BMW I4 M50 test drive

[Kingske]

The information I have is that BMW were surprised that most customers were so conservative that the innovative i3 and i8 did not sell as well as they expected so they went back and made their future electric cars look like people were used to so a lot of the innovative engineering was dropped. A shame IMO but there we are.

Which is why one should avoid having an innovation strategy be driven too much by consumer focus groups...

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[IrwinJ]

I pre-ordered the M50 last July. It was supposed to be delivered to me by July of this year. Now it's being pushed back to "sometime" in first quarter 2023. I got sick of waiting and have no confidence that were I to hold out, it would be delayed even beyon first quarter 2023. So I cancelled the order and just bought a Taycan RWD. VERY EXCITED.

 

[kort]

I pre-ordered the M50 last July. It was supposed to be delivered to me by July of this year. Now it's being pushed back to "sometime" in first quarter 2023. I got sick of waiting and have no confidence that were I to hold out, it would be delayed even beyon first quarter 2023. So I cancelled the order and just bought a Taycan RWD. VERY EXCITED.

a bird in hand...
good call on bailing on the BMW

I wanted to replace my wife's car with a cheap/small hybrid ford maverick, none available for months, then I looked at the hyndai/kia hybrids and EVs, non available, then I looked at a mustang, none available. all the stealerships were willing to take deposits on cars they seem to have sold 3x over but I wasn't willing to play that game.
I could have put her into a volvo recharge but I thought it was poor value for the money, that said, I found a Jaguar I pace that was a bit expensive and 300+ miles away and quite costly but she's always wanted a Jag and I wanted her in an EV so instead of waiting for cars that are in the realm of vaporware she is in a Jag that was available for immediate purchase.

 

[Swede-ish]

So we picked ours up last weekend - it's awesome - raised it against the Turbo, and it was almost a wash! Looks great too! Buck teeth are not bad in real life. I'll give it a few more weeks, but so far so good. Great on the kWh too.

 

[Swede-ish]

You have to understand that they did the i3/i8 route already and shared platform make sense for them and you cannot fault the ridiculous low price of the i4. If you are looking for something like Taycan, then you have to pay for a Taycan. The question is Sedan or Cross Turismo. Somehow the Sport Turismo doesn't really look good to me.

I have to agree to disagree. We drove the iX, and it feels like a large i3! Not a bad thing. Carbonfiber body and all. The front really does not look very enticing though.
Our i4 M50 is a classic BMW design, but with the Taycan feel. Maybe a little courser, but same power and... the dash is superior to the Porsche! The curved screen and controls are responsive and intuitive, as opposed to the Taycan (that I love) that is flaky and slow. Hard to access, and unintuitive functions. Did I mention the display that sinks into the leather dash where you can't reach it... Porsche is great overall, but the BMW i4 M50 takes the price at a $100k discount.

 

[kailifish]

So we picked ours View attachment 35499 up last weekend - it's awesome - raised it against the Turbo, and it was almost a wash! Looks great too! Buck teeth are not bad in real life. I'll give it a few more weeks, but so far so good. Great on the kWh too.

Congrats on the new ride
The look from this angle actually is starting to grow on me, the buck teeth and the front gives it an aggressive look.

 

[BJCanadaMax]

I have to agree to disagree. We drove the iX, and it feels like a large i3! Not a bad thing. Carbonfiber body and all. The front really does not look very enticing though.
Our i4 M50 is a classic BMW design, but with the Taycan feel. Maybe a little courser, but same power and... the dash is superior to the Porsche! The curved screen and controls are responsive and intuitive, as opposed to the Taycan (that I love) that is flaky and slow. Hard to access, and unintuitive functions. Did I mention the display that sinks into the leather dash where you can't reach it... Porsche is great overall, but the BMW i4 M50 takes the price at a $100k discount.

Yeah i have the MINI SE, which is a mini bmw in reality. It’s price is almost same as the i4. Anyway there isn’t any point there. But there is no way that the BMW is at same level as the Porsche Taycan or Taycan CT, etc. If it is, they would have sold it at that price range.

 

[Swede-ish]

Congrats on the new ride
The look from this angle actually is starting to grow on me, the buck teeth and the front gives it an aggressive look.

I have to admit, I accidentally Posted a pic of the iX we test-drove!!! My original post is now updated with our i4 M50 - Sorry!

 

[Mr.Smith]

I have to admit, I accidentally Posted a pic of the iX we test-drove!!! My original post is now updated with our i4 M50 - Sorry!

