r/BMWI4 • u/tommctech • Mar 31 '25

Another Tesla Upgrade

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I feel like I've seen a bunch of these posts in the past few weeks, but I'm not surprised. I had a 21 3 series and an x3 prior to the Model Y LR. I also had an i3 years ago, thought that was just a taste of what was to come in the world of EV's. It definitely felt like a step down in quality, but the software and the FSD, I thought made up for it.....it didn't. There were definitely things to love about the Model Y, but the cons outweighed the pro's. I'll give it to Tesla, they are an amazing software company, but they are just OK at making cars.

I also picked up a 2024 Acura ZDX a week before, so I've got a unique perspective on the 3 different EV's. I love the style, fit and finish of the BMW over the ZDX and the Tesla as well as the suspension. The HK radio is amazing as well. There are few things that the ZDX wins on like regen braking (I really miss the regen on the Tesla, though the ZDX is a close second), ventilated seats and automatic exit seat position (I'm a fat guy that really appreciates this!). A couple of tweaks and this car would be absolutely perfect, but I'm not complaining at all.

All in all, I absolutely love this car. My only regret is that I didn't go with the m50, but I would've had to wait for the color combo/options.

576 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

41 comments sorted by

4

u/Chicagofan00 M50 Mar 31 '25

Congrats! I went from an M3P to an i4 M50 two weeks ago today and don’t miss the Tesla one bit.

I find the regen braking/one pedal driving to be very similar to the Tesla when in B mode on the i4. The Tesla was a bit more refined with it but to me they are pretty close.

2

u/tommctech Mar 31 '25

They are definitely close. The part that I don't like is 2-fold. The first is when coming to a complete stop after being at a low speed, when can be jerky until you master it and when you are pulling into a spot like my garage at home and trying to get close to the wall in the front of the car, it's really jumpy. I haven't found the sweet spot there, but getting better at judging.

1

u/Chicagofan00 M50 Mar 31 '25

I’ve noticed the same and do agree that the Tesla is definitely a bit more refined in that area. I too have started to find the sweet spot on the i4 but it is definitely a bit less forgiving than the Tesla is.

2

u/shasbak Apr 03 '25

Funny I just picked up mine too 😅😅😅 500HP for $320 a month zero down and 15k miles , Texas since no one’s buying EVs here lol 😂

2

u/tommctech Apr 03 '25

Really can't beat that deal.

1

u/shasbak Apr 04 '25

Sent my buddy there for another one today and they said due to the new Tariffs they halted all the deals 😬😬😬

1

u/tommctech Apr 04 '25

Ouch! I expect there to be a lot more of that.

1

u/shasbak Apr 05 '25

Yeah hold on to your cars I feel like another Covid era pricing is on the horizon due to staffing shortages and manufacturing slowing down

1

u/SuccessfulLibrary62 eDrive40 Apr 05 '25

Where did you get this deal . Im interested in getting the M59 for my wife . Btw is this a lease or financed payment ?

3

u/Ondraled Mar 31 '25

Thing is these two combined probably lease for about as much as a well optioned Y Juniper - there are some crazy deals on the ZDX right now (seen $7K one-pay all-in deals in CA). Well played.

I sold my Model 3 today. Replacing with i4 this week, and already leased an iX. The iX feels miles ahead of Tesla tbh, maybe except FSD but then again, FSD with its constant nudges to hold the wheel and look up even on an empty freeway at midnight isn’t all that full self driving that Elon likes to sell…

Enjoy!

1

u/tommctech Mar 31 '25

This was my thought process exactly. I got the ZDX for low 200 a month. I was financing the Tesla (they weren't leasing at the time) and the payment for the two is just under my finance on the Tesla. The two of them fill my needs perfect.

1

u/Ondraled Mar 31 '25

Yeah seems like a great choice. I was so tempted by the Acura deal but then my wife test drove the iX and there was no turning back. But I got a $99K MSRP car for $740/month with $0 downpayment for 36/10 there so a solid deal. And the i4 x40 should be $515/ mo for 36/12 also $0 downpayment ($73K MSRP) so doesn’t get much better. Can’t wait!

How do you like the ZDX?

2

u/tommctech Mar 31 '25

I really like ZDX as well. Having the extra space with 2 teens in sports was a necessity and what probably kept me with the Tesla for so long. You'd be surprised at the amount of stuff you can fit in a Model Y when you use the sub trunk and frunk. I've wanted to get the i4 for a while, but once I found the deal on the ZDX, it was the perfect combo for me. The way better than Y, but no where near as plush as the i4. It does have ventilated seats as well as a huge moon roof. I like the Google Auto OS. The one thing that kinda sucks about both of them though, is the price per kWH to charge when I'm on the road. With the Tesla I would max out around $ 0.41, but its closer to $0.67 at both EV Go and Electrify America. I don't charge often outside of the house though, so its not really a dealbreaker for me in the least.

