I drove my first electric - 2025 BMW i4 M50

[UncleDave]

1. Not correct. I guess you are not aware the car has an EPA range of 227 miles.
The road test in the link I provided managed to get a little more. My son would not have some close to getting to my house. I am sure you are not suggesting otherwise
"M50 tester had 20-inch wheels, which yielded as much as 245 miles of range on a full charge; a bit better than the 227-mile EPA estimate."

2. My son could not charge at my house and continued to use the car well into the evening as we went out to dinner and around town.

3. My son would not have made the return trip of 258 miles without charging to full again. Also once home he would not be able to drive the car again until charging.

Im a little surprised sometimes at these posts. An $80,000 car, being suggested not to use it and have fun, drive from point A to point B and let it sit on a charger? Or stop two times and not once.
It sounds silly to me, Im not sure of the point of these posts. I can only assume you did not know the range of the car. You buy a car like this to have fun, not calculated to the last mile when you might run out of juice and get stranded.

1. It sounds like the version of the car in ABRP doesnt quite match the actual car he has - common for certain versions to be a few miles off.
(see the UI in ABRP below)

2. I know he cant charge at your house. If you look at ABRP it shows that he would arrive with plenty of energy to drive around and have a ball with you.

He would absolutely be able to use the car as he would return home with X amount of energy left which would be dictated by his last charge stop - see the planner showing that with an 11 minutes stop on his way to you he would arrive with approximately 41% remaining.

3. Its your sons choice to charge enough to get home with some reserve, or to charge however much he wants. He did NOT have to charge to full.


Let's say the car has 227 miles of range leaving his house.
He started out full then charged to full again + 227
Then he charged again + 227

You are claiming he NEEDED the full 681 mile of range to make a 510 mile plus driving around 40 miles having a blast with you.
That simply doesn't add up.

No doubt this 40 miles were a blast with multiple full throttle runs.

I have no idea who might be suggesting not to have fun with the car?

the I4 M50 selecting in the planning tool.

 

[alarmguy]

Let's say the car has 227 miles of range leaving his house.
He started out full then charged to full again + 227
Then he charged again + 227

You are claiming he NEEDED the full 681 mile of range to make a 510 mile plus driving around 40 miles having a blast with you.
That simply doesn't add up.

Why doesnt this add up? That would mean, in best case scenario he had 100 miles left when he got home and then stay home to top off the charge. I'll check but I know at one point he had 36 miles left when he got to a charger. I mean, we are splitting hairs here trying to force a borderline range into something it isnt for everyone.

 

[JeffKeryk]

That range is terrible, I'm sorry to say. 227 mile range is far worse than my '18 Model 3 Mid Range (260 mile range), which was entry level at that time.
IMO, BMW needs to up their game.

 

[Torrid]

1. Not correct. I guess you are not aware the car has an EPA range of 227 miles.
The road test in the link I provided managed to get a little more. My son would not have some close to getting to my house. I am sure you are not suggesting otherwise
"M50 tester had 20-inch wheels, which yielded as much as 245 miles of range on a full charge; a bit better than the 227-mile EPA estimate."

2. My son could not charge at my house and continued to use the car well into the evening as we went out to dinner and around town.

3. My son would not have made the return trip of 258 miles without charging to full again. Also once home he would not be able to drive the car again until charging.

Im a little surprised sometimes at these posts. An $80,000 car, being suggested not to use it and have fun, drive from point A to point B and let it sit on a charger? Or stop two times and not once.
It sounds silly to me, Im not sure of the point of these posts. I can only assume you did not know the range of the car. You buy a car like this to have fun, not calculated to the last mile when you might run out of juice and get stranded. I dont think it bears repeating but reading your words that he could have have charged at my house and made it home was not going to happen.

We are bending use of an electric vehicle to fit what you would be ok with, Discounting speed, air-conditioning and not knowing the range of the vehicle we are talking about.

