2014 BMW i3
The Brave New World is fully upon us—and you’ll know so when you climb inside the i3, BMW’s first electric vehicle (EV), and a contender for most radical ride of 2014.
The body should have prepared you for what’s to come; unlike Tesla, which went conventional for the Model S, BMW decided to differentiate their new sub brand by making a statement. The i3 looks unlike most anything else on the road—important to many buyers who will drop serious coin to help save Gaia thereby and want to make sure others know it.
The interior is a stunning work in and of itself: seriously architectural in its lines, surfacing and finishes, all of which are fully recycled or sustainable. A few pundits have complained that some of them, including the hemp-reinforced stuff that covers much of the dash and doors, looks downmarket, but most others will recognize that the i3 strikes just the right note of high-tech chutzpah; it is also a thankful relief from the same-same design and material ethos of many luxury vehicles.
Space is used very well; the i3 is short and very upright—perfect for a city car. The seating position and view out is much like a crossover’s, and four people can fit comfortably. The only misqueue is that the driver’s flat screen panel uses little of its available surface area for the displays of range, battery power and the like.
The i3 comes as a full EV or with a range-extended 2-cylinder engine (which never powers the wheels directly), taking the battery-only range from 80-100 miles to a total of about 150. One can see NYC or San Francisco residents being content to go electric only, whereas the ability to run farther across Colorado makes the plug in hybrid nature of the range extended model very desirable.
In many ways the i3 drives like other BMWs: the controls have a proper, consistent weighting; the gear selector ‘snicks’ into place with a precision feel and steering directness is first rate. In other areas it is a radical departure. First there is the lack of noise; only long experience of other EVs will prepare you for the way it whisks off with nary a sound. Even on the highway wind and road noise are commendably restrained. The i3 is properly quick too; the zero-lag nature of the electric propulsion sees to that, and you can blast past surprised traffic with ease. Things taper off a bit at higher speeds, but even on the Interstate this feels like a BMW: stable and surefooted, locked onto the horizon. The most unusual dynamic trait is the battery regeneration action, which mean that (especially at lower speeds) lifting off the accelerator causes rather dramatic slowing, as if you’ve tapped the braked.
The ride is well damped and on the firm side. The structure itself is of carbon fiber—BMW pioneered new production methods to utilize it for the so-called “Life Module,” which sits atop a skateboard-like aluminum “Drive Module” that includes 450 pounds of lithium ion batteries, rated at 22kWh of juice. If equipped with the 650cc, 34hp range extender, the i3 still only weighs about 2900 pounds; much lighter than a Nissan Leaf—which has no gasoline engine. The rigid structure means helps insure it handles like a BMW, with quick turn-in, little or no roll, and a very fun handling balance, right up to the low limit of its very tall, narrow tires. As mentioned, it is snappy too, with 0-60 projected to be tagged in less than seven seconds.
The i3 is of course an EV first, though, and in performance, price and range it fits somewhere between the Nissan and the Tesla. It is more advanced than them in many ways—the carbon structure and cloud-based navi/EV routing being but two examples—and carries the panache of the BMW badge, along with the assurance that its manufacturer will be around for the long run. If people begin to embrace electric vehicles in a big way, competitors should be worried.
Range Estimate: 120-185 miles per charge
Price as tested: $48,200 (before state and federal tax credits)
Here is what BMW has to say about it.
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