• Practical hatchback boot
• Sloping roofline robs rear headroom
• Central tunnel limits foot space, too

How much space is there?

Good enough for a car as driver focused as this. You can set the seat nice and low, which means there’s ample headroom despite the rakish roofline. You’re a little hemmed in by the large centre console, but that just helps to make the experience feel more focused.

Space in the rear is less impressive. Headroom is very tight thanks to that coupe-ish roof, and the large front seats restrict space for the passengers’ knees. Plus, it’s difficult to fold yourself into the rear seats because the door aperture is narrow. If you’re on the larger side, you’re going to get wedged between the C-pillar and the trailing edge of the door.

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Unusually for an electric car, the i4 has a central tunnel that runs between the two back seats. In a petrol or diesel-powered 4 Series Gran Coupe, it’s used to house the gearbox and driveshaft – but in the i4, it’s been used to fit even more batteries in. This is great for range, but it does mean the middle passenger has to sit astride it – restricting their legroom and foot room. We recommend saving the centre seat for occasional use only.

Boot space and storage

The i4’s hatchback boot makes it more versatile than the Tesla Model 3’s saloon opening. The hole is wider and taller, which means it’s easier to load larger items. Capacity is good, too. You get 470 litres with the seats in place, and 1,290 with them folded. Plus, the rear bench splits 60:40 to give you a choice between carrying passengers, luggage, or a mixture of both.

Cabin storage is a little less impressive. The door bins are average-sized and the centre cubby is shallow and narrow. You do at least get a pair of cupholders under a sliding panel in the centre console, along with somewhere to put your phone. Annoyingly, though, the phone holder doesn’t come with wireless charging as standard. You need to spend an extra £900 on BMW’s Comfort Pack to get it.

Is it easy to park?

Every BMW i4 comes with a reversing camera and sensors as standard, as well as BMW’s Parking Assistant which can scan for both parallel or bay parking spaces and then steer the car into them for you.

This is quite useful as the i4’s thick pillars, low driving position and curving body doesn’t make it easy to judge where the corners are.

Safety

• Disappointing four-star Euro NCAP rating
• Protects its occupants well in an accident
• But its safety technology lets the side down

When Euro NCAP crash tested the BMW i4 in 2022, it scored a rather average four stars. That’s a little disappointing when you consider the Hyundai Ioniq 6 scored a full five stars, with significantly better scores in the adult occupant and safety assist categories.

What lets the i4 down is its safety technology. It simply isn’t as sophisticated as its rivals. The testers were less than impressed by its emergency lane keeping system and its automatic emergency braking system dropped the ball when attempting to detect cyclists.

Watch the BMW i4’s Euro NCAP crash test video