What!? Beating Autopilot?! The BMW i4 Takes On Our Hogback Challenge W/ Active Driving Assistant Pro 

To the reason why the system shuts off in tighter curves: Regulations in Europe (UN/ECE Regulation 79) are limiting the steering angle of the autopilot based on the g-forces. The slower you go, the tighter the corners the autopilot is allowed to handle. I think the limit was 3 m/s^2 so roughly 1/3g. I am quite supprised that the BMW system is not able to predecit this, based on the map data and speed information and warn the driver to take over. Great test - I really enjoyed this.

I’m actually glad it doesn’t flip out and alarm when the DA turns off, the wheel vibration is a nice touch. On my other car it has a loud chime when the driving assistant disengages and it startles everyone in the car, even though my hands are on the wheel and I’m driving. OTOH I definitely don’t want it just silently stop working without any notification. So the vibration sounds awesome. I could understand the desire for more warning if you’ve been trusting it more than it’s intended to be as an L2 system.

I own an X5 45e and a TM3. Not sure how much improved in i4 or iDrive8, but telling from the video, BMW's excellent latest driving assist system seems pretty much the same across the current models. They are of course much improved, but even the early i3's from ~10y ago had a decent self-steering capability TJA with just one front facing camera at low speeds with capacitive steering wheels. The eye tracking currently seems utilized for a few other scenarios than normal cruising (which mainly monitors steering wheel touch). 1. There's Driver Assistance Plus which becomes available under 40mph with traffic perhaps only on freeways that allows hands free operation. If you look away, the system warns you to pay attention (similar effect to not keeping hands on steering wheel at normal active cruise). 2. In stop & go traffic or traffic light situations, the car won't accelerate from zero unless you are looking ahead. It just chimes to let you know traffic started moving. 3. It seems to also monitor fatigue level in long driving stints. In my experience, BMW's system really makes driving really easy and enjoyable, while Tesla's autopilot leaves me always nervous/stressful. Autopilot feels like a 3yo that acts like it can take complete control away from me, but I always have to monitor and fight back forcefully to course correct pretty often (I don't have FSD or enhanced AP, but it's way too expensive: 12k vs. 6k vs. BMW's

I tried the traffic jam assist for the first time on my new M50 and wow was it good. it felt like an actual person driving in the way it accelerates and brakes during stop and go traffic the display also shows what car the bmw is tracking so you know it sees the car trying to cut you off

After watching this video added the driver's assistance package on my m50 order. Thanks Kyle! Great video like always. Unbiased and very informative. After watching this video I have confidence in this system. My id4 is great with the lane centering but there are times where it jerks and goes into the exit lane instead of going straight. I love BMW!

The are some German “rules” for EV’s that explains some differences for example to Tesla. Auto lane change has to be done in 5 seconds. Systems where driver is expected to hold the wheel, must disengage very easily and they shouldn’t scream “take back control”, if your holding the wheel. This is to discourage not holding the steering wheel. And they will deduct points from safety test scores if for example lane departure warning does not automatically be on when a trip starts, even if you disabled it earlier. Earlier the lane departure had to jerk aggressively so that people would not confuse it to an autosteer function. This has now been changed.

Saw it in person and the grill def was not as offensive as it is in photographs/video.

Funny story - my BMW i3’s turn signals failed after we owned it for only a week. I guess I hit the BMW driver lifetime turn signal use limit quickly.

Great job as always.

Good looking car! I like how the front reminds me of F15 air intakes

I ordered the E-drive 40 and it’s waiting to be shipped from Germany. I wanted more range as 300+ horsepower is more than enough for a daily commuter. This test just confirms what I hoped from this BMW. 😊

I like these tests - would be nice to see some more (ideally with the EV6 since I'm getting one, or Ioniq5/GV60 if not possible as should be the same system).

Personally like the grille way better than the old grille which I did not like

I have this system in my 330i and use it all the time. I love the system especially in traffic. However, the issue with hard corners is that it does not have the ability to drop the speed slightly enough to take that corner. It simply does not know that there is a hard corner and continues taking it at the set speed. In the second half when you saw it did it fine - there was a car in front of you that was slowing down for that corner. In this case the system slowed the car down enough matching the speed of the car in front to take the corner well.

