If you’re in the market for an electric entry-level luxury sedan, the BMW i4 is likely your best overall option, and the 2025 BMW i4 brings some small yet meaningful updates that should enhance usability while making this Bavarian machine easier to look at.
Granted, pickings are slim in this segment. You’ve got the Polestar 2 which isn’t as competitive as it used to be, and some might argue that the Tesla Model 3 is a luxury car although they’d be wrong. The facelifted Model 3 is a noticeable improvement, but it also doesn’t feel any nicer than a Hyundai Ioniq 6. So, that leaves us with the BMW i4 to blend actual luxury with the form factor of an entry-level electric sedan, and this facelifted model seems to do just enough to appear somewhat fresh.
Let’s start with toning down appearances. The most contentious part about the i4 is that it has a kidney grille silhouette like a fully-spread hotdog bun, and because much of it isn’t really a grille, it came across as unnecessary peacocking. Well, BMW’s designers have been figuring out how to tone down the giant kidneys, and this is the solution for 2025.
Alright, so the radar sensor is more exposed than on the outgoing model, but thematically blending the actual kidney grille openings with the lower grille mesh visually shrinks the kidneys, and that seems like a good thing. Oh, and new headlights feature daytime running lights with a close enough angle to the jowls in the front bumper to tone down the bumper contouring.
Around back, updates are confined to new taillights with laser-illuminated fibre optic elements, while in profile, new wheel designs round out the looks for 2025. We’re talking about a subtle facelift here, but an improvement nonetheless. Granted, styling improvement over the outgoing model doesn’t seem particularly hard, but that’s low-hanging fruit.
However, the big upgrade to the 2025 BMW i4 is found in the interior, where an important infotainment upgrade should make a real difference. The outgoing i4 features iDrive 8, and it might be the worst variant of iDrive from a usability perspective, and that includes the original VxWorks kernel system found in the Bangle butt 7 Series. Think heated seats buried in submenus, to start. The 2025 car gets the iDrive 8.5 upgrade which actually docks quick access to stuff like heated seats, your tunes, an app launcher, media, and the home menu. You know, stuff that should’ve always been docked. Achieving what should be the bare minimum isn’t something worth celebrating, but it’s definitely worth noting.
Other upgrades to the 2025 BMW i4 include new interior trims and upholstery options, including black-and-red upholstery on the M50 xDrive that looks like a scene kid’s backpack, and more minimalist center HVAC vents with illumination. Also on deck? Two new steering wheel designs and available augmented reality in the heads-up display that will give drivers Midnight Club-style arrows for navigating confusing intersections. Again, not game-changing, but nice to have.
With mildly toned-down styling and a mildly tuned-up interior, the 2025 BMW i4 certainly looks promising as an entry-level luxury EV. We liked the pre-facelift model we drove in 2022, and all the little alterations for 2025 promise to make this thing slightly easier to live with. Expect pricing to be announced later this year, as the refreshed i4 is set to enter production in July.
(Photo credits: BMW)
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It doesn’t look any better to me than it did. It would look amazing if they
1) Capitulated on the elongated kidney grille and brought us something closer to what the 3 Series has
2) Reversed the side DLO kink, to make it look more traditionally BMW-like
Are we looking at the same car?
botched nose job
I’m sorry, what? It’s even uglier now.
I didn’t think that could be possible, yet here we are.
The old beaver grill was hideous but it was a statement. This one is an embarrassed smirk after a loud fart.
That isn’t a BMW i4, it’s the new Alfa Romeo Beaver.
Alfa Romeo Junior Beaver.
Beaver Motor Works
Any word on how much the heated seat subscription costs?
Haven’t heard, but apparently it will only come bundled with the window tint subscription.
That’s where you have to pay a monthly fee to make the windows clear enough to see through right?
“but thematically blending the actual kidney grille openings with the lower grille mesh visually shrinks the kidneys“
That’s hilarious.
BMW really needs a nephrologist on staff. Those kidneys are still swollen. It could be a serious medical condition.
It’s terminal – need a transplant from sth you can actually look at without feeling sick.
My bet is to just go back in time and pull the e39 design off the shelf. Don’t mess with it, just tweak what’s necessary under the skin. Probably take the same approach with the interior, mostly.
