Since the middle of last year, the major luxury brands have obviously made greater moves in the field of new energy. Taking BMW as an example, since the launch of the iX3 in 2020, they have also released the iX and the i4 this year. Among them, the former has been officially listed, and the price is 846,900. According to official news, i4 will also officially debut in the first half of 2022.
Before the new car is officially listed, you may wish to follow the footsteps of buying and buying Jun, let's take a look at it, BMW's new pure electric medium-sized car, what are the places worth paying attention to?
From the overall design point of view, except for the closed double kidney grille, the i4 does not have much of a BMW i series model concept. More than that, it is the shadow of the 4 Series Gran Coupe. The styling of this 4-door coupe makes the i4 look sporty and doesn't feel too bloated.
In terms of body size, the length, width and height of the i4 are 4785/1852/1448mm, the wheelbase is 2856mm, look at its short and tough rear doors, you can probably imagine its rear space performance: relatively short cushions, not abundant legroom, so that its entire rear performance can only be considered decent. That being said, the i4's storage space is quite adequate, especially its tail box with a large opening + hatchback tailgate design, 470L of capacity, consistent with the 4 Series Gran Coupe.
In terms of interior, it is still full of BMW style, although it has not boldly introduced a more novel design and abandoned the physical buttons like iX, but it is still much stronger than BMW's fuel vehicle in terms of scientific and technological sense, and the 12.3-inch full LCD instrument + 14.9-inch central control screen not only integrates the iD8 human-computer interaction system with rich functions and smooth and easy to use, but also introduces a Tencent small scene function similar to the WeChat Mini Program, which can be said to be quite grounded.
Involving configuration, the details of the Version of the Chinese Standard have not yet been officially announced. However, with reference to overseas models, in addition to the aforementioned dual LCD screens, BMW also provides HARMAN Caton audio, seat heating, laser headlights, and IconicSound sound simulation system as options for the i4. The i4 M50 model is available in additional configurations such as the M aerodynamics kit, the M carbon fiber exterior kit and the M adaptive suspension.
Looking at the power part, the i4 that will enter the Chinese market in the future will be divided into two models, the eDrive 40 and the M50, both equipped with BMW's fifth-generation electric drive technology. Among them, the former adopts a single motor layout, with a maximum output of 340ps, a peak torque of 430N·m, and an acceleration time of 5.7 seconds per 100 kilometers. CLTC pure electric cruising range of 625 km; the latter uses dual motors, the output data reaches 536ps/790N·m, the acceleration time of 100 km is only 3.9 seconds, and the CLTC pure electric cruising range is 560 km. It is worth mentioning that the i4 M50 model also has specially tuned springs and shock absorbers, a more sporty steering system and additional body reinforcements, which will be better in handling performance.
In the case of i4 eDrive, for example, it sells for $55,400 in the U.S. market, or about 353,000 yuan. Combined with the actual pricing of domestic BMW models, the Chinese version of the i4 should also jump from at least 400,000-450,000. Combined with the actual size and positioning of the i4, its main opponent in China will be Tesla Model 3, Xiaopeng P7 and even Extreme Kr 001 this type of new power products.
If you talk about body size and price, i4 basically has no advantages to speak of, its highlights are more reflected in the "blue sky and white clouds" standard, not losing the opponent's performance / power consumption performance and a better handling experience, yes, it also has a closer to the somatosensory experience of fuel vehicles. But for many consumers who buy pure electric products, in the face of such a price that is much more expensive than their opponents, how attractive are these things? Buy buy Jun still has reservations about this. Of course, at present, the official has not yet announced the domestic price of the i4, and I hope that BMW can give a more sincere and competitive price.
But i4 has a detail that is still commendable, that is, the technology configuration, such as the iD8 human-computer interaction system that is more advanced and better experienced than the past iX3, I believe that the overall performance in this regard, i4 is not lagging behind the new forces opponents.
In the field of cars, compared with other luxury brand manufacturers in Europe and the United States, BMW i4 can be said to be ahead. Before the arrival of powerful opponents such as Mercedes-Benz EQE, the use of the CLAR platform (a set of platform architecture that uses pure internal combustion engine, pure electricity, and hybrid, so some views believe that models using the CLAR platform are also considered oil to electricity) to create this model, while seizing the opportunity, but also for BMW to officially launch the Neue Klasse pure electric platform in 2025 to buy enough time.
For some consumers who still use brand power as the first consideration, even if the pricing is much higher than that of the new power products, luxury brand products will still be their focus. At this time, i4 this type of product, naturally will be their first choice.