i3 Video: Zero to Top Speed

Autoblog.nl posted a short video showing them driving an i3 from a standstill to its top speed of 151km (93mph). You really get a clear picture of how well the car accelerates all the way up. Take a look:

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BMW i8 First Hand Review (Link and Gallery)

We thought it would be great to repost these excerpts from Autoblog's BMW i8 hands on review Read it here. "We tried all modes, of course, and while BMW still has six months to refine the few remaining issues on these validation test prototypes, the more we drove the i8, the more the huge financial investment required hit us as a brave yet valid move by BMW. Whether in its most timid coffee-fetching eMode+Eco Pro setup or in Sport with DSC off, you'll be happy with what you're feeling if our happiness is anything to go by. A full recharge from the (not included) wall box given the smaller capacities of the lithium-ion battery, takes just two hours." (Continue Reading Plus a full gallery after the jump)

"Electric range can vary widely based on how the i8 is driven, of course, and the topmost speed allowed for the e-motor/front-wheel-drive mode is 75 mph. With everything up and running, though, top speed is let out to 155 mph, and acceleration to 60 mph can happen in under 4.5 seconds. That's pretty great for a "boring old" hybrid, we'd say. And the feeling while doing all of this in the sport seat is almost-M-sensation terrific. The steering is ultra-electrified, yet at the same time, very precise. When switching to Sport, the dampers automatically switch to a more rigid setting, yet we enjoyed the ride over both smooth surfaces and imperfect pavement. Braking – quite the regenerative affair, of course – is immediate and sure, aided by the standard, very light and aero-friendly forged 20-inch wheels."

"We had just a few pieces of constructive criticism for BMW's assembled team in hopes that they'll improve the car even moreso. Firstly, the iDrive display is currently almost useless in any sort of sun due to its forward placement and cobalt blue typeface. Second, programming for the six-speed automatic attached to the 1.5-liter is fine in all aspects except at the extremes of its envelope, and it needs a 7,000-rpm redline to better suit the gearing and the exhaust's character. And finally, we wanted better summer tires – ours were the optional 215-width front and 245-rear Bridgestone Potenzas. Dynamics were really hot overall from this relatively lightweight, stiff, and extremely low-center-of-gravity BMW i, but it needed just a tick more help at the corners from the rubber."

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BMW i3 Wheels: Efficient & Effective or Skinny & Skidding?

You get a better view of just how tall and thin the tires on the i3 without the body in place.

One of the features on the i3 that have had many BMW loyalists cringe when see them is the tires. They are tall and thin, and look more like you would expect them on a Toyota econo-box, than from the engineers in München.  The standard rubber on the i3 will be custom made for the car, low-rolling resistance 19-inch Bridgestone Ecopia tires, sized 155/70 R19. They are mounted on  featherweight 19" x 5" wheels, weighing only 15lbs. There will also be a 20" wheel option, but BMW hasn't disclosed the exact size of that wheel of the tires that they will mount on them. 

The stock 19" wheels

I suspect many potential i3 buyers will get past the thin, underwhelming look of the tires as long as they perform admirably. After all, they only look bad from the from or rear; when looking at them from the side it's difficult to see how thin they actually are. But what do I mean by perform admirably? That may be different for different people. Low rolling resistance tires typically aren't good for the "ultimate driving experience" the rubber is hard and doesn't usually offer premium grip for cornering. Sticky high performance tires usually deliver bad fuel economy because the rolling resistance is high. I suspect many i3 buyers will be most concerned with efficiency and range in which they would probably favor efficiency slightly over performance. But let's face it they still expect it to perform like a true BMW, and that's something BMW has promised will be the case with the i3. 

What may be the 20" optional wheels

When discussing the tall, narrow tires with Georg Kacher of Car Magazine, Ulrich Kranz of BMW said "It’s not rocket science. All that matters is the size of the contact patch. The 19-inch tires may be skinny, but their tall height generates the same contact patch as a low-section 16-inch MINI tire"  Kacher then went for a ride in a pre-production i3 and wrote this about the handling: "This is extraordinary. The i3’s most awesome dynamic talent is its incredible grip. The made to measure tires are about as narrow as those of a 125cc motorbike, yet they hang on almost as tenaciously as BMW’s latest DTM racer... The car zooms towards the apex, kisses the cobbles and flies out onto the short straight. There is very little lean considering the considerable pace, and I don’t recollect more than a faint trace of front end pitch and no yaw at all. This i3 appears to handle like the best BMWs."
 