I've really grown fond of the BMW EV design language. The giant kidney bean is like a beauty mark, an imperfection that only enhances your beauty!

Nice Review! great

Didn’t know Jordan reviewed it but I’m glad you did as well. As a BMW-ista I’m seriously considering this.

Best review guys 🫡

I watched your Tesla video, but I don't remember the Tesla giving up and just coasting across multiple lanes. That seems like an automatic DQ if it does that.

You missed the extended traffic jam assist mode. This is the fully hands off mode under 40mph I believe (on mapped highways). This is no hands required and where the eye tracking is used.

One of these and an F-150 Lariat with the bigger battery with a cap on the back and a rack for my canoes. Done. Which for me is kinda weird, because even though I've driven an i3 for 5 years now, I don't consider myself a "BMW guy". Good work guys. Glad to see that car do as well as it did. Perhaps they'll smooth out those few rough edges.

I have 2022 M440i in Brooklyn Grey . Best car I’ve ever had. I love the front grill. From the side profile , it makes a cool flat profile . Almost like a 1950s Mig. Eventually, when I go all electric, I’ll take a hard look at this model

Don't think you should give 3 points for a feature that doesn't work most of the time. If you do that, GM should get lots of upfront points for what they say they'll have!

Love the i4🥇

I have driven my 2020 BMW X5 M50i with driving assistant package from NYC to Florida, I love it! , also to achieve high speed turn you have to assist in holding the wheel so it remain in lane.

Solve the leather issue by ordering the genuine leather interior which also gives you cooled front seats.

the fun of driving is actually when you do the driving it looks so boring driving at speed limit waiting for the system to make a mistake

Thanks for this info. Just purchased a used m50 minus the driver assistance. Has my heart set on it, but appears that there’s some more tweaking needed.

I look forward to driving this one day soon.

That looks great! I would love to see a series on the iX SUV if you ever get one to test, would be interesting to compare their systems

I saw an ix in person the other day. I hate to admit it, but the beaver teeth aren't so bad in real life.

Would be interesting to go back to the spot @23:00 and see if the system turns off again. BMW could use this for fixing the software. Audi, BMW, Porsche do not alert the driver when turning off the autosteer feature.

There are plenty of mountains in NY, VA and western MD. Of course the 95 corridor is relatively flat and straight. I really like this car and have been waiting for this test. Too bad the wait time for delivery is so long BUT I am still ordering one.

Love these tests. I feel like we're missing one from the MEB-platform and their Travel Assist (VW, Skoda, Cupra). I hear conflicting opinions about how good/bad it is.

Love these tests, guys. As a CSU grad I miss that area of CO, but back country PA roads are quite fun to drive. I guess I’m not convinced that people _need_ all these ADAS features. Our Forester has adaptive cruise and the lane hold feature. I rarely use either one, and when I do, I hate them both. Personally, I’d much rather pay full attention to the road and other drivers’ movements than rely on adaptive cruise and all that.

Cool that BMW was able to incorporate that lane slide DNA into the autopilot

Love these ADAS tests.

Love this Car

Great video, Do you know the Turning Radius Steering Wheel Cap? Or there is no cap and it can make sharp turn???

Oh wow this is great with the spreedsheet. Can you do this test with the Ioniq 5, Please

I personally love the grill, and I think the Grill is more beautiful on the NA market than European where the numberplate cuts it off in the middle. And I ordered mine for almost 1 year ago and cant wait to get it home.

I can't wait for the BMW I7

17:55 It also radars in each corner of the car (for blind spot monitoring, auto lane change. etc)

I respect your opinion and it would nearly make me consider an i4. But I am really put off BMW by Rich rebuilds recent experience with their servicing department.

Love this car. Unfortunately in Canada, there are only a few Electrify Canada or any other non-Tesla fast charging stations. Petro-Canada has a horrible reputation here and if I avoid it on ABRP, it could not route me from Toronto to PEI (4300km/2700mi round trip). Had we currently have as good as the charging network in the US, I would have definitely pulled the trigger on this over my Model 3.

