BMW 4 Series vs BMW i Series

What's the difference?

The BMW M440i xDrive Gran Coupe manages to combine sleek design with a fun-to-drive personality and surprising practicality. It’s a rapid premium, four-door, five-seater offering extra flair, and in this part of the market, good value. But more than anything else it’s got a cracking in-line six under the bonnet.

The BMW iX3 is a rarity in the market, a premium-feeling electric model that's not a whole lot dearer than petrol alternatives.

For those happy to trade some of the Tesla Model 3 and Kia EV6 GT's all-paw performance for a luxurious cabin, slick drive and badge cachet, the iX3 M Sport is a very attractive package. Until Audi's Q4 and Q6 e-tron arrive, the iX3 remains basically peerless in this part of the market.

No wonder, then, that BMW is Australia's third most popular electric car brand after Tesla and BYD. The vehicles capture everything the brand promises at a price that looks good on paper and better in the real world.

So, how does this four-door 4 Series differ from a four-door 3 Series? The answer is as plain as the nose on this car’s face.

BMW’s head of design, Adrian van Hooydonk, has been expanding the brand’s signature ‘kidney grille’ in every conceivable direction, and this is the much talked about interpretation adorning all 4 Series models (petrol, hybrid and electric) as well as the M3 sedan.

The new Gran Coupe is longer, wider, and taller than the outgoing model, and the track is broader, front and rear. The wheelbase has also been extended, now a whole 5.0mm longer than the 3 Series.

The DRLs and headlight main beams are LED with laser high beams, immense gills square up the edges of the front clip, while a vent and the strake attached to it stand the car apart. Plus, of course, the doors are frameless. 

One niggle, though. I’m not in love with the slender door handles. It’s hard to get a good grip on them, especially in the wet. 

Standard 19-inch alloy rims are shod with Pirelli P Zero rubber 245/40 fr / 255/40 rr), the roofline slopes distinctly towards the rear, a lip spoiler on the trailing edge of the tailgate is classic BMW, darkened LED tail-lights wrap around the rear corner, and a diffuser-type panel is flanked by large exhaust apertures.

Our car’s ‘Aventurine Red’ finish is a $3850 option, but to my eyes anyway it looks superb.

Exterior trim including the grille frame, front air intake inserts, mirror upper housing, model designation badges, and tailpipe are finished in ‘Cerium Grey’, which I reckon 99.9 per cent of people will see as black. 

The interior will be familiar territory for any current BMW owner, the 12.3-inch digital instrument screen sitting in a compact, hooded binnacle, and partnering with a 10.25-inch multimedia display standing proud of the dash above the broad centre stack. 

The seats are trimmed in top-shelf leather with blue contrast stitching, plus the grippy sports wheel is also wrapped in genuine hide.

BMW calls the finish on the main buttons and controls ‘Galvanic’ which translates to a slick silver metallic look and feel. Configurable ambient interior lighting is a nice touch, and the broad console enhances the driver-focused feel, with a sprinkling of carbon-fibre around the centre console and dash lifting the sense of occasion.

Overall, the interior feels clean and classy with an obvious attention to detail.  

Now that we've seen the new X3, the current model is already dated. Not that it was a cutting-edge design at launch but there is precious little offensive about this mid-size SUV.

Fussy wheel designs, strange closed in grilles and clashing blue accents aside the iX3 M Sport remains a plenty handsome option as you approach.

Inside the cabin's shapes feel positively conservative next to BMW's latest efforts like the X2 and 7 Series but, in a way, this is no bad thing.

It's also nice that you can tailor this car's appearance to your liking without spending extra, the combination here rocks a nice blue paint with tasteful brown upholstery for a classy look.

You can have Oyster white leather or simple black and the paint colour palette is refined without being restrictive.

At close to 4.8m long the 4 Series Gran Coupe is a sizeable machine. Up front, the feeling is airy and comfortable, and the rear is surprisingly spacious, especially in light of the car's sloping roofline.

At 183cm I have to fold myself tightly to fit under the low roof, but once inside I have enough room to sit behind the driver’s seat set for my position with more than enough legroom and adequate headroom. Put three full-size adults across the back row, though, and there will be breathing difficulties.

Kids will be fine, however, and individual vents with adjustable temp in the rear was a big plus during a particularly hot test week.

For storage there are generous door bins in the front with room for large bottles, a decent glove box, dual cupholders in the centre console, a reasonable lidded bin (which doubles as a centre armrest), and the wireless device charging bay (forward of the gearshift) makes a handy oddments space when not in use.

