BMW i4
Shares rank 21 of 40 electric cars by recommenders
People recommend it as a nice, fun car to drive with many physical controls and a zippy eDrive. Critics point to cost-cutting engineering, faulty parts and costly repairs.
People recommend it as a nice, fun car to drive with many physical controls and a zippy eDrive. Critics point to cost-cutting engineering, faulty parts and costly repairs.
11 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 9
- criticize it
- 2
- approval share
- 82%
Recommended in 6 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 9 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 4.5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 6 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Nice and fun to drive
“Nicer to drive, nicer features (better sound, HUD, sunroof), hardware controls”
Comment from 25 Jan 2026 in “Porsche Sold More Electrified Cars in Europe in 2025 Than Pure Gas-Powered Cars” “Just buy an i4, even the eDrive is pretty zippy 0-60 in 5.4 seconds”
Comment from 29 Jan 2026 in “Tesla ending Models S and X production” “just being significantly nicer to drive”
Comment from 16 Dec 2025 in “Roomba maker goes bankrupt, Chinese owner emerges” - Comment from 20 Jan 2026 in “Porsche Sold More Electrified Cars in Europe in 2025 Than Pure Gas-Powered Cars”
Physical controls and good interior
“Peak BMW interiors happened between 2019-2022 with the G01, G30, G05 and iX, i4.”
Comment from 5 Mar 2026 in “BMW Group to deploy humanoid robots in production in Germany for the first time” “Nicer to drive, nicer features (better sound, HUD, sunroof), hardware controls”
Comment from 25 Jan 2026 in “Porsche Sold More Electrified Cars in Europe in 2025 Than Pure Gas-Powered Cars” “BMW i4 interior is much better in that aspect: many physical controls.”
Comment from 10 Feb 2026 in “Luce: First Electric Ferrari. Designed by LoveFrom”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Poor build and engineering quality
“had faulty heat pump valve subsystems from Vitesco (subsidieary of Continental) and were basically all lemons”
Comment from 1 Aug 2026 in “BMW Is Showing Commercials on Their Car's Dash Screens as a Treat” “their engineering is a tour de force of cost cutting behind the scenes”
Comment from 1 Aug 2026 in “BMW Is Showing Commercials on Their Car's Dash Screens as a Treat” “truly shitty engineering, but pretty shape and paint job”
Comment from 21 Oct 2026 in “Subaru is killing off gas cars and will only sell EVs in Europe” Software bugs and UI regression
“handled worse, had software bugs, cost about 50% more”
Comment from 24 Sep 2026 in “Toyota is taking the Corolla electric” “the i4’s jog wheel and UI was such a regression”
Comment from 23 Oct 2026 in “Apple Music 404 Not Found”
Other electric cars people recommend
The four most recommended other electric cars, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tesla vehicles | 209 | 411 | 34% | 13 | 6 yrs24 owners | — |
| BYD electric cars | 157 | 53 | 75% | 12 | 1 yr3 owners | Approved |
| Ferrari Luce | 140 | 319 | 31% | 7 | — | — |
| Tesla Model 3 | 128 | 115 | 53% | 13 | 6 yrs32 owners | — |
| BMW i4This page | 9 | 2 | 82% | 6 | — | — |
What people said
18 of the 19 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“the i4’s jog wheel and UI was such a regression”
“truly shitty engineering, but pretty shape and paint job”
“handled worse, had software bugs, cost about 50% more”
“had faulty heat pump valve subsystems from Vitesco (subsidieary of Continental) and were basically all lemons”
“their engineering is a tour de force of cost cutting behind the scenes”
“You can tell by how much leg space rear passengers have.”
“My BMW i4 has iDrive 8.5 and it's excellent”
“Peak BMW interiors happened between 2019-2022 with the G01, G30, G05 and iX, i4.”
“The i4 is a damn tank, even more so the iX.”
“Both are great EVs surpassing Tesla in some aspects.”
“BMW i4 interior is much better in that aspect: many physical controls.”
“Just buy an i4, even the eDrive is pretty zippy 0-60 in 5.4 seconds”
“Nicer to drive, nicer features (better sound, HUD, sunroof), hardware controls”
“It's a nicer car and more fun to drive!”
“I had to pay BMW $500 to replace a tire on my i4 because of a nail”
“just being significantly nicer to drive”
“my i4 aggressively prioritizes regeneration over using the brakes”
“One of the reasons is maintenance, the EV still needs some, but much less than an ICE.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.