BMW i8 Review

The only exceptions are when you use it as a generator, as we mentioned above or when it’s cold in the morning, but the latter state fades away quickly.

Amusingly enough, the sound released inside the cabin is somewhat close to the voice of a 911’s flat six. In the “Sport” mode though, the i8 uses its speakers to augment the sound.

While we liked the resulting soundtrack, we wished there could be some way of disabling this feature. That’s because the occasional loudness is the only thing that could keep you from driving in “Sport” even when you’re not in a hurry.

Other than that, the i8 can cruise perfectly relaxed in this mode. This isn’t something you can say about a conventional sportscar though, at least not one with an automatic gearbox. Most such vehicles see their shifting points climbing too high for everyday driving when put into the rush mood.

With the help of the 96 KW/ 131 HP and 184 lb-ft (250 Nm) delivered by the electric motor up front, you get an overall output of 357 HP (362 PS) and 420 lb-ft (569 Nm). And, obviously, all-wheel drive.

We’ll remind you this motor, which BMW explains it has developed in-house, is a modified (read: downtuned) version of the 130 kW (170 HP) unit in the i3 - a Toyota insider told us the electric motor technology in the i3 was borrowed from the Japanese carmaker. Why we weren’t able to verify this, BMW and Toyota do have a sharing agreement.

Returning to the AWD, this is the part you’ll enjoy most when you’re out there on the open road. The instant electric torque brings the effervescent acceleration sensation we’ve learned to appreciate when driving a vehicle that involves electric power.

Unlike most PHEVs or EVs out there though, the electric motor of the i8 uses a two-speed gearbox. Even so, the initial boost settles down as you hit 80 MPH (130 KM/H), as if the i8 was trying to teach you how to drive responsibly.

As for the overall acceleration feeling, the i8’s powertrain delivers hefty sprinting up to around 135 MPH (220 KM/H). From that point on, the car still offers a respectable ascension to its limited 155 MPH (250 KM/H) speed. It’s important to know the petrol engine can take the i8 to that speed even without its electric assistant. In the process, it uses a six-speed automatic tranny.

While the gearbox works both smooth and fast enough on automatic, trying to use the paddle shift mode makes as much sense as it would in a ZF 8-Speed auto BMW 320d.

But that’s not all that important here. As we said in the intro, the BMW i8 needs to be understood before it can be enjoyed.

The German engineers have done a good job at making the two motors work together and if you drive this in a touring fashion, you won’t feel any glitch in the Matrix.

Try to get the car to deliver an instant, trajectory-shifting power impulse in the middle of a bend though and you’ll feel the reaction is not quite instant. At times, the car takes a few moments before figuring out what its agitated driver wants from it.

The idea is that you can cover ground pretty quickly while using a still-smooth driving style.

If you want to be the fastest typist in the West, you buy a Blackberry. If, on the other hand, you’re willing to enjoy the overall experience while also betting on the coolness factor, the iPhone is the gadget for you. Guess which one of the two represents the i8.

Speaking of which, the brilliance of this hybrid sits not in its at-the-limit behavior or in its outright efficiency. There are considerably faster sportscar out there, as there are less thirsty hybrids.

Nonetheless, the innovation comes from the packaging of the car’s elements. The sheer idea that you drive such an advanced machine that offers serious performance is enough to recommend the car as one that, at least for the moment, doesn’t have any competitors.

Still, the i8 has enough grunt to tickle your funny bone. And to make sure nobody complains about us overusing the name of the Porsche 911 throughout this review, we can switch to a brief Camaro Z/28 comparo.

For one thing, the 1.5-liter i8 can cover the quarter mile only one or two-tenths of a second slower than the 7-liter V8 American Psycho machine. And since we’re here, we’ll mention the difference to the twin-turbo 3-liter M4 sits below half a second.

Of course, the i8 will deliver a surprisingly pleasant serenity in the process, and this comes from a guy who loves the Neunelfer - there you go, I didn’t mention the three-letter name. In fact, this car has such an effect on people, that it managed to calm down a large group of protesters we drove by during our review.

In fact, BMW’s i8 is perfectly suitable for road trips, with serious soundproofing and impressive high-speed stability. Even as you hit the top speed, the i8 remains well planted. And it’s not like it relies on its tires for this. While the standard cars comes with 195/50 R20 tires up front and 215/45 R20 rubber at the rear, our tester was fitted with the optional wider tires. These measure 215/45 R20 at the front and 245/40 R20 at the rear.

Even so, there’s only so much grip such tires can deliver. Instead, the i8 owes this to its chassis and aluminum suspension. It has an aluminum chassis that supports a CFRP passenger cell, while its skin is made of both aluminum and composite panels.

BMW explains the last one characteristic will keep servicing costs in line with other sports cars in case of a crash. And since we’re talking ownership costs, we’ll mention the battery gets an eight-year, 100,000-mile (160,000 km) warranty.

