Yeah he needs to try the e40 and stop the nonsense about an immersion chamber that’s just weak stereotype. My TM3 is great on twisty mountain roads and my brief i4 test drive was just as good. I do want bmw to fix/change B mode to actually reduce regen or make OPD work in D modeThis writer seems to be a gashead, still wanting the ICE noises to feel the connection with the road.
Good that they concur with my opinion that ride and handling is back to the high BMW standards of a decade ago.
The i4-40 is a bit better for handling the curves because of the ~500 lbs savings in curb weight.
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Test drive review: BMW i4-40
- Thread starter _Redshift_
- Start date
DAPP and 360 camera are the big two. HUD + Drive Recorder + LaserLights are nice to have.
Most e40 delivered after spring 2022 were missing DAPP + PAP - which include driver assist and 360 cameras. I'm fine with RWD.
M50 builds were the only path to get DAPP +PAP packages until very recently BMW started allowing them on e40 builds again.
@_Redshift_ I don't think his lack of involvement criticism was asking for ICE noise. I know what he's talking about and it's not the fault of an electric drivetrain. BMW F30 3-series was the same way despite having ICE, numb and uninvolving, even though technically it was very competent.This writer seems to be a gashead, still wanting the ICE noises to feel the connection with the road.
I agree 100% about the F30 comment. I drove a F platform 330e in 2018 and was disgusted, how far that car had fallen from its heydays.
Yeah, I kinda get that it is more isolating in an EV. When I got my 2013 S60 new, I took a long drive in Santa Cruz mountains. The only sound was my hands on the steering wheel as I moved the car through sharp curves. It was a strange feeling!
@pipestem Agreed, Model 3 is fantastic on mountain roads (upgraded suspension certainly helps), and the experience is as involving as any modern car that's also a comfortable daily driver sedan. The instant EV response adds to the involvement, in my opinion, WAY better than an automatic ICE for sure. Model 3 doesn't feel like a raw sports car but that is to be expected, it's not a sports car.
I have read the i4 e40 feels better than the M50 around the turns. Maybe that's the i4 to get if not set on AWD...
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@_Redshift_ As a fellow 2013 Model S ownerI agree 100% about the F30 comment. I drove a F platform 330e in 2018 and was disgusted, how far that car had fallen from its heydays.
Yeah, I kinda get that it is more isolating in an EV. When I got my 2013 S60 new, I took a long drive in Santa Cruz mountains. The only sound was my hands on the steering wheel as I moved the car through sharp curves. It was a strange feeling!
, very competent but numb and uninvolving (except for the Go pedal!) is how I'd describe that car too! But my expectations for the Model S were different than a 3-series, plus the S is a much larger car. The OG Model S is great car, and one of the most significant and consequential cars ever, but an involving driver's car it is not. (With a notable half exception of the surprisingly good but short-lived P85+ suspension option, which ours predates.)The first time I drove a Model 3, an early LR RWD when they were very new, I remember being shocked how sporty and involving it felt compared to the Model S. Very different in character. EV's don't have to be numb and insulated.
I never drove a Roadster but I'll bet it was pretty darn involving! (I have driven the Lotus Elise, on street and track, whose chassis the Roadster was based on, so I feel like I can extrapolate what an electric Elise might drive like.)
Agreed 100% with everything you said. Damn, not even one thing to dispute and argue? How boring!@_Redshift_ As a fellow 2013 Model S owner
The first time I drove a Model 3, an early LR RWD when they were very new, I remember being shocked how sporty and involving it felt compared to the Model S. Very different in character. EV's don't have to be numb and insulated.
I never drove a Roadster but I'll bet it was pretty darn involving! (I have driven the Lotus Elise, on street and track, whose chassis the Roadster was based on, so I feel like I can extrapolate what an electric Elise might drive like.)
I have driven the original Tesla roadster couple of times when I was lucky enough to get a loaner.
Its suspension was something that was ‘an acquired taste’.
However, I expected that. So in the end, I wasn’t too badly bruised after 3 days of driving that thing like I had stolen it.Initially I was very impressed with my Model 3. I still love driving it around. However, as I have started to explore its limits, I have become concerned about how nervous it feels at the limits.
As I might have mentioned here or in another thread, I have my front tires at only 35 psi, and the rears at 39 psi.
This oases the car for a more planted feeling, and biased towards front tires understeering. However, today, I took an on ramp sharp long curve at high speed and was somewhat chagrined to hear the rears start to squeal first, then the fronts. This was again repeated at the off ramp too.
So my Model 3 is still not very composed at the limits. Well, what can you do.. I guess a suspension retrofit is in the near future!
I don’t know of any suspension that will be less firm but more sporty. Got any recommends? Ahh well an Elise is not exactly a smooth, comfortable street car either. Let's just say it felt more at home on the racetrack.Agreed 100% with everything you said. Damn, not even one thing to dispute and argue? How boring!
I have driven the original Tesla roadster couple of times when I was lucky enough to get a loaner.
Its suspension was something that was ‘an acquired taste’.
Initially I was very impressed with my Model 3. I still love driving it around. However, as I have started to explore its limits, I have become concerned about how nervous it feels at the limits.
As I might have mentioned here or in another thread, I have my front tires at only 35 psi, and the rears at 39 psi.
This oases the car for a more planted feeling, and biased towards front tires understeering. However, today, I took an on ramp sharp long curve at high speed and was somewhat chagrined to hear the rears start to squeal first, then the fronts. This was again repeated at the off ramp too.
So my Model 3 is still not very composed at the limits. Well, what can you do.. I guess a suspension retrofit is in the near future!
I think there's a Model 3 suspension that exactly matches what you're asking for. And another that would be quite close. We need to meet up for some test driving. My Model 3 suspension is not precisely what you want, it is firmer than stock, but I think you'll like how it rides and handles, and it will steer you in a good direction.
That’s not a bad thing, IMO. Model 3 single screen cheap interior are its drawbacks.
However the Model 3 interior is more spacious and airy feeling.
Currently the i4 interior is less spacious and less efficient in terms of interior packaging.
If BMW compromises between the above two, then we will have a better interior EV than either.
Yup and that's a major positive to me. It's just normal.
No weird haptic buttons like on the ID.4. No missing windshield wiper stalk. Oh... a volume dial and normal shifter!
I've taken my i4 to a BMW meet and nobody knew it was electric except one couple.
I miss Tesla voice control and the bigger screen but there is something to be said about "normal" and not "different to be different" like the Ioniq 5, EV6, Mach-E, ID.4, and Teslas.
More rear passenger space would be nice and maybe a small frunk to store the charger.
BMW yes.. (MINI voice control was the same and pretty accurate).
Siri not so much... lol.
The only thing worrying me is the battery recall has expanded.
Mine was built June and others are getting calls now as they've tested more battery batches it seems.
Mine is 2023 and hopefully is not under the recallBMW yes.. (MINI voice control was the same and pretty accurate).
Siri not so much... lol.
The only thing worrying me is the battery recall has expanded.
Mine was built June and others are getting calls now as they've tested more battery batches it seems.
So far no.
Oh, I have to say Tesla voice control is amazing. Everything is instant. I ask to play a song and half a second after I stop speaking Spotify has changed to the song - even if half misspoke or jumbled the title.
With CarPlay and Siri it is laggy and half the time Siri is flat out broken and wrong. I laugh at how bad Siri is. I want Google voice control because I find Google and even Alexa has superior voice and language understanding than Siri.
