12 March 2015
Electric - but not as you know it
We’re in an era of Electric Vehicles, Hybrids, Plug-ins and a number of variations on the electric theme.
Now that BMW have joined the electric race, they’re in the process of setting up their new i brand in our market and around the world - a brand that currently consists of just two models, the little i3 and the sporty i8 we tested recently, although we’re told there are plenty more models on the drawing board being penned for the future.
Few people would realise that a car with an electric motor can double as a high-performance exotic sports car, but the i8 is just that, and sweeps aside any traditional perceptions of electric powered vehicles being dull, boring and slow.
Oozing wow factor
There’s no escaping the visual wow factor, with the i8 turning more heads than just about any other car on the planet. And with acceleration from 0 to 100km/h in 4.4 seconds, it’s almost as quick as BMW’s own long-established performance power-house, the M3.
The i8 has a 96kW/250Nm 360V DC eDrive liquid cooled electric motor driving the front wheels and a 170kW/320Nm 3 cylinder 1.5 litre TwinPower turbo-charged petrol engine driving the rear via a 6 speed automatic transmission. BMW refer to this as All-Wheel-Drive (AWD), a description which could be regarded as a bit of a stretch, however, all the wheels can be driven (albeit from separate power sources) so strictly speaking, their description is on the money.
The range from a full charge on the lithium-ion battery is claimed to be 37km, but depending on driving style, expect to get something a bit less than that. BMW claims an overall range on combined petrol/electric power of 500km and overall fuel consumption figure of 2.1l/100km.
Fast-charging can be completed via a dedicated BMW i wallbox, which is the preferred method of charging the 6 module Li-ion battery pack, however an 80% charge from a standard household electric wall socket can be achieved in around 2.5 hours.
Butterfly doors, but everything else recognisable
The exterior styling is nothing short of radical and entering the car through the “butterfly design” doors is a bit out of the ordinary, but once settled into the cockpit, for those used to BMW’s MO, everything is quite familiar and all the controls are exactly where you expect to find them.
The dash and centre console layout are very similar to a 6 Series and despite being driven by the front wheels in eDrive mode, a departure from the BMW RWD norm, handling is sure-footed, predictable and firm, with the driving experience being right up there with the best the Bavarian company has to offer. Performance is brisk, but like a conventional petrol-powered car that scoffs fuel when pushed hard, you watch the battery meter dropping at an alarming rate when thrashed in eDrive mode.
A lot of cutting edge technology has gone into the i8, from the lightweight Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) body structure, CFRP roof panel, aluminium bonnet and safety gear galore, which includes Acoustic Pedestrian Protection (an artificially generated sound when driving in electric mode up to 30km/h so that pedestrians can hear it coming), to BMW’s ConnectedDrive Services and Apps.
The ConnectedDrive Services are subscription-based services which can be renewed via an online store. The services include iDrive controlled internet that can be viewed in the control display while the vehicle is stationary, a concierge service provided by BMW’s Contact Centre, lifetime subscriptions to an automated Emergency Call system and a Remote Services App.
The Remote Service App for Android and Apple devices gives access to data such as battery condition and can control various vehicle systems remotely, including pre-conditioning the vehicle’s interior temperature prior to a journey.
One for early adopters - but a taste of good things to come for the rest of us
The i8 is really frugal, really fast and really “look at me”, and it costs $278,000 which, let’s face it, is really a lot of money.
So who will buy a green, electric, flashy-looking performance car? After all, we’re talking about a mixture of values and perceptions that until now popular consensus would have had us thinking that electric cars are for people with conservative values and flash sports cars are for flamboyant types, and never the twain shall meet.
But this is a car that challenges traditional values, and demonstrates that you can have the best of both worlds. Like the iPod, iPhone and iPad once were, and the iWatch is today, the i8 will appeal to early adopters, albeit those with the wherewithal to drop the best part of $300k on what, for most, is likely to be a weekend toy rather than a daily driver.
As great a feat as this is, we’re looking forward to seeing how BMW’s i brand unfolds in the future, as the potential is undoubtedly of greater benefit to the masses once it filters down into more mainstream product. But what a hero model they’ve chosen to kick it off!