All the problems you might encounter with a BMW i3 will be because you have not planned your life around having one. You can’t charge it with an extension cable, so even if you have a plug installed in your forecourt (who has a forecourt?), parking must reach it. I was charging up with a cord 30m down my road, hopping in and out of the house to apologise to passersby.
The mileometer is maddening: a promised 16 miles morphs mysteriously into 10 after you’ve gone down two streets. The company claims a range of 100 miles, thanks to its incredible battery: on the controls, it goes up to 80. But that comes with more riders than a presidential entourage: it depends on climate, driving style, weight of driver, weight of passenger, weight of handbag.
It’s a white-knuckle ride of battery life. Do I have enough to get myself home? If I don’t, do I have enough life on my phone to call for help? What are we going to do when the oil runs out?
So there’s your answer: if you are committed to the electric car, you will sort out your plug, actively enjoy the limits to your driving range, learn to use the regenerative braking better and keep off the actual brake – and then you will have a blast in this vehicle. It’s like driving on a fairground ride.
The cabin’s design maximises the feeling of driving a giant toy. The eucalyptus wood dashboard looks like a micro-desk for working at Google and improving your posture. Through the huge windscreen, things look otherworldly, like a film. The shape is boxy and faux-naive, as though made of Lego. Pale blue splashes of trim underline futuristic friendliness.
Because of this cuteness overload, the grace and power of the acceleration come as a bit of a shock, and the brakes are incredibly sharp. The steering is so responsive, it made me want to zigzag down the road for a laugh. The silence is spookier to pedestrians than to the driver: in an i8, people notice you because they notice the car; in this, not so much. A couple of people did walk in front of me, but were fine.
The ConnectedDrive system means, theoretically, that you can get your texts and emails on the screen as you go along. I didn’t get this working – nobody with an iPhone, so far as I know, has done so – but I was smitten with the satnav (super-fast in responding to traffic, so that it was like driving in a deserted city). It’s pretty expensive. It’s a bit of an executive toy. It’s also amazing.
BMW i3: in numbers
Price £42,115 (but you get a £5,000 government grant, and you don’t necessarily need a sunroof)
Top speed 93mph
Acceleration 0-60mph in 7.2 seconds
Combined fuel consumption N/A
CO2 emissions 13g/km
Eco rating 10/10
Cool rating 10/10
