BMW i4

yllw.ldbttr

I'd be amazed if it's only 2k of an increase.

carsfan2

I’m gonna put an order on this week but still on the fence whether to go 40 or M50.

any current owners able to offer guidance?

PaulJoseph22

https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/motors/a-new-electric-vehicle-that-lifelong-bmw-fans-can-embrace-1.4857485?fbclid=IwAR29KTgydwYxDQa_2gGcchxMaJ7W3kKPjJolS7QrRx7Ypgxlae2PeD2s9lA

jordan191

Its a pretty decent article and very positive about the i4, only thing i would say is that they have the Tesla model 3 price incorrect, they're currently start at €53K & not €61K as they mention in the article, so there is approx. €10K difference in the model 3 RWD & the BMW i40

Gumbo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119015246#Comment_119015246

€12.5k in the difference as tested.

How do reporters get this wrong?

Gumbo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119014983#Comment_119014983

What are you coming from?

Whats your car history?

Are you happening knowing you have an M50 when everyone else will just see a basic bmw? That’s been the case with me. When I had the M3, people just seen bmw coupe. The average person doesn’t know the difference between a 520d and an M50.

Me, personally, I’d have the M50. It’s a better car IMO.

carsfan2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119016921#Comment_119016921

Currently in 330e and after driving the 40 model, I wasn’t blown away by the performance improvement over it.

I couldn’t care less if people think it’s a basic BMW, in fact I would prefer people not to notice at all.

The reduced range over the 40 is my biggest concern.

UhOh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119017418#Comment_119017418

my experience after 6 weeks of ownership is the M50 gets a lot of attention, not that I like or want attention but it does get it. I came from a 330e aswell, haven’t driven the 40 but originally I did spec up the 40 & the 50 as I was undecided. I think when I had both spec’d the way I wanted the price difference wasn’t a whole lot so for the sake of a few grand I wanted that extra performance. Range isn’t a big concern for me, it is for a lot of people, I’m seeing about 320km on a full charge with the 20 inch wheels. I can live that but I’m lucky enough that I can do the majority of my charging at work. That extra performance is something else though, the 330e was no slouch but the M50 is a few levels ahead. Also had a MY2016 A45 in the past, that was an absolute rocket on the road, but it wouldn’t see which way the M50 had gone.

yllw.ldbttr

Driven both but own the 40.

I'd have opted for the 50 if the wait time wasn't over a year to be honest. By the time I added every extra I wanted to the 40 it was over 80k anyway so the price differential wasn't much at that point.

Range was the only other factor but wait time was the main one for me as the dealer had already sold all his m50 allocation.

I'll be quick off the mark to order when the i5 goes on sale in a few years.

carsfan2

Availability of the 50 model is an issue alright and may help make my mind up.

I see how Joe Duffy BMW have a 40 model up for sale on Carzone now. Just under 70k for a stock car. First one I’ve seen available ex stock.

stesaurus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119018068#Comment_119018068

Any idea what the mark up is, is the spec fully listed?

PaulJoseph22

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119017541#Comment_119017541

We have a 330e and 530e both 2021 but I absolutely would love an I4 as well for the weekend.

jordan191

Range seems a very poor for the M50 at 320kms on a full charge with the 20" rims probably better on the smaller wheels, i haven't driven one yet but did seriously consider it last December before I changed my car but unfortunately i have 3 teenagers and they wouldn't fit in the back of a 4 series coupe but the dealer was talking about a 12 month wait time, one main Dublin BMW dealer also requested a €5k deposit to get me on the waiting list for a test drive at the time. Will definitely drive one in the next few months to see if its better than my current car ( Model 3 Performance)

UhOh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119018517#Comment_119018517

Yes, the 20 inch wheels take something like 80km off the range. It’ll be a big deal for some, but I’m happy with the range on the larger wheels. It suits my needs for the majority of the travel I’ll be doing.

jordan191

If you can charge mainly at home the range wouldn't be a problem for day to day driving, just think it could be better for the price point if competitors were selling an 80k car with a 320km full range people would be making a big deal about it. But because its BMW its grand, definitely wouldn't work for me with work as I regularly do daily trips of 200-250kms and it would be too tight in winter without charging on route

Gumbo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119018517#Comment_119018517

The thing is, that’s what you have to sacrifice for the performance.

I remember when €50 got me 150km in my Evo 5, the same in my V8 X5.

If you really need the range on a daily basis then you should stick to the base model to squeeze that additional range from it.

