View Photos of the 2022 BMW i4 eDrive40
James LipmanCar and Driver
The rear-drive BMW i4 eDrive40 isn’t as crushingly quick as the dual-motor M50, but that makes it a much more compelling EV. It offers a very good balance of price, performance, build quality, and useful range.
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The i4 eDrive40 is powered by a single electric motor mounted in the rear, but its output of 335 horsepower and 317 lb-ft of torque easily exceeds that of the 430i, its gasoline-powered sibling, whose turbo 2.0-liter four offers 255 horses and 295 lb-ft.
Like the M50, the rear-drive i4 eDrive40 is a variant of the 4-series Gran Coupe, with a stylish four-door hatchback body that gives the i4 superior rear-seat space (1.6 inches more headroom, 2.0 inches more legroom) and easier cargo access than the 3-series sedan.
The eDrive40 with its 81.5-kWh battery is rated at 282 miles, but we essentially beat that in our 75-mph range test, where we officially pegged it at 280 miles because our policy is to round down to the nearest 10-mile increment.
The i4 uses synchronous AC motors featuring a unique current-excited rotor that makes using permanent magnets unnecessary.
The i4’s DC fast-charge capability is 200 kW, which isn’t as fast as some, but does make it worthwhile to plug in to 350-kW DC fast-charge equipment, which takes only 31 minutes to fill the battery from 10 to 80 percent.
With struts up front and a multilink setup out back, our test car’s standard-tune suspension and nonadjustable dampers delivered an admirable balance of ride comfort and handling balance.
The eDrive40’s single-motor rear-drive powertrain scampered to 60 mph in 4.8 seconds and ran 13.6 seconds at 106 mph in the quarter-mile, but instant torque (the 317 lb-ft peak starts at zero rpm) and direct-drive make its passing times even more impressive.
We found the Vernasca leather seats to be super supportive. You don’t need to spend M50 money to get an attractive and impeccably built interior that makes a Model 3 look crude by comparison.
The optional curved screen is a joy to interact with, and it comes paired with a head-up display screen that makes it the easiest $1000 option to recommend.
The curved screen is a prerequisite if you want the Drivers Assistance Professional package, which includes infrared driver-monitoring sensors embedded in the screen so the adaptive cruise system’s lane-centering feature can be entirely hands-free at 40 mph and below.
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