Future. Proof
GOODBYE Electric + 647cc 2cyl petrol, RWD, 170bhp, 184lb ft 470.8mpg, 13g/km CO2
0–62mph in 7.2secs, 93mph 1315kg £33,830/£37,155 (incl. govt grant) Total mileage 4639 Driver Charlie Turner Why it’s here Does the car of tomorrow make sense today?
ll too soon, the time has come to wave goodbye to our i3, a car that during its 4,639-mile, six-month stay has done more than its fair share to convert a few sceptics around here.
Traditionally, driving an EV has been shorthand for being burdened by poor design and compromised packaging in a car you feel you have to drive rather than want to. The i3 has changed all that. Designed from the ground up to be an EV, the design and packaging of the baby Beemer shouts, “driving the future” very loudly indeed.
Throughout its time with us, the reaction to its concept-car looks has been hugely positive. Inside, the clever interior packaging and use of sustainable materials (leather dyed using olive leaves, door panels made from crushed plant husks and wool from, er, sheep) delivers a very different premium feel. The suicide doors give easy access to the decent-sized rear compartment, and my children absolutely loved travelling in it. Possibly because it gave them an insight into what they’ll be driving when they grow up.
The main issue with any EV is range anxiety, caused by the fear of being stranded with a flat battery, miles from a plug socket. To counter that, our i3 was fitted with the optional range-extender, a tiny 0.6-litre ICE engine that kicks in when the battery charge has depleted, giving the i3 an official combined range of 186 miles. In the real world, however, we managed to drain the battery in 50 miles, but that might just be due to slightly over-enthusiastic application of the throttle (sorry, planet Earth).
AEven though the average commute in the UK is only 20 miles, the i3 has coped with my daily 100-mile round trip with ease, with the range-extender kicking in as the battery depletes below the 75 per cent mark – something it did faultlessly, barring one incident caused by an early software glitch, now fixed (as reported back in issue 259). If you’re nowhere near a charging socket, simply fill the nine-litre petrol tank, and carry on for the next 70 miles. The i3’s trump card, however, is that it’s actually fun to drive too – think of a warm hatch with instant acceleration and an incredibly low centre of gravity, and you’ll get the picture.
So the i3 looks and drives like the future, the REX option eliminates some of the range-anxiety issues and it delivers a real-world 186mpg and emits just 13g/km CO . The future’s bright, the future’s orange.