So have had it now for just over a week, and spent a fair amount driving it, and I am seriously impressed. Did a trek to Pretoria on Monday and the cruise is effortless, overtaking a breeze and it's so damn comfortable in heavy traffic, very relaxing because it's so quiet. It leaves most things in its dust within reason, and the acceleration in Sport Boost is mind boggling. I tested a public charging station at Brooklyn Mall, and the return on the charge was 23% in just under 2 hours at a cost of R116. It wasn't a fast charger but versus what the charging time is at home it was like the difference between a 100Mbps line and a 1Gbps line, so I can only imagine what a fast charger is like. But it really is a marvel of engineering, and certainly a head turner of note!
It doesn't run on run flats, and uses a 40 profile tyre, so it absorbs the nastiness of our roads very nicely indeed, so the ride is buttery smooth to say the least. But man you can't hide from instant torque. I got the 8 back on Monday afternoon after my Pretoria trip.... and hearing an ICE engine fire up is always music to my ears. I am not convinced I will go full on EV to replace the 8, don't think having two of them in the same garage is quite possible yet, range anxiety is definitely a thing, because although I was never going to fall short going to Pretoria and back, there was always this constant second guessing myself (hence the charge in Pretoria) and making sure I'd be ok to get home, the extended charging grid just isn't quite there yet in my opinion.
But be that as it may, I am still very impressed with how the car drives, and how it feels and how it looks. You can definitely feel that 2.2 tons when you are braking though as the forward shift due to the batteries (especially under hard braking) is very noticeable. The steering can also feel a bit skittish at times, it's ultra sensitive (I'm not sure if that's just a general 4 series thing though, as the 8's steering is noticeably "heavier" if I can call it that). One thing I do very much like... single pedal driving! There's a B mode in the transmission that lets the car basically do all the braking for you, thus using a regeneration capability back into the battery for a small burst of charge, it's not significant but it does make the drive a lot more relaxing. You have to be pretty good with anticipation though, as it won't use the radar system to bring you to a stop, it relies on you being able to judge the braking distance well in advance and will then duly bring the car to a stop. Speaking of the radar system, I used it on the freeway to Pretoria, it's excellent, far more intuitive than on my 8 series, and I whiled away some traffic jam time chatting to my wife on WhatsApp without watching the road. Naughty..... yes.
The colour is truly one of the stand outs of the car. It really is a stunning colour that compliments the car brilliantly. I am not a massive fan of frozen paint work but it really does work on the i4. And the seats are incredibly comfortable. Although they are the same design as the X4's, they just seem to fit better around you as the driver, so very impressed with that, especially after spending 2 hours in them going one way to Pretoria. The rear cabin space though, very tight for two adults. My wife and mother in law have been on the back bench with my son in the middle and they weren't particularly comfortable, so probably a good thing that there won't be rear passengers all that often. Boot size is good and I really like the hatch boot lid, it makes that aperture much easier to access, BMW got this wrong on the 8 series with the traditional boot, it should've been a lift back like the 4 series, Audi A7 etc.
But overall I have very little complaints about the i4, and for what it was purchased for, it is absolutely perfect. My wife loves it. We do miss the X4 a lot, but in the context of what we are trying to achieve the i4 is a great replacement and perfect for its intended use. So far, other than the R116 charge in Pretoria, charging it hasn't cost a cent thanks to my solar setup at home, so score there.
I gave it a wash over the weekend. Took some snaps, so here you go. I'll do a long term review in a few months like I did with the 8 series.
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