- BMW i4 eDrive35 will offer a manufacturer-estimated range of 260 miles when it lands stateside, along with 281 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque.
- The electric Gran Coupe will be powered by a 66.0-kWh net battery, unlike its two more powerful i4 siblings.
- The BMW i4 eDrive35 will be positioned and priced just below the i4 eDrive40 model, which will offer a rear-motor layout as well, and below the dual-motor i4 M50 model.
The $35,000 Tesla Model 3 may have largely turned out to be a secret menu item withdrawn after a short period of time, despite attaining the status of a talking point for politicians well before its arrival. But while Tesla may have underdelivered on its promise of a truly affordable EV sedan, BMW is already close to shipping its own base version of the i4, which debuted just months ago. But as you've guessed by now, it won't quite cost $35,000 either.
The BMW i4 eDrive35 is the name of this slightly more affordable EV, and it will be the least expensive EV you'll be able to buy from BMW stateside, if not the least expensive BMW EV. That honor will go to the iX1, which won't be offered here.
This particular Gran Coupe will be a slightly dialed down version of its eDrive40, offering 281 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque, compared to 335 hp and 317 lb-ft in the eDrive40. Just like its sibling, the eDrive35 will have a single motor out back that will propel the four-door hatchback from 0 to 60 mph in 5.8 seconds—a full second slower than the eDrive40. It will have a smaller battery as well: 66.0 kWh net (70.2 kWh gross) versus 81.5 kWh net in the eDrive40 and M50.
This will give the i4 eDrive35 a range of 260 miles, according to BMW, compared to 301 miles in the eDrive40, which is not a big price to pay range-wise for the downgrade. In fact, 260 miles from 66.0 kWh is actually pretty good for something its size and weight.
"Utilizing DC fast charging, the batteries can be charged at a rate of up to 180 kW and, based on early testing, owners can expect to be able to charge the HV battery from 10% to 80% in only 32 minutes," the automaker adds.
The i4 eDrive35's savings proposition is that it will undercut the i4 eDrive40 in price by $4000, with a starting price of $51,400.
Depending on how EV buyers will look at it, $4000 could either represent modest but welcome savings over a eDrive40, or it could be a rounding error in the grand scheme of things, akin to the price of a couple of options. After all, if you're getting into a new electric BMW to begin with, what's $4000 at the end of the day?
The i4 is already destined for endless comparisons to its Tesla rival, so let's go ahead and note that the least expensive Model 3 these days is the rear-wheel drive version that starts at $48,190 and offers a range of 267 miles, along with an identical 5.8-second launch time. That is indeed the version at which the i4 eDrive35 is aimed.
