- BMW India has unveiled the
India-spec i4 electric sedan ahead of its launch on May 26, 2022. The i4 will
be the BMW Group’s third all-electric car in India, after the flagship iX SUV and
the Mini Cooper SE hatchback.
- Unlike the BMW iX which is a born
EV, the i4 isn’t a grounds-up EV. It is based on a specially adapted version of
the 3 Series’ CLAR
architecture and is essentially an all-electric version of the 4 Series Gran Coupe.
- Few EV specific design touches
include the blanked-off front grille like most EVs, aero-optimised wheels, blue
accents, flush door handles and tweaked front and rear bumpers.
- The i4 doesn’t get a flat floor and
free centre console area like we have seen on the BMW iX. Still, the highlight
of the interior is the curved twin-screen set-up consisting of a 12.3-inch
digital instrument cluster and a 14.6-inch touchscreen infotainment system. The
system runs BMW’s latest iDrive 8 user interface and even supports over-the-air
updates.
- The new BMW i4 in India is expected
to be sold in two variants – eDrive40 shown today and the more powerful M50
xDrive. The i4 eDrive 40 gets a rear axle-mounted electric motor that produces
340hp and 430Nm, and BMW claims a 0-100kph sprint in 5.7 seconds. The i4 M50
xDrive, meanwhile, gets all-wheel drive, produces 544hp and 795Nm, and can
sprint from 0-100kph in 3.9 seconds.
- Both variants use a floor-mounted,
lithium-ion battery pack that has a gross (total) energy capacity of 83.9kWh
and a net (usable) capacity of 80.7kWh. The i4 eDrive 40 has a claimed range of
590km (WLTP cycle), while the performance-oriented M50 xDrive has a range of
510km (WLTP cycle).
- As for charging, the i4 can charge
at rates of up to 200kW, adding 164km of range to the eDrive40 in just 10
minutes. It also gets regenerative braking that can top up the battery at rates
of up to 116kW in the eDrive40.
- The i4, once launched, won’t have any direct
competitors in our market. Instead, the top-spec M50 xDrive will loosely rival
the entry-level versions of the Audi e-tron GT and Porsche Taycan.