Aside from the aforementioned materials, plenty of BMW engineers' sweat and tears have been developed in the process of keeping the i8's weight under control. For instance, the vehicle features aluminum wiring instead of the usual copper, while its bolts are made from the same material.

As far as the area inside the car is concerned, the i8 turns to solutions such as foam plastic air-conditioning ducts, or a magnesium instrument panel support that's not only light, but also helps strengthen the entire structure of the car.

As stated, this melange of advanced materials makes the i8 feel extremely sure-footed and yet responsive.

To exploit the i8’s “pull-me-out-of-slow-corners-now” electric torque capabilities, we included a karting track stint in our test. We took the BMW to the Amckart motorsport facility, a technical track that made the hybrid sweat a little.

Since this car doesn’t actually belong on the circuit, we were there to observe the behavior at the limit, not to complain. Once you overcome the grip of the front tires, which is not difficult to do, the i8 will understeer and the best thing to do is tune things down a little.

This is mostly noticed in slow and mid-range corners and you should follow the slow-in-fast-out recipe. That’s because the instant electric oomph at the front will easily pull you out of a slow-speed bend.

You can deactivate the DSC electronic nanny, even though it never feels like it fully goes to sleep. Then you can drift the i8. Nonetheless, the car only wants to get back in line and the three-pot behind you is not strong enough to keep it sliding for too long.

The balance of the chassis is the one that impresses, while the steering does its job without too much drama.

This balanced nature of the i8 is what convinced us to offer the car eight out of ten in the safety department. The i8 misses a point because it hasn’t been tested by any official body. The second point is withdrawn due to the brakes, which are only suitable if you refrain from high-speed episodes.

In terms of safety features, the i8 packs enough to achieve a high score, with the list being headed by the laser headlights. After a race with Audi, the BMW i8 managed to be the first production car in the world to offer such a feature. Their introduction brings mixed emotions though.

One one hand, these are illegal in the US still, which means American drivers will have to use the LED setup for the moment. Oh and did we mention they cost a whopping EUR9,500 in Europe?

We wished they were intelligent, as BMW’s LED units are, in order to have cones of shadow created around other vehicles. While BMW is working on that, the tech is not ready yet. However, when you’re out there on the road alone at night, you forget all this, simply because the laser tech brings such a bright experience that you’re tempted to call it “the little daylight”.

Since we’re talking money, we’ll mention the i8 has an MSRP of $137,450, which does not include the destination charge. Fully loaded, an i8 can carry a price tag of around $149,000.

In Europe, things start at just under EUR132,000 and can climb to EUR138,970. Both prices include 19 percent VAT (German market), but you’ll have to pay extra for those laser headlights.

The demand so far has been serious, with BMW even shifting things around at the Leipzig plant in Germany where the i8 is built in order to try and keep up. Thus, they’ve reduced i3 production to make room for more i8s. As a result, the waiting time for an order has dropped from 18 to about six months.

BMW is currently in the midst of redefining its identity, shifting from the driving focus alone to a more premium and comfortable overall experience.

Perhaps the German carmaker took this literally, gifting the i8 with a pretty face. In fact, the overall styling is one of the strongest points of the car.

This is doubled by a cabin that’s premium enough for the job and offers pleasing ergonomics. The rear seats still can’t be used by adults though.

Throughout the drive, we’ve been asked several questions and we promised we’d answer them here.

How is the i8 compared to the i3 (obviously keeping each car’s positioning in mind)?

To put it simply, the i3 was below our expectations, with one reason for that being that we found it too expensive for a car confined to the city. The i8 exceeded our estimates though. That has to do with the fact that it’s a sportscar that can be driven around town all day.

Is the BMW i8 better than a Porsche 911?

Despite seeming like the obvious question, this one isn’t actually legit. The i8 bets on all things alternative, from propulsion to styling, while the Neunelfer is the most traditional big-name sportscar out there.

The polished Porsche allows you to enjoy the profound, instinctual pleasures of motoring while the i8 appeals to a different type of refinement. The BMW is here to keep you engaged in a game of how green you can be while still going fast.

Does the i8 feel organic enough for a sportscar?

Yes, but it has its own definition of “organic”. While it doesn’t deliver instant response and isn’t all that sharp at the limit, it manages to offer a balanced experience that captivates the driver.

What’s the principle behind this Bimmer?

First of all, it’s an i machine, so the “Bimmer” tag is not quite suitable. Secondly, the key strength of the i8 resides not in how much its technical elements shine on their own, but rather in the melange they offer.

Can you drive one every day?

You could, but the impractical doors stand in the way.

Then again, you’d probably have the same issues if you decided to ride a unicorn on a daily basis: too much attention from the other riders and a horn that can sometimes complicate things. And yes, the i8 is a bit like a unicorn. For one thing, its coolness aura benefits the entire green vehicle genre.

Normally sportscars appeal to the child inside each one of us. The i8 on the other hand, connects to the adult we’ve grown into. It’s an engaging toy, but only if you’re open enough to understand it.