As an aside, normally, I oppose the use of front license plates on cars, but the one in the photo somehow makes it slightly more bearable, in the same way it’s better to get a staple in your finger instead of a nail..
Can’t wait to see how much “Laser Taillights” cost to replace when they ultimately fail after 5 years. (Just like the LED lights that are supposed to be lifetime but inevitable aren’t)
Even if they don’t fail, if a truck backs into you in a parking lot is it going to cost $10000 just to replace one tail light?
Sure, insurance pays in that case, but insurance isn’t a charity. They’re going to pass that cost right back to us.
You know, I have one simple request. And that is to have beavers with frickin laser beams attached to their tails. Throw me a bone here.
I don’t think it looks better. Then again, most BMW designs take time for me to think they look good in general.
They only seem to improve with age, because the newer ones are increasingly hideous so the older ugly stuff looks better in comparison.
I don’t think it looks better. I prefer the current look, even though it’s not the best-looking vehicle either.
I hope that BMW buyers do like the current look, because I have considered a lightly used i4 and anything that might drive the pricing down and/or the supply up would be appreciated. I might just go back to shopping around for one.
A friend of mine has a 2023 M50, and based on driving it a couple of miles, it’s a very nice car. Quick as hell, comfortable, with a very nice ride and solid handling, given that it’s a pretty heavy car. The big obvious downside is the styling. The new front end looks a bit better to me, although still anything but beautiful. We’ll see whether that along with the other incremental improvements now allow the positive aspects of the car to offset the negatives for more potential buyers.
Nope, that’s still hideous up front. The awkward sensor, the big kidneys that need to die already—it’s all bad! It looks generic out back, which, well. Fine. The front is unforgivably awkward, though. Only spraying ranch dressing (…I’m assuming it’s ranch based on how bad it looks) on a little over half the hot dog bun makes it look even worse.
Also, what’s that personal assistant? A FISH??? First, BMW (INAPPROPRIATELY!) steals FWD from Mini, and now Fishie? Annoying, never-satisfied FISHIE???
DAMN YOU, FISHIE!!!
“Damn you, Fishie!” is STILL an inside joke between Mental and I to this day because, well, that damn fish was never happy: https://jalopnik.com/i-couldnt-keep-the-damn-fish-in-the-new-mini-clubman-ha-1751724365
I see the Ferrari Fox is keeping busy.
Always working to expand their territory.
I really hope I’m wrong here, but this is why nobody wants the manufacturers infotainment. What are the odds of them upgrading 2024’s to iDrive 8.5? I’m guessing about zero. They’ll make up some excuse about the hardware not being able to support it, or they’ll just flat out say “nah”. You want a software upgrade for your stupid screen? Buy a new car.
That seems to be the BMW way.
Yeah. Tesla has been doing OTA updates for what, a decade + now? Seems like 5 years of software support should be the bare minimum.
FYI: the 2024 i4 *does* ship from Munich with iDrive 8.5 now. Most 2024 i4 owners have already done the remote software upgrade from 8.0–>8.5.
Happy to be wrong on this one
Car manufacturers are worse than those generic Android phones you get for free with your plan. The Android version you get is the Android version you’ll forever see.
Sorry to cross the streams, but to me, that front end is a dead ringer for a Sullustan from Star Wars. https://www.starwars.com/databank/sullustan
Sullustan = Ram Truck with Rebel trim grille
The styling would suggest that it drives like a pig.
The i4 is low-key one of the best EVs in production today. It gets 280mi@75mph and charges 10-80% in 29 minutes for a charge speed (miles/minute) higher than a Model 3 LR. The motor design is brilliant. Reviewes speak highly of its handling compared to Tesla and Polestar. There’s a lot to like, and I’m just waiting for them to depreciate into my wage bracket.
But my god, the front end is hideous. It did not need a subtle facelift. It needs the Scooby-Doo gang to come rip of the front fascia, revealing a sensible M6 underneath. It needs Nic Cage to take its face off and replace it with the front end of an i8 (oh, or better, a Z8).
I don’t know what BMW designers are on, but they need an intervention.
Gosh, this. BMWs are nice to drive, but I could not own a car this hideous.
Z8, the car that got me into BMWs. It’s how I talked my mom into buying the Z4 that I have now – “it’s like James Bond’s car!” Once Pierce Brosnan entered the equation, she was much less interested in the X5.
