KINGDOM COME

Will it remain the ‘Ultimate Driving Machine’ in the now imminent electric age?

- SHIVANK BHATT

The definition of the ultimate driving machine is changing. Or in other words, BMW is on an electro-offensive, as Munich is aiming to double its battery-powered electric vehicle or BEV sales in 2022. But that should be a piece of cake, given that BMW Group EV sales (including Mini Electric) have grown by a whopping 110% in the first half of 2022 – the company shipped 75,891 fully-electric vehicles around the globe between January and June. If you’re dreaming, and saving up, to buy a BMW in near future, chances are that it may very well be an electric one.

It’s a predicament for the future, no doubt, but it still leaves everyone who loves driving with a question – will new-age BMW EVs be able to match their ICE counterparts in terms of driving appeal? So, to find out – or just to have an idea if such a thing is possible at all – we took BMW’s brand-new electric offerings in India, the i4 and iX, for a spin around town.

NOSE BLIND

While the iX came to India first, it’s the i4 that marks BMW’s transition from ICE to electric. And that’s because it’s conventional in many ways. For instance, it’s based on the current-gen 3 and 4 Series, meaning it’s not a bespoke EV platform. That said, the platform has been thoroughly revamped to incorporate electric motors, and the suspension has been retuned, obviously. Since the i4 is more or less an electric version of the 4-Series, the styling is conventional too. However, calling it ‘conventional’ is a bit of a stretch because, like many modern BMWs, the i4 has a somewhat controversial design.