From my OP
View attachment 285430

For others, I want to stress I LOVED this car! For some reason I am getting caught up in being told my son did not need to re-charge the car. Bottom line, it adds an hour to the trip if you want to have the same convenience of driving an $80,000 gasoline car without stretching out every last mile, watching the speedo to maximize the charge and the driving habits. Not to worry about just making it from point A to B but also driving around "town" once you get to your destination and continue experiencing driving a 536 HP $80,000 car

No to poo-poo the whole thing, but I think the only point to be made is getting used to EVs and getting more comfortable with charging and use will only streamline the process. I could understand waiting until 90% if necessary, but of that hour charge 20-25 minutes of that would have been just getting 90%-100%.

 

[UncleDave]

Why doesnt this add up? That would mean, in best case scenario he would have 100 miles left when he got home.

131 in the case of the numbers above.

He COULD have spent less than half the time charging and still arrived home with plenty of juice.
He CHOSE not to do that which is totally fine, lots of people take a one hour stop, but what Im trying to say is that he COULD have shaved a bunch of time should he chosen to have done so.

Charging isn't linear - you get much more charge in the first 30 minutes than you do the second 30 minutes.
The key to fast EV transit is to travel on the bottom 1/2 of the capacity and charge as much as you need to get to the next stop.
When you last stop is your house and you charge at home arriving with enough left in case of an emergency is SOP.
10% is the standard target arrival.

 

[jghall00]

That range is terrible, I'm sorry to say. 227 mile range is far worse than my '18 Model 3 Mid Range (260 mile range), which was entry level at that time.
IMO, BMW needs to up their game.

A few points:
(1) The buyer knows what they're getting and can decide what is sufficient. My wife's I-Pace is rated at 240 miles. We almost never use the entire range because it's not a road trip vehicle, so it's fine.
(2) The range can be extended substantially by opting for smaller wheels.
(3) BMW offers electric vehicles with higher range figures. This particular model is the highest performance one, which means less efficiency.
(4) Tesla has gained some measure of notoriety for inflated range figures. It seems they've gotten better lately but there's a history there.

 

[KrisZ]

Charging an EV to 100% while on a road trip is a huge waste of time. Unfortunately people don’t know this.

 

[alarmguy]

131 in the case of the numbers above.

He COULD have spent less than half the time charging and still arrived home with plenty of juice.
He CHOSE not to do that which is totally fine, lots of people take a one hour stop, but what Im trying to say is that he COULD have shaved a bunch of time should he chosen to have done so.

Charging isn't linear - you get much more charge in the first 30 minutes than you do the second 30 minutes.
The key to fast EV transit is to travel on the bottom 1/2 of the capacity and charge as much as you need to get to the next stop.
When you last stop is your house and you charge at home arriving with enough left in case of an emergency is SOP.
10% is the standard target arrival.

Your examples showed me the same charge time by stopping at two locations. Everyone uses their vehicles the way they like. You're taking static numbers and fitting them into his driving and use of the vehicle.

Not everyone uses a vehicle or drives like someone says they should. On his trip here I believe he told me he had 36 miles left after driving 173 miles. He fully charged and then drove the remaining 85 miles to our house. Then around town and then 85 miles back to the same supercharger (it's possible that is when he had the 36 miles left) either way, it's all the same distances.

You are right about one thing, he chose to enjoy his car in the manner he liked. We are splitting hairs on miles. Your examples show almost the same charge times, once he arrived home, he continued to use the car. I guess I said enough as we are going in circles and kind of took away posting on the wonderful experience of this vehicle.

 

[UncleDave]

Charging an EV to 100% while on a road trip is a huge waste of time. Unfortunately people don’t know this.

If you are trying to travel fast in an EV it almost always is.

If you are eating lunch anyway who cares.

 

[alarmguy]

That range is terrible, I'm sorry to say. 227 mile range is far worse than my '18 Model 3 Mid Range (260 mile range), which was entry level at that time.
IMO, BMW needs to up their game.

Choices are good, right? Hey, Tesla has to up their game in an interior, fit, finish, controls like a BMW has right?
I mean, there is no comparison on that.
You could have higher range of the same BMW vehicle if you select other versions.

