[sunnya23]

Congrats! Great looking car. We had a similar vehicle ordered. Yesterday, our rep at the dealership called and said he had a similar car available now. Same color, very similar options. So, we went and took a look and brought it home last night. Getting electrical work done and a level 2 charger installed next week.

Congrats!!! So happy for you. I'm sure you're enjoying it. Once you get that Level 2 charger installed at home charging will be so easy.

 

[sunnya23]

Hi Sunny, congrats on the new ride!

I am currently enjoying a '18 540i. I was contemplating going to an EV next year with the new G60 i5, but have been thinking that an i4 E40 strikes a good balance of size, weight and performance for an EV.

Could you please comment on the size, accommodations, and comfort of the i4 v. your 540? Thanks!

Great, great question. I'm glad you asked.

Size: I had my i4 parked next to my 540i and it surprisingly made the 540i look tame in comparison. I would say they were about the same length and width, but the i4 seemed larger I think due to the more "sporty" and "beefy" look to it. It looks like a muscle car compared to the luxury car look of my 540i. I also got the m sport package, which I believe includes the aerodynamic kit. So this is probably what lends to the impression I have.

Accomodations: Sitting in the drivers seat I thought maybe I would feel a bit cramped compared to my 540i, but no such thing. I feel very comfortable and don't feel claustrophobic or squeezed for space. If you're a bit taller person, like 6 ft or above I think sitting in the back might be uncomfortable as your head would be grazing the ceiling. My family is on the shore side, so 5' 8" and below and they feel very comfortable in the back. There is even a digital display to adjust temperature in the back and 2 usb c chargers for charging. So compared to the 540i I would say no difference in the front, i4 is more cramped and lower ceiling compared to the 540i.

Comfort: As I mentioned in my initial post. I made 2 separate 140 mile round-trips in 2 consecutive days in the i4. I will not lie, initially on the drives back, or after sitting in the car for a little over an hour I did start to feel some discomfort where my bum was starting to feel sore. However, I hadn't taken the time to properly adjust and set the seats to my preference. I usually like more of the bucket seat configuration where I am being sorta cradled by the seat. After properly setting this configuration I haven't had any issues with comfortability.

Hope this answered your questions.

 

[sdg380]

Thanks Sunny, very helpful. I have not tried sitting in an i4 (TBH, I’m not sure I’ve even seen one!) I did pore over the dimension info on the website, and noted reduced shoulder room, etc. in the i4, which did not surprise me, it is a smaller chassis.

But “balance” is what I’m trying to achieve, mindful that the electric motor has got to haul around that extra “room”, with detriment to performance and range. From what I have read, the G60 i5 will have the same 335 hp motor as the i4, so that suggested to me that the i4 would inevitably offer better performance. I did not really want to go the the expense, weight, and reduced range of the M50 dual motor set-up.

I’m a little new to the i4 Talk forum, I usually hang out at the G30 place. What kind of wait times for ordering an i4, and is MSRP the norm? Thanks!

 

[ssh]

Thanks Sunny, very helpful. I have not tried sitting an i4 (TBH, I’m not sure I’ve even seen one!) I did pore over the dimension info on the website, and noted reduced shoulder room, etc. in the i4, which did not surprise me, it is a smaller chassis.

But “balance” is what I’m trying to achieve, mindful that the electric motor has got to haul around that extra “room”, with detriment to performance and range. From what I have read, the G60 i5 will have the same 335 hp motor as the i4, so that suggested to me that the i4 would inevitably offer better performance. I did not really want to go the the expense, weight, and reduced range of the E50 dual motor set-up.

I’m a little new to the i4 Talk forum, I usually hang out at the G30 place. What kind of wait times for ordering an i4, and is MSRP the norm? Thanks!

Around a year at this point. And MSRP or above!

 

[sdg380]

SSH, thanks for the prompt reply, I guess patience is a factor!

 

[ssh]

SSH, thanks for the prompt reply, I guess patience is a factor!

I guess it’s a character challenge…

 

[JimB842]

Well here is my take, the car is really heavy so I think it honestly would be fine. Most people also don't realize AWD only helps when you are accelerating. I haven't driven the car in adverse weather yet. I would say with snow tires it probably won't be much different than any other FWD vehicle.
I'm fortunate to work exclusively from home so I don't have to drive in a lot of adverse weather, but I'm also from Buffalo so Im also fairly experienced doing it. I think it all boils down to comfort when roads are slick on what to choose.

Buffaloian here, the wife said I could only get a i4 if it had AWD, who am I to complain about being ‘forced’ to get the M 😀

 

[elon is a fascist]

Buffaloian here, the wife said I could only get a i4 if it had AWD, who am I to complain about being ‘forced’ to get the M 😀

Ha! I like this car enough and with the grandfathering of the 7500 tax credit I'm trying to order the M version myself before this new bill gets passed. The good features all got pulled from the eDrive now anyway. And my build doesn't have park assist which I'd like to add for when the wife borrows it lol.

 

[BadgerGreg]

Congrats - nice looking car!

