I've owned quite a few EVs, starting with a Tesla Model S I bought in 2018, back when it was that or an imported Nissan Leaf as your choice of EVs in Australia. Then my wife got a Polestar 2 and I later downsized to a Model 3 when that became available.

As a Tesla owner back then all I kept hearing was about how superior Tesla's were, how they were 10 years ahead and "legacy automakers" would never catch up. And I believed it too, the Model S was my first ever brand new car. My previous VW Golf was made in 2009, it had cruise control, and that was about it. So when I got into the Model S for the first time, it really did feel like the future. From the clean interior, to the massive touch screen, to all the driver assistance features...well, it kinda blew my mind. And so I internalised "Tesla's are the best, no one else can make a good EV, har har isn't that funny frunk goes up!"

Quick aside: even back then I didn't like Elon. He wasn't a proud right wing fascist, but it was obvious he was an idiot who steam rolled the actual engineers he was working with to claim their achievements as his own. I won't pretend I knew the extent to which he was messed up, but I did buy two Tesla's despite him, not because of him. I wouldn't buy one today not only because I disagree with his entire political stance, but also because I wouldn't trust Tesla to still be honouring warranties in 5 years time. It's a volatile company, run by a mad man, if you want to trust them with your life and your wallet, you do you I guess.

Enter The Wanker

Then in 2023 my wife and I went to an EV expo here in my home town of Adelaide, and we sat in, and test drove some amazing EVs. It had been a slow build up, but this was the moment I can pinpoint where I finally realised all this "legacy automaker" nonsense was just that, nonsense. Lots of companies build comparable and better EVs than Tesla. The BYD range was more affordable. The Hyundai and Kia ranges were impressive. Every single car we sat in or test drove blew us away. But most surprising was the BMW range. We test drove an iX3 and my wife instantly fell in love. It was smooth. Spacious. Someone actually thought about every aspect of the interior and driving experience and took the time to make them good. The accelerator mapping, the blended regenerative braking, the cruise control and so much more where just plain better than what Tesla had to offer. Sure you can point out the "on" button and lack of frunk and scream about how legacy automakers don't get it, but all the frunks I ever had were, in practice, very annoying to actually use. I think these legacy automakers actually know how to build a good car. Shock. Horror.

And so a short time later prompted by financing arrangements, the knowledge a new Model 3 was imminent (+me not wanting a Tesla in our lives anymore), and a deal being available on a used iX3, we pulled the trigger. I'm not much of an SUV guy, but the car really impressed me. The app was surprisingly good, the driving experience excellent and though the range was slightly shorter than what I was used to we still took it on a 2000km+ road trip with no issues.

Later that year after test driving one, I ordered a BMW i4. At this point we'd sold the model 3, Michelle was driving the iX3 and I had the Polestar. The wait time was around 12 months and I knew that would coincide with the financing arrangement we had set up. Without going into details, we'd decided to stop short term financing cars and go for a much longer ownership period. So as wanky as it sounds I had to pick my "forever car".

During the time between order and delivery (which was cancellable), I test drove and went to look at quite a few other cars. I figured if I was going to be the wanker picking a forever car, then I was going to wank it up real good. Ok, not the greatest turn of phrase, but I think you get it, I'm embarassed about being able to afford any of this and trying to deflect that with some poorly placed humour.

Cupra Born

I love little hatch backs. This car just looks so damn cool. I didn't like the drive though and a lot of the features it shipped with hadn't been approved for Australian use yet (no phone key, no connected infotainment, etc). Also my kids are giants, and they would struggle to fit in the back. I suspect the next iteration of this car will be amazing, but this one wasn't.

Volvo EX30

Not quite a hatchback, but feels like one. I checked out quite a few and got a demo of the infotainment system. I almost bought one, but the back seat room and some worries about how reliable the Android Automotive infotainment system was in the early reviews put me off. Also not a single button in sight, which felt like learning the wrong lesson from Tesla. Still, probably my second favourite EV after the i4, definitely worth checking out.

The Others I Perused

  • Hyundai Ionic 5: love the look, way too big in practice.
  • Kia EV 6: same, too big for my needs.
  • Polestar 3: too expensive, too big, but hot damn, I like the look.
  • Polestar 4: too wide...this car is 2 metres wide?! Also pricey and similar concerns about the infotainment system as the EX30 and the reliability of the back camera as your only way to see out of the back.
  • Nissan Leaf: too expensive new (for what it is) and the older ones just aren't that nice. Also chademo plug instead of CCS 2 (which is the standard here in Australia for everything except a Leaf).

So in the end, I kept my order with BMW and waited.

I mean just look at how happy I am! Ribbons are really my jam! I love car dealerships! I know how to smile on camera! No you're hiding the kidney grill from this picture!

You can watch a million reviews online from people more qualified than I, but I will say that this is, hands down, the best car I've ever driven. It's comfortable, it feels effortless to drive. The cruise control and lane assist features work really well. The range is amazing. And for the nerds out there, the app is really good. The only gripes I have is that it doesn't show charging speed while charging (even though the car has this info on the dash) and that it can take up to 30s to send the car a remote command (like start the air conditioner, unlock the doors, etc). I suspect that last one is a feature, not a bug though. Unlike a Tesla you can leave the car somewhere for 2 weeks and you'll come back to pretty much the same state of charge you left it with. My Tesla's used to shed 1% a day pretty reliably.

The model I have has Apple's car key feature (the NFC version, not the UWB version) and that is rock solid reliable. You do need to make contact with the door and place your phone on a pad to use it, but it works even when your phone goes flat (the NFC stays powered on for a while) and has never failed me. It hands down beats both the Polestar phone unlock and Tesla's for reliability. Of course it comes with a regular key fob as well, but once you get used to not carrying keys it's hard to go back.

Infotainment wise one screen runs CarPlay, which works very well and the other one has all your speed and driving information. There's a heads up display, which while it looks a bit 90s is super useful in practice. The vents are physical (thank Zeus) and there are just enough buttons for things you use regularly that the touch screen isn't an issue. The actual BMW software is pretty good, though the "Apps" screen is one place they learnt the wrong lesson. Splitting all the cars functions into 30 or so apps isn't hip or trendy, it's just annoying. Once you've configured the car though, you don't really ever go back there. The car has driver profiles, which work well (remembering all your preferences, seating position, etc) though why it takes 10+ seconds to switch between them is a bit baffling.

A year later, apart from the steep price, I have no regrets, this really feels like a car I can drive for 5-10 years without issues. The point of this post isn't that you should get an i4, it's more that pretty much everyone is making good EVs now. If you're in the market for a new EV, you can and should do better than a Tesla. Even in Australia, the choice of cars in all sorts of price ranges is now quite impressive.

And finally, just to prove that some things never change, I did indeed take it to the beach. Because cars love sand and salt and you can't tell me otherwise.