► BMW i4 gets a light nip and tuck
► The i4 is BMW’s most popular EV
► On sale in July from £50k
It hardly seems like five minutes since BMW first revealed its i4, but soon it will be three years since it the Tesla Model 3 rival was introduced.
The i4 is a huge deal for BMW as its the German firm’s most popular electric car, with 83,000 examples sold in 2023 alone. With Tesla’s refreshed Model 3 continuing to fly, and increased opposition in the form of the BYD Seal, it’s now facelift time for the i4 to keep it at the top of its game.
It’s a typically reserved mid-life update for this electric BMW, with most changes revolving around small design revisions and a higher-quality interior finish.
It’s been revealed at the Beijing Auto Show alongside the refreshed 4 Series Gran Coupe, which the i4 is based on.
Nip and tuck time
Following the standard 4 Series coupe having a recent facelift, it’s now time for four-door versions to get the same treatment. The large closed kidney grille, which seemed oh-so-controversial back in 2021 but now seems quite tame by BMW standards, gets a new matte chrome surround, or gloss black on higher-spec M models.
There are new LED headlights, with optional adaptive LED units available with blue inlays. Choose these and you’ll also get jazzy ‘Laserlight’ rear lights. Signalling that this isn’t the most ground-breaking of updates, two new colours – Cape York Green and Fire Red – are available, along with various new alloy wheel designs
Higher-quality interior
Next to the Tesla Model 3 at least, the i4’s interior never felt lacking on the quality front. Nevertheless, BMW has worked to improve it with new steering wheels and revised air vent controls. You can even have open-pore wood as your interior trim, while the fancy ‘CraftedClarity’ glass switchgear from the iX is available on the i4 too. It’s all gone very posh in here.
BMW’s seemingly mandatory Curved Display, which wraps a large touchscreen and digital instrument cluster, is present and correct. It’s also running on the firm’s latest operating system and gets new shortcut buttons that BMW says makes functions such as climate control quicker to operate.
Any changes under the surface?
No, BMW is leaving things as they are on the powertrain front in the UK. There are still three available – eDrive35, eDrive40 and the flagship M50.
The eDrive35 uses a 70kWh battery paired to a rear-mounted electric motor producing 282bhp, allowing for a claimed range of up to 311 miles. The eDrive40 is also rear driven but gets a more powerful 335bhp motor and larger 84kWh battery that unlocks a claimed 373-mile range.
For all-out performance choose the M-tuned i4 M50 that gets two electric motors, enabling all-wheel-drive, and a huge 537bhp that unlocks a 3.7-second 0-62mph time. The range is reduced slightly to 324 miles.
The new BMW i4 is expected to launch in July 2024, with prices starting from £50,365 for the eDrive35 and rising to £69,995 for the M50.