The 2025 BMW i4 eDrive40 Gran Coupe Is an EV for Driving Enthusiasts
With brisk acceleration and nimble handling, this could be the sweet spot in BMW’s EV lineup.
Pros
- Delightful rear-wheel-drive dynamics
- Supple and composed ride
- Spacious cargo area
Cons
- Small door openings
- Desirable driver assistance tech is optional
- Slightly more range would be nice
BMW’s M cars are obvious picks for those who savor powerful acceleration and engaging handling, but those in the know are aware that the automaker typically offers a couple of other entertaining models downrange that are a bit more discreet. The 2025 BMW i4 eDrive40 Gran Coupe is one such car. With a single rear motor, rear-wheel drive, and its rear-biased weight distribution, this electric hatchback utilizes the classic driving connoisseur’s layout. But when it comes to EVs especially, the devil’s in the details. So, how close to greatness did BMW come with the updated i4 Gran Coupe?
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What’s New and What Carries Over?
BMW’s approach to electrifying its sedan lineup has differed from many of its rivals. Instead of creating separate, unfamiliar model names with all-new designs, BMW has kept things simpler by offering gas and electric powertrains under a single numbered “Series” name. As a result, 4 Series Gran Coupes and i4 Gran Coupes share a near-identical design.
As such, both variants get updates at the same time. This year, BMW took to a cosmetic exterior and interior touchup, adding new tech along the way. Slimmer headlights with a fresh, arrowlike LED design and a new, welcome animation are the best way for car-spotters to ID the 2025 i4 on the road. There’s also a new grille with a matte surround and a fresh 19-inch wheel design, as pictured here on our Portimão Blue Metallic test car. While we think the i4 looks great from the side and rear, the BMW’s front fascia still shocks rather than awes.
A number of changes grace the i4’s cabin as well. BMW now equips the car with its iDrive 8.5 system, which makes it much easier to navigate the 14.9-inch touchscreen’s menus thanks to a consolidated structure and simplified layout. Voice commands using the BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant are improved as well. For example, you can ask the assistant to tune to a satellite radio station in a variety of ways, with varying degrees of intelligibility, and you’ll typically get exactly what you want
How (M) Sporty Is the 2025 BMW i4 eDrive40 Gran Coupe?
The 2025 BMW i4 eDrive40 Gran Coupe’s single-motor powertrain carries over from the prior model year, sending 335 hp and 317 lb-ft of torque to the rear wheels. The example in this test isn’t quite as quick as the 2022 BMW i4 eDrive40 previously tested, clocking a 4.9-second 0–60-mph sprint, against the older model’s 4.7-second run. Still, the updated i4 eDrive40 feels quick and its sub-5.0-second time is easy to repeat, a testament to the motor’s smooth and linear power delivery. BMW’s pseudo-launch-control system activates when both pedals are depressed, a user-friendly solution for brisk launches.
What’s more, the 2025 BMW i4 eDrive40 Gran Coupe impresses with its stopping power, which is delivered with superior tuning compared to what we typically experience while testing EVs. This i4 bests the 2022 model’s 117-foot 60–0-mph distance by 4 feet, delivering decent bite and good body control. Pedal travel is long, but the feel is solid, with polished blending between regenerative and mechanical braking.
Our car came equipped with the M Sport package to the tune of $3,100, which adds a mixture of performance and cosmetic upgrades. BMW’s Adaptive M suspension works with the automaker’s variable sport steering to help provide a more agile and engaging handling experience when the car’s drive mode is set to Sport. The tiller is surprisingly direct in its feedback, deepening the fastback’s favorability as a driver’s car. The 46/54-percent weight distribution lends itself to tail-happy performance on our figure-eight-shaped test track, with the chance of oversteer increasing dramatically as the rear tires heat up lap after lap. On the road, even on a spirited backroads drive, we expect this to be less of an issue. In our experience, the i4 handles with the confidence and poise of some of our favorite previous-generation 3 Series models with similar powertrain specs.
What’s It Like To Live With a 2025 BMW i4 eDrive40 Gran Coupe?
Around town, the i4 provides gentle, adaptive regenerative braking when there’s a slower-moving vehicle ahead, helping to feed some extra juice into the battery while also creating an invisible cushion between the BMW and the traffic. Swapping from “D” to “B” enables full-time one-pedal-style driving, which allows you to get around without needing to touch the brake pedal unless you need extra mechanical stopping power.
