BMW i4 M50 Gran Coupe (G26) | PH Used Shopping for Information

• Accessible for £35,000
• Twin electrical motors, all-wheel drive
• Predictably fast and classier than a Tesla
• Loopy quantity of weight limits the driving enjoyable
• Effectively constructed and up to now largely problem-free
• You may get a Taycan for a similar cash 

The G26 i4 M50 was the primary all-electric M automotive. Previous to its announcement in late 2021, the variety of M automobiles with a motor in addition to the drive on the again had been the identical because the variety of fingertips on Ranulph Fiennes’ left hand, i.e. none. The presence of a motor between the rear wheels allowed BMW to put declare to the outdated M ethos of sportlicher rear-wheel drivey sort dealing with – however in fact there was one other motor on the entrance to steadiness issues up and hold the vital security message entrance and centre.   

All i4 M50s got here with a Gran Coupe badge, which as everyone knows was BMW’s designation for a ‘sedan’ with a closely raked rear roofline. Some say that the thought course of behind the title was that your Gran was sometimes fairly small and will subsequently match properly within the again. No matter, the i4 M50s had 4 doorways and a hatch. Many say that made it a five-door, however for those who classify a door as one thing you’ll be able to go out and in of then actually it’s not bought 5 doorways. Mainly, then, the i4 M50 was a 4 Sequence Gran Coupe with two electrical motors, one on the entrance with as much as 255hp and one on the again with as much as 308hp to supply a calculator-busting Sport Increase mode complete of 537hp and 586lb ft. 

How concerning the appears to be like, then? Effectively, for those who weren’t positive about BMW’s new front-end model, there was one surefire solution to make your self really feel rather a lot higher about it: take a look at a picture of the monstrous XM SUV, which particularly in lighter colors has one thing of the snowplough about it. In comparison with that the i4 M50 appears to be like fairly good-looking, however you’ll have a distinct opinion.

When the i4 M50 was introduced on the finish of 2021 its RRP was £63,825. Three and a bit years later, after a midlife replace in the summertime of 2024, the RRP had risen to £71,785, however sellers have been discounting that by £10k or extra suggesting that the automotive is just not a straightforward full-price promote for BMW. 

It’s a widespread one although. In January 2025 the producer introduced that it was their best-selling M mannequin of 2024, which was the thirteenth consecutive yr of rising gross sales for the M sub-brand as an entire. The argument about what’s an M automotive and what isn’t will proceed to rage, in fact. The attention-stingingly ugly XM was one other massive progress driver. All that was in opposition to a background of a doubling of gross sales of pure electrical BMWs within the first 9 months of 2022 when the i4 M50 was on sale. 

Anyway, the variety of new i4 M50s offered signifies that you’ll haven’t any bother discovering a used one for as little as £32k from the hundred or so that you’ll see on sale within the UK at any given second. The day of the sub-£30k i4 M50 can’t be that far off. Have a squint on the spec under to work out whether or not you assume that represents lots of efficiency for the cash. Learn on to see what the potential catches (if any) is perhaps – and turn into conscious of a mad different that isn’t a Tesla. 

Engine: 400V Lithium-ion battery, 83.9kWh capability, twin AC synchronous electrical motors
Transmission: single-speed auto, all-wheel drive
Energy (hp): 537@8,000-17,000rpm
Torque (lb ft): 586@0-5,000rpm
0-62mph (secs): 3.9
Prime pace (mph): 140
Weight (kg): 2,290
Vary (WLTP): 318 
Wheels (in): 19
Tyres: 245/45 (f), 255/45 (r)
On sale: 2022 – on
Worth new (2022): £63,825
Worth now: from £32,000

Word for reference: automotive weight and energy information are laborious to pin down with absolute certainty. For consistency, we use the identical supply for all our guides. We hope the information we use is true extra typically than it’s fallacious. Our recommendation is to deal with it as relative fairly than definitive.  

You don’t typically see revs quoted within the energy and torque specs for EVs however BMW made this information out there for the i4 M50. Most PHers would in all probability have identified that peak torque started at zero revs however fewer would have been conscious of the high-revving nature of automotive electrical motors, on this case spinning to not less than 17,000rpm. 

With a 400v 83.9kWh battery pack sitting beneath the ground, the M50 weighed slightly below 2.3 tonnes, which made it the heaviest non-SUV M automotive ever. Nonetheless, the power-to-weight determine of 235hp per tonne – the identical as a BMW M2 – meant that it wasn’t wanting efficiency. Its 0-62mph time of three.9 seconds was lower than half a second down on the all-wheel drive M3 and M4 Comp and precisely the identical because the non-xDrive 2WD variations of these two automobiles. 

