[J78]

Hi
Just a couple of curiosities about the i4 front grill vs the new 4 GC (and 4 coupe/cabrio) and m shadow option:

1) the grill has a different shape in the bottom, which is more visible in the m models trim/ greyish color:

M440i GC (also notice that there is no front m badge)

i4 m50 (bottom center opens from the license plate)

2) if you opt for the extended m shadow trim the i4 grill still maintains a soft silver line all around whereas the 4gc is all black:

m440i GC with m black shadow

i4 m50 with m black shadow

here’s a real life 420d cabrio in dravitgray and black shadow grill (notice that is completely black):

and here’s an i4 40 (notice the i logo instead of m logo in the grill) with m pack with black shadow grill from a YouTube video (you can see the silver line all around):

Personally I like the i4 black shadow with the silver line the best combination on a black / dark color. Although the straight bottom configuration of the GC/coupe/cabrio seems to me more balanced. The black shadow also disguises the front camera which is a plus. Maybe in a brighter color the all black would be more interesting, what do you think?

regards

 

[rangerek]

nice job comparing
for me... grey outline doesn't look as nice on other colors nor here - so i'll probably finaly decided on alpine white plus blue accents (so "i" )

 

[Inception]

I think the i4 M50 looks the best. The plain i4 look is too much silver, it’s the same with the other new cars with these thick grille surrounds, definitely dislike it. The all-black isn’t that bad, but it completely masks the shape of the grille, leaving you with just an undefined black blob. Now, some might argue that this is better than seeing the new bmw grille design at all, but I strongly favour the m50 accent.
Undecided if the straight or crooked beaver teeth are the nicest. I think I prefer the m50 also there, on the GC it looks even more like teeth.

 

[rangerek]

straight or crooked beaver teeth are the nicest

my will have a "coipu" or even better "nutri4" nickname

 

[Inception]

I will name your car 'auto bobra'

 

[Buford T. Justice]

It seems that I am one of a very few who like the new grille better than the old one.

A pity that they could not make the new style optional. It would be interesting how many people would take the old version.

 

[Inception]

It’s grown on me a lot. I didn’t like it at first, now I do! I like the M3 and M4 also, but I don’t think it looks right on the other cars.

 

[Lord]

Some of you might disagree but I really like the grill with the license plate on it!

The last couple of years BMW created a trend making the grill bigger in every new model and AFIK most people hated it. I didn't have an opinion back then and I didn't consider buying a BMW.
BUT (and its a big but) the moment I saw the i4 (with the license plate) at that presentation in L.A. I really really liked it and I decided that this will be my first EV for the back-and-forth from Greece to France.

And I really appreciate the 5th door! I want to be able to carry some bigger than a luggage items.
i4 has it all.
Great range, technology, boot space and elegant yet sporty looks. Not to mention great price for the e40 that I'm going for.

 

[J78]

BMW may eventually evolve to these type of grills where the license plate would be more easy to integrate. You get the same double kidney look and space for the license plate without interrupting the central vertical lines. And completes the gradual transition, where the once separate kidney's are now already united by silver metal. I really like where BMW is going design wise (and I really don't like where Mercedes is going with the eqs/eqe...).

btw if BMW kept the design of the i vision dynamics for the i4, much the same way Audi kept the 99% of the etron GT concept all the way into production, it would have been be a killer design proposition. The concept design rivals current Audi Etron GT or Porsche Taycan. Sad they evolved the production i4 to be identical to the normal 4GC, which seems old fashion compared to the first concept imo.

 

[460]

BMW may eventually evolve to these type of grills where the license plate would be more easy to integrate. You get the same double kidney look and space for the license plate without interrupting the central vertical lines. And completes the gradual transition, where the once separate kidney's are now already united by silver metal. I really like where BMW is going design wise (and I really don't like where Mercedes is going with the eqs/eqe...).

