While car enthusiasts in Singapore welcomed the announcement of BMW's M2 Coupé earlier this month with open arms, its hefty price tag (no surprise really) puts it within the realm of big boys toys. Even crystal balls a decade ago would not have figured out how it managed to peak at nearly half a million dollars for BMW’s baby M machine, but such is the reality of Singapore’s vehicle tax structure placing dampeners on high-powered cars propelled by internal combustion engines.

Which is why some brands are broadening their electric car portfolio, with BMW leading the charge. Sure, they are far from affordable for most, but it opens up a customer base eager to sample what electrification from a premium brand has to offer. And sales numbers so far have proven positive. According to LTA figures for the first four months of 2023, BMW Group Asia sold a total of 204 fully electric vehicles (top in the premium segment, and second among all brands).

Remember the BMW i3 hatchback? It’s nine years old now, and still looking box fresh. The iX3 was OneShift’s Car Of The Year in 2021, and while some might argue that it’s just a rehashed version of the X3, that’s precisely where the appeal lies - for owners to have a taste of full electrification in a familiar silhouette.

And now we have the “base-spec” i4. In Gran Coupe styling, it looks (and behaves) just like a sedan, which should make it drive much better than countless crossover BEVs on sale today. This alone is cause for celebration - the fact that a lower-powered liftback variant is introduced supports BMW Singapore’s intent to expand on its current spread of six fully electric models in four different body styles.

For S$334,888 for the BMW i4 eDrive35 at time of writing, you’ll be forking out S$35,000 less than the i4 eDrive40. It’s interesting that the net battery capacity in kWh was not directly indicated in our press kit, but with help from an amp-hours and volts calculator, it’s 70.247kWh, or around 10kWh smaller than the i4 eDrive40’s battery pack.

And based on this figure, we’d also assume that it will be lighter than the i4 eDrive40. Although it is more efficient (19.3 kWh/100km vs 19.7 kWh/100km), claimed range is up to 483km, compared to the eDrive40’s 590km. It has 286bhp and 400Nm of torque (vs the eDrive40’s 340bhp / 430Nm) and sprints to 100km/h from rest in 6 seconds.

Granted, the eDrive40 takes 0.3 seconds faster to climb to 100km/h, but paper specs only represent one portion of the overall picture. The appeal of the i4 eDrive35 lies in its lighter weight and lower price tag - the former requires a test drive back-to-back with the eDrive40 to assess its real world appeal.

To have a liftback form factor in three states of electric tune is already a step away from conventional. We should have known earlier, given BMW Singapore’s resolve to bring in the 3 Series Touring when rivals are enlarging their crossover database. What’s next - another BMW i7 tuned specifically for the Singapore market? We wouldn’t bet against it…

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