Driven: 2025 BMW i4 M50 Gran Coupe Is A Sneaky Speedster

The BMW i4 is entering its fourth year on the market, and the new brings a few minor changes. Most noticeable are some changes to the exterior and interior, followed by slightly higher prices and reduced ranges. None of that sounds particularly great as electric car competition continues to improve. We spent a week in an i4 M50 to get a little taste of the updates and to see if the i4 is still a strong option, particularly as a fast EV.

On the whole, we were pleased to discover that the i4 is as excellent as ever: the i4 M50 can do just about anything you’d like it to, and do it well. Even with a bit of extra cost and less range, it’s a performance EV that can’t be ignored if you have the means. Here’s everything we discovered after a week.

Exterior Looks: Still Needs A Nose Job

Since the i4 is technically part of the 4 Series Gran Coupe, it’s no surprise that it looks like a four-door version of BMW’s small coupe. And in typical Gran Coupe fashion, it features a liftback design. Overall, the car is quite handsome with the low and sweeping roofline. The lift-up door handles look modern, but are far more practical than the completely flush examples found on so many EVs today.

The hockey stick trim that blends into the fender vents are sporty and sleek; the M50 even features futuristic-looking taillights with stringy, three-dimensional elements. The M50 also has a set of rear fender flares that aren’t too offensive, but look tacked-on compared to the rest of the car.

The part that’s tricky to stomach is the nos – at least, for us. Like the two-door, the i4 and 4 Series Gran Coupe feature enormous kidney grilles that could just as easily display the Ten Commandments as easily as the slats on the M variants. The M versions get unique bumpers with big outboard intakes that look attractive, but they also get black kidney surrounds that make that portion fade into the lower intake. It ends up looking like an odd, empty hole. The redesign actually made this issue worse, since the new slats blend in more than the studded grille insert of the old model. It’s a shame that such an otherwise attractive car has such an awkward nose. Something closer to the 3 Series would finish it off more nicely, in our opinion.

Interior Design: A Bit Bland, For Better And For Worse

The interior is also shared with the 4 Series and 3 Series, and there’s no mistaking it for anything but a BMW. The instruments, vents, and small collection of buttons are slightly angled to the driver, and any fixed buttons are backlit in the traditional BMW orange. Quality materials are featured on every level of i4, too, with the base eDrive40 getting standard wood trim with brushed aluminum as an option. It’s a free addition on the M50, with carbon fiber being an extra-charge option. Naturally, all the buttons and knobs have tight, crisp action, and the M50’s standard seats are extremely supportive with adjustable thigh, lumbar, and lateral supports.

It is one of the most conservative cabins in the BMW lineup, though. The new steering wheel and simplified air vents with more hidden aiming controls help bring it closer to newer models, and the small paddle in the center console cleans up that part of the car and improves access to the infotainment control knob. Most of the rest is unchanged, such as the dash panels that lack any wild patterns and stitching to give a geometric and modern look like more recent BMW models.

Even the ambient lighting, which can be switched off entirely, is subdued compared to other BMWs, and only illuminates in more muted hues. If you’re more of a BMW traditionalist, it’s probably a relief that the i4 won’t feel dramatically different from past BMWs. But if you’re a fan of the brand’s newer interiors, you’ll be a little disappointed.

Space: Coupe-like Looks And Coupe-like Space

The i4’s coupe-like roof really kills headroom, particularly in the rear. Rear legroom isn’t particularly impressive, and for some reason, the rear seat backs are quite upright. Getting in and out is also a little tricky due to the low roof and resultant small door apertures. But that roofline also provides a liftback, and thus the i4 has a very practical cargo area. You’ll need to make good use of it, too, since there’s no frunk in this EV.

Technology and Features: Stylish And Mostly Easy To Use

All BMW i4s come standard with a pair of screens for instruments and infotainment. The first measures 12.3 inches, and the second measures 14.9, but both are high-resolution displays and very bright. They respond quickly to touch inputs, and frequently changed functions such as climate are always accessible at the bottom of the screen. The control wheel in the center console can be used, too, and is appreciated as a redundancy.

Our main complaint is that, while stylish and highly customizable, the instrument displays are busy, and contrast isn’t as good as it should be. So at a glance, it’s not easy to read. Fortunately, the optional head-up display is simpler and easier to read for speed, so that feature comes highly recommended. Other noteworthy standard features on the M50 include wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, wireless phone charger, power-adjustable heated front seats with memory, and three-zone automatic climate control. On the driver assistance side, it has automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, lane-keep assist, and parking sensors. Annoyingly, adaptive cruise control is an extra-charge option.