You got the best color. Congratulations

 

[Swede-ish]

Yeah i have the MINI SE, which is a mini bmw in reality. It’s price is almost same as the i4. Anyway there isn’t any point there. But there is no way that the BMW is at same level as the Porsche Taycan or Taycan CT, etc. If it is, they would have sold it at that price range.

The i4 M50 definitely has the better controls, well above the Taycan and much more intuitive and responsive. It also has power comparable to my Turbo, but the suspension and leather appointments in the Taycan are a step up from the BMW (as it should at a $100k premium). After having the M50 for a couple of weeks now, it seems the battery management might be even better that the Taycans (!) - driving the same routes around town and in our hills, it appear to use less energy. We'll see how it is in the long run.

 

[Mr.Smith]

The i4 M50 definitely has the better controls, well above the Taycan and much more intuitive and responsive. It also has power comparable to my Turbo, but the suspension and leather appointments in the Taycan are a step up from the BMW (as it should at a $100k premium). After having the M50 for a couple of weeks now, it seems the battery management might be even better that the Taycans (!) - driving the same routes around town and in our hills, it appear to use less energy. We'll see how it is in the long run.

Can you feel the difference with the Taycan having the second gear when at higher speeds?
I found the M50 coming alive after 60mph

 

[Swede-ish]

To be honest, I can not claim to have done a fully scientific comparison, LOL. However both cars were in sport mode, so the Taycan was in low gear from takeoff and they both accelerated similarly from stand still. The Taycan started to get ahead of the M50 when reaching higher speed - probably around the 60 mark... Both cars are a blast, and I don't think you can go wrong either way, it's just a matter of your priorities which one to pick. Or take both!

 

[IrwinJ]

I’m glad you’re having a good M50 experience, and certainly I would have been happy to get mine. But having delivery pushed back to first quarter next year with zero assurance it would finally be available then - nope, I want my toy now. And interestingly when I test drove the regular i4 (RWD instead of the AWD M50), a few things stood out. First, I was struck that this is a SMALL car, like Toyota Corolla size. I felt cramped in the driver seat like I was on top of the passenger next to me. And the display - it’s like a stretched out iPad standing up on top of the dash. I think it’s ugly just like the Tesla’s display. But I will say despite its appearance, the BMW info/media functionality is miles ahead of the Taycan’s. Conversely when I drove the Taycan it felt spacious and more solidly planted to the ground just like my Mercedes SL 550 feels. And the Taycan’s interior is way more quality, luxurious and aesthetically pleasing than the i4. And setting aside rocket fast acceleration that concusses your brain against the back of your skull which is a parlor trick that M50 and Taycan Turbo drivers might play with in the beginning, the handling of the Taycan is pure Porsche of which very simply is light years ahead of the M50. Yes I’m sure I would have been thrilled with the M50 and blissfully ignorant of the Taycan’s superiority had BMW’s delays not pushed me into test driving the Taycan. But having done that, if this very minute the M50 was offered to me in exchange for the Taycan being delivered to me Tuesday, uh thanks but no thanks.

 

[Fish Fingers]

It is the only other EV I would consider buying at the current time.

Really happy with my Taycan, but if it didn't exist, I imagine I wouid be driving one of these now.

 

[Swede-ish]

I’m glad you’re having a good M50 experience, and certainly I would have been happy to get mine. But having delivery pushed back to first quarter next year with zero assurance it would finally be available then - nope, I want my toy now. And interestingly when I test drove the regular i4 (RWD instead of the AWD M50), a few things stood out. First, I was struck that this is a SMALL car, like Toyota Corolla size. I felt cramped in the driver seat like I was on top of the passenger next to me. And the display - it’s like a stretched out iPad standing up on top of the dash. I think it’s ugly just like the Tesla’s display. But I will say despite its appearance, the BMW info/media functionality is miles ahead of the Taycan’s. Conversely when I drove the Taycan it felt spacious and more solidly planted to the ground just like my Mercedes SL 550 feels. And the Taycan’s interior is way more quality, luxurious and aesthetically pleasing than the i4. And setting aside rocket fast acceleration that concusses your brain against the back of your skull which is a parlor trick that M50 and Taycan Turbo drivers might play with in the beginning, the handling of the Taycan is pure Porsche of which very simply is light years ahead of the M50. Yes I’m sure I would have been thrilled with the M50 and blissfully ignorant of the Taycan’s superiority had BMW’s delays not pushed me into test driving the Taycan. But having done that, if this very minute the M50 was offered to me in exchange for the Taycan being delivered to me Tuesday, uh thanks but no thanks.

That is a beautiful Gentian Blue! Very similar to the BMW Portimao imo, could it actually be the same color? I do like the BMW display, it does not seem too big to me, slightly curved and VERY easy to control.

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