BMW i4 eDrive40 2022 electric car owner review

Jonathan drives a BMW i4 eDrive40 2022 electric car.

This is Jonathan’s second electric car, he’s owned the i4 eDrive40 from new and drives 5,000-10,000 miles annually. The current mileage of the car is between 0-500 miles and he achieves 300 miles range from a full charge.

Why did you choose the BMW i4?

I wanted a car that looked like a regular car and didn’t go out of its way shouting “I’m electric!”. Most of the current crop of EVs are SUVs (and whilst Tesla do offer a couple of regular looking cars), there was just something about them that didn’t float my boat. Also, I’ve always loved BMW’s current 4-series and to me at least I think it’s a very smart looking, sleek grand coupe, so with the i4 being based on this, it really appealed to me.

Positives

The looks
the build quality
the range.

Negatives

The rear doors are quite small making access a bit tricky
space for rear passengers isn’t great, perfect for 2 but would be a real squeeze for 3.

Have you experienced any faults with the car? If so, what have they been?

What are the standout tech features of the car?

The 2 screens that make up the ‘dashboard’ are fantastic, incredibly clear and responsive
The car has great performance but also very good range, it’s much more efficient than I thought it would be too
BMW’s iDrive for navigation and infotainment is the best in the business
There is also an app that can be installed on your smartphone which shows the battery status, vehicle location and detailed information about your charging sessions.

Tell us something people wouldn’t readily know about this electric car.

At night time, when opening the doors it has some cool looking puddle lights
The LED strips in the doors also pulse red when opened to assist with visibility of approaching cars.

What electric car are you interested in next and why?

Would love to see an electric sports car, maybe a Z4 or Porsche Cayman.

Home charging unit

Hypervolt – it’s pretty good, has a nice design and I can control scheduling to take advantage of an off-peak charging rate. I can view stats via a smartphone app too.

Electricity supplier & tariff

I’m with Octopus Energy and recently switched to their Octopus Go tariff. This gives me very cheap electric between 00:30 & 04:30 so I can plug the car in and my charger connects to the car during these hours whilst I’m asleep.

What public charging networks would you recommend to others and why?

InstaVolt – very reliable, no app required so just use your contactless debit card
IONITY – really fast chargers but can be pricey
Shell Recharge – they have quite a wide network of chargers in their network not just at Shell fuel stations.