The original i3 concept wheels

Then Michael Specht from the Automotive News wrote this after driving an i3 a couple days ago: 
"BMW's i3 electric car looks set to be a winner. I drove it recently and I can only say: Wow! Whoever drives this car will want one immediately. I can't remember when I was more surprised by a car's driving dynamics. One of BMW's marketing slogans is "sheer driving pleasure." BMW was keen that this should apply to the automaker's new electric vehicles sold under the "i" subbrand and the company has succeeded with the i3."

The i3 concept coupe's 20" wheels

However Autoblog had less than total praise for the i3's handling: "The test cars were fitted with skinny, rock-hard and low-rolling resistance 19-inch Bridgestone Ecopia tires, sized 155/70 R19. After just a single spirited lap of the set course in 93-mph v-max Comfort mode, it was clear that we were driving the i3 in a style for which it was never designed. If you try to make the i3 live up to the well-honed definition of "Ultimate Driving Machine," you are categorically missing the entire point of the i3." That's not what the majority of potential i3 buyers want to hear - me included. Don't tell me I'm missing the point if I buy a BMW and expect it to handle like a real BMW! I don't care what type of fuel it uses or whether it's a hatchback or sedan, it's a BMW!  However this is the only article I've seen that criticizes the handling and I've probably read about a dozen that have said they were impressed. The final verdict for me will be when I get behind the wheel of on myself and I urge everyone else to do the same thing. It's nice to see car reviews but let yourself be the judge when you are purchasing a car. After all, it's your money and you'll be driving it!

BMW has done everything they reasonably could to cut the weight of the i3. This allowed them to use a smaller battery and still get their tareted range of 80 to 100 miles with the i3.With the battery being the most expensive component of an EV by far, it's not surprising they are so obsessed with weight savings. However what is the perfect balance of efficiency and performance? No doubt the car would handle even better with wider, stickier tires on there which would need wider wheels, which would then weigh considerably more. Finding the perfect balance was BMW's task, it's just up to us to drive and enjoy the car. I hope they got this one right because the i3 won't be the Ultimate Driving EV if it isn't fun.

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i3 To Cost $34,500??

Autoblog posted a story today claiming the i3 will have a beginning price of $34,500! If true that would mean the effective price would be $27,000 in the US after the $7,500 federal tax credit and would most certainly propel the i3 into instant sales success immediately upon its launch. The article also claims the range extender option (REx) will cost about $2,000, which is exactly half of what has been speculated thus far.

However, don't write your deposit check yet. While I'll be as happy as anybody if BMW somehow manages to deliver this groundbreaking vehicle at such a low cost, I just don't believe it's true. BMW hasn't said much about pricing, but what they have said seems to indicate a higher price point, one in the mid $40,000 range. It would certainly be a coup if they can deliver on this, but I'm not holding my breath. The article is suspect to me in the first place because it claims the range extender to be used in the i3 was first used in the ActiveE. I have over 50,000 miles on my ActiveE. I wish somebody told me earlier it had a range extender, I cold have used it on more than  a few occasions!

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Is This The Production BMW i3?

Autoblog scored some spy photo's of the BMW i3. The car is noticeably different from the original spy photo's that were taken last year of the car during cols weather testing. This looks VERY close to the concept i3 which is definitely good news.

At last weeks LA Auto Show, Richard Steinberg told George Parrot, reporting for Greencarreports that the concept i3 is “95 percent final” as compared to the production version. These photo's would seem to concur. The one obvious difference I can see is the doors. The concept had much larger doors that extended all the way into the wheel wells. The car in this photo clearly has smaller doors that do not extend to the wheel wells. Also, the rear "coach" doors do not have a handle so apparently they can only be opened once the front door is open, much like the MINI Clubman (and my Toyota Tacoma extended cab pick up).

Fake "Hybrid" badge on ActiveE

What Autoblog also reported was that they believe the car is fitted with the range extender (REx) option. I disagree. I think it's the pure BEV version. I see no sign of a tailpipe and the single reason they gave for this conclusion was that the car has badges that say "Hybrid Test Vehicle" That means nothing. When BMW was testing the ActiveE it had the same badges and that isn't a hybrid. I think BMW puts that on cars to confuse spy's and it worked!


Whether it is the BEV version or the REx version it really doesn't matter. What's important here is this proves the car will look very similar to the concept i3 and that's good news. The i3 that was photographed last year during testing look too boxy, this has much smoother lines. Can't wait to see it without all the camouflage! Here's some more pictures:

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