 

[alarmguy]

A few points:
(1) The buyer knows what they're getting and can decide what is sufficient. My wife's I-Pace is rated at 240 miles. We almost never use the entire range because it's not a road trip vehicle, so it's fine.
(2) The range can be extended substantially by opting for smaller wheels.
(3) BMW offers electric vehicles with higher range figures. This particular model is the highest performance one, which means less efficiency.
(4) Tesla has gained some measure of notoriety for inflated range figures. It seems they've gotten better lately but there's a history there.

Well said, there are many versions of the BMW i4 and one can experience the incredible fit, finish and controls throughout.
Hey, if someone is concerned about range only, maybe the new Chevy Bolt will do. *LOL*
It's almost laughable. Good post, thank you, Im done with the range debate. Would have loved to stick to talking about the car but there are defenders of what almost seems like an agenda (yes I know it rhymes! )

No offense to anyone in here but I can imagine some of them, watching their speed, making sure they stay near 65 to 75 MPH for 3 hours on the interstate. Instead of 80 to 85 MPH blasting down the highway (and that is almost reasonable in the land of the free here)

(unrelated) Heck maybe they dont even know that feeling of a steady 83 MPH for 3 hours which I trailered my boat at when we moved here and also a 4 wheel Hertz trailer usingmy gas powered Traverse with a 5000 lb tow rating. Some thought that was nuts (maybe it was)

 

[UncleDave]

Your examples showed me the same charge time by stopping at two locations. Everyone uses their vehicles the way they like. You're taking static numbers and fitting them into his driving and use of the vehicle.

Not everyone uses a vehicle or drives like someone says they should. On his trip here I believe he told me he had 36 miles left after driving 173 miles. He fully charged and then drove the remaining 85 miles to our house. Then around town and then 85 miles back to the same supercharger (it's possible that is when he had the 36 miles left) either way, it's all the same distances.

You are right about one thing, he chose to enjoy his car in the manner he liked. We are splitting hairs on miles. Your examples show almost the same charge times, once he arrived home, he continued to use the car. I guess I said enough as we are going in circles and kind of took away posting on the wonderful experience of this vehicle.

I hope he and you have a ball together. Ive never varied from that.

There were declarative statements made in a group that thrives on details.

I endeavored to add some color around those details as well as inform those that may not be familiar with the subject.

In doing so it seems I removed joy which was never the intent.

 

[alarmguy]

I hope he and you have a ball together. Ive never varied from that.

There were declarative statements made in a group that thrives on details.

I endeavored to add some color around those details as well as inform those that may not be familiar with the subject.

In doing so it seems I removed joy which was never the intent.

All good Dave, I like our conversations, we just have to keep in mind the way we read words and then try to condense into posts (sometimes in a rush) vs actually hanging out over a beer.

 

[UncleDave]

Would have loved to stick to talking about the car but there are defenders of what almost seems like an agenda (yes I know it rhymes! )

If anything the 3rd party data shows the car is even faster on trip and closer to its ice counterpart than you may have realized.

I'd love to have that car and 227 miles of range for a short that fast and cool is totally workable.

comparatively - I never had a big block car that got that much range, was that quick, and easy to drive, or operated so cheap.

 

[UncleDave]

All good Dave, I like our conversations, we just have to keep in mind the way we read words and then try to condense into posts (sometimes in a rush) vs actually hanging out over a beer.

The frustrating part is that if we had the discussion around a campfire it would take a fraction of the time and we would never fall out of alignment.

typing out everything is an awful way to communicate.

First round is on me!

 

[JeffKeryk]

Choices are good, right? Hey, Tesla has to up their game in an interior, fit, finish, controls like a BMW has right?
I mean, there is no comparison on that.
You could have higher range of the same BMW vehicle if you select other versions.

Choices are great.
I've owned an EV since Dec 2018. Range is key. We are talking about the vehicle as an EV and a 227 range is disappointing.
My car is far less money, far faster and easily has 30% more usable range (that's huge). Might even have a more spacious interior, dunno that much about the BMW. Is it cramped?
I frequently do 250+ mile day trips without even thinking about charging. I would have kept our '18 Mid Range except I found the range too limiting and it's 15% better than the BMW. Remember, charging to 100% is generally ill advised for battery health.