Though we prefer the more buttoned-up Sport mode for curvy roads, the default Comfort setting is ideal for day-to-day driving. This 2025 BMW i4 eDrive40 Gran Sport’s suspension minimizes small imperfections in the pavement while tamping out bigger bumps as well. The chassis exhibits good stability at freeway speeds, silkily cruising along. Road- and wind-noise are so minimal you’d actually have to be listening to notice.
While the i4’s ride comfort is commendable, passengers need to be careful getting in and out of the vehicle. The door openings are fairly short, so it’s easy to bop your head if you aren’t paying attention. Still, rear seat legroom and headroom are decent enough to shuttle around adults without them complaining about needing more space. Cargo hold accessibility, on the other hand, is a huge perk. The i4’s trunk opens wide, allowing easy access to the storage compartment. There’s 10.0 cubic feet behind the rear seats, plenty for loading up recreational gear or filling with groceries. However, that volume falls short of other hatchback sedans, like the Polestar 2 and Audi A5 Sportback, with 16.7 and 21.8 cubic feet, respectively. It’s best to think of BMW’s Gran Coupe body style as an extra-useful coupe.
BMW equips the i4 eDrive40 with an 83.9-kWh battery pack (81.5 kWh usable). Charging rates max out at 205 kW in a Level 3 fast charging scenario. The EPA rates the i4’s driving range at 318 miles when outfitted with 18-inch wheels, but this model is limited to 295 miles due to its 19-inch wheels. According to MotorTrend’s road trip range testing, which measures driving distance from 100- to 5-percent battery capacity at 70 mph, the i4 eDrive40 Gran Coupe covered 267 miles, a 9-percent difference from the EPA’s rating. When charging, the i4 added 132 miles of range in 15 minutes during our testing. But, considering that the gas-only 2025 BMW M440i Gran Coupe can drive a total of 437 miles on a tank with a respectable EPA rating of 26/32 city/highway mpg, the i4 could stand to gain some range in future iterations.
Range aside, the i4, like other 4 Series models, is available with BMW’s suite of standard and available advanced driver assistance goodies, which work to brilliant effect. The BMW Driving Assistance Pro package bundles Active Driving Assistant Pro and Extended Traffic Jam Assistant, helping take the burden off of long drives with smooth automatic acceleration, deceleration, and distance keeping. The i4 can reliably track its lane, so long as the driver remains alert and keeps their hands on the wheel. At slower speeds, you benefit from BMW’s available 360-degree parking views, front and rear parking sensors, and parking assistant technology. These features aren’t standard, although BMW does equip every i4 with automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, lane keep assist, traffic sign recognition, automatic high-beams, and parking sensors. It all works exceedingly well, but we’d like to see the German automaker move to include more standard assistance tech moving forward.
Emotional Purchase or Value Buy?
Old-school gearheads love to rag on EVs for lacking soul and exhibiting driving characteristics that resemble a dishwasher or a microwave. The 2025 BMW i4 eDrive40 Gran Coupe bucks those ill-informed suppositions with its joyful handling and direct steering. As a true all-electric driver’s car, this BMW is a solid choice for folks who enjoy canyon-carving and are ready for a battery-only commute. In this sense, the i4 excels.
Still, its drawbacks are worth taking into consideration. The squat door portals make it challenging for taller or older folk to easily get into and out of the car. As another matter of concern, you need to equip the Parking Assistance and Driving Assistance Pro packages to get all of the active safety tech that we’ve tested on this i4. Finally, even though the i4’s range is competitive with the single-motor, long-range versions of the Polestar 2 and Tesla Model 3, it could use another 50 miles or so per charge to add some flexibility for getting to and from our favorite driving roads.
The rear-drive 2025 BMW i4 eDrive40 Gran Coupe starts at $59,075, and our test car stickered for $66,975 with all included options and packages. The number of small, luxurious electric four-doors is still quite small for now, as most manufacturers have favored leading with larger, more expensive models. As such, BMW competes primarily with the Tesla Model 3, which steeply undercuts the i4 Gran Coupe at $44,130 to start. Polestar, which now only offers an all-wheel-drive Polestar 2 with the Performance pack for $66,200, is out of the running. We’d wager that Tesla still offers a better overall electric car experience for the money. But those who want a bit more character and soul from their EV will be satisfied with what the 2025 BMW i4 eDrive40 Gran Coupe has to offer.
Billy Rehbock's passion for cars started with his dad's Volkswagen Jetta GLX, his mom's Cabriolet, and his own Hot Wheels collection. A USC graduate with a Master of Science in journalism, he's an associate editor for the MotorTrend Buyer's Guide and covers everything from sports cars to SUVs.
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