Back last year I posted a thread about not knowing what car to order. Well, I ended up ordering a BMW i4, and I'm so glad I did!
I ended up with a 2026 BMW i4 M-Sport eDrive40 in fire red with cognac leather and a few choice options. Those options being the BMW Hi-Fi sound system, adaptive cruise control, tinted rear glass, wood veneer interior trim and electric memory seats.
I've had the car 6 weeks now and covered just shy of 5000miles in it, and it's been some of the most enjoyable driving I've ever done. The car is leased for 4 years or 80,000miles, whatever comes first, so at this rate I'll likely only have it for ~2 years.
The eDrive40 has 340bhp feeding the rear wheels, enough for 0-60 in 5.6s. It's 84kWh battery is enough for 300miles of ~70mph motorway driving in the dry warm weather, I suspect this will drop down to ~250miles during the winter. No big deal though, as there's ample charging in the UK and I can put 200miles of range back in the car in around 15-20 minutes with a 210kw maximum charge rate.
The power delivery is much like my previous Cupra Born, the throttle is razor sharp and the power instantaneous. It makes motorway merging and overtaking an absolute doddle. Putting your foot flat to the floor while cruising at 30mph will throw you hard back into your seat, not because of the outright power, but the way it can delivery all it's power in one big lump. It makes it feel a LOT more powerful than it actually is.
It has huge 4 piston calipers up front, plus regenerative braking meaning that despite it's 2100kgs kerb weight, it stops superbly too.
The seats are a little harder and narrower than I'd have expected. Apparently they do bed in with age. However, I find myself comparing them to the seats in my old BMW 5 series touring I had back in 2020 and being a little disappointed, probably expecting a little too much. They're certainly not uncomfortable and do offer an ample range of adjustment. You can spec these with the BMW M3/M4 seats and I'd be interested to try them and see how they compare.
The BMW Hi-Fi sound system is worth every penny. The standard BMW sound systems always seem to be lacking. I'm not an audiophile, but I do like my music. The BMW Hi-Fi system stays clear and crisp even at the highest of volumes with lots of bass. I spend an awful lot of hours in my car, and having a decent sound system does make a massive difference to the quality of time spent behind the wheel.
The car also looks superb wherever it is. For a 'normal' and rather humdrum model, it absolute has a sense of purpose and class about it that the Chinese manufacturers haven't yet mastered.
Even the bucktooth front end has grown on me!
I have had a couple of hiccups though. A week after taking delivery, while driving up a dual carriageway early one morning, a lorry flicked up a stone and cracked the windscreen right across the drivers eyeline.
Interestingly, I've always paid extra to have OEM glass refitted. This being a company car means I don't get that option. The OEM glass was Pilkinton, this replacement is also Pilkinton but doesn't have the BMW logo in the corner or the 'connected drive' written by the front camera, but the glass does seem to be of the same quality. Would they make two different quality levels of the same glass? I'm doubtful. All in all, quite happy.
Annoyingly, while I was on my way to get the windscreen replaced, I managed to hit a rock in a lane and damaged the wheel.
I managed to sand down the damage with some 800grit in the direction of the diamond cutting and apply some bright silver paint to the chips. Once dry I sanded the area again with 800grit and applied a few coats of clear and it's almost unnoticeable and shouldn't stop any corrosion forming under the lacquer. But still frustrating none the less!
I ended up with a 2026 BMW i4 M-Sport eDrive40 in fire red with cognac leather and a few choice options. Those options being the BMW Hi-Fi sound system, adaptive cruise control, tinted rear glass, wood veneer interior trim and electric memory seats.
I've had the car 6 weeks now and covered just shy of 5000miles in it, and it's been some of the most enjoyable driving I've ever done. The car is leased for 4 years or 80,000miles, whatever comes first, so at this rate I'll likely only have it for ~2 years.
The eDrive40 has 340bhp feeding the rear wheels, enough for 0-60 in 5.6s. It's 84kWh battery is enough for 300miles of ~70mph motorway driving in the dry warm weather, I suspect this will drop down to ~250miles during the winter. No big deal though, as there's ample charging in the UK and I can put 200miles of range back in the car in around 15-20 minutes with a 210kw maximum charge rate.
The power delivery is much like my previous Cupra Born, the throttle is razor sharp and the power instantaneous. It makes motorway merging and overtaking an absolute doddle. Putting your foot flat to the floor while cruising at 30mph will throw you hard back into your seat, not because of the outright power, but the way it can delivery all it's power in one big lump. It makes it feel a LOT more powerful than it actually is.
It has huge 4 piston calipers up front, plus regenerative braking meaning that despite it's 2100kgs kerb weight, it stops superbly too.
The seats are a little harder and narrower than I'd have expected. Apparently they do bed in with age. However, I find myself comparing them to the seats in my old BMW 5 series touring I had back in 2020 and being a little disappointed, probably expecting a little too much. They're certainly not uncomfortable and do offer an ample range of adjustment. You can spec these with the BMW M3/M4 seats and I'd be interested to try them and see how they compare.
The BMW Hi-Fi sound system is worth every penny. The standard BMW sound systems always seem to be lacking. I'm not an audiophile, but I do like my music. The BMW Hi-Fi system stays clear and crisp even at the highest of volumes with lots of bass. I spend an awful lot of hours in my car, and having a decent sound system does make a massive difference to the quality of time spent behind the wheel.
The car also looks superb wherever it is. For a 'normal' and rather humdrum model, it absolute has a sense of purpose and class about it that the Chinese manufacturers haven't yet mastered.
Even the bucktooth front end has grown on me!
I have had a couple of hiccups though. A week after taking delivery, while driving up a dual carriageway early one morning, a lorry flicked up a stone and cracked the windscreen right across the drivers eyeline.
Interestingly, I've always paid extra to have OEM glass refitted. This being a company car means I don't get that option. The OEM glass was Pilkinton, this replacement is also Pilkinton but doesn't have the BMW logo in the corner or the 'connected drive' written by the front camera, but the glass does seem to be of the same quality. Would they make two different quality levels of the same glass? I'm doubtful. All in all, quite happy.
Annoyingly, while I was on my way to get the windscreen replaced, I managed to hit a rock in a lane and damaged the wheel.
I managed to sand down the damage with some 800grit in the direction of the diamond cutting and apply some bright silver paint to the chips. Once dry I sanded the area again with 800grit and applied a few coats of clear and it's almost unnoticeable and shouldn't stop any corrosion forming under the lacquer. But still frustrating none the less!