In the rear, again the doors feature pockets with room for (medium-size) bottles, there’s a fold down centre armrest with two cupholders, but thanks to the one-piece shells on our test car’s optional M Sport front seats there are no map pockets.

Power and connectivity runs to a USB-A socket and a 12V outlet in the front centre console, as well a USB-C port in the front storage bin, a pair of USB-Cs in the rear, and a 12V outlet in the boot.

Speaking of which, lift the tailgate and with the rear seat upright we were able to fit all three of our suitcases or the beefy CarsGuide pram into the healthy 470-litre (VDA) boot space.

Lower the 40/20/40 split-folding rear seat down and 1290 litres of volume is at your disposal. Plus there are handy bag hooks and tie-down anchors to help secure loose loads.

You can also tow a braked trailer up to 1.8 tonnes (750kg unbraked), but don’t bother looking for a spare of any description, a repair/inflator kit is your only option.

The BMW X3 was developed with family buyers in mind and that has paid dividends because it has an extremely practical cabin with lots of thoughtful storage.

Each of the four doors has a bottle holder and generously-sized pocked for extra storage. There are two cup-holders in the centre with a wireless charging pad, secure spot for the key fob and USB port in easy reach. You can slide a roller cover down to hide valuables.

Key driving controls are smartly grouped together around the iX3's unconventional gear selector. Here, you'll find the start/stop button along with hard switches for drive mode selection, stability control and exterior cameras.

Right next door is where the rotary 'iDrive' controller lives with yet more physical shortcut buttons. Including the extra option to easily interact with the multimedia system on the move is a refreshing delight that you don't see in so many touchscreen-heavy EVs. There's also a physical stack for HVAC and seat heating controls.

The 12.3-inch touchscreen is responsive and bright with BMW's slightly older system having a more conventional appearance than the latest software in the iX2. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are wireless and still work flawlessly.

If there are some negatives, they would be some build-quality niggles. On the whole the materials are high quality and the car is well screwed together but the indicator stalks feel decidedly flimsy compared to BMWs of old and I noticed a rattle from the parcel shelf on the road.

The eight-way power adjust seats with tilt and under-leg extension are classic BMW, being sporty enough to hold you in but with enough padding to stay comfy. Though we will knock this car down for lacking power lumbar adjust.

Those in the back will be plenty comfortable even if they're taller than 180cm with ample head, leg and toe-room. There doesn't appear to be a major compromise to the floor height despite BMW stacking 10 lithium-ion modules beneath.

Vision out is excellent with an expansive glasshouse and full-length sunroof.

Amenities include two USB-C charge points, a third climate zone, fold-out armrest with pop-up cup holders and generous storage in the doors.

Fitting child seats should be pretty simple with doors that open wide, two sets of ISOFIX ports (that you can't lose the covers of) and three prominent top tether anchors in the recline-adjustable backrest.

The boot is large with 510L of space at a minimum that expands to 1560L if you fold the 40/20/40 split backrest flat. There's a sense of solidity in that process, too, with sturdy levers and components.

So sturdy that the retractable luggage cover is quite difficult to remove, especially for shorter owners. Other niceties include a single shopping bag hook, LED lighting and 12-volt socket in the back.

No BMW X3 comes with a spare tyre so that should come as no surprise. The iX3 instead has a tyre repair kit. There is underfloor storage in the iX3, though, which is the perfect place to store both charging cables — Mode 2 and 3 — that are included.

The iX3 M Sport may be expensive compared to a rear-drive Tesla Model Y but next to premium-badged rivals, it cuts rather attractive shapes at BMW's $89,100 before on-road costs asking price.

Outside, there are 19-inch alloy wheels, adaptive LED headlights, no-cost choice of six metallic paints (Phytonic blue is what you see here), illuminated door sills and a power tailgate.

The impressive list continues inside with 'Vernasca' leather-appointed seats available in three colours and 'Sensatec' artificial leather on the dash and high-traffic touchpoints.

The front seats are heated and power adjustable and the ambient lighting is customisable. The iX3 also has tri-zone climate control, tyre pressure monitoring, free-of-charge open poor wood trim, adaptive dampers, a heat pump and even a full-length opening sunroof.

Paying the best part of $12,000 extra for the M Sport Pro doesn't change the single 210kW motor, 74kWh (usable) lithium-ion NCM battery and 461km of WLTP driving range. 

Instead, you get bigger 20-inch alloy wheels, black grille surrounds, acoustic glass with tinted rear windows, lumbar adjust, gesture control, head-up display and a Harman Kardon sound system.

There are also BMW's 'Iconic Sounds' in the Pro and the more expensive model includes five years from Chargefox public charging.

