• 2022 BMW i4 ($55,900 – $67,300)
• Pro: The 2022 BMW i4 feels like the future of performance sedans with its strong acceleration, comfortable ride quality, and impressive interior.
• Con: The car’s regenerative braking is a little too sensitive for our taste.

The 2022 BMW i4 Gran Coupe is the brand’s first-ever all-electric sedan. It’s based on the 4 Series Gran Coupe body style and keeps up with its high-performance stablemate – the BMW M3. I spent a week driving the i4 M50 Gran Coupe and came away impressed with its power and comfort and surprised with its excellent canyon carving capabilities.

The 2022 BMW i4 M50 Gran Coupe is shockingly fast

There’s no denying that instantaneous torque can lead to some serious fun, and the 2022 BMW i4 M50 is the poster child of that fact. Bury your right foot to the floor, and you’re instantly met with a jolt of power that pushes you back into your seat. It’s a smile-inducing experience that leads to a massive loss of range, but we’ll get to that later.

For now, I would like to gush about the fact that the i4 M50 is capable of getting up to 60 mph from a standstill in just 3.3 seconds and down the quarter-mile in 11.6 seconds, according to MotorTrend. That means that in a straight line, the BMW i4 M50 is just as quick as the BMW M3 Competition, which costs around $20,000 more.

All of that power comes from a dual-electric motor setup that powers all four wheels via a single-speed automatic transmission. The powerful pair puts out 536 hp and 586 lb-ft of torque, which is plenty of power to lug around the i4’s 5,000 pounds of metal and plastic. There are also no paddles to play with, so it’s just a point-and-shoot affair when you drop the hammer.

The i4 M50 also has a launch control feature in case you want to get a head start on the Toyota Prius sitting next to you at the light. I tried it out and failed because the car didn’t get into “launch control mode.” It was still fun nonetheless.

The BMW i4 has eye-catching looks

When it comes to looks, the BMW i4 can be polarizing. Everyone either loves or hates the massive dragon snout front grille, but one thing is for sure, it stands out. I got a lot of interesting looks when driving around the streets of Denver – mainly because I wasn’t driving a Jeep or a Subaru – but also because the i4 looks so unique. I even got paced by a Tesla Model 3 driver that looked like he wanted to race. He drove off quickly when I didn’t bite – I’m sure he was jealous.

Love it or hate it, the BMW i4 stands out among a sea of Teslas and Nissan Leafs, which is part of its overall charm. I think it looks pretty good, especially with the large 20-inch wheels.

The large 20-inch wheels lead to a much shorter range

Sadly, the BMW i4 M50’s Achille’s heel is its electric range. According to BMW, you can expect a range of 227 miles when the car is equipped with 20-inch rollers like my tester was. If it’s fitted with the 19-inch wheels, it can get up to around 271 miles.

However, if you want more range, then the base BMW i4 eDrive40 is what you seek. The entry-level model runs a 335-hp single-motor, rear-drive setup and 18-inch wheels, which nets it a total of around 301 miles on a single charge. However, equipping it with 19-inch wheels drops the range to around 282 miles.

In my real-world testing, I didn’t fully test the car’s range because I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to adequately charge it. I live in an apartment complex with no access to an electrical outlet, so I resorted to charging at a public library for a couple of hours. Those two hours added about 45 miles to the battery and made me worry less throughout the week.

If you have a way to charge this car at home and at work, you should be fine. If not, just know that 200 miles should last you a while, but you’ll have to deal with the pain of charging at public chargers, which is time-consuming.

It’s also a pain when you want to have fun like I did, as flooring the car at certain times would knock off around 5 miles of range for every jolt. The diminishing range was worth the fun, but only if you could charge the car easily.

One-pedal driving through the canyon roads

The BMW i4 has a near 50/50 weight distribution thanks to its low-placed battery pack. Combined with the meaty 20-inch wheels and performance summer tires, the large electric sports sedan easily carved up the canyon roads. The i4 felt neutral through the tight turns and stayed planted on the ground.

Thanks to the adaptive suspension, it was pretty agile too. I put the car in “sport mode” and put it through its paces on a series of turns. The ride firmed up, the steering got tighter, and the throttle was more responsive. The in-cabin noise got louder as well because the sports mode turned up the Star Trek noises that were created by Hans Zimmer.

What’s even more interesting is that you can drive the i4 with just the throttle pedal. The car decelerates quickly when you lift to regenerate some battery life. It’s annoying when driving normally, but it really comes in handy when you want to slow down for a high-speed turn. I never thought I could do a canyon run with just one pedal.

Overall, the BMW i4 M50 was surprisingly spry through the canyon roads, and I even found it a little more exciting to drive than some sports cars. I never thought I could say that about an electric car.

The BMW i4 is a comfortable place to spend time

Sitting inside the 2022 BMW i4, you’re treated to an interior filled with soft-touch materials and a solid fit and finish. It’s hard to deny that BMW makes cars with some of the nicest interiors, and the i4 is no exception. The controls are also within easy reach, as is the 14.9-inch touchscreen infotainment system.

That system uses BMW’s iDrive 8.0, which is far more intuitive than any of the versions before it. There’s also a knob on the center console that can be used to navigate through the menus, but I found that I didn’t need it, which was relieving. The 12.3-inch digital instrument display is also nice to look at, and the Harmon Kardon sound system is second to none.

MotorBiscuit gives the 2022 BMW i4 an expert rating of 8.5 out of 10

The editors at MotorBiscuit award the 2022 BMW i4 with an overall rating of 8.5 out of 10. We like the car’s styling inside and out as well as its price point. The i4 offers an exhilarating but comfortable driving experience that rivals anything from Tesla. However, its major pain point is its lack of range.