BMW i4 2026: Revised single-grade EV lineup confirmed as luxurious German alternative to Tesla Model 3, Polestar 2 and BYD Seal
Sole eDrive35 variant to lead next year’s i4 blitzkrieg following the success and subsequent stock depletion of MY25 models
BMW’s most successful EV and Chasing Cars’ 2024 Best EV +$80K-plus will return for MY26, exclusively in eDrive35 guise and with an improved standard equipment list.
The i4 has seen huge success in the Australian EV market, with MY25 stock depleting months before the end of the calendar year. Originally introduced in 2022, BMW has sold 3340 i4 EVs up to September ‘25 — 2523 of those sales were eDrive35s.
All-new MY26 stock of the i4 will be available to purchase locally by the end of 2025, says BMW, pushing an additional 18 kilometres of range to now total 448km (ADR testing standard), a standard-equipment M-Sport package, front seat heating and a glass sunroof.
This luxury does come at a premium, with the i4 eDrive35 now $88,900 before on-road costs, up from $85,900. Crucially, this avoids the current fuel-efficient vehicle Luxury Car Tax threshold of $91,387.
To add icing on the cake (or, perhaps, the sauerkraut to the bratwurst) the Bavarian EV is inherently eligible for fringe benefit tax exemptions if purchased under a novated lease.
Undoubtedly the i4 medium electric sedan remains a peg above more conventional, price conscious rivals, predominantly the segment leading $54,900 Tesla Model 3, runner up $46,990 BYD Seal, and left-of-field $62,400 Polestar 2. Prices are before on-road costs.
So what does $88,900 actually get you over last year’s eDrive35?
Beginning with the standard M-Sport package, the MY26 i4 eDrive35 adds new 18-inch M-Sport wheels, front apron, side skirts, a revised rear bar and diffuser, a new signature kidney grille design, and new headlights outside, and a new flat-bottomed ‘M’ leather steering wheel inside.
The interior further benefits from front seat heating, an electric glass sunroof, and a new ‘operating concept’ (revised user interface) for the climate control system.
Under the skin, the eDrive35 remains relatively unchanged. BMW says the substitution for silicon carbide semiconductor components has reduced energy consumption by 4.5 percent, which accounts for an additional 18km of range over the previous model year’s 430km figure.
Else, the i4 is identical to the previous, featuring a 66.4kWh (net) lithium-ion battery, 400-volt electronic architecture, and a rear-axle electric motor, which produces 210kW/400Nm.
AC charging peaks at 11kW, taking seven hours to charge from empty, while rapid DC charging from 10-80 percent takes 32 minutes with a 180kW peak.
Equipment and options
Stand-out equipment for the 2026 BMW i4 eDrive35 includes:
- 18-inch ‘M’ alloy wheels
- Three-zone climate control
- Heads-up display
- Heated power adjust front seats
- Electric adjust glass sunroof
- 10-speaker sound system
- LED headlights
- M Sport cosmetic package (interior and exterior)
- Wireless device charger
- Tyre pressure monitoring
- Powered bootlid
Options for the 2026 BMW i4 eDrive35 are:
- $2000 Metallic paint with a choice of:
- Black Sapphire
- Mineral white
- M Portimao Blue
- M Brooklyn Grey
- Cape York Green
- Fire Red
- $2100 19-inch lightweight alloy wheels
- $2100 19-inch ‘M’ aerodynamic wheels
- $5000 20-inch BMW ‘Individual’ aerodynamic wheels
Cupra Formentor VZ5 coming to Australia! Triumphant return of hot five-pot small SUV to put the fear into BMW X1 M35i and Mercedes-AMG GLA
7 hours ago
Lukas Foyle
Contributor
Audi-derived five-cylinder destined for Cupra Formentor in strictly limited numbers
Cupra has announced the return of its five-cylinder powered Formentor VZ5 performance SUV — and this time it’s bound for Australia.
Borrowing Audi’s renowned 2.5-litre five-cylinder turbo petrol from the RS3 to create something truly special, the fresh VZ5 produces 287kW and 480Nm — about the same as before.
Limited to just 4000 units globally, the Cupra Formentor VZ5 also boasts wider wheel arches, grade-specific bumper and splitter front and rear, copper-trimmed diagonal exhaust tips, and 20-inch copper-coloured alloy wheels.
More exciting is the fact that Cupra’s hottest Formentor to date is confirmed for Australia, although just how many models will reach our shores is yet to be finalised.
