2023 BMW i4

The 2023 BMW i4 is back for another year after debuting as the German carmaker’s first luxury sedan. While built as an electric version of the existing 4 Series Gran Coupe, the i4 fills out its own segment as BMW adds more electric options without six-cylinder engines. The i4 is a hoot, with capability aplenty to rocket around town.

Thanks to a better 50/50 weight split than an erstwhile 4 or 3 Series gas car (and a center of gravity that’s lower in the chassis) even at the edge of grip, it feels like there’s just a little bit more. Now it offers three versions: the rear-wheel drive eDrive35 (new for 2023) and eDrive40 and all-wheel M50. BMW updated its traction and stability control systems to enable the sportiest driving. 

Regardless of drive setup BMW says it recalibrated its dynamic stability control for the instant torque character of electric power, and they’ve definitely nailed this part, with plenty of eagerness from the accelerator and rocket-like passing power, but zero surprises. Only the Polestar 2 and the Genesis GV60 fit as competitors if we’re talking about different flavors of luxuriant cabins, though neither offers as much cornering poise as the BMW. That said, the Genesis is a larger crossover with more cabin room, and even the Tesla Model 3’s notably ungenerous rear-seat legroom is kinder to full-sized adults than the i4—and rear seat headroom is especially limited in the BMW, too.

Based on the 4 Series Gran Coupe, the i4 brings a luxury sportiness to the electric BMW lineup.  Alex Kwanten

Pricing now starts at a lower base (and lower range at 260 miles) of $52,000 with the new eDrive35 (plus a $995 destination fee) while the now-mid eDrive40 starts at $57,100. The top M50, which drops range to 270, comes in at $68,700, with special emblems for the performance variant’s 50th anniversary. 

All this is just as you’d hope for from an electric 3/4 Series successor—all the fun and no gas-fumed hangover. And, likewise, fans of German sports sedans will not be disappointed by the cabin digs, either. There are terrific optional $1,450 Vernasca leather seats, but even minus that, BMW tricks out the i4 just as you’d expect, with a micro-waled corduroy-like pattern on the metal dash and center console trim, both heft and tactility to the air vent and door controls, and driver-centered ergonomics that are hours-long comfortable. 

BMW also gets beat by Tesla in the range department. Musk’s Long Range Model 3 cruises 358 miles between charges, and if you want the most miles per charge from the i4 troika, go with the eDrive40 and its 301 miles, which out-legs the Polestar and Genesis, but narrowly loses out to the Kia EV6 Long Range RWD’s 310 miles. While the thriftier base model is appreciated, it’s the mid eDrive40 that gives you the power, range and consistently classy BMW looks.

Some might consider it too much, but the new Curved Display fuses the 12.3-inch driver’s instrument cluster to the 14.9-inch center touchscreen.  BMW

Performance: 13/15

You can brew your own performance from the i4, toggling from Eco Pro to Comfort and Sport settings—which mostly dulls or increases accelerator response. You can also separately set how much regenerative resistance you want from the throttle. This doesn’t quite get you to true “one-pedal” driving, where just lifting off the accelerator will slow you to a complete stop, but you get darn close. There’s also “B” mode: This works like a heavy-duty downshift that adds a large dollop of regen—the equivalent of engine braking you might want during a long descent.

If that doesn’t sound like a very “analogue” BMW of yore, it’s not; you will miss the control of an old-school gearbox. But otherwise the carmaker’s roots shine to the fore, with excellent suspension tuning, and adaptive dampers (rear only on the 35 and 40) magically stiffen around corners but slacken enough to remove any roughness from in-town potholes. 

The overall offering of a very sporty, lively handling car that’s awake to sluicing corners and has gobs of instant torque ranging from 295 pound feet in the eDrive35 up to 586 in the ripping M50 makes it really easy to leave behind BMW’s 3 and 4 Series gas cars.

Range, Energy Use & Charging:  12/15

Using MPGe (the number of miles the vehicle can go using a quantity of fuel with the same energy content as a gallon of gasoline), and comparing the single motor i4 eDrive 40 to its single motor competition, the EPA scores that i4 109 combined MPGe. That’s worse than Tesla’s Model 3 Long Range score of 131, but slightly superior to the Polestar 2 single motor’s 107. The Genesis GV60 single motor trails the BMW with a combined 95 MPGe. 

Why look at single-motor only? Because dual motor systems, at least so far, aren’t as efficient. The “hot” M50 with 20-inch wheels only garners 80 combined MPGe, which trails Tesla’s Model 3 Performance (119 MPGe), Genesis GV60 Performance (90 MPGe) and Polestar 2 Performance (100 MPGe). 

Want to go fast? As with gas cars the mechanism to do so adds weight and complexity, which claws away at range. Only the two-motor Tesla can go more than 300 miles per charge, while the M50 BMW only manages 270 miles. If you want an i4, the eDrive 40 bests the eDrive35’s 260 miles of range, with 301 miles, and is still plenty powerful. 

Safety & Driver Assistance Tech: 13/15

BMW goes a little space age with some of the tech on the i4. The tire monitoring system doesn’t just check pressure, but calculates that average along with the rotation, speed and other forces on the rubber to calculate when you’ll need new tires. 

The i4 also comes with a lot of standard safety technology and all of the following are included: rear-cross-traffic alert, active blind spot detection, LED headlamps, front and rear parking sensors, lane departure warning and pedestrian and cyclist detection. However, they charge $1,700 more for an advanced cruise control system that works while stopping and restarting in traffic, and $700 more for a package that includes a 360-degree camera view of the i4, which is very useful for parking.

