The BMW travels between high and low wheels with the electric. In fact, after the iX and iX3 SUVs, comes the i4, a zero-emission 4-door coupe with which the Munich house focuses on the Tesla Model 3 and plays ahead of all the other premium competitors.
With a length of 4.78 meters, the i4 shares with the 4 Series Gran Coupé the dimensions, the platform and the basic elements of the style with the large front kidneys, here sealed for record aerodynamics (cx of 0.24 ). More robust was the work of adaptation under the skin to stiffen the body and minimize the foreseeable increase in weight due to electrification. The suspensions are stiffer and have a camber increased by 0.3 degrees, the tracks are wider than 12 mm at the front and 26 mm at the rear where there are pneumatic springs that serve to keep the attitude constant even with 5 people – but it is better to be 4 and not too high – plus luggage (from 470-1,290 liters) and a tow of 1,600 kg. The unladen mass is almost 23 quintals, concentrated on the rear axle for 52% on the M50 and 55% on the eDrive40 with rear-wheel drive only. The motors are of the synchronous type with excitation, with copper magnets without rare earths, integrated with the inverter and the single ratio transmission.
The attack version has one of 250 kW and 430 Nm, the M50 has one of 230 kW behind and one of 190 kW in front for a total of 350 kW and 730 Nm which become 400 kW and 795 Nm for 10 seconds with the Boost in Sport mode. Identical is the battery produced by BMW itself with Catl or Samsung prismatic cells only 11 cm high to reduce the height.
The capacity is 83.9 (80.7 net) kWh for a consumption of 16-20 kWh / 100 km and a maximum range of 590 km for the eDrive 40, the other instead drops to 19-24 kWh / 100 km and 510 km. The on-board charger is 11 kW in alternating current and 200 kW in direct current. The first recovers in slowdown up to 116 kW, the M50 up to 195 kW.
The driver can opt for driving with only the accelerator pedal by putting the gear lever in B or adjust the energy recovery on 3 levels plus an adaptive one which is guided by radar and cloud navigation, practically integrating with the systems driving assistance. The on-board system is of the latest generation, it can be updated Ota and allows Apple mobile phones (for now) to transform into the car key. It also has a 14.9 “screen inserted in the curved panel that integrates the instrumentation (with head-up display), visually enveloping the driver.