First Drive: 2015 BMW i3 prototype
An unconventional BMW is good, but will it sell?
BMW has very nearly bet the farm on the i3 and its sister car, the i8. The i3 combines the high driving position of a light SUV with a five-door body and a spacious, flat-floored interior. But that’s where convention ends. It effectively runs two chassis, with 507 lb (230kg) and 22 kilowatt-hours worth of lithium-Ion batteries sitting inside an aluminum frame and a single-piece carbon-fiber bodyshell sitting on top of that. This car is BMW’s answer to the mega-city mobility problem, with zero (local) emissions, near-zero noise and, provided you’re not going further than 75-186 miles (120-300km), zero driving compromises.
It’s sure quiet in here. And fast. It feels somehow counterintuitive that it has a 0-62 mph time of just 7.2 seconds, but the more important number is actually its 0-37 mph (60km/h) figure of 3.8 seconds. And that’s how it feels, with instant thrust whenever you want it. It actually has more torque than the MINI Cooper S, and weighs less. The electric motor gives the occasional strange fluttering whine on full throttle, but it’s quieter on a full throttle sprint than any other BMW is cruising at 62 mph. It has gristle on a plate whenever you touch the, err, gas, and it’s flexible and easy to access. But it also rides very well, feels solid on the ground despite a trim 2634 lb (1195kg) curb weight, handles fairly well. While it pushes the nose relatively early, its 50:50 weight distribution and rear-drive help it to be progressive, reliable and easy to drive.
The turning circle is a neat trick. BMW set up a path that looked impossible for us (indeed, it was impossible in a 1-Series), but the i3 needs only 32.35 feet (9.86m) to turn. For a car designed for a dense urban environment, that’s a good idea.
US prices haven’t been announced but it will be between €35,000 and €40,000 when it goes on sale in Germany from November. That is lapping at the bottom end of the 5-Series range. There’s that, and then there’s the tiny luggage area. BMW isn’t saying exactly, but after you put a sports bag back there, the rest of your stuff had better be the gap-squeezing type.
BMW is very nervous about this car, probably because it’s BMW’s first brave car since that icky-looking 7-Series. It’s also nervous because it hasn’t just made an electric car with an eight-year/60,000 mile warranty. BMW has invented an entirely new way to build a car, too, with mass-production carbon-fiber at the fore.
It is comfortable, with delightful seats, a flat floor, plenty of vision, good rear legroom and headroom everywhere. Trunk apart, the only ergonomic issue worth discussing is how the doorframe shape can make the rear seat awkward to climb into. The suicide doors counter that by making it easy to lean in to drop bags or tend children.
It has three comfort/range compromises pre-programed, with Comfort offering a 150km/h top end (we saw about 85 mph) but a 75–93 mile (120-150km) range, EcoPro dialing back the air con and softening the gas to deliver up to 124 miles (200km), while EcoPro+ gives up to 186 mile (300km), mainly by doing more of what EcoPro does.
While it’s very good at what it does and it has a very traditional BMW feel to the way it drives and the quality of what’s inside it, you can’t help sharing BMW’s nervousness about how it will be received. Tesla is out there doing it, but Tesla doesn’t have the weight of 2 million cars a year sitting on its shoulders.
It deserves success as it stands though. It’s very, very good.
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