Mercedes-Benz no longer sells the EQC so the iX3's natural three-pointed star rival becomes the EQE300 SUV, which retails at $134,900. Audi's Q6 e-tron is not yet here so cross-shoppers will need to look at the smaller Q4 from $88,300.

The iX3's only direct premium rival is the Genesis GV70 Electrified, starting from $125,858 in the sole Performance AWD guise.

Even higher trims of mainstream rivals such as the Kia EV6 GT-Line RWD ($79,590) and Mustang Mach-E Premium RWD ($79,990, all prices before on-road costs) sit in close proximity to the BMW.

Under the bonnet is BMW’s (B58) all-alloy 3.0-litre twin-scroll turbo intercooled, in-line six-cylinder engine, driving all four wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission and electronically controlled clutch pack, as well as an electronic limited-slip differential at the rear.

It features high-pressure direct-injection and BMW’s ‘Valvetronic’ system managing air flow to the intake side, to produce 285kW at a relatively high 5800-6500rpm. But the big punch is 500Nm of peak torque from just 1900rpm all the way to 5000rpm.

The M440i is also a mild-hybrid with a 48-volt starter motor-generator and supplementary battery able to give an 8.0kW kick at low engine speeds.

In this case there isn't much under the bonnet except for electric gubbins. The single electric motor – that uses no rare earth materials – resides at the back and generates 210kW/400Nm.

Those outputs are fairly close to a petrol X3 30i, though of course this model is rear-drive only.

Thanks to the rapid response of electric motors, the iX3 M Sport can sprint from 0-100km/h in 6.8 seconds (claimed).

BMW has chosen to give the iX3 a long-travel progressive throttle pedal that makes grunt easy to meter out. However, the regenerative braking could do with a little more refinement.

There are two settings, 'D' — just like letting off the throttle in a combustion car — and 'B' which is quite strong. The blending between regenerative and physical caliper-on-rotor braking is vague, though, which can make low-speed moves a bit jerky.

BMW’s official fuel economy figure for the M440i xDrive Gran Coupe, on the ADR 81/02 - urban, extra-urban cycle, is 8.2L/100km, the 3.0-litre turbo six-cylinder emitting 187g/km of C02 in the process.

Stop/start is standard, and we saw an average of 11.1L/100km over city, B-road and freeway running during a week with the car.

With the 59-litre tank brimmed (with minimum 95RON premium unleaded) that real-world test number translates to a range of around 530km.  

The iX3 M Sport's WLTP rating is a respectable but not groundbreaking 461km on the combined cycle. The reality is a little bleaker, our test car displaying 316km on its digital instruments at 100 per cent charge.

Going against what you might expect for an electric car, the iX3 was not very efficient in town, we initially saw 24kWh/100km on the read-out which is quite high.

It is better suited to a longer, steady-state run. Our regular 200km country and suburban test loop dropped the consumption to 18kWh/100km for a real-world driving range of 411km.

When it's time to bring the charge levels back up the iX3 will take on AC electricity at 11kW, for flat to full in seven and a half hours.

Public fast-charging caps out at 150kW (DC) though averages to 104kW over a 10-80 per cent session. This should take 21 minutes, says BMW.

We only observed a maximum of 101kW on a DC charger though the pylon did not appear to be performing at full energy with other vehicles having similar issues.

BMW says the M440i xDrive Gran Coupe will accelerate from 0-100km/h in 4.7sec, and I reckon the threshold for a properly quick car is sub-five seconds.

The 3.0-litre turbo six develops its peak power of 285kW between a relatively lofty 5800-6500rpm, but the big number is a solid 500Nm punch of pulling power delivered between 1900-5000rpm.

Squeeze the throttle pedal pretty much anywhere in the rev range and the response is glorious. Rapid acceleration accompanied by raucous engine noise and rorty exhaust note (albeit with some synthetic support). Various pops and bangs in the Sport settings add extra entertainment.. 

The eight-speed auto gets some electric support from the mild-hybrid system to fill the torque gap on up shifts, and the result is a conventional torque-converter transmission that behaves like a dual-clutch.

Shifts are seamless in general driving, and satisfyingly quick in a more aggressive mode, the wheel-mounted paddles dialing up the fun in manual changes. 

Suspension is double wishbone front and multi-link rear with the standard ‘Adaptive M Suspension’ built around an adaptive damper set-up.

The change between the ‘Comfort’ setting to the ‘Sport’ or ‘Sport+’ calibration is close to instant and makes a discernible difference, especially in terms of ride comfort.

