Can the BMW i4 M50 reach the EPA range in real life?

Max McDee, 13 June 2022

Our colleagues over at InsideEVs conducted a thorough range test on the 2022 BMW i4 M50. It involved charging the car and then driving it at a steady 70 mph until the battery was empty.

BMW i4 M50 BMW i4 M50

The tested car was equipped with the largest wheel and tire combination available - 20” rims wrapped in Pirelli P-Zero with 235mm tire width at the front and 285mm at the back. The test ended with the car in its power saving mode, so it was well and truly discharged.

BMW i4 M50 interior BMW i4 M50 interior

BMW i4 M50 comes with two electric motors giving it 544 hp (400 kW) and the battery is 83.9 kWh with just under 81kWH of actual usable capacity. The advertised EPA range in the US is 227 miles (365 km) for combined driving cycle - interestingly the WLTP cycle gives it a range of 316 miles or 509 km. Let’s find out how the car performs in real life conditions.

So with the largest wheels, on a nice and warm day the BMW managed to exceed its EPA range by 12 miles. Still nowhere near the WLTP range and very close to our own calculator's estimates. It only proves that the WLTP cycle is very optimistic and pretty hard to match in real life if you venture outside the city limits.

Range test results by InsideEVs Range test results by InsideEVs

Next time you are looking at an EV make sure you check its specifications in our database and use the calculator - can’t go wrong with a little more data.

Our own range calculator is pretty accurate - 231 miles estimated Our range calculator came pretty close to the real life test - 231 miles estimated

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Reader comments

  • WJ9

I tried to email, but it didn't work. But found this useful site that gives the breakdown of where the WLTP numbers come from, and gives a seperate city and highway figure, as well as different temperatures. https://ev-database.uk/car/1519/...

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