BMW i3 is a little baby packing a punch
It was with considerable anticipation that I awaited the arrival of the BMW i3, a car we were promised would shake up the electric car market like no other.
My main concern was whether or not it would make the journey from Dublin to Cork for the purposes of our test.
Well, it did, though thanks largely to some of the clever thinking which has made the manufacturer what it is.
That thinking has resulted in a car which, while it will only do 130km to 160km driving on batteries alone, has been given a longer lease of driving life thanks to the addition of a petrol-driven generator which will allow you cover another 100km to 140km, giving a theoretical range of about 300km.
This ‘range-extender’ option which comes with an added price tag is effectively the game changer for BMW in the electric market because it gives the i3 a life beyond the city.
But there is a downside. When the car arrived from Dublin — and it is fantastic looking — it was full of petrol (all nine litres), but empty of anything else. We had allowed for a full 12 hours to charge the car (this can be done either via a wall-mounted charging point or simply via a plug-in cable), although this seemed like a generous amount.
Twelve hours later we were on the road to West Cork, a journey of 110km, and out on the road the i3 was an absolute pleasure to drive. When you do all the maths, the net effect of the output is that the car has some 125kW (170bhp) on tap and a whopping 250Nm of torque.
Top speed is limited to 150kph and the 0kph to 100kph dash is achieved in 7.2 seconds. All of which is good, I think you’d agree. A different driving style has to be adopted than you would normally apply; the accelerator is effectively a light switch as once you’re engaging it you get full power and when you don’t engage it, there is no power.
Effectively then, the accelerator becomes both a method of propulsion — and a brake. It takes a little getting used to, but you do adapt quickly. By comparison with ‘normal’ cars it feels very quick and has plenty of get-up-and-go when you need it.
My driving style being what it is meant that on the trip from Cork to Crookhaven, I ran out of battery motivation around Dunbeacon (about 95km) and felt immediately the petrol engine kick in. It was all seamless.
However, on arrival at the destination, 14 hours was required to get the system fully topped up again. I have had figures thrown at me that it costs somewhere between 7 and 12 hours to fill the i3, but a longer stint with the car would have been required to validate this.
Because of the weight of the batteries, BMW has done astonishing work to keep the overall kerb weight of the i3 down — to the point of having a largely carbon-fibre reinforced plastics chassis construction and stuff like hollow driveshafts, a honeycomb windscreen wiper, lightweight cabin accoutrements and forged aluminium wheels to cut down on the fat.
All of that is genuinely impressive and even though the tyres are only 5in wide (although 19in in diameter) for low-rolling resistance, the roadholding is excellent, grip levels are good and handling too is very acceptable.
I have to say I was impressed by pretty much every bit of this car.
BMW has not solved the many environmental problems facing the automotive sector but it has at least shown a truly ingenious streak by engineering this car from top to bottom.