The thing with home charging is that every morning you wake up with 320km range.

The i4 is certainly put together better than the Tesla but the Tesla wins out in tech, space and performance in my opinion.

The i4 is very tight in the back. Tighter than it should be for a mid segment car and it’s not helped by the sloping roof or the monstrosity that is the transmission tunnel left in by lazy BMW designers pinching pennies.

Fitz II

On that note do BMW recommend 100% charging as a norm or do they like some of the other EV recommend you go to 85% or whatever for normal driving and only charge to 100 for a long trip?

Gumbo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119018788#Comment_119018788

BMW seem to recommend to stay between 10% - 80% as shown below but I can’t find the technical info on their site other than that the charging rate slows at 80% to protect the battery.

It also mentions a default of 1.4kW at 6a, so this would be the minimum a Zappi or similar would need to export to benefit from solar PV.

UhOh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119018788#Comment_119018788

The owners handbook just says ‘to make optimum use of charging a target value of 80% is recommended’

jordan191

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119018779#Comment_119018779

Not necessarily i'm finding the newer made in China Model 3 performance very efficient, my worst winter range was in the region of 350 kms in real world driving while now in warmer temps my real world range is 450kms, it has 20" inch rims and well over 500 bhp when you need it, a recent video from a you tuber in USA achieved 450kms at 70 mph ( 22 degrees) in a real world range test, so personally i think 320 kms is brutal bad range for an €80k car, allowing for a 10% top & bottom buffer you're looking at 80% of 320kms = 256kms, thats not great for the flagship BMW M50 thats just my two cents

Gumbo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119019165#Comment_119019165

I have the same car. So efficient compared to the Model S P90D Ludicrous I had before it!

I suppose what im saying, is although how efficient the performance model is, if you drive the lower models in the same fashion, you’d achieve more range but you accept less for the performance.

My 2016 Model S would do 320km at 110kmph, basically my house to Belfast and back! haven’t done the trip on the M3P yet.

unkel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119015205#Comment_119015205

Michael McAleer has been an Irish Times motoring journo for at least a decade. How can he get some of the basics so wrong? As others said, Tesla Model 3 starts at €53k, not €61k

And the head of the biggest automaker in the world is called Diess, not Deiss as mentioned twice in the article

If your job was to write a small article once or twice a week, surely you'd have plenty of time to double check these simple things? And if you didn't out of lazyness / incompetence, surely isn't that what a newspaper editor is for?

PDVerse

Model 3 price on Tesla website starts at 61k, the 53k price displayed is after they deduct €8,900 for "petrol savings". You're paying €61k for the car, and more if you're not paying in cash.

unkel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119020595#Comment_119020595

Wrong.

€52,972 is the total cost to you of the car on the road, everything included

unkel

The BMW i4 base price on the road is €63,560

Gumbo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119020595#Comment_119020595

Sorry your incorrect there.

The OTR price is €52,972 for the 300bhp RWD in pearl multi cost white with black interior and 18” wheels. The base car.

PDVerse

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119020701#Comment_119020701

The price that's displayed when you choose custom order and base Model 3 is 61k. I think the journalist did the same thing I did, leave it on the default chosen colour. When you switch to white it gives the price you quoted, even though it states the colour is a €1200 option. I wouldn't blame the journalist, the website is misleading.

In future unkel, please try to put a bit of effort into your replies and be more constructive, thank you.

unkel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119020797#Comment_119020797

LOL, you claimed something that was untrue. I pointed out you were wrong. Simple. It was I who put the effort in with my screenshot, you just made a lazy comment with no proof, no effort, not constructive

You are not Michael McAleer, by any chance, are you? 🤣

Gumbo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119020797#Comment_119020797

Serious?

The journalism was shocking in his research so you blame a website?

Its funny as when I go the website I get the base colour (white) with 18” wheels and an OTR price of €52,972.

In future you should put a little thought and effort into your posts, be constructive and admit you made a mistake and move on.

unkel

A note on this for the people not aware, the huge near €11k difference in price between these cars can partly be explained by the fact that the BMW does not get any grant where the Tesla is below the grant threshold, so qualifies for the €5k SEAI grant. Above prices are after all fees, taxes and grants, so total net cost to the customer (private buyer) for the car on the road

It would be sweet for a lot of potential buyers (myself included) if BMW could come up with a rumoured cheaper version, the 35, which might be below the threshold, so could probably be priced around the €52-55k mark on the road. Although with current supply limitations that is probably nothing more than wishful thinking...