2025 BMW i4 Review and Test Drive

An iDrive upgrade improves this electric BMW's appeal.

Christian Wardlaw | 

Feb 25, 2025 | 6 min read

Christian Wardlaw

Startups may command the electric vehicle (EV) headlines, but legacy automakers have quickly, almost quietly, ramped up production of competitive EVs. Take the refreshed 2025 BMW i4. While it doesn't boast the longest range or highest horsepower in the EV-sedan segment, I think it's a terrific electric luxury car that's easy to drive and live with.

The 2025 i4 comes in eDrive40, xDrive40, and M50 model designations that reflect the drivetrain layout, power, and performance. Base prices range from the high $50,000s to the low $70,000s, including the destination charge to ship the car to your local dealership from the Munich, Germany, assembly plant that builds it. The i4 is ineligible for a federal clean-vehicle tax credit because BMW builds it in Germany.

For this BMW i4 review, I test-drove the eDrive40 in Southern California. It's the most affordable version of the i4, and features a single motor and rear-wheel drive. Optional equipment highlights included the M Sport, Premium, and Driving Assistance Professional option packages, which brought the manufacturer's suggested retail price to $66,975, including the $1,175 destination charge. BMW provided the vehicle for this i4 review.

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Is the 2025 BMW i4 a Good Electric Vehicle?

Depending on which BMW i4 you choose, it can accelerate to 60 mph in as little as 3.7 seconds, travel as far as 318 miles on a fully charged battery, and recharge from 10% to 80% in 31 minutes. The car technically holds five occupants — though four will likely be happier. It also has a practical hatchback design with folding rear seats to maximize utility.

Those traits make the BMW competitive. What makes the i4 remarkable is that it achieves those accomplishments while based on the 4 Series Gran Coupe instead of a separate, dedicated EV platform. In other words, though BMW repurposes a vehicle architecture engineered for internal-combustion engines, the i4 doesn't feel like a compromise.

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What's New for the 2025 BMW i4?

The BMW i4 eDrive40 and i4 M50 came to market in 2022. Since then, the automaker has added the xDrive40 model, outfitted like the eDrive40 but equipped with a more powerful dual-motor all-wheel drive setup that offers added traction in slippery conditions and quicker acceleration on dry roads.

For the 2025 model year, BMW made exterior styling modifications such as new wheels, paint colors, and headlights. The grille has a matte chrome finish, while M Sport versions feature a high-gloss black rear diffuser panel. Laser-lit taillights are a new optional upgrade.

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Inside, the 2025 i4 features fresh trim and upholstery selections, a new steering wheel, modified air-vent regulators, and digital climate controls embedded into a new infotainment system. That change allowed BMW to eliminate more physical controls from the car's dashboard.

The most meaningful change is the new iDrive 8.5 infotainment system, which features a Quick Select flat menu design and configurable widgets. BMW says iDrive 8.5 boasts improved driver-profile functionality, features camera-based Augmented View technology, and provides navigation route guidance that optimizes charging opportunities.

Lastly, a new Plug & Charge digital authentication system compatible with various charging-station operators simplifies recharging. Just plug the i4 in, and the system will automatically bill the proper account for the electricity.

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BMW iDrive 8.5 With Quick Select Is a Big Improvement

If there is a reason to choose the 2025 BMW i4 over a preceding version of the car, it's the new iDrive 8.5 with Quick Select. While there is a learning curve, I found it much easier to use than recent versions of BMW's operating system software. In addition, the digital voice assistant worked better in my 2025 i4 test car than any BMW system in recent memory.

For example, when I said, "Hey, BMW," and asked for directions to the White House using the street address, iDrive 8.5 not only correctly parsed my request but also planned a route that took into account charging requirements and showed me data related to charger availability at each stop. When I urgently requested directions to a hospital, it produced my local emergency room, not one in Mexico (a glitch I've encountered in other BMWs I've tested). I also found the Augmented View system helpful when driving to unknown locations.

During a week of driving the i4, the most frustrating part of using iDrive 8.5 Quick Select was tuning the radio. I selected my favorite SiriusXM stations and saved them as Favorites, but I think BMW makes it unnecessarily difficult to access them. The Favorites list loads slowly, and after choosing one, the list changes to all SXM stations instead of remaining on Favorites. That is maddening. Fortunately, it's just as easy to ask the digital voice assistant to make a change.

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Los Angeles is a great place to test low-speed traffic jam assist systems, and the i4's Assisted Driving Plus technology is excellent. Available under 40 mph, it controls the steering, braking, and accelerator, providing hands-free driving capability in dense traffic.

It worked beautifully during a midmorning trek across West L.A. on the 101 and 405 freeways. However, the driver-monitoring system is militant (as it should be) about ensuring you're paying close attention. Also, the lane-change-assist feature doesn't help combat the cutthroat jockeying that occurs on the freeways of La La Land.

The i4's suite of driver-assistance systems generally performed well. The exceptions included parked vehicles on curves causing the predictive braking system to engage unnecessarily, and the lane-keep assist misreading pavement scars from old construction zones as lane markings.

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Single-Motor i4 eDrive40 Is Swift, and Sport Mode Is Fun

The i4 eDrive40 is the most affordable version of this BMW and the least powerful. But it was still satisfying to drive.

Equipped with a single electric motor, the i4 eDrive40 produces 335 horsepower and 317 pound-feet of torque. BMW estimates that it will accelerate to 60 mph in 5.5 seconds, which won't win any EV drag races but feels swift enough just the same. Drivers can choose from Eco Pro, Comfort, and Sport driving modes. I spent most of my time behind the wheel in Eco Pro mode, and the i4 never felt slow.

Choosing Sport produced the expected improvement in response to accelerator inputs. My test car had the M Sport package, so Sport mode also stiffened the Adaptive M Suspension and added some weight to the variable sport steering. On the legendary Mulholland Highway near Malibu, the eDrive40 with the M Sport package was a ton of fun.

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As for efficiency, the i4 eDrive40 averaged 2.8 miles per kilowatt-hour on the evaluation loop. The official rating for this model with 19-inch wheels is 32 kWh per 100 miles; when translated, my observed result is 36 kWh per 100 miles, meaning the car was less efficient than expected.

During my time with the BMW i4, I used an EVGo public charging station. Once I found one that was open and operational, which took some effort, everything went smoothly. The 100-kilowatt charger took the i4 from 35% to 80% in 30 minutes, and the midday session cost $26.81.

Christian Wardlaw

This was my first time driving the BMW i4, and I liked the car a lot more than I expected. Comfortable and quiet, practical yet fun to drive, and loaded with modern technology, the i4 is, in my opinion, an appealing luxury EV for people who'd rather drive a car than an SUV.

Christian Wardlaw

Chris says his first word was "car." For as long as he can remember, he's been obsessed with them. The design. The engineering. The performance. And the purpose. He is a car enthusiast who loves to drive, but is most passionate about the cars, trucks, and SUVs that people actually buy. He began his career as the editor-in-chief of Edmunds.com in the 1990s, and for more than 30 years has created automotive content for CarGurus, J.D. Power, Kelley Blue Book, the New York Daily News, and others. Chris owns Speedy Daddy Media, has been contributing to Capital One Auto Navigator since 2019, and lives in California with his wife, kids, dog, and 2004 Mazdaspeed Miata.