i3 Driving Dynamics: What A Disappointment

[jandkw]

i3 Review from Road & Track magazine today... BMW is one of my car companies for many years (still own one) and is quite disappointing and sad to see this. I plan to test drive the i3 in Spring to see if there is any truth to this !!!

2015 BMW i3 Review - R&T Road Tests - Road & Track

 

[SCW-Greg]

Love the write up, putting Bimmer in it place in reference after ref against the first to market Tesla, and BMW itself.

And the last line in the article capped it off well. "The Ultimate Urban Pod." (Instead)

Not knowing anything about this vehicle, other what I just read, it could be a bumpy press ride for Bimmer on this one.

 

[Jeeps17]

Ouch !

Agree - nice of the author to point out BMW's false claim at the beginning of his review.

"This ain't no Tesla" indeed.


Somewhat off topic - I just noted this was my 500th post. Woot!

 

[Grendal]

I read the review and my first thought was they spent $3.7 billion to develop a boring and silly looking EV (with optional range extender). Tesla made a game changing EV on a hell of a lot less, and it will also make the Model X and Gen III (Model E) for less than that too. Why is it that when someone wants to make an EV they lose their entire sense of style? I can't believe a company like BMW that can make really fantastic looking cars just chuck that out the door when batteries are involved. It makes you want to believe in whacko oil company conspiracy theories.

Thank goodness that Elon and Tesla get it.

 

[Discoducky]

Ok, still hoping for a redesign before it hits the market. Please make the side and front views more appealing! Those 4 eyes in front and the side window line just looks terrible to the eye. Not to mention how it looks from the rear quarters like the side panels are just 'stuck' on like a tilt wall strip mall. Wife says it looks like a shoe and it is starting to look like a redesigned Aztek to my eye. I love my MINI and am a big fan of the usual aesthetic from BMW but this one misses the metro and goes straight to ugly town.

 

[scottf200]

Video: BMW i3 Shows It’s Seriously Quick While Being Chased by a Motorcycle

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQVO0Vaigb0

 

[EVNow]

Ok, still hoping for a redesign before it hits the market.

About zero chances ...

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

Just sad. The i3 may go down as one of those "cautionary tale" business school case studies.

The only auto brand that I was ever genuinely fond of - before Tesla came along - was BMW. They really used to live up to their well-known tag line. They revived Mini as well with great success.

Can't wait to trade our Mini in for Gen 3. RIP, BMW.

 

[EVNow]

BTW, the reviews on i3 from various journalists have ranged from gushing to meh. Who knows where the truth is ...

 

[dpeilow]

I told a BMW engineer they should have just put the ActiveE into full production and he agreed with me!

 

[hoopty_yo]

Since when does the Leaf have a 124 mile range? Did he mean Km?

 

[brianman]

What I kept thinking of when I read this article was...

Imagine Tesla wasn't in the marketplace. This article would be another 'I guess EVs just have to suck' themed piece.

Now people have a Tesla Model S to compare, and it has set the bar for all EVs that will come after it.

Time to buy more stock.

 

[mhpr262]

Since when does the Leaf have a 124 mile range? Did he mean Km?

He was probably talking about the (very unrealistic) European driving cycle range , not the EPA numbers.

 

[dpeilow]

No it's not the European NEDC cycle - that was 109. It's the Japanese (JC08 ?) cycle.

 

[gnelson]

I thought the i3 sucked even before reading the review. Know I know that my perception was correct.

 

[jandkw]

Stodgy, offensive, ugly, dog XXX, you name it and I heard them all. Starting from the Prius hybrid almost 10 years ago, now with i3 and no manufacturer wants to disrupt their bread and butter ICE cars until Model S showed up. They designed the hybrids or EVs to be "unique" and "standout" as their marketing guys described, as if customers can't tell what is beauty and charm. They assume if the hybrid or EV is so unique, customers will get used to it eventually and buy in. Look at Prius!!! BMW is playing the same strategy and never wants to disrupt their bread and butter 3 or 1-series business. I think they will figure out eventually when GenIII comes out.

 

[ggies07]

It really is a slap in the face to consumers. Consumers have seen from Tesla that an EV can look like a beautiful ICE car. It makes me want the other auto companies to all fail because of their stupidity, except for Nissan. Can't wait for Tesla to kick more butt with the Gen III.

 

[PeterK]

I showed my Blue 85S to a number a relatives as i was leaving a brief family gathering (no time for test drives/rides). The most common comments were along the lines of "it looks like a real car - that's not what I expected!" But it took Musk and Tesla to figure out that a) EVs don't have to look odd, and b) EV advantages go well beyond just slapping a battery and electric power train in an ICE-oriented chassis design.

 

[EVNow]

No it's not the European NEDC cycle - that was 109. It's the Japanese (JC08 ?) cycle.

It is NADC - but he gets the number wrong. The new number is 120. BTW, VW e-Golf got 118.

 

[stopcrazypp]

Well the decision behind the i3 styling is that they want to emulate the Prius and Leaf in having unique styling for their EV. And the different branding (i line-up) is trying to be similar to the Prius line-up. It's just unfortunate that styling turned out to be love-or-hate (while the i8 is almost universally loved).

As for the reviews, I've seen mixed opinions. A lot of the criticism about handling is probably due to the super-narrow tires. If you changed them presumably it'll drive much better.