Have to agree. I currently drive a Polestar 2, which is a wonderful car, but the i4 is definitely a step up in so many ways. The cabin is definitely much better than the Polestar’s, and the battery/motor/range setup is great. Unfortunately for BMW…. the Polestar is a much, much, prettier machine. That the Polestar is cheaper also helps!
I’ve got a cataract in one eye and even I can see it’s still ugly. If they are going to force a touchscreen on me, give me LCARS for a bit of fun, at least. It never occurred to me when watching TNG how terrible fully touchscreen controls would be.
Those wheels are terrible, as well. I could see them being part of a locking mechanism to open the secret treasure vault in a National Treasure movie. From basket weaves to those, yech.
Those wheels do have strong Fallout vault door energy.
No it doesn’t. Beaver teeth=no dice. I actually think the i4 is a pretty compelling package and they run some killer lease deals on them but I will never get used to how absurd they look from the front.
Agreed. When it is time to replace my A5 Sportback, I’d love to get another comfortable fastback sedan and I’m strongly considering going electric. The i4 pretty much ticks all the boxes but I don’t think I’ll ever come to accept the beaver grille. I’m hoping Audi puts something compelling together in this segment.
What about the e-tron GT? Barely-used ones are like $60K.
That’s pretty compelling. I didn’t know they had taken that much of a depreciation hit already. I figured with their $100k+ MSRPs, they were going to be out of reach.
I’d rather have a used etron GT and $20K in my pocket than a new i4 BeaverMawWagon
I agree about the beaver teeth. But also, the rear 3/4 shots, that bottom black corner seems so insanely complex, for no reason. Incongruous and ugly. I don’t really share any aesthetic preferences with the team that designed this thing.
I find it maddening because I’m a card carrying BMW fanboy, and I actually think there are several cars in their lineup that are very attractive. The 8 series looks incredible, the current 3 series is handsome, and I think their SUVs are easily the best looking of the Germans outside of the abomination that is the iX….and on the more controversial side of BMW design takes I think the Z4 is great looking (and my neighbor has one that I see pretty much every day, so I’ve had a lot of time to form my opinion) and I also like the current 2 series coupes, including the M2.
Folks are going to come around on those real soon and our cool goth uncle agrees with me. They’re classic BMW through and through. But anyway, this is a long winded way of saying that the beaver teeth stuff especially irks me because I KNOW BMW is capable of great designs…so there’s just no reason for them to be subjecting us to the vile abominations that are the 4 series, 7 series, iX, et cetera.
When those designs started to come out 3 or 4 years ago everyone was like “oh you’ll get used to them”. And guess what? I haven’t. It was garbage then and it’s still garbage now.
Have you seen it in person? I thought it was offensive but it just doesn’t bother me that much in real life. The rest of the car is so compelling, I would love to be able to justify a lease.
10% less homely! and slightly less infuriating controls! are not the selling points they think they are.
“Our cars are less worse!”
“Looks As Good As It Drives”
From every angle but the front
You probably don’t want to be in front of it when it’s driving anyway.
I also don’t want to see it in my driveway. Too damned fugly.
Don’t care.
I’m not a Tesla guy, but you’re splitting hairs pretty thinly to argue an entry-level BMW that comes standard with vinyl seats and without heated seats or wireless charging is any more luxurious than a Model 3. The BMW bias is showing.
I think there is something to be said about the general lack of customization with Tesla, and that the Model 3 interior is so aggressively stripped of character for the sake of cost, that despite my general dislike of BMW design direction, the 3/4 series seems like a far more compelling cabin. Also hasn’t BMW always locked expected features behind an options package on entry level cars as a way to advertise a lower than realistic lease deal?
I’m sure they have, but that doesn’t scream “luxury” to me.
To me, neither the i4 nor the Model 3 are luxury cars.
That’s fair enough, I’m also a a serial Japanese brand buyer, so to me I view anything from the 3-series and up from BMW to be luxury, but with obvious differences as you go from 3 to 5 to 7. I think we can all agree, the 2-series sedan is just a Mini, and in no way a true luxury car, but a creatively marketed ploy to separate people from their money.
So, it drives like a POS?
My exact thought too.
+1, same thought. That is not a good looking car.