First Ride in i3 and i8

[Parker]

I think this is the first documented ride by a journalist in the i3 and i8.

Not a lot of new info .... and some that I think is wrong (they say i3 is electric only (no Rex).....twice) which I hope is wrong, plus he quotes a price of £38,000 – which is certainly not in entry-level 5 Series territory!

The fact that BMW are doing their usual “drip-feed” of information makes me think we aren’t going to see the production car next week at Geneva .... I do hope I'm wrong.

This could be the first of many so keep your eyes peeled!

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/first-rides-bmw-i8-hybrid-sportscar-and-all-electric-i3

 

[YashuV]

Yeah $60,000- if that will really be the price- then I will just pass on that car.

 

[TomMoloughney]

Couple things guys:

Parker: Don't worry about what wasn't mentioned, The i3 will have a range extender as an option. There is no ambiguity about that, I guarantee you.

YashuV: I'm not sure about European pricing because for some reason cars are always much more expensive there (taxes?), but here in the States, the i3 will not be priced anywhere near $60,000. It will be sub 50K for certain, and probably closer to 45K to start.

For what it's worth, I agree with Parker and I do not think we will see the final production i3 in Geneva. I hope I'm wrong about that, but I think we'll just get some more details about the range extender option.

 

[Parker]

Here they come ........ the deluge

Another sit-in review ..... this time from Top Gear Magazine.

This confirms Rex - although they say they have only been in the all electric i3.

They also they say that the i3 will be a third of the price of the i8 (£100,000) ie £33,300 and in another part of the piece they say it will be pitched slightly above Nissan Leaf in price (£23,500 in the UK)..... not sure if this means before the price drop.

I must say for "motoring journalists" the fact that we have a £12k ($18k) spread in prices when they both attended the SAME event ..... I'm not really sure anybody has actually ASKED the question "how much will it cost?".
To have so much reported and so little real information is beyond me.

http://www.topgear.com/uk/photos/bmw-i8-i3-first-ride-review-2012-2-24?imageNo=9

BTW the i3 report starts on page 10

 

[Parker]

....... and now Car Magazine.

As you would expect the best review so far. You get a real sense of the car and how it performs.

The bad news for us in Europe is it does look as if the Rex version will be £38k (so where Top Gear got "not much more then the Leaf" from who knows)... so its not going to be a runaway success here ... but maybe prices will come down in the future.

Certainly if the prices are as low as you are suggesting in the USA I see a healthy import trade BACK into Europe.

I must say Car Magazine makes it sound pretty special.

http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/BMW-i3-2013-electric-car-test-ride/?content-block=0

 

[Parker]

OK this video is the i8 (I can't find an i3 yet) but as the construction method is the same as the i3 i.e. Life (CF) / Drive (Aluminum) I think the comparison is valid.

The main issue I had with the Ampera was its rolling refinement above 50mph ... the wind noise (mainly) plus the bump and thump from the suspension. I acknowledge its not the i3 but certainly in EV mode (from 2.45 video) the i8 refinement appears to be head and shoulders above the GM twins - let’s hope the i3 is as refined.

BTW the guy from Car Magazine said I should hold off buying any EV until I had tested the i3 ...... he reckons its a game changer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GR_Z3wmj_zU

 

[Parker]

Here is a ride-in review I missed the first time round.

No new info ......except loads of photos most showing nothing new except one buried in the middle ......a photo of the boot open (I think a first on a production car) the concepts all look like single sheet glass - like a Toyota Aygo but from this photo it looks a traditional hatchback ...... probably made of plastic or maybe CFRP.

http://www.carenthusiast.com/reviews/article/8200/-/2014-BMW-i3/Passenger+ride+in+pre-production+model.html