Despite BMW's current questionable design philosophy, their electric sports sedan, the i4, sports a surprisingly normal-looking appearance almost identical to the BMW M440i Gran Coupe. Of course, the most talked-about feature of the BMW i4 is its powertrain, but more on that later.

See, electric cars aren't everyone's cup of tea. After all, a handful of electric cars will bankrupt you through maintenance and repairs although they have no combustion engine to take care of. That said, we'd love to highlight one of the best electric cars money can buy, the BMW i4 M50.

9 The BMW i4 M50's Understated Styling

The 2023 BMW i4 M50 parked on display.
BMW

As we've mentioned in our introduction, the BMW i4 M50 looks like a gasoline-powered car, and completely breaks BMW's traditional EV styling language. But that's not the only thing that's great about the BMW i4 M50's looks.

For the average onlooker, the BMW i4 M50 looks like an everyday Beemer, and on top of that, it's one hell of a performance car. In essence, making the BMW i4 M50 one of the greatest sleeper cars money can buy.

8 The BMW i4 M50 Has Supercar-Slayer Performance Figures

The 2022 BMW i4 M50 on the road.
Via: BMW Group Press

Mounted at each one of the axles of the BMW i4 M50 is an electric motor. In total, these two electric motors generate up to 536 hp and 582 lb-ft of torque. In reality, this allows the BMW i4 M50 to do 0-60 quicker than M3.

In all honesty, it's only quicker than a rear-wheel-drive BMW M3, but the fact stands. The BMW i4 M50 reaches 60 mph from a dig in as little as 3.3 seconds.

7 The BMW i4 M50 Has A Rear-Biased All-Wheel-Drive System

BMW i4 M50 In The Snow
Via: BMW Group

On paper, an all-wheel-drive BMW sports sedan sounds sinful. However, BMW's latest xDrive all-wheel-drive system is a bit different from the run-of-he-mill one you'd find in a family-friendly crossover SUV.

Related: 10 Overrated Hybrid SUVs We Wouldn't Waste Our Money On

BMW engineered their xDrive system to shove most of the engine's power to only the rear wheels. In fact, some Beemers have the ability to cut off power to the front wheels as a whole and transform it into a rear-wheel-drive car in essence.

6 The BMW i4 M50 Carries Its Weight Exceptionally Well

BMW i4 M50 - Snow
BMW 

We know saying a car is fun to drive is rather subjective, so let's talk facts. The BMW i4 M50 weighs a whopping 5,063 lbs, but despite that, it still manages to do 0-60 in 3.3 seconds, and take corners on without tipping over.

Generally, EVs are rather numb to drive, and while the i4 M50 definitely suffers from this, it's incremental. Since the i4 has a rear-biased all-wheel-drive system, it can drift and launch with virtually no loss of traction despite it weighing as much as a bus.

5 The BMW i4 M50's Boost Function

The front end of the 2023 BMW i4 M50.
BMW

One of the many quirks the BMW i4 M50 has is its drive modes. In particular, Sport Boost mode. When not in Sport Boost, the BMW i4 M50 pushes out 468 hp and 538 lb-ft of torque.

When Sport Boost mode gets activated, both electric motors get pushed to the limit and produce their maximum output of 536 hp and 582 lb-ft of torque. This power boost only lasts for around 10 seconds, but then again, the i4 M50 only takes 11.7 seconds to dash down the quarter-mile.

4 The BMW i4 M50 Has A Luxurious Interior

The interior of the 2023 BMW i4 M50
BMW

As with all other top-tier BMWs, the i4 M50 features an exquisite cockpit. As standard, the i4 M50 gets leather sports seats, a curved touch screen with iDrive8 (more on that later), BMW Live Cockpit Plus, automatic air conditioning, among others.

The most impressive feat of the i4's cabin space has to be how serene it is. Built with only the best materials on planet earth, the i4 M50 has a refined ride with little to no exterior noise. Furthermore, no matter where you touch, you get greeted by a soft, supple surface.

Related: Everyone Regrets Buying These 10 European Luxury Cars

3 The BMW i4 M50's Paint Is Eco-Friendly

Blue BMW i4 M50 Parked & Charging - Front Left Angle
via BMW

Nowadays, many automakers strive to have a carbon footprint as minuscule as possible. Instead of building the i4 with vegan-friendly seats, for example, BMW took things a step further to ensure the matte paint and corrosion protectant used in the i4's production process isn't harmful to the environment.

BMW does this via means of using biomass instead of crude oils when crafting their paint. As a result, BMW lowers its CO2 emissions by a whopping 40% and claims that it will reduce its CO2 emissions by 15,000 tons by the year 2030.

2 The BMW i4 M50's Impeccable iDrive8 Infotainment

BMW interior
VIA BMW

iDrive8 is BMW's most intelligent and user-friendly infotainment system to date. For starters, contrary to the iDrive7 system and those who came before it, iDrive8 gets integrated into one large curved display instead of scattered over two.

The infotainment also stays easy to use since it's controlled through means of the touchscreen display, rotary dials, voice controls, and gesture controls. Also worth noting is that iDrive8 is 100% digital, in turn, allowing for endless amounts of customization.

Related: The Top 10 Highest-Rated Luxury Cars For 2023

1 The BMW i4 M50 Actually Makes Different Sounds When Driving

The 2022 BMW i4 M50 speeding up on the road.
Via: BMW Group Press

Albeit a bit gimmicky, the BMW i4 M50 can produce noise when driving just like a gasoline-powered car... just completely different. As you might know, all-electric cars should produce some sort of noise to warn pedestrians nearby of their presence. Instead of seeing this as a hurdle, BMW saw an opportunity to innovate.

Therefore, BMW joined forces with the legendary Hans Zimmer to create unique songs/sounds to play when pressing on the go-pedal of your i4 M50. For now, the amount of different sound modes remains somewhat of a mystery since BMW will continue to roll out new ones over the air, but for now, we have a few to listen to.

Sources: BMW, Car and Driver, BMW Blog