BMW Makes a Great 4 Series Sedan. It's Also an EV

There’s a lot of talk about electric vehicles that has nothing to do with electric vehicles. Sure, we owe a lot to Elon and identity politics, but even with the political veneer stripped away, we rarely talk about electric vehicles in the context of “normal” cars.

Automakers are partly to blame.

In a desperate attempt to separate their EV lineups from “traditional” vehicles, most automakers are deviating from the established norm. For example, Mercedes isn’t going to simply sell an EV that looks, feels, and drives like the E-Class. Instead, they’re making the monstrous EQE.

This car is a Mercedes shaped by painfully generic “aero” body lines, wrapped in a non-functional interior. The EQE is a very fast vehicle that is less fun to drive than your dentist's chair.

It’s almost an industry-wide phenomenon. Automakers argue that because electric vehicles use a fundamentally different mode of propulsion, customers expect a fundamentally different driving experience.

But what if a company took its most beloved model and did something different, maintaining or even improving driving etiquette?

Take BMW for example. What if they made a regular 3 Series sedan that happened to have some batteries in the floor? How would it drive? How would it work?

Absolutely amazing.

BMW Cars

BMW calls this mid-size EV sedan the *deep breath* 2024 BMW i4 eDrive35 Gran Coupe. Effectively, it's a classic 3 Series sedan with a liftback, saddled with clunky nomenclature.

That's where the bad news ends. Once you get past the odd naming convention, you'll find that BMW has stuck to its old, better conventions.

Like every 3 Series, the i4 GC looks great, drives great, and folds up for everyday life like it’s in your own garage. During my week with the i4 Gran Coupe, I ran errands, got stuck in traffic, chased sunsets on mountain backroads, and generally just lived life with it. The i4 never put a foot wrong.

This is a great sedan, period. And it even looks great.

BMW Cars

Pros: Quiet, Comfortable, Fast

Despite riding on an EV “skateboard,” with the battery in its belly, the i4 GC retains classic BMW sedan proportions. That means the hood is long and low, with tight corners where they should be and a sweeping sweep over everything else. I still don’t like the big buck-tooth grille, but painted a stunning silver called Dravit Grey Metallic ($1,500), the i4’s side profile and rear three-quarter angles look spectacular (note the vehicle pictured here is an i4 edrive40 trim, a slightly different beast than our hero car, but equally spectacular). There’s nothing in this car’s proportions that suggests electric propulsion.

Especially the smartly designed interior, which offers ample headroom, a large, usable trunk (helped by the glass hatchback), and enough luxury and technology to show the driver where the rent money is being spent each month.

Instead of creating a visual gimmick, BMW's design department simply designed a sedan that looked good from every angle, inside and out, and then handed it over to the engineering department to do the rest.

Underneath the sleek exterior is an 81.5-kilowatt lithium-ion battery that powers a single rear motor that produces 282 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque, all sent to the rear wheels.

BMW Cars

BMW Cars

That massive power and the i4’s low-drag body result in a combined 110 MPGe over a projected range of 252 miles. In a week of driving the i4, I probably used “half a tank” of electrons. I never felt anxious about range, though serious commuters might feel queasy.

These aren’t industry-leading numbers for range or efficiency, but they’re enough to meet my family’s needs. A nightly charge will cover 95 percent of driving scenarios, and I think this fits the bill for many suburban families looking for a BMW sedan.

If you can't charge this BMW in your garage overnight (a convenience you may not consider sufficient), you're better off with a gas-powered Bimmer.

BMW claims 5.8 seconds to 60 mph, but after a few hard pulls up to interstate speeds, I think that number is a bit pessimistic. My old M3 hit 60 in about 5.5 seconds and this i4 will go very fast. From a dig, or on the highway, the i4 will rocket to a top speed of 118 mph in a matter of moments.

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Cons: Range, EV infrastructure, Ugly grille

Rather than overwhelm you with its EV-ness during hard acceleration, BMW simply plays a little fake engine noise through the i4 GC’s interior speakers. It’s one of the few pure EV gimmicks you’ll find here, and the car could do without it. The sound is so subtle that I would have preferred to keep it on, if only to blend the audio feedback with the jolt of EV acceleration.

BMW’s EV drivetrain offers a traditional two-pedal driving routine, along with one-pedal driving as well. The latter feels sharp and well-calibrated, with a quick transition to braking when the accelerator pedal is released. The one-pedal system feels very sharp but never intrusive with the i4’s drive mode selector set to “Sport.”

I prefer the Sport’s pedal sensitivity, steering weight, and suspension response. While I wish the Sport’s damping curve was a little looser, you can imagine the amount of spring BMW would have to put in a vehicle this heavy to make it feel responsive, and the damping required to control this bouncing EV body.

That said, Sport offers the most responsive calibration of every major chassis and drivetrain system, transforming the i4 GC from a leisurely commuter to a true Sports Sedan.

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At a base price of $52,200, the eDrive35 trim offers the best value in the i4 lineup. It’s quick enough for everyday driving and backroad cruising, fast enough that I wouldn’t be tempted to spring for a more expensive trim.

The M Sport package ($3100) feels like a must, thanks to the adaptive suspension and pretty wheels, but I can ignore everything else on the design sheet (although the Harman Kardon sound system would tempt me at $875, as would the San Remo green paint ($650) and heated seats ($500)).

That puts the i4 eDrive 35 in competitive territory, competing with ICE sedans, hybrids and EVs, but none of them offer the BMW’s incredible blend of power.

BMW Cars

Its gas-powered competitors are slower, less quiet, and often have less brand equity. Hybrids are twice as slow. Other EVs will outbid this BMW for about $55,000, but none look as good or as good.

The lease deals on these cars are getting more and more attractive. As a second vehicle to go alongside the gas-powered truck or SUV already in your garage, this is a very competitive deal from BMW.

In this way, the new BMW is very much like the old BMW we loved so much. It combines form with function, complements its handsome looks with a wealth of amenities, and combines quick reflexes with superb driving manners.

The i4 eDrive 35 Gran Coupe is a great BMW sedan. It's also an electric vehicle.