View attachment 2091

btw if BMW kept the design of the i vision dynamics for the i4, much the same way Audi kept the 99% of the etron GT concept all the way into production, it would have been be a killer design proposition. The concept design rivals current Audi Etron GT or Porsche Taycan. Sad they evolved the production i4 to be identical to the normal 4GC, which seems old fashion compared to the first concept imo.

View attachment 2093 View attachment 2094

I'm not a fan of cars of the future, but it sure would have made the news (and sales)

 

[Lord]

BIG GRILL is here to stay.
This the new X1 !!

 

[J78]

BIG GRILL is here to stay.
This the new X1 !!

View attachment 2476

It looks a mini iX (seats, door handles, headlights,)

 

[MinhSATx]

I think the i4 M50 looks the best. The plain i4 look is too much silver, it’s the same with the other new cars with these thick grille surrounds, definitely dislike it. The all-black isn’t that bad, but it completely masks the shape of the grille, leaving you with just an undefined black blob. Now, some might argue that this is better than seeing the new bmw grille design at all, but I strongly favour the m50 accent.
Undecided if the straight or crooked beaver teeth are the nicest. I think I prefer the m50 also there, on the GC it looks even more like teeth.

I agree with @Inception . The "beaver teeth" are now part of BMW style, may as well show them instead of attempt to camouflage them in a black blob. I grew up in Canada, so I love the reference to beaver teeth. I have actually een thinking of a nickname for the car to replace Hey bee-emm-double-U, and I now think that Hey Beam-ver would be apt in so many ways.. Please consider this nickname for my (future) i4 M50 copyrighted!

 

[460]

My daughters have decided that it will be "HEY GERTRUDE"
with a French-German accent as caricatural as possible: "HEY! GUERRE TROU DEUX!"

 

[MinhSATx]

@Mycroft , ai-je mentionné que je suis né en France, et j'ai fait mon primaire et mon secondaire dans un Lycée français au Vietnam? I love Hey Gertrude also. Let's start a thread on nicknames!

 

[460]

@Mycroft , ai-je mentionné que je suis né en France, et j'ai fait mon primaire et mon secondaire dans un Lycée français au Vietnam? I love Hey Gertrude also. Let's start a thread on nicknames!

De la France aux USA en passant par le Vietnam, le tout en voiture Allemande : c'est une belle histoire de mondialisation

 

[kudzukudzu]

Hello! Realize I'm new and opening an old thread, but there is literally no other board that I can find to ask the question:

Does anyone know if there is an aftermarket (or even BMW after-sale alternate) replacement for the I4 grill? My girlfriend and I went to go buy an M50 variant and were all set to trade her Macan S and purchase the thing, and then we saw the grill in-person... ouch! It's less the shape/style than the appearance of the plastic. Neither of us cares that much about grill history, etc, etc, but throwing down a decent amount of coin for a vehicle that appears, otherwise, very high-quality yet is marred by something that looks like a part from a toy is a bit off-putting. If it weren't for the incredibly high-gloss (which also appears vulnerable to scratching), I actually think we'd like the bigger grill (have had a number of BMWs in the past, and currently have an M4 CS as well).

Thanks in advance for any advice... if we can address this, we're likely to join the I4 crowd

 

[RobNL84]

I think you can retro fit the 4 series GC ICE grill. But that one is open so will impact range. Or you need to retrofit the shutters behind. Still big but you do lose the gloss black.
Only the grill (Gray of Black surround) is here in Europe around 200-250 euro, The M-Performance Carbon version is around 700.
G26 serie parts information is not easy to find yet online.

 

[Inception]

If so inclined, there might be possibilities to vinyl wrap it. The grill is an integral part of the car in the sense of it having some sensors attached to the back of it, like many new cars.
I for one think it looks good, but I prefer the normal 4 series embossed chrome look maybe.

 

[kudzukudzu]

Thanks so much, RobNL84 and Inception! These are both good ideas. I'm going to check with BMW Service on both ideas next week 😁👍