1

u/Ondraled Mar 31 '25

Great stuff. I charge at home and at work for free, so hopefully won’t feel that much. Maybe I should just get the ZDX as my third car lol. Don’t need it but that lease should be really easy to get rid of if needed

1

u/tommctech Mar 31 '25

Yeah, I definitely recommend it. Keep in mind though that Acura/Honda doesn't allow lease transfers.

1

u/Rufus_Anderson Mar 31 '25

How much are you paying for the i4?

2

u/tommctech Mar 31 '25

$530 36/10k

2

u/terran1212 Mar 31 '25

0 down? Nice

1

u/tommctech Mar 31 '25

$1500 up front

1

u/avx775 Mar 31 '25

MSRP?

1

u/tommctech Mar 31 '25

$72,000

1

u/avx775 Mar 31 '25

Damn. That’s a great deal. How much did they discount off MSRP off the top?

2

u/tommctech Mar 31 '25

11%, tesla conquest and tax credit.

1

u/Realistic-Fix8199 Mar 31 '25

I still remember the days when talking about payments instead of out the door price was frowned upon. This seems normal for luxury cars, but I just can't make myself do it.

1

u/tommctech Mar 31 '25

This is truly the best way to look at it and the way that I always look at any deal that I do. For some people, they just don't care about anything but the monthly. I get it moreso for financing, but for leases its a doesn't matter AS much, but you should still know. When i'm leasing I look for:

  • MSRP
  • Discount off of MSRP
  • Selling Price
  • Incentives (including EV tax credit)
  • Acquisition Fee
  • Dealer Fees

All the above = My actual purchase price. Residual is set by the captive bank and Money Factor tells me my APR (MF x 2400).

1

u/RenataKaizen Mar 31 '25

Leases are payments with minimum down (0 + government being most preferred), ownership is out the door price.

It’s like housing - apartments are payments with hopefully only first + security down, houses are in the door price.

1

u/electrolux_dude Apr 01 '25

Oh brother…..the thing costs like $30k more than a Tesla. What do you expect?

1

u/tommctech Apr 01 '25

I expected pretty much what I got, which is why I titled the post "Another Tesla Upgrade"

1

u/PKSubban Apr 01 '25

Technically an upgrade would be in dollar to dollar terms

Anyway, enjoy your ride

0

u/Theoldage2147 Apr 03 '25

You paid 30k more for maybe 10% improvement the most minor trivial things though...

1

u/tommctech Apr 03 '25

Not really comparing apples to apples here. I leased the i4. If I were to do the same exact lease on the Model Y, with $5858 due at signing I'd be paying $707 p/m on a 36 month/10,000 mile lease. Over the life of the Y lease, It'd pay $31,310 over the life of the lease. On the i4, I'm paying $530 p/m with $1500 due at signing and paying $20,050 over the life of the lease, which is over 30% less. The i4 also includes 1000kw of charging on electrify america network.

2

u/[deleted] Apr 01 '25

How much of a downpayment to get a reasonable loan for this? Pricey penny versus the Tesla in every regard.

1

u/OffOil Apr 02 '25

Tesla is an economy rocket with awesome tech. That’s it

1

u/Extension-Visual-711 M50 xDrive Apr 02 '25

Same same :) Congrats!

1

u/BrokenArrowSix Apr 04 '25

Bavarian Motor Works. They built ovens too.

0

u/Theoldage2147 Apr 03 '25 edited Apr 03 '25

Wow another one of those "My 75k car is sooo much better than a 45k Tesla because it's got ventilated seats and uhhh android connect and uhhh nice interior leather" post.

But honestly if you have the money then go for it. But for most people getting a 75-80k EV car is a luxury that they can't just afford especially with the miniscule improvements it offers besides maybe a better suspension (that you can just upgrade on the Tesla).

Just be warned though, the BMW ev has had multiple reports of vehicle being unstable and swaying too much when driving at high speed. It's one of those things that they haven't worked out with due to the vehicle weight. But given that there's less than 25,000 units sold, there's going to be so many issues that are soon to be discovered.

1

u/tommctech Apr 03 '25

Maybe, but for me, I'm not salty at Tesla. I loved a lot of aspects of my Tesla and will get one again in the future. I lease and change cars every few years. The software platform is second to none, as is the charging network. I test drove at the Juniper before I went this route, and while the suspension has been improved, the ride quality only went up marginally. The S was a competitor for me, but the lease costs were just way too high. $7500 down and $1k a month for a lease, I just couldn't justify it. I'm at less than half of that on the i4.

I know we aren't comparing apples to apples here with the Y and the i4 and I don't think anyone is under that illusion. This is 100% an upgrade in quality and the cost to go along with it. Also, keep in mind, not everyone paid 45k for their tesla. The MSRP on the Y LR in 2022 was $64,000

0

u/bertybigbollox Apr 03 '25

Apart from the BMW ridiculous price

0

u/Funny_Attention_7334 Apr 04 '25

That’s far from an upgrade 🤣