James Fossdyke

At first glance, it’s just another i3, and if you look at the oily bits underneath you’d still be hardpushed to spot the difference, but this i3 has a secret that’s quite literally been tucked away under the carpet.

There’s a bank of batteries in the car’s floor, but the 94Ah suffix denotes the amount of power those batteries can store. Whereas the standard i3 only holds 60Ah, the 94Ah model holds half that much again, and that means the range has increased by 50% to 195 miles. If you go for the version with the petrol-powered range extender, though, BMW says you’ll be looking at squeezing 276 miles from a single charge. The i3’s looks have always been divisive, but even its biggest critics wouldn’t hesitate to call it striking. Even though it makes very little in the way of noise, it’s a car people will still turn around to look at. Whether they love it or hate it, whoever comes along for a ride will certainly have an opinion. For all the i3’s technology, it isn’t actually that practical a car. Although it’s tall – it’s actually about the size of a high-riding Ford Fiesta – the boot measures just 260 litres, so it’s less than you’ll find in the back of a VW Polo. There’s plenty of headroom in the rear, though, and if the legroom is a little limited, access is made simple by the so-called “suicide” rear doors. They can only be opened after the front doors, and they open the other way, meaning there’s no B-pillar to obstruct you. With the extra power capacity, the 94Ah i3 certainly offers an extended range. The quoted 195-mile striking distance is probably a tad ambitious, especially if your right foot becomes leaden or you try keeping up with traffic on a motorway, but you shouldn’t have too much trouble getting 140 or perhaps 150 miles from it. If you do get the urge to bury your right foot in the bulkhead, though, you’ll find there’s no improvement in performance, but then the i3 never has been a slouch. The sprint from 0-62mph takes 7.3 seconds – much the same as a Mazda MX-5 – and the buckets of torque produced by the electric motor make it feel even faster. Prices start from £27,830, including the government’s £4,500 grant, but if you can’t get the money out of Ms May – for whatever reason IN A NUTSHELL Considering the i3’s closest rival, the topof-the-range Nissan LEAF, is only a couple of thousand pounds more expensive, but is far less of a premium product and has a shorter range, it looks like relatively good value – you’ll be looking at a bill for about £32,000. Opt for the range extender, and that will rise to more than £35,000.