Range anxiety is less of an issue with newer EVs, but the tech still lags behind ICE in that respect. BMW i4 M50 shoppers are less concerned about running out of juice since they prioritize performance over efficiency. Otherwise, they’d just get the rear-wheel-drive eDrive40 with its longer range.
YouTuber Bjørn Nyland specialized in EVs was curious to test how the punchier i4 M50 would fare in a range test. The conditions were less than ideal as he tested the first electric M model at 1-2 degrees Celsius. That works out to 33.8 – 35.6 degrees Fahrenheit. The car had the larger 19-inch wheels with 245/40 front and 255/40 rear Pirelli P Zero winter tires. Of course, it could’ve been worse in terms of efficiency if the car had the 20-inch set.
After juicing up the battery lithium-ion battery with its usable capacity of 79.4 kWh, Bjørn Nyland embarked on his adventure on a damp road. Right off the bat, he noticed it was substantially quieter and much more comfortable than the Tesla Model 3. During the first part of his trip, the car was showing a worrying consumption of 304 Wh/km. Bear in mind the initial test was done at an average speed of 120 km/h (75 mph) while the latter was completed at 90 km/h (56 mph).
The high-speed run with the i4 M50 ended with an average consumption of 279 Wh/km after covering 142.4 kilometers (88. miles). In these conditions, Bjørn Nyland estimates he could’ve been able to do 285 kilometers (177 miles) on a full charge. He then redid the test at the lower speed when the consumption dropped to 207 Wh/km. It resulted in an estimated maximum range of 385 km (239 miles).
These are decent numbers but fail in comparison to the Teslas previously tested by the YouTuber. The king of range in the winter was a Model 3 LR (albeit with 18-inch wheels). It provided 333 kilometers (207 miles) of range at 120 km/h and 468 kilometers (291 miles) at 90 km/h. That’s a big gap, but one would argue the Model 3 is not a luxury car and therefore not a rival.
[Source: Bjørn Nyland / YouTube]
