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In August last year, BMW Malaysia announced that the i4 would be one of three BMW i models that would form the spearhead for the company’s electrification push in the country. While the other two, the iX and iX3, have officially gone on sale, the i4 has not yet been formally introduced.
However, the car has made its first public appearance, doing so at the ongoing NEXTGen Malaysia event, signalling that its debut may not be too far away, what with series production having begun in October last year.
The example on display at the three-day symposium is an eDrive40, which is the variant previously listed on the company’s website. The car features a single motor offering 340 PS (335 hp or 240 kW) and 430 Nm, with power being sent to the rear wheels via a single-speed transmission. Performance figures include a sprint time of 5.7 seconds and an electronically-governed top speed of 190 km/h.
In terms of range, an 83.9 kWh battery (which is covered by an eight-year or 160,000 km warranty) offers up to 590 km of travel distance (WLTP cycle) on a full charge. The i4 supports up to 200 kW DC fast-charging (CCS Combo 2 connection), with a 10-minute charge providing up to 164 km of range at this rate. Meanwhile, its 11 kW integrated AC charger (Type 2 connection) will allow the battery to be charged from 0% to 100% SOC in under 8.5 hours.
Although specifications for the local variants haven’t been revealed, the configurator on the website shows that we can expect two variants, a base i4 and an M Sport version. As standard, the car comes with a BMW Curved Display, which integrates a 12.3-inch instrument display and 14.9-inch infotainment screen in a single curved unit, as well BMW Operating System 8.
Standard equipment includes BMW Live Cockpit Professional, a three-zone automatic climate control system with nanofiltration, sport leather steering wheel, acoustic windscreen glass and LED ambient lighting. As for unique interior elements, you’ll find a blue-ringed logo on the steering wheel as well as a blue accented gearshift and push-start button.
While there has been no indication of pricing, a comparison of UK and Australian pricing of the i4 eDrive40 in relation to the iX and iX3 provides an average working estimate of what we can possibly expect.
In the UK, the price of the i4 starts from £51,905 (RM297,900) for the Sport variant, while the iX3 starts from £60,970 (RM349,900) and that for the iX, from £69,905 (RM401,150). In Australia, the i4 starts from AUD99,900 (RM304,100), while that of the iX3 is from AUD114,900 (RM349,750) and the iX, from AUD135,900 (RM413,650).
Prior to their price revisions yesterday, the iX3 was launched with a RM317,360 price tag for the Inspiring variant, while the XDrive40 went for RM419,630, the latter relatively close to that of the SUV in both the above markets. With tax exemptions, the iX3 Inspiring now starts from RM307,160, while the iX is priced from RM361,430.
That the i4 should arrive under the RM300k mark is pretty much a given – with tax breaks, the CBU EV could well be priced in between the likes of the 330i M Sport (RM290,332) and 330e M Sport hybrid (RM270,968, both prices inclusive of an extended warranty and service package). Guess we’ll know soon enough.
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