending on your perspective. I quite like the fact it operates in much the same way as other BMWs because I’m finding the whole process of adapting to electric powertrains difficult enough as it is. But if you want a fully space age interior, it’s the far more visually wacky and expensive iX to which you must turn.

I don’t much like the design of the new information screen, which is a long, thin, two-dimensional, rectangular slab parked proud of the dashboard behind the steering wheel, but I can see why they’ve done it, because like here it can just be parked in any BMW, regardless of its interior design, which must save a fortune; and the graphics are glossy and clear.

To work. It’s a sign of the times that even its sub 4sec 0-62mph time doesn’t feel that rapid any more. This is partly indicative of how much performance is around these days particularly with electric cars, but also because BMW has tapered the way the M50 delivers its power from rest, and rightly so: it feels so much more sophisticated and, frankly, less alarming than the somewhat meat and two veg, wham bam approach of the faster Teslas.

This, then, is the smooth, surging, relentless acceleration that is entirely appropriate to this kind of car. It’s not a remotely emotional experience unless you put it into Sport mode, thereby engaging the services of BMW’s synthesised sound department, but I’m not sure laughter was quite the emotion its engineers had in mind. It sounds like the kind of noise I imagine spaceships make in Ed Wood movies. But if we are to lament the absence of any subjective dimension to the way the i4 gains speed, so too must we of every electric car on sale. It is simply not a skill they possess.

Nor, I am afraid, should you let your expectations run unrestrained where the car’s handling is concerned, for this is no M-car, electric or otherwise and, to be fair, nor is it trying to be. But I had hoped it would be more fun than it is, and perhaps that’s because recently I’ve been driving no less weighty but far more expensive Taycans, of which more next week.

Like many fundamentally well-engineered but hefty cars, it’s fine if you’re just knocking along at a decent clip without over-extending either yourself or the machinery. The steering is correctly weighted, accurate and sensibly geared too. It rides well enough too. Just don’t expect it to be in any way involving or for it to react with great enthusiasm to mid-corner changes of plan. Its torque split is set up to shuttle more power to the rear wheels than those at the front, but that is of course only until some slip is detected, whereupon its priorities reverse and you find yourself being hauled nose-first out of the corner. Effective for sure, but entertaining? Not so much.

This, then, might appear to be a car with a problem, namely a conspicuous inability to make good on the promise of the badge that BMW has tacked on the back. But is that really the case? Is it not the taste of the wine that matters, not the label on its bottle? And anyway, what does that label mean any more, applied as it is these days on everything from compact coupés to enormous SUVs?

Take a step back, imagine this were just an i4 50 and I reckon it stands as a not exceptional, but nevertheless well-executed example of the state of the art as it exists today. Not sporting, but pleasant and capable. But if that’s what you’re after, why not save yourself a five-figure sum and gain a whole stack of range and just get the standard i4? I’ve not driven it, but I’d bet plenty it makes more sense in its intended role than this.

BMW i4 M50

Engine: twin electric motors, 80.7kWh battery
Transmission: single speed, four-wheel drive
Power: 537bhp
Torque: 586lb ft
Weight: 2290kg

Power-to-weight ratio: 235bhp/tonne
0-62mph: 3.9 seconds
Top speed: 139mph

Range: 258-328 miles (WLTP)
Price: £63,905

Ti rating: 6/10