Performance: The i4 M50 Earns Its ‘M’

The i4 M50 is the most potent version of both the i4 and 4 Series Gran Coupe lines. Since the M does not come at the start of the name, nor alone at the end, it’s not quite as hardcore as something like the M4 or M3. Don’t let that fool you, though. This i4 is shockingly fast and capable. Perhaps just as impressively, it can turn back into a serene commuter at the flip of a switch: It’s almost two cars in one.

Performance Impressions

The pair of motors in the BMW i4 M50 can produce a maximum output of 536 horsepower and 586 pound-feet of torque when in the Sport Boost mode, and we’re not going to argue those numbers. Like so many high-power electric cars, the M50 will happily pin you in your seat right off the launch. It’ll do so for several seconds, though the pull does taper off the closer it approaches its 130 (or 140) mph top speed.

The artificial acceleration noises BMW uses are also superb, and it can turn a launch into a giggle-inducing experience. Of course, if you don’t like the sounds, they can be switched off. The rear motor is slightly more potent than the front, and when cruising, it relies mainly on the rear motor for efficiency. However, when driven spiritedly, the power distribution feels very even front and rear. It certainly doesn’t feel like it wants to power-oversteer. Instead, it just wants to get power down as smoothly and efficiently as possible.

That’s the feeling in the Sport modes. In the Comfort and Eco Pro modes, the i4 becomes a whole different creature. The throttle response is significantly damped, and it’s a breeze to apply power smoothly and gently. Drivers also have various regenerative braking settings from one that mostly coasts to one that’s very strong. The former is ideal for gentle cruising, while the latter is fun for fast driving.

Ride and Handling

The M50’s Adaptive M Suspension also supports the car’s dual nature. By default, the Eco Pro and Comfort modes use the comfort suspension settings. The feel is firm but gentle. It keeps the body steady while smoothing out major bumps, but you’re still always aware of what’s happening under the tires. It would probably be even nicer with more sidewall than the M50’s standard 19-inch wheels permit.

The Comfort steering is also the sweet spot for the car. It’s relatively light, and you can just barely make out a little bit of information about the road texture through the wheel. It’s still pretty numb compared to some other sports sedans, but it’s better than some other recent BMWs. The downside is that the weight tends to stay the same no matter how far the wheel is turned.

The Sport mode, naturally, uses the Sport suspension settings by default. Though much bumpier, it’s still surprisingly compliant, and assuming your commute isn’t a constant stream of potholes, it’s a perfectly acceptable choice for daily driving. It pays big dividends when you pick up the pace: Body roll is dramatically reduced, and the chassis is far more responsive to inputs. Coupled with large amounts of grip and a motor arrangement that wants to keep you on your line, the M50 is seriously confidence-inspiring in corners.

The only thing holding you and the car back is its sizable curb weight of 5,029 pounds. The M50 hides it well, but not perfectly. As for the steering, the progressive weighting is a nice improvement over the Comfort setting, but it’s almost comically heavy. Dial in a decent bit of lock, and it almost feels like there isn’t any power steering. It also seems to lose any of the feedback the Comfort mode had. We want to note that BMW lets you combine all of these settings however you want. So if you want a sporty ride and frugal throttle settings, or all the power and a cushy ride, you’re more than welcome to it.

Range and Battery Info

The i4 M50’s major weakness is range. It has the same 84.3-kWh usable battery pack as the 40-series i4s, but the more aggressive wheels and tires and powerful motors hurt range. It’s only rated for 227 miles, and it delivers a fuel economy equivalent of 80 MPGe. An i4 eDrive40, in contrast, can go 318 miles on the same battery. All i4s come standard with DC fast charging capability and a CCS connector. Charging speeds peak at 205 kW.

Verdict & Pricing: A Real One-Car Solution

While the base i4 eDrive40 has a starting MSRP of $57,900, the M50 starts at $70,700. With the destination charge of $1,175, it comes to $71,875. That’s not particularly cheap, but it’s also not a terrible deal. The Hyundai Ioniq 5 N has a starting MSRP of $66,200, and while it packs even more power and is arguably even more suited for sporty driving, it’s far less subtle, and with far lower-rent interior materials.

The same can be said of the Kia EV6 GT, though that’s even more of a bargain at $61,600 starting MSRP. At the other end of the spectrum, you have things like the Audi e-tron GT and Porsche Taycan. Both of them have six-figure base price tags while delivering less power. They also lack a practical hatchback, and the base Porsche is a single-motor model with rear-wheel drive.

The BMW i4 M50 just doesn’t really do anything wrong. If you want a relatively efficient, comfortable and quiet commuter, it’ll happily do it. If you want a hugely composed and fast sports sedan, it’ll do that even more happily. If you need something to carry the family’s luggage, that’s no problem either. And it does it all while delivering a high-end interior with solid technology. It’s a Swiss Army knife built like a high-end Swiss watch, all at a perfectly reasonable price. It’s perhaps not as soul-stirring as some options, and that nose is still ugly – but if you can only have one car, this is a really good option.