Aussies missed out on the first generation VZ5 when it debuted in 2021, and had to make do with the admittedly rather good 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder powered VZx, developing 228kW and 400Nm.
Cupra Australia confirmed that the Formentor VZ5 will enter production in the first quarter of next year, with local arrivals slated for ‘later in the year’.
Tentatively mark that as early into Q4 2026.
Audi fans will likely be familiar with the 2.5-litre five cylinder ‘TSI’ turbo petrol engine under the bonnet of the VZ5 – a longstanding staple found in several performance Audi models.
It produces a healthy claimed 287kW and 480Nm, nearly identical to the outgoing Audi RSQ3, and delivers power to all four wheels via a seven-speed dual clutch automatic and trick integrated torque splitter with lateral torque control.
The first iteration of VZ5 was capable of sprinting 0-100km/h in 4.2 seconds.
The power output of the Formentor VZ5 is over 50kW and 80Nm ahead of the competition, making light work of the $99,000 Mercedes AMG GLA, which produces 225kW and 400Nm, and BMW’s $92,900 X1 M35i xDrive, which pushes out 233kW/400Nm.
Pricing for Cupra’s limited numbers Formentor has not yet been confirmed. Expect a sticker somewhere between $90,000-105,000, considering the extremely similar Audi RSQ3 started at $104,215 before it was discontinued earlier this year. All prices above are before on-road costs.
Additional features for the Cupra Formentor VZ5 include ‘Cupra’ branding, ambient lighting, and bucket seats on the inside, and a choice of five paint colours in either matte or gloss on the outside.
Those colours are Midnight Black, Dark Void, Magnetic Tech Matte, Century Bronze Matte, and Enceladus Grey Matte.
GWM wants to buy iconic Holden Lang Lang Proving Ground from Vinfast
1 day ago
The massive property in regional Victoria allows vehicles to be developed for Australian roads away from prying eyes
Chinese car manufacturer GWM could soon own one of Australia’s most storied automotive test tracks.
GWM has confirmed it is in live talks with Vietnam’s Vinfast, the current owner of the Lang Lang Proving Ground in Victoria.
Lang Lang used to serve as the sprawling home of Holden’s vehicle development program, and was the birthplace of generations of Commodores among other name plates.
Global chief technology officer of GWM, Nicole Wu, confirmed to Chasing Cars and other media that discussions are active.
“We are negotiating about the price,” Wu said. “It is not expensive compared to what we have in China and other countries (but) we just need to evaluate the business (case).”
Lang Lang has been a constant in Australian automotive history since 1957 when General Motors built the complex to replicate local Aussie road conditions away from prying eyes.
Over six decades, nearly every Holden – from the FC to the final VF — was honed there to varying success, with late model VE and VF versions regarded for world-class ride and handling.
Lang Lang offers 44 kilometres of test loops including tarred and gravel road simulations, as well as a 4.7-kilometre high-speed bowl that was comprehensively resurfaced only seven years ago.
GM offloaded the nine square kilometre site to Vinfast in 2020 for a reported mid-$30 million price, three years after shuttering local Commodore production.
The Vietnamese newcomer used the facility only briefly before putting Lang Lang back onto the market in 2021 and then again in 2024.
Linfox, the logistics company of billionaire Lindsay Fox and owner of the Australian Automotive Research Centre in Anglesea, Victoria, has previously been linked to a bid for the site.
GWM isn’t approaching Lang Lang from nought. The conglomerate has already leased sections of the facility for testing and media activities, joining fellow manufacturers including Mitsubishi who have done the same.
The current-generation GWM Haval H6 is presently having its suspension and steering retuned at Lang Lang for the 2026 model year.
“We are considering purchasing (Lang Lang Proving Ground). Even if we don’t buy it, we can (still) use it — but if we buy it, it will be an advantage,” said GWM CTO Wu.
The property received a major $7.2 million resurfacing of its banked bowl in 2018 and roughly $16 million in broader road/facility upgrades before Holden departed.
Adding weight to the plan is GWM’s recent recruitment of ex-Holden dynamics guru Rob Trubiani as project engineering manager. Trubiani, who shaped the on-road character of late-model Commodores, is retuning existing GWM models and feeding into future programs.
Wu, in Melbourne this week for a media tour, said GWM will keep using Lang Lang for local tuning regardless of whether the mooted sale goes through.