I’ve had mixed success with EA.Their hardware reliability is a C-minus at best, but will hopefully get better. Unfortunately, there’s not another non-Tesla network as quick or as widespread as EA. 150 kW vs 350 kW is only important if you’re charging from 0% - 40%. Anything above that, you might as well plug into a 150 kW station.

 

[elon is a fascist]

BMW talks about their AWD being valuable during normal driving and not just acceleration… I can’t find the video just now, but I know I watched it!

Yea it's probably better than most but the general idea is outlined in a very straight forward way below.

https://www.carlblackoforlando.com/blog/how-do-i-engage-all-wheel-drive-on-my-vehicle/

Congrats - nice looking car!

I’ve had mixed success with EA.Their hardware reliability is a C-minus at best, but will hopefully get better. Unfortunately, there’s not another non-Tesla network as quick or as widespread as EA. 150 kW vs 350 kW is only important if you’re charging from 0% - 40%. Anything above that, you might as well plug into a 150 kW station.

My dude i4 is only rated for 200kwh.

 

[Magicrat]

Yea it's probably better than most but the general idea is outlined in a very straight forward way below.

https://www.carlblackoforlando.com/blog/how-do-i-engage-all-wheel-drive-on-my-vehicle/

My dude i4 is only rated for 200kwh.

That's what I've been telling people, don't get hung up on trying to get one of the 350kW stations because our cars really can't take advantage of those stations speed. Just because the rated power is larger (faster) doesn't mean it's better.

 

[ssh]

Yea it's probably better than most but the general idea is outlined in a very straight forward way below.

https://www.carlblackoforlando.com/blog/how-do-i-engage-all-wheel-drive-on-my-vehicle/

My dude i4 is only rated for 200kwh.

My response was to “AWD only helps when accelerating.” I don’t think that’s true.

 

[ATHENSGAI4]

Received on 7/24. I just checked back to my pre-order confirmation email which was 7/5/21, so took nearly 13 months. After about 10 days of ownership, here are some of my thoughts.

1. First off, this is my first ever EV. I've been a proud owner of BMW vehicles for just about 15 years now and loved every one I own. I've even owned a 4 series gran coupe in the past. So the transition has been extremely smooth. I was driving a 540i before this car and going over I still get that BMW drive and feel I've been so accustomed too.

2. The range. I've been capping the charge at 80% as recommended by the system. I drove about 140 miles in a single round-trip shortly after purchasing the vehicle and I was down to 35%. Similarly, later in the week I drove about 140 miles round-trip on another route on 71% charge and was down to 20%. So I've been mightily impressed with the range on this vehicle. I have the M-sport package with the 19" wheels which estimates a range of 282 miles. I feel like I can get about 300 miles if I went up to 100% battery capacity. All driving was done in B-mode with full regeneration capacity and driving at a consistent speed on the highway.

3. B-mode with full regeneration capacity was something very foreign to me initially, but after 2-3 drives with it has now become second nature. After 10 days I am fully comfortable with it and actually much prefer it to having to move my foot over to the brake pedal.

4. The single block touch screen spanning from the digital instrument cluster to the infotainment center is VERY impressive. The resolution on it is very sharp and using the touchscreen it is very responsive. I was always having issues connecting apple CarPlay on my previous 5 series, but in the 10 days thus far no connectivity issues whatsoever. I'm in love with iDrive 8. It does take some getting used to initially, but once you get the hang of it, not too bad. I do wish the physical climate control buttons still existed rather than having to rely on the touch screen for so much. One cool feature however is the you can create up to 4 shortcuts that when you swipe down on the screen will sow up and you can just click easily to a shortcut. You can also change your odometer in the instrument cluster to different looks and one cool thing is that with apple CarPlay you will get Apple Maps giving you directions on the instrument cluster panel between your odometer readings. You can even change how you want your HUD to look. So lots of customization options.

5. The instant torque and speed you can get from this car is AMAZING, but also very dangerous. I'm always tempted on an empty, long stretch of road to just floor it and zoom. You get slammed back into your seat and it is a rush.

6. Charging. I installed a home charger using the nema 14-50 adapter provided by BMW. I had one charge from 5%-80% which was completed in just about 7 hours. Home charging is very easy to do overnight. I just plug it in and the myBMW app gives me an estimated time of complete charge and will send me another notification once the charge is complete. You also get a history of all your charging sessions within the app. I used the Electrify America charging station nearest my home and that was an experience. It showed 4 charging stations available before I left home. Once I got to the charging station, 1 of the stations was broken down, another was taken up by an EV which had an 80 minute idle fee up to that point, which left 2 chargers. I had to wait about 30 minutes for a station to open up. And the station that opened up was 150KW as compared to the others being 350kw. I was given my Electrify America digital card which was stored in my apple wallet. So a 30 min charge brought me from 20%-40%. I noticed on my receipt after completing the charge that I was charged $0.00, however there was a $10 charge on my credit card. I'm assuming that Electrify America wants you to keep a minimum balance of $10 on your account. I don't see myself using fast charging stations too much as I don't see myself taking this car for road trips. More of just a commuter car and weekend drives.