I rented a model 3 last week to test out their auto pilot feature. Of course you have to be extra attentive and cautious, but it worked just fine in the city as well as highway. Yes it did warn me a few times and because I was super attentive, I didn't get scared that much. My question is - Is BMW driver assistance professional similar or better than autopilot? OR at this stage, autopilot is slightly better? Still not clear for me. Frankly I really hate Tesla interior and built quality and love BMW interior and quality, but I also want a better L2 system.

I am amazed Kyle doesn't own either a Prosche or Land Rover (in every video, there is a "ooh, there's a [insert Porsche or LR] over there!" Love it!

$1000 option is for the HUD, all i4 comes with curved display.

You can customize short cuts in the top menu of OS8 so you can activate/deactivate IconicSounds with only 2 touches.

One thing that was missed in this video is vehicle tracking. Even if you are not on a motorway/highway, on normal roads with 30mph, it will follow the car in front waving past parked cars automatically when Driver Assistance is turned on.

Please make a playlist for this type of videos so easy to find them

11:22 ford mustang does the same jerking brakes. But I was getting into a road with traffic, couldn't test all the way before I sold it.

I've liked and commented. More people need to see this video. Can't wait for my 2021 X5 45e with drivers assistance pro to arrive. I'm immediately contacting mission tuning to flash to the EU spec battery usability. Although I'm still looking for a hack to avoid 15sec squeeze-the-wheel reminder. Anyone have any ideas?

@OutofSpecReviews Awesome review! Love the car! Question? Early on in the video first test I think, the vehicle slowed, brakes and kept warning you both audibly and visually until it came to a complete halt while you were using the automatic drive feature and eventually stopped completely and put the hazards on. What feature are you using in the second test where it is not coming to a halt it’s actually driving quite nicely and actually automatically changes lanes when you tap The turn signal left or right(Impressive). Did you actually keep tapping your steering wheel to disengage the security warning system? Please clarify.

At first I hated the giant kidney, now I love it. It is a tribute to the very old BMW from the thirties. Now when I see an old BMW with its tiny kidney, I just find it boring. BMW wants to polarize and they are successful with it. The i4 proves to be an excellent car despite the mixed platform, the only real weakness is that it is a bit too heavy. The i4 40 with the normal tires on 19" is on Tesla level in efficiency, which is excellent for the fact that the car is much heavier and has worse aerodynamics. For me clearly the better car compared to the model 3, driving comfort, equipment, quality, design.

Not sure why the 2023 model doesn’t have adaptive cruise control! Not even an option to order on website… are this package added on later on?

I agree about BMW hybrids. I replaced may 530e with the i4. I don't miss it at all. It does show charging power. At least my i4 edrive40 (RWD) model does. Not sure why your test M50 doesn't.

Will you be doing Gas cars as well? As my Ford Gas Mustang has 1/4rd of the opening critia and so does my Sister's Toyota RAV4 and so do Mazdas.

Automatic adoption of traffic sign speed does work in Germany, there might be a setting that is off for you. One can also adjust the speed to +10 in the settings. Also part of that is adjustment of speed based on route ahead, for example reducing speed in tight corners or before an expeted turn. But you need to have build-in navigation active for the latter.

Anyone who’s taught a learner to drive knows that it’s much more tiring than driving yourself. I can’t see there being much value in these driving assistance systems until (perhaps on roads that are also designated for use) they are at least as safe as a good driver.

Would this be the same for all BMWs with driver's assistant professional?

I was super impressed until that mess up at 23:00. A system that behaves super well to make you trust it and then fails spectacularly without warning is the most dangerous one out there.

Are you getting both of the cautions (yellow) and warnings (red) hands on wheels in the HUD?

the hard braking repeatedly is probably the car trying to wake you up before completely stopping. maybe it does that over the seatbelt tugging. just my thought on it.

That hard turn around 30:30 looks like it handled it better I think is because you had a car in front of you. I think most of the issues you had were the system had to look at the lines itself whereas i believe the car in front can be used by the camera as well to mimic the line to take. So if you stay behind someone, they could essentially drag you along the right path

The car does have speed limit assist. It will flash the new speed limit in your dash, and you press the "set" button to accept the new speed.