The i4 M50’s essential competitor in fact wasn’t one other BMW however Tesla’s Mannequin 3, the Efficiency model of which was faster by the 0-62 run than any of the aforementioned BMWs and quicker on high pace than the i4 M50 at 162mph (the M50 was restricted to 140mph). The Tesla went barely additional on a full cost, and it was a couple of grand cheaper as effectively. It wasn’t a BMW although, and never everybody was satisfied by its styling or perceived high quality. The AWD 82kWh mannequin was almost 400kg lighter than the M50, or almost 600kg lighter in RWD kind. The Tesla’s lightness was each a blessing (for efficiency) and a curse (for those who had been on the lookout for a BMW-like sensation of solidity). 

In Sport mode the M50’s throttle response might appear a bit snatchy round city, not helped by a small delay between you placing your foot down and one thing truly occurring. As soon as you bought used to that although it was boomshakalak time all the way in which courtesy of the BEV’s at all times entertaining celebration trick of rampant acceleration with no apparent effort. For these fascinated about towing, the utmost allowable weight was 1,600kg. 

Charging at dwelling from a 7kW unit would fill the battery in 12.5 hours, whereas a nought to 80 per cent top-up might take simply over half an hour at a public charger the place a fast 10-minute squirt would add 71 miles of vary. You’d should drive just like the Pope to get wherever close to the official WLTP 318-mile determine, although. The vary recommended by the sprint at 100 per cent cost would typically be nearer to 220 miles, with the precise distance out there on even a relaxed drive normally popping out at 180-190 miles. 

Some battery packs have failed, however the eight-year/100,000-mile guarantee on these nonetheless has an extended solution to go. So far as we’re conscious no person has been left excessive and dry. There was a recall within the first a part of 2022 to kind out a small variety of automobiles that had been despatched out with out the right complement of battery-protecting ‘crash pads’, and one other one later that yr to rectify battery defects on a batch of automobiles. In 2023 a recall was put out for sellers to refit a cable bridge connector, adopted by one other one to repair faulty (third celebration) charger models. Some cell modules wanted to get replaced in some automobiles in 2024, and a few ’24 manufactured automobiles had their longitudinal chassis beams inspected. There have been gear selector points which have rendered i4s motionless however these are very uncommon. Servicing on the i4 M50 is usually required each two years or 20,000 miles; BMW Service Inclusive covers servicing prices for not less than the primary 4 years. On BEVs these plans can begin from £324.  

Unusually, the i4 M50 had a hybrid springing system, metal up entrance and air on the again, with VDC adaptive dampers. The outcome was very good bump absorption on lumpy city roads and a plate-filling portion of trip refinement at greater speeds. The M50 ducked and dived with the very best of them too, which was fairly an achievement given the load of the automotive, however it might be overstating issues to say it was chuckable within the traditional M stylie. How might or not it’s with 2.3 tonnes to cart round? The 510hp M4 was almost half a tonne lighter at 1.8 tonnes and lots of folks thought that was extreme for an M automotive. 

In Consolation, the i4 M50 ran primarily in rear-wheel drive, switching extra into AWD in sportier modes, which within the historic context of M motoring you may say was a bit peculiar however there we’re. At the least you may introduce an additional diploma of back-end enjoyable by dialling again and even absolutely disabling the DSC (dynamic stability management). DSC calculated what the driving force needed/wanted whereas additionally attempting to provide BMW what it needed to assist it develop that M driving expertise. A average throttle press would set off a repeatedly greater proportion of drive torque from the rear motor as pace elevated.

As well as in fact there have been all types of nuances by DTC (Dynamic Traction Management) to offer optimum drive on completely different surfaces like snow or gravel. The system even took under consideration wind and uphill or downhill gradients in addition to axle loadings. BMW stated that the absolutely electrical xDrive system would react a lot quicker and far more precisely than any old style mechanical switch field. It might take extra time and area than we’ve bought right here to explain it in correct element, however suffice it to say it was all very intelligent and labored very effectively. 19-inch wheels with Pirelli P Zeros had been normal, 20-inch non-obligatory.

Some driver help capabilities have wanted software program resets to revive them to full capability. These needed to be achieved on the seller as no over-the-air options had been provided in these instances. Stopping a efficiency EV could be a sub-optimal expertise as a result of typical braking programs aren’t at all times that effectively built-in with the slowing results of battery regeneration. The M50’s was an exception to that common rule, offering a natural-feeling mixture of digital and mechanical retardation when you’d labored out the very best degree of regen through the touchscreen menu. 