Overall, these are my impressions after 10 days with the car. I'm still learning thing about the car everyday, but I am very much enjoying it. Feel free to ask questions if you have any.


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The Tacora Red Vernasca leather combination is gorgeous, isn't it? I ordered the same in my Skyscraper Grey metallic eDrive40 that I've had since July 1.

I share your sentiments on everything you've written. So far, the only thing I've found to not love about my i4 is that it's a pain in the a$$ to dig through the menus needed to get to the sound equalization settings on the HK system, and I fiddle with them regularly. I've gotten to where I just open them with voice control.

So far, I've not been impressed with the sole Electrify America charging station that's within a reasonable distance (28 miles) from me. Similarly to what you shared, I found 2 of the 4 350kw stations to be offline (for weeks and counting), and the remaining 2 to have a notice on their screens stating that they are charging at only 150kw in order to accommodate some sort of forthcoming upgrade. Made zero sense, but I'm beginning to wonder whether anyone has actually charged at Electrify America at greater than 150kw.

I'm taking my first out of range trip (390 miles each way) next weekend, and there are numerous EA charging stations enroute. I definitely look forward to seeing whether they are all in such a pitiful state, and I'll Def report back.

The charging session you've described seems quite slow, based on my observations. Even at the 150kw EA stations, I've gotten much faster charges. In fact, my most recent top up took me from 66%-89% in 17 minutes.

I agree with you on the range. I've not yet experienced any anxiety.

 

[ATHENSGAI4]

Congrats! I noticed you didn't get the personal eSim option. Can you confirm if it's available in the connceted store app for purchase ? My car wasn't ordered with one and is been sitting at the VDC (Galveston) for over a week now.
TIA

In case you aren't aware, the personal esim option is absolutely useless unless you plan on using tMobile. Had that been made clear to me, I would've saved quite a few dollars by leaving it off of the order.

 

[Magicrat]

The Tacora Red Vernasca leather combination is gorgeous, isn't it? I ordered the same in my Skyscraper Grey metallic eDrive40 that I've had since July 1.

I share your sentiments on everything you've written. So far, the only thing I've found to not love about my i4 is that it's a pain in the a$$ to dig through the menus needed to get to the sound equalization settings on the HK system, and I fiddle with them regularly. I've gotten to where I just open them with voice control.

So far, I've not been impressed with the sole Electrify America charging station that's within a reasonable distance (28 miles) from me. Similarly to what you shared, I found 2 of the 4 350kw stations to be offline (for weeks and counting), and the remaining 2 to have a notice on their screens stating that they are charging at only 150kw in order to accommodate some sort of forthcoming upgrade. Made zero sense, but I'm beginning to wonder whether anyone has actually charged at Electrify America at greater than 150kw.

I'm taking my first out of range trip (390 miles each way) next weekend, and there are numerous EA charging stations enroute. I definitely look forward to seeing whether they are all in such a pitiful state, and I'll Def report back.

The charging session you've described seems quite slow, based on my observations. Even at the 150kw EA stations, I've gotten much faster charges. In fact, my most recent top up took me from 66%-89% in 17 minutes.

I agree with you on the range. I've not yet experienced any anxiety. View attachment 13645

Just so you know, when you started your charge you wouldn't be able to get anywhere close to the top speed of the i4 (roughly 200kW). Have you seen the charging curve for the i4's battery? It really starts to taper (go down) after 50% SOC (State of Charge). I do agree that a lot of EA stations are in poor shape, but sometimes it's not the station its the car its self. Also if its very hot or very cold you will get charge speed limiting. You really have understand how EV's work and it not just like an ICE car and you just grab the pump and go. Lots more issues involved when charging at a DC Fast Charging (DCFC) station. I had my first EV for a year and have studied, watched YouTube videos plus spoken to many EV owners that make their lively hood they test drive and access, then post their findings. Two names that come to mind are Tom Moloughney and Kyle Conner. I suggest everyone take a look at their videos.

 

[BadgerGreg]

Yea it's probably better than most but the general idea is outlined in a very straight forward way below.

https://www.carlblackoforlando.com/blog/how-do-i-engage-all-wheel-drive-on-my-vehicle/

My dude i4 is only rated for 200kwh.

Which is why the 350 kW unit is best if you’re charging from 0%-40%, as you actually come out ahead with charging speeds as high as 210 kW. Since my road trip strategy is to fast charge on the lower half of the charging curve, I benefit from the 350 kW unit.

 

[BadgerGreg]

That's what I've been telling people, don't get hung up on trying to get one of the 350kW stations because our cars really can't take advantage of those stations speed. Just because the rated power is larger (faster) doesn't mean it's better.

It doesn’t matter for a deep charge, but it absolutely makes a difference for road trip warriors who charge on the bottom half of the curve. I’ve saved significant time with the 350 kW units using this strategy. It works well if you arrive with a low SOC and leave before you get to 50%.