BMW’s i4 is an electric vehicle (EV) that is perhaps underrated, possibly because it comes from a company known for long-term engineering excellence and also because the all-electric version looks almost identical to the 4 Series Gran Coupe to which it is related. But it remains an excellent EV, with slick driving manners, plenty of range, a high-quality interior and a strong image. Both the i4 and the 4 Series have been subjected to the mildest of midlife facelifts and tech updates for 2025 and beyond, and we drove the range-topping M50 electric version on UK roads to see how things have changed before it arrives in Ireland.
How big is the BMW i4 M50?
The i4 M50 measures 4,783mm from tip to tail, with 2,856mm of that taken up by the wheelbase (the distance between the front and rear axles), while it is also 1,852mm wide and 1,448mm tall. Its kerb weight in this flagship, dual-motor M50 specification is 2,290kg, which is an indicator of both the largeness of its battery pack (81.1kWh net) and the physical size of it - 4.8 metres makes this a long car, in the wider scheme of things.
What’s changed on the outside of the BMW i4 M50?
When it comes to modern-day facelifts where the manufacturer is reluctant to make wholesale, sweeping changes to a model that’s already successful in showrooms, the i4 employs the typical gentle tweaks to the lights, alloy wheels and body colours - details designed to be enough to keep it fresh, but not enough to radically redraw its physical form. The light signatures at the front are different in all models, while buyers who opt for higher-spec illumination will benefit from Laserlight rear lamp clusters for a more defined night-time look.
BMW has also tweaked the kidney ‘grilles’ on the i4, which have blanked-off sections above the licence plate but open slats elsewhere, as well as a matt chrome surround, and there are two new body colours (Cape York Green as pictured and Fire Red, both metallics) and two new designs of aerodynamically optimised alloy wheels (one 19 inches in diameter, the other 20-inch) to choose from. Overall, the i4 M50, the sportiest-looking model of the EV line, remains a good-looking car, if one dominated by those huge nose appendages it has been saddled with.
A look inside the BMW i4 M50
The BMW i4’s cabin has superb material quality and an intuitive, sensible layout with plenty of physical switchgear. As a result, the only things the German company felt the need to update were some of the upholstery and trim choices, such as the new sustainably optimised M Performtex material for the seats; those still wanting hide will be pleased to know Vernasca leather remains an option.
Perhaps the most obvious thing to the driver will be what BMW describes as the ‘polygonal’ wheel, and we’re not massively enamoured with it. The rim of the wheel is too fat, a common BMW complaint these days, and the fact it’s not even circular at the top part (which isn’t as obviously flattened off as the bottom) makes it feel even odder in your hands. Shame, because otherwise the i4’s cabin is excellent.
The BMW i4 M50’s on-board technology
Since launch, the i4 has always had the advanced-looking Curved Display, housing a 12.3-inch instrument cluster and the main 14.9-inch touchscreen, and for the 2025 model year the operating system has been uprated to BMW’s slicker OS8.5 technology.
This just sharpens up the digital interface and improves the control methods, which thankfully still include the brilliant iDrive physical wheel if you don’t fancy jabbing at the central display, or trying (largely unsuccessfully, depending on the strength and idiosyncrasies of your accent) to use voice control.
Driving the BMW i4 M50
The M50 retains its dual-motor arrangement with the larger of two battery packs available for the i4 range, which means it has 544hp and 81.1kWh to play with. It also produces a huge 795Nm of torque, although both that number and the horsepower are enhanced by 65Nm and 68hp respectively for more than ten seconds in a mode BMW christens ‘Sport Boost’. But, by any rational measure, even the i4 M50’s nominal numbers of 476hp and 730Nm are huge.
And they translate into a car which is unbelievably swift on the road. Thanks to the instant-access torque and the lack of any gearchanges to hold up proceedings, you simply press the right-hand pedal in the M50 and whirr off very, very quickly into the middle distance. There are also some unusual electric sounds overlaying its straight-line performance, though these can be turned off.
Nevertheless, the speed is monumental, and so is the rolling refinement. It’s not often that the i4 M50 gets upset by imperfections in the road, while the isolation of both tyre and wind noise is near-absolute. As something to travel long distances in and yet remain supremely comfortable throughout the trip, the BMW still feels like one of the best things in its class, despite the modesty of the updates the company has wrought upon it at this stage of its life.
Where it’s not quite as exalted is in the handling stakes. It is by no means bad, of course; it is a BMW, after all’s said and done. But the i4 M50 is 2.3 tonnes at the kerb, which doesn’t make for the sportiest of driving dynamics. Furthermore, it would appear the German firm has set it up to be as foursquare, grippy and accessible as a 544hp car could possibly be, which is great for point-to-point pace, but not so wonderful for handling interactivity.
What it feels like is some of the inert S and RS Audis of the past, with its massive traction and steady chassis. That polygonal steering wheel doesn’t help matters either, because its sheer chunkiness and offbeat shape rob the driver of a few degrees of interactivity at the i4’s helm.
So, if you’re a keener driver, you might be better off with the M440i xDrive or even the full-on M4 petrol models than you would be with the i4 M50, although bear in mind the M4 isn’t available in the Gran Coupe body and those are both way more expensive to buy. However, despite that conclusion, as EVs go the M50 is one of the finer-driving examples that’s available out there.
How safe is the BMW i4 M50?
The BMW i4 only picked up a four-star Euro NCAP rating in 2022 when it was tested, with its lowest score coming in the safety assist department. It’s not lacking for advanced driver assist safety gear, though, with the M50 is fitted with Active Guard Plus as standard - a suite of equipment including automatic emergency braking, lane departure warning, speed limit assist, cruise control, front and rear parking sensors, and automatic headlights.
What’s the electric range of the BMW i4 M50?
There are three models of i4 in the updated range, which are the 286hp eDrive35 with a 67.1kWh battery pack, then the similarly single-motor eDrive40 that shares its larger battery of 81.1kWh with the M50 flagship. Irish prices start at €62,905 and €72,855 for the Sport editions of either the eDrive35 or eDrive40, while switching them to M Sports increases the tickets of each by a few thousand Euro.
For this, the 35 will do up to 496km on a charge, but it’s the 40 which is the range champion with a theoretical maximum figure of 596km. The M50 sits in the middle with an official range of up to 513km.
The reasons you’d buy a BMW i4 M50
This five-door BMW i40 M50, which is a practical EV as much as it is a high-performance one, does lots of things very well and nothing much wrong. It’s not the sharpest-driving BM ever, as an M50 it’s expensive, you might also be better off with the cheaper eDrive40 with its near-600km range, and there’s still the issue with how the front of the car looks with those massive grilles, but otherwise it’s one of the best premium electric cars you can buy.
Ask us anything about the BMW i4 M50
If there’s anything about the BMW i4 M50 we’ve not covered, or you’d like advice in choosing between it and other cars, you can avail of our (completely free) expert advice service via the Ask Us Anything page.