I found the best ‘Individual Sport’ arrangement to be damping in Comfort, with the steering engine and transmission in Sport. The car flows so beautifully through corners with urgent response from the powertrain.

By all means dial up the suspension if you’re having a real crack, but the car feels superbly balanced, stable and predictable in Comfort (front to rear weight distribution is 50:50).

The electrically-assisted variable-ratio steering is nicely weighted with good road feel, and the grippy sports steering wheel is a nice point of contact.

The xDrive AWD system’s default setting is rear-biased, although it will push most of the drive forward when required. But the RWD feel is unmistakable. 

The M440i weighs in at around 1.9 tonnes but feels lighter and more nimble than that figure would typically indicate.  

A standard electronically-controlled M Sport limited-slip differential puts the power down confidently. I have a favourite LSD test corner on my regular evaluation drive, a sharply twisting and rising left-hander.

Rolling into it in a low gear before planting the throttle mid-corner, the car simply hunkers down without a hint of fuss (or traction loss) as it rockets out the other side.

Optional M Sport front seats ($2000) provide comfort and firm location in equal measure and in terms of ergonomics BMW knows how to focus on the driver and set-up an efficient environment. Key controls are perfectly positioned and simple to operate.

I have an issue with the ‘Lane Departure Warning’ function, however, which is too quick to intervene and overly intrusive when it does so. I turned the ‘Steering Intervention’ function off. You can dial down steering wheel vibration warnings, too.

The standard M Sport brakes feature big vented rotors front and rear, with fixed four-piston front calipers doing the bulk of the work. They’re strong but don’t bite or release too aggressively. It’s easy to grease in a smooth application. 

Despite no saucy straight-six, V8 or twin-cam four-cylinder there is an inherent 'BMW-ness' in the iX3 M Sport. The way it steers, accelerates and rides all match the brand's DNA.

It is not a plush SUV, with some firmness to the suspension even in Comfort mode on the adaptive dampers — this may have something to do with BMW's 40PSI front and 45PSI rear tyre pressure recommendations — but without ever being crashy.

Build up a little more speed, beyond 60km/h for example, and the body settles nicely with a solid, assured stance.

There's no evidence of suspension noise and road noise is very well insulated as well, even without the up-spec M Sport Pro's acoustically insulated glass. 

The steering is light in Comfort mode which makes it ideal for urban driving. It also has three turns lock-to-lock which is a lot for a sporty-ish BMW, however that is largely down to the improved steering angle. Without an engine or AWD system, the iX3 has a great turning circle of just 12.1 metres.

Moving things up a notch into Sport adds extra weight to the steering which helps judge the grip on good roads, which is pretty decent from the 245/45R19 Yokohama Advan Sport V107 tyres.

When you approach the limit, the iX3 is very secure but significant mid-corner bumps can unsettle the car, bringing its 2180kg tare weight (a 325kg penalty over the xDrive20i) sharply into focus. Pull it back a touch, though, and the iX3 M Sport is plenty rewarding on a country road.

Mostly, the iX3 is a refreshingly natural electric car out on the road. You could put anyone in the driver's seat and they'd be smooth just like in a combustion car.

The BMW X3 was awarded a five-star ANCAP rating in November 2017 which expired last December as part of ANCAP's push to stay more relevant.

Electric, petrol and diesel models carried the five-star score but, strangely, the 30e plug-in hybrid model did not.

The iX3 has seven airbags (dual frontal, side chest, side head-protecting curtain and driver knee airbags are standard), autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane-departure warning, blind-spot monitoring and lane-keep assist.

BMW has one of the better programmed adaptive cruise and lane-trace assist systems. The lane-trace assist worked well on test without being too intrusive.

The M440i Gran Coupe is covered by BMW’s three-year/unlimited km warranty (including paintwork), as well as 12-year/unlimited km anti-corrosion (perforation) cover. 

That’s off the premium market pace now with Genesis, Jaguar, and Mercedes-Benz at five years/unlimited km and Lexus set to join them from January 1st, 2022. 

That said, roadside assistance is provided for the duration of the main warranty, but it’s worth noting “rattles and squeaks” are only covered for one year.

Service is condition-based, the car telling you when maintenance is required, and a range of service packages are available. The basic plan covering a 4 Series for five years/80,000km comes in at $1750. 

The iX3 M Sport is now covered by a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty in Australia.

Servicing is due on a conditional basis with the multimedia system prompting the owner when to visit a dealer.

BMW offers serviced packages for electric vehicles that last six years/unlimited kilometres, with the iX3's pack costing a reasonable $2325 over that time.