Most M50s you’ll see available in the market will probably be painted black, white, or varied shades of gray, which from a jollification viewpoint appears a pity. There are some blue ones about, although, and (extra hardly ever) a pleasant darkish inexperienced. 

There have been a couple of raised eyebrows on the sight of the M50’s fairly tacked-on rear wheelarch extensions to deal with its 12mm larger rear observe width (the entrance observe was 26mm wider, with elevated unfavourable camber). Tailgates have malfunctioned on early i4s, normally due to dodgy sensors or modules. These have been repaired beneath guarantee. Rattling exterior trim was additionally reported on early automobiles. 

You didn’t get any further baggage area on the entrance of the i4 M50 however that wasn’t an enormous drawback as there have been 470 litres of under-hatch area with the rear seats in place or 1,290 litres with them folded away. 

That factor about your granny becoming within the rear of a Gran Coupe wasn’t up to now off the mark because the area again there wasn’t large. On the plus aspect, the driving place up entrance within the M4-style seats was good and, regardless of the presence of the battery pack under, a lot low sufficient to generate a sporty really feel, 

The final look of the inside was intentionally 4 Sequence fairly than iX, so there was nothing in there to frighten the horses. Simply good high quality supplies, properly assembled. Not everybody was enamoured with BMW’s choice to go down the ‘massive information display and never a lot switchgear’ route. The M50’s display appeared a bit stuck-on to some and the local weather controls had been within the menu fairly than a knob however it all labored fairly effectively, even when the necessity to focus on one thing off to the left fairly than straight forward when travelling on the kind of speeds automobiles like this are able to has at all times appeared like an oddity in these safety-conscious occasions. Particularly when all the things else in a automotive is so fastidiously designed to match as much as the human being’s pure bodily necessities. 

Nonetheless, most would agree that the BMW had fairly extra premium-osity than the Tesla Mannequin 3, both due to or regardless of the novelty of IconicSounds Electrical, which had been drive system sounds created by movie rating composer Hans Zimmer. These ’created an emotionally participating driving expertise’ through ‘configurable soundscapes’. Effectively that was the concept anyway. In actuality it sounded a bit just like the Demise Star powering up for a spot of sunshine planet vaporisation. It was very a lot a Marmite factor. Some liked it, others switched it off kind of instantly and by no means went close to it once more. 

Gross sales smart the i4 M50 was fairly successful. It wasn’t particularly radical or completely different however it appeared purposeful, went as rapidly as you’d in all probability ever wish to go, held a great bit of baggage, and provided an honest vary. Whether or not you’d obtain that providing, or something prefer it, was one other matter. 

Reported faults have been few in quantity. Though there was some moaning on the time concerning the £64k asking value you probably did must keep in mind that you had been getting the very best a part of 540hp and 590lb ft for that. Discovering one other BMW that provided something like that value/grunt equation wasn’t straightforward. 

As famous, the Tesla Mannequin 3 beat it on easy efficiency parameters however leaping into the BMW after a go in one in every of them you’d instantly discover the distinction in perceived (and arguably precise) high quality, and within the sophistication and luxury of the chassis. You could possibly put not less than a few of that all the way down to BMW’s longer and deeper expertise within the auto recreation. The M50 was not a paragon of dealing with or agility, however it was a stable automotive that might do an amazing job for most individuals. To take pleasure in it to the total you sort of wanted to not get too hung up on the M factor. 

The elephant within the room is perhaps not a lot a Tesla as, madly, a Porsche. On the time of writing in Might 2025 there have been extra Taycans on the market within the UK than every other Porsche mannequin. As a result of there are fewer eager used Taycan consumers than there are automobiles, they’ve unsurprisingly depreciated like billy-o. You may take your decide from a gaggle of Taycans on PH Classifieds proper now at beneath £35k. That’s not a typo. The Taycan is a extra sporting drive than the BMW and, effectively, it’s a Porsche. 

EV costs sometimes replicate, and are in direct relationship with, their mileages. It’s a concern of the unknown factor. The most cost effective i4 M50s on PH, albeit with decrease mileages than you’ll see on equivalently priced Taycans, had been going for a similar kind of £35k cash because the Porsches, their values having been moreover depressed by an i4 mannequin replace early in 2025. This 27,000-mile 2022 car in black was essentially the most inexpensive one we discovered at £34,500. Right here’s another 2022 car with 20,000 miles at £36,200 and one other one from the same year however with 19,000 miles at £36,400.

On the extra monied finish of the market, simply over £42k would put you into this 2023 car with 12,000 miles on it, while just under £48k bought you this 6,000-mile 2024 automotive.