The BMW is only better if you want a BMW, not because of its EV properties. The numbers are not even close.
227 mile range is a no-go for me; it relagates the vehicle to too limited usage. Heck, most BITOG seem to think any vehicle without 400 miles range is useless...
Bottom line, I can easily live with 300 mile range and not have another sedan. 227 mile range doesn't work. Just too limiting based on my experience.
I am anxious to see the Neue Classe, which promises to be a fantastic EV. We'll see.

 

[alarmguy]

… numbers are not even close.
227 mile range is a no-go for me; it relagates the vehicle to too limited usage. Heck, most BITOG seem to think any vehicle without 400 miles range is useless...
Bottom line, I can easily live with 300 mile range and not have another sedan. 227 mile range doesn't work. Just too limiting based on my experience.
I am anxious to see the Neue Classe, which promises to be a fantastic EV. We'll see.

choices are good, right?
The choice here is fit, finish and luxury or just plain Jane. They are both good depending on what a person wants or can afford.

By the way, depending on which BMW i4 you choose will determine range.
If range is a big concern choose the model that gets over 300 miles per charge.

I can only assume you read the article in the OP link.

Back to the last few words = choice is all good.
If the same vehicle was good for everybody, they wouldn’t be so many different models and manufacturers, right?

 

[JeffKeryk]

choices are good, right?
The choice here is fit, finish and luxury or just plain Jane. They are both good depending on what a person wants or can afford.

By the way, depending on which BMW i4 you choose will determine range.
If range is a big concern choose the model that gets over 300 miles per charge.

I can only assume you read the article in the OP link.

Back to the last few words = choice is all good.
If the same vehicle was good for everybody, they wouldn’t be so many different models and manufacturers, right?

I get your point. My point is, BMW pales compared to my Tesla from the EV standpoint.
You and others make the case it takes a long time to charge for anything beyond around town use, or that you really need another car due to its range short comings.

If you read reviews of the M50, they speak to the compromise ramifications of putting an EV drivetrain in an ICE designed vehicle.
I can live very well with just our M3P and my Tundra. The M50 would be far harder to live with. It would have to go.

227 mile range is realistically 200 miles, or less. I found the 260 mile EPA range '18 Mid Range lacking at times.

Yes, choices are great. But this is a limited choice. All good AG.

 

[alarmguy]

I get your point. My point is, BMW pales compared to my Tesla from the EV standpoint.
You and others make the case it takes a long time to charge for anything beyond around town use, or that you really need another car due to its range short comings.

If you read reviews of the M50, they speak to the compromise ramifications of putting an EV drivetrain in an ICE designed vehicle.
I can live very well with just our M3P and my Tundra. The M50 would be far harder to live with. It would have to go.

227 mile range is realistically 200 miles, or less. I found the 260 mile EPA range '18 Mid Range lacking at times.

Yes, choices are great. But this is a limited choice. All good AG.

Two different classes of cars. I don’t think BMW is after the Tesla market.
You’re incorrect on realistically 200 miles if you read the test report
As previously stated if mileage over the horsepower is more important you can buy the model that gets over 300 miles

All good, I will never own either so I’m good too! LOL

 

[OVERKILL]

227 mile range is realistically 200 miles, or less. I found the 260 mile EPA range '18 Mid Range lacking at times.

That's actually the opposite here. Many other marques that aren't Tesla have lower advertised range figures than are actually attainable, which @UncleDave mentioned earlier in the thread for this particular vehicle, while people often don't get the advertised range with the Tesla products.

CLAR, as we discussed previously, is not an "ICE designed vehicle", but a platform that was designed, from the get-go, to be able to host multiple powertrains. It's not a pure EV platform, but it's not a pure PHEV or ICE one either. It's flexible. Yes, the car is heavy, but that's not solely due to the platform, it's also due to design decisions BMW made on insulation, interior appointments and fitments...etc. All that stuff adds up.