The BMW i3S isn’t exactly a new car, having launched last year. However, it’s just launched in Britain with its larger 120 Ah battery and Top Gear’s given it a go to see how it is. And it’s actually quite good.
We know that the BMW i3 gets a bit of flak for having less range than almost all of its competitors, while also looking funky and not being cheap. However, it’s still a very enjoyable electric car to own and live with everyday. In this TG review, we see exactly why.
The BMW i3S is the sportier version of the standard i3, but don’t expect it to be some hot-hatch rivaling version. It’s only slightly warmer than the standard car. It’s really not much more powerful but it does make a few extra ponies, pumping out 184 hp. But because it weighs as much as a house fly and produces all of its torque from zero rpm, like all EVs, it gets from 0-60 mph in about seven seconds. Where it really impresses is up to about 40 mph, where it has some real zip.
It’s also fun to drive, thanks to its rear-layout, light weight and low center of gravity. “With rear-wheel drive and the heaviest portions of its 1.3-ton weight fixed nice and low, there’s an inherent rightness to the way it goes down a road.” said TG. It has good steering, sharp turn-in and a playful chassis, too. “It’ll even indulge a small amount of silliness if you slacken off the stability control.”
Though, the biggest compliment that TG gives the BMW i3S is one I personally have always given it — it has character. “What’s present here – and not in a Leaf, Zoe or Ioniq – is a real sense of humour, and layers of fun beyond those first few hits away from the traffic lights. Isn’t it vital to know as cars fundamentally change, their sense of fun is still tangible?” TG said.
They’re right. When dino-juice runs out, cars like the BMW i3 prove that we can still have fun behind the wheel and that cars will still be able to have character. So despite all of its flaws and drawbacks, the BMW i3S is a genuine enthusiast’s choice for an electric car.
[Source: Top Gear]
What flaws and drawbacks?
The car is perfect.
I love my i3’s…I’ve owned three of them..still have 2 (BEV & an S REX)…traded a BEV for a CPO Mod X. I do think the X is the best EV available…but when I take the wheel of my i3, I feel like I have total control. It’s like puting on a fine leather glove. Fun is putting it mildly. Thanks BMW.
Given that BEV are a fraction of total global market (where they’re available), what EV revolution is that?
That is exactly what I mean… for the global market to shift as it has with all the forces of the ICE mind set working against us…manufacturers and there enormous investments, dealers (who hate EVs and selling them), buyers who fear or don’t understand change and EVs. The change we’ve seen not only measured by sales but also by the eruption of EV r&d…and the solid commitment to continue this.
And maybe because I have solar energy raining down and captured on my roof, and free fuel to power my driving adventures, and the excitement of driving the best cars EVER made…it feels like a revolution to me.
“the best cars EVER made…” it feels like a delusion to me. EV had a quarter of the market a century ago, many reasons they vanished. Consumers thus far are resistant to paying the BEV premium, for MANY reasons, if & when that changes a good part of it may be due to gov’mental. mandate. Guessing your “driving adventures” are short range & time consuming. I prefer road trips, mobility & independence. I don’t get the victim mentality, what forces of the ICE mind set are working against “us”? ICE & Diesel are both reversing from their records highs of 2017, there have been many droughts in the gasoline market through the years, people should be seeking out BEV, instead there is no global volume leader, last sales chart I saw #1 was “Other”. Though in actual fact if you include ALL BMW electric, they were #1. When I pointed this out, writer/editor responded with PHEV don’t count. A revolution has to be based on more than faith, speculation, hype or prevarication, occasional fact or 2 is nice.
We’ll see!!!
But you know deep down there’s no turning back AS MUCH AS YOU’D LIKE…EVs are just so much better…
500 mile vacation to Cape Cod …in i3S Rex…no problem at all…the time is over for the ICE..their goose is cooked….
You’ll see….as Mike said “The car is perfect.”
Since over 80 million ICE sold in 2017 & new cars last over a decade, that goose will be cooking for quite some time to come. No one’s trying to turn back, ICE have been evolving for over a century, one reason they took over from electric. Congratulations on Cape Cod, most of the planet has no infrastructure for BEV. Certainly you can’t charge your way across the Trans-Canada Hwy. (hugely time consuming even if there were facilities), our current grids already have blackouts, even without adding millions of BEV & our winters slash BEV range, as recently documented in the news). So I think we’re already seeing!!! If the car is so perfect, why aren’t they selling more? Also, our best-sellers are by far pick-ups, which BEV don’t even offer.
I’m just sharing my opinion and my experience in owning and driving 3 different i3’s, and a Mod S, and now TSLA X P90D.
& AFTER driving ICEs for 50 years.
I know we’ll ALWAYS have ICE s on the road just as the Amish still drive in horse drawn carriages, but they will be high priced, rare antique cars..just as we see them at our annual Jackson Barret gathering.
Glad you know it’s your OPINION. Since you can see the future, you must have made a fortune in 2008, how do you find time to type?! Rhetorical question.
REVOLUTIONARY …
Seattle mayor wants law that requires new buildings to have electric vehicle charging capability.
“Seattle has always invented the future, and we will lead the transition to electric vehicles to combat climate change,” she said in a statement
Your revolutionary is my trivial. Building more vehicles & consuming more energy is greater consumption which accelerates climate change, going from the pump to the plug is STILL consumption, you’ve forgotten your solar already?! Seattle is no more revolutionary than is Starbucks or rain.
LOL!!
Baltimore and back to NYC … Great East coast corridor for EVgo and ChargeNow.
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I love i3s…check this out::
https://youtu.be/XmruHe_aBeU
Hilarious! i3 may be gone soon, but BMW’s current earnings warnings are partly due to R&D on BEV, autonomous & ride-sharing, so this video may be the future.
Old VW Bus Converted Into Solar-Powered EV Camper
Now that original camper WAS the best car ever….had one of those babies in ’70s!!!
Google News 55 Volkswagen buses – you can have 1 again. And 54 others!
Our fellow world citizens of Germany certainly fear the future:
The division between combustion engine supporters and EV supporters runs through politics, unions and even science. While the conservative federal minister of transport predicts a great future for diesel and petrol cars, the popular Green Party calls for a rapid switch to electric vehicles. While some union leaders criticize emission limits for harming the industry, others demand the construction of battery factories in Germany. And while some scientists argue that electric vehicles are useless, others believe that there is no alternative.
Google Translate cannot put this into English.
How many/much drugs did u do in ur van?!
And if you don’t need 55 originals, checkout VW I.D. Buzz Multivan – everything old is new again!
On the road to Maryland now!!!
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