Neither the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) nor the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have come out with ratings of the i4, nor have they rated the 4 Series, which shares a chassis with the i4. Europe’s NCAP gives the i4 four out of five stars for safety.

The front is where most passengers want to be, especially with a fairly tight back row. Knee room is a particular issue for the back of the i4. Sasha Lekach

Comfort & Room: 12/15

Electric cars are inherently quiet, and although you can abide BMW’s artificially created electronic soundtrack for driving (which is pumped in through the speakers if you don’t disable it), the fact that BMW also gifts the i4 with standard acoustic glass for the windshield is a “tell” that you should go with whatever music or conversation you prefer as your own personal “soundtrack” instead. And whether you stick with the standard sport seats or spring for the $1,450 Vernasca leather buckets, the comfort level won’t disappoint. 

If you’re tall, though, 38.2 inches of headroom might not be enough. You’ll also need to be short to park behind the driver—34.2 inches of legroom is paltry. The Polestar 2’s 33.9 inches is the only alternative here that’s worse, and even if that backseat’s headroom isn’t suitable for full-sized adults, the i4 makes backbenchers duck even more. The Tesla Model 3, which isn’t particularly roomy, offers more front and rear headroom against the i4, as well as a bit more rear knee room. 

Infotainment: 13/15

All i4’s now come standard with BMW’s Curved Display. This fuses the 12.3-inch driver’s instrument cluster to the 14.9-inch center touchscreen, adding a bend to the entire structure. In the eDrive35 and 40, that’s framed in metal trim—in the M50, carbon fiber. Regardless, the interface is BMW’s eighth iteration of iDrive, which allows both touch inputs and using BMW’s rotary selector, which is housed between the driver and passenger. It’s one of the easier systems to use in a realm where tech overkill has grown increasingly common.

Wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay come standard, as does navigation, and BMW’s already announced updates to iDrive 8 (rolling out over the air), which further simplifies the menu structure. BMW’s standard six speaker audio is quite good, but adding the $875, 16-speaker Harman Kardon audio system is a bargain upgrade for a car where silent running truly lets you hear the quality of the music you like. Dual front and rear USBs come standard, but BMW charges $200 more for a front wireless phone charger.

A hatchback has its advantages, especially when the backseats are lowered to create 45.6 cubic-feet of storage space. BMW

Cargo Space & Storage: 10/15

Because it’s a hatchback, the i4 offers more versatility than an equivalent sized sports sedan with a trunk. However, it’s not as capacious as if BMW didn’t piggyback the i4 on the chassis of its gas 4 Series, because that leaves behind a transmission tunnel that the all-electric i4 doesn’t use or need. There’s also no front storage “frunk” below the hood, even in the rear-wheel drive models. 

Still, you gain a little height in the luggage bay with that liftback design, and 40/20/40 split seats allow carrying skis or other items that poke through the armrest tunnel. Drop those rear seat uprights and the 45.6 cubic-foot space is large enough to carry a mountain bike (front wheel removed). This is nearly as much room as you’ll get from the gas-powered 4 Series Gran Coupe, but still trails the GV60’s 54.7 cubic-feet. However, it’s 7 more cubic-feet than in the Polestar 2.

Style & Design: 7/10

Buyers still don’t love the oversized kidney grille BMW has been sticking onto its cars. From the side, rear and back, the overall shape of the i4 tells you “BMW” in all the ways fans of the carmaker have come to love from the company’s sporty-first ethos. But having to apologize for the face of your luxury car isn’t ideal. 

Fortunately you don’t drive a car from the exterior, and the interior of the i4 shines well above rivals in this segment; it’s neither going for spare tech futuristic, where Polestar maybe pushes the envelope too far, nor is BMW forcing you into Tesla’s take-it-or-leave-it econobox wrapper that pretends a flat panel display is all anybody should want. Nope: This is a pure play toward BMW upscale and it all works perfectly.

The i4 might be BMW’s first all-electric sedan, but there’s no mistaking it for any other brand. Alex Kwanten

Is the 2023 BMW i4 Worth it? Which i4 is the Best Value? 

No question, getting the eDrive40 blends the best of why you’d buy this car. It has the most range of 301 miles, 335 horsepower is more than enough muscle to feel plenty invigorating, and while it’s expensive, at $57,100 (with the $995 destination fee), that’s a significant savings over the $68,700 for the M50. 

The reason to want the latter? Power. Having 536 horsepower and the ability to chase down 60 mph faster than even the mightiest of BMW’s gasoline M cars will get the attention of petrolheads, but with its stickiest tires you’re looking at only 227 miles between charges and as such, the M50 becomes a somewhat less useful daily driver. Maybe, if you need that car’s AWD you could argue this tabulation toward all-weather capability, though with a pretty serious luxury car cost of entry.

How Much Does it Cost to Insure the 2023 BMW i4?

The 2023 BMW i4 is expensive to insure but it costs about the same as most of its peers. According to our data, a typical 30-year-old female driver with a clean record can expect an average annual premium that goes up to $3,493 for the top model, though this averages all 50 states. Similar EVs fall within a certain price range. A Tesla Model 3 owner might pay up to $4,040 per year, while the Polestar 2 is closer to $3,000 and the Genesis GV60 also goes up to around $3,000. For a more accurate picture of your potential insurance expenses, visit our car insurance calculator.