Photo: Guido Ten Brink/SB-Medien
BMW introduced the i3 back in 2013, a time when the Bavarian constructor seemed to be on the forefront of the EV offensive, at least among the traditional brands in the industry.
The "i" program started very encouragingly with the i8 hybrid sports car, then took a slight dip when the i3 was launched. Like the Bulldogs it resembled, the small all-electric city car had a polarising exterior design that you either loved or hated, and most people seemed to fall into the latter category.
Even those that found it quirky had to admit that the maximum range of the i3 was awful at 81 miles, restricting its role to an urban commuter and making its price unreasonably high for a second or even third household vehicle. Particularly when better options like the Nissan LEAF - albeit with a similarly questionable design - were much more affordable.
But for all its drawbacks, the BMW i3 was a pleasure to drive. Those almost comically thin wheels - for reduced rolling resistance - had a hard time dealing with the 170 HP (126 kW) and especially the 184 lb-ft (250 Nm) of torque coming from its engine. It may have looked like a blown-up pedal car for kids, but the i3 had rear-wheel-drive and a tendency to lose grip under heavy acceleration.
BMW decided to build on these faint sporty traits of the i3 and release the i3s model. Whether the "s" stands for "Sport" or "Still not good enough" is up to you to decide, but with 184 horsepower and 270 Nm of torque coming out of the same motor, the changes hardly called for an added letter.
The i3s gets a few other modifications as well, most notably a wider stance and the wider wheels to go with it and improve grip. The latter will undoubtedly reduce the already feeble range of the BMW EV, making this model's launch truly a hard to understand decision on the Bavarians' part.
Our take is that BMW is trying to squeeze the last drops of life out of the i3 electric city car before moving on to more serious EVs. After announcing it would put the "i" project on hold and focus on developing its own autonomous technology, BMW has recently returned to more favorable thoughts toward electrification.
Its stance now is that the company will offer competitive battery-powered alternatives for a lot of its models in the coming years, treating electric powertrains as simply another option next to the gasoline and diesel engines. It will be interesting to see how this pans out for BMW since it's the only manufacturer to go down this route.
Even those that found it quirky had to admit that the maximum range of the i3 was awful at 81 miles, restricting its role to an urban commuter and making its price unreasonably high for a second or even third household vehicle. Particularly when better options like the Nissan LEAF - albeit with a similarly questionable design - were much more affordable.
But for all its drawbacks, the BMW i3 was a pleasure to drive. Those almost comically thin wheels - for reduced rolling resistance - had a hard time dealing with the 170 HP (126 kW) and especially the 184 lb-ft (250 Nm) of torque coming from its engine. It may have looked like a blown-up pedal car for kids, but the i3 had rear-wheel-drive and a tendency to lose grip under heavy acceleration.
BMW decided to build on these faint sporty traits of the i3 and release the i3s model. Whether the "s" stands for "Sport" or "Still not good enough" is up to you to decide, but with 184 horsepower and 270 Nm of torque coming out of the same motor, the changes hardly called for an added letter.
The i3s gets a few other modifications as well, most notably a wider stance and the wider wheels to go with it and improve grip. The latter will undoubtedly reduce the already feeble range of the BMW EV, making this model's launch truly a hard to understand decision on the Bavarians' part.
Our take is that BMW is trying to squeeze the last drops of life out of the i3 electric city car before moving on to more serious EVs. After announcing it would put the "i" project on hold and focus on developing its own autonomous technology, BMW has recently returned to more favorable thoughts toward electrification.
Its stance now is that the company will offer competitive battery-powered alternatives for a lot of its models in the coming years, treating electric powertrains as simply another option next to the gasoline and diesel engines. It will be interesting to see how this pans out for BMW since it's the only manufacturer to go down this route.
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