What charging network has BMW partnered with in the USA? I had x 21 x2 M35I and this active driving system, which basicaly was distance keeping was incredily unpredictable. There were more than a few times that I had to intervene before the X2 blowed into the read end of the car in front of me. It looks like BMW is catching up.

would love to get to gether with you guys, trying to buy a few more evs this year. and I live in golden

is this the same driving assistant system as the one sold on all the BMW models with the option "active driving assistant pro" ?

These are beautiful, a work colleague got a deviant grey one and parks next to my TM3P and the quality and looks are 10 times better than my Tesla. Just has way more character. Would of been nice if BMW brought over the new ix1 to the US market.

Would love to see how the Honda Civic hatch you guys have on test this week perform on this test! Affordable options for normal (young and broke] people like me.

i hope Hans Zimmer sounds include Tie fighters and other spaceship sounds in a DLC

19:46 - Rear air bags but no front air bags? I must have misheard that. Also can you deactivate the auto speed limit?

Did you test just an adaptive cruise control with auto-steering or Highway Assist that’s supposed to be so reliable that BMW allows not having hands on the wheel?

The car is beautiful that’s including the grill beautiful one of the most gorgeous EV’s in production. My opinion 😃

You should include info what kind of hardware is behind those ADAS systems.

I don't like the fact that there is the hump in the back row....I want to see what they can do when they build a ground up EV sedan...I'll be REALLY excited for that...This is an awesome car though.

It looks like it was doing well when the lines were disappearing in the corner when there’s a car in front of it. so it might uses that car as a guidance. But when there’s no car, it confused the system and didn’t know what to do.

Please do an EQS on the hogback!

It does have speed limit assistance in U.K.

I’m a used car buyer. I will keep my eye out for this car as a used car. Any words of wisdom for used car buyers what to watch for with EVs?

For video recording, lower your frame rate in cars, to avoid flicker

Does it at least start again from a full stop while in traffic? Some cars forces you to hit the gas pedal to re-engage the autopilot.

What about the charging network for the BMW ? Which ones can you use to charge the car on the highway if going on a long trip. No matter how nice the car is you do pay for for a lot of things in this car that are expensive options. No matter what Tesla still has the best charging network for traveling

Is there auto lane change for the i4 edrive40?

Nice job guys. Great to see automakers making ev's that give consumers choices. Not all about Tesla anymore. The future looks bright.

Do you have polestar or Volvo tests planned?

For those who want to order an i4 listen to this. DAPP and PAP will not be available on 2023 i4 edrive 40, only on the M50 model. Looks like the current waiting list is anywhere from 10 to 14 months.

Good test, but I don't see how the I4 can technically score higher than Tesla Autopilot when it TWICE crossed three lanes of traffic with sudden and near silent disengagements? That's a very serious safety concern which the Tesla system did not have at all. Maybe your scoring system could use some adjustments? Because I've watched all of your Hogback challenges and from your test results I would trust Tesla Autopilot on this road but NEVER trust the BMW in traffic after seeing this. 🤔

What would the car likely have done in those tight turns (when it drifted out across lanes) if another car had been beside or overtaking you I wonder?

I watched the video BMW made on the the hands free highway driving assistance system that is on the BMW in this video and on the car in this video you have to hit the mode button 3 times when adaptive cruise control is activated and the speed is set but once the mode button is pressed 3 times the car will let you take your hands completely off the steering wheel but on the new BMW i5 adaptive cruise control will let you take your hands off the wheel to activate the hands free highway driving assistance system once adaptive cruise control is set you should make a video about it

I have an iX ordered. Do you think it would complete the Hogback Challenge the same? better? worse?

Have though about trying up Pikes peak road

At about 29.50 it undertakes. Is that legal? It certainly is not legal in the UK, not sure about Germany.

Definitely one of my favorite non-Teslas. But why no frunk!?!?! Otherwise, love the liftback, love the 200kW charging speeds, love the interior, love the design (grille is ok, but not great), decent range...just a solid choice.

Have you ever seen the curves on the PA Turnpike?

I think there is a turn radius limit in UK/Europe

The road conditions on this test looked way more challenging than on other occasions. maybe you should include a subjective measure to adjust the overall result based on your assessment of the roads 'busyness'

What color is this car Alpine white or Mineral white metallic?

Just go rid of my model 3 performance for an i4 m50 no regrets at all.