The automotive future according to Hollywood exists as one of two polar-opposite scenarios. Either it’s sleek and bright, filled with fast-moving pods gliding over flawless, uncongested roads, or it’s dark and dystopian, with kludged trucks and muscle cars roaming dilapidated and desolate highways. Hollywood never dreams of roads jammed full of frumpy electric hatchbacks, but the BMW i3 suggests that’s our more likely automotive future.
The BMW i3 with its optional range extender is steeped in forward-thinking technology. Look past the tall, stubby hood and you’ll find an aluminum skateboard chassis driven by an electric motor, augmented by a two-cylinder gasoline-fueled “range extender” engine, and topped with a carbon-fiber passenger cell skinned in composite panels. The materials, the powertrain, and even the awkward design all point to a future of smarter and more efficient cars.
Not the BMW We Know
If, like us, you’ve noticed that BMW’s traditionally sporty sedans are getting soft around the belly, the i3 might convince you that the Bavarians have now swung to the opposite extreme, still eschewing athleticism but now adopting a Fair Trade, locally sourced, Whole Foods outlook on building cars. The drive-mode chassis-adjustment selector here tops out at Comfort and the closest the i3 comes to a Sport+ mode analogue is Eco Pro+, a self-inflicted driving purgatory where top speed is limited to 56 mph and the climate-control system blows only unconditioned air from the outside. Around the skidpad, tires barely wider than an adult hand manage just 0.80 g of lateral grip with the undefeatable stability control nipping at the brakes. But while it’s difficult to wrap your head around the i3 as a BMW, it makes perfect sense as an ambassador for the future of driving.
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With a fully charged battery, the i3 drives much like electric competitors from Nissan, Ford, and Chevrolet. Quiet and smooth, it steps off the line with the confident low-rpm torque shove of an electric motor. But there’s one big difference in how you drive the i3. In keeping with automotive tradition, BMW installed two pedals at the driver’s feet, but it’s possible to drive the i3 using only the right one. When you lift off the accelerator, the i3 initiates a regenerative braking scheme that converts kinetic energy into electricity to extend the range. That wouldn’t be particularly notable, except that the BMW decelerates so quickly and consistently at all speeds that the regenerative braking can slow the car all the way to a stop. As long as you keep your eyes up and traffic doesn’t slow abruptly, you can negotiate the roads solely by manipulating the accelerator. This writer made the 20-mile commute home—across town, on a highway, off an exit ramp, into a neighborhood, and up a driveway—using only the right pedal. This aggressive regenerative-braking strategy also means that the left pedal can be dedicated to slowing the i3 via conventional hydraulic binders, making for a solid, progressive pedal feel. When called to the task, those brakes can haul the i3 to a stop from 70 mph in as little as 160 feet.
One cautionary note here: One-pedal driving activates the brake lights during sharp deceleration (exceeding 0.13 g), but our two-pedal experience creates expectations that may not align with one-pedal reality. It would seem wise, even if otherwise unnecessary, to depress the left pedal and illuminate the brake lights to give following drivers fair warning, particularly when approaching a full stop and at rest.
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Reasonably Quick and Sounds Like the Future
At 3135 pounds, the range-extender-equipped i3 is almost 300 pounds heavier than the pure-electric model, yet despite lugging around a second powertrain, the aluminum-and-carbon-fiber construction still gives the range-extended BMW a 200-pound advantage on the pure-electric Nissan Leaf. Flat-pedal acceleration propels the i3 to 60 mph in 7.0 seconds and through the quarter-mile in 15.8. That’s quick, especially considering that this is a segment in which many cars need 10 seconds to hit the mile-a-minute mark.
At low speeds, the i3 warbles and whoop-whoop-whoops in a way that reminded several staffers of George Jetson’s flying car. (A YouTube refresher reveals that the glass-domed cartoon saucer emitted a higher pitch playing at a more spastic frequency than the BMW.) The audio track is intended to warn pedestrians of the i3’s otherwise near-silent approach, but it can occasionally be heard inside the car, an endearing reminder that you’re driving The Future.
The strongest hints of BMW are found in the handling feel. The steering is quick at 2.6 turns lock-to-lock, and there’s an on-center immediacy that would seem natural in a 3-series. Yet on the highway, where semi-truck slipstreams and strong winds sometimes push around the short and light i3, the eager steering requires constant attention and maintenance to keep it from dancing in its lane. The understeer at the limit is moderate—a high compliment considering how front-motor electric vehicles on low-rolling-resistance tires tend to plow; it helps that 54.8 percent of the i3’s weight is carried by the rear axle. The ride is compliant and controlled, although like many of today’s conventional BMWs, it’s slightly underdamped.
Limited-Range Range Extender
The i3 is rated to cover 72 miles on electricity alone (or 81 miles without the weighty range extender), although as with every one of its peers, you can watch the predicted range drop five miles for every three or four you drive. BMW’s range-anxiety Prozac is a 647-cc two-cylinder engine turning a 34-hp generator. The gas engine, borrowed from BMW Motorrad’s C600 Sport scooter, never drives the wheels, making the i3 the only true series hybrid on sale today (R.I.P. Fisker Karma). Yes, we know, the Chevrolet Volt and the Cadillac ELR operate primarily as series hybrids, but GM allows their engines to drive the wheels directly in rare circumstances. BMW never does.
The range extender maintains a small buffer zone in the battery to reconcile the disparity between turning the wheels with a 170-hp electric motor and recharging the battery with a 34-hp generator. It takes an extra 0.9 second to get to 60 mph with the gas engine turning, and it’s possible to outpace the generator with sustained accelerator application. A driver spiriting the i3 around our real-world testing loop saw the car struggle to maintain 65 mph while climbing one of the slight grades that pass for hills in Michigan. That’s an extreme example, though. On the highway, the i3 buzzed happily at 80 mph, the engine humming audibly but not intrusively.
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The single significant flaw with the i3’s range extender is that it drinks from a Big Gulp–sized gas tank. At 1.9 gallons small, the gas reservoir contributes another 75 miles or so to the i3’s reach, but the range indicator drops at an alarming rate, no better than when the car is running on battery alone. So it alleviates the anxiety of driving an electric but doesn’t solve the range issue the same way a Volt does. Take the i3 on a 500-mile weekend and you’ll stop to refuel every hour. Wasn’t driving an electric car supposed to be about avoiding gas stations?
The i3’s stunted range is a product of policy, not product planning or technical capability. California’s zero-emission-vehicle mandate allows BMW to earn credits for range-extended i3s as if they were pure battery-electric cars rather than hybrids—but only so long as the electric range meets or exceeds the gas range. The i3 would be far more practical and the $3850 premium for the range extender would be much more palatable if the gas tank simply held another five gallons of fuel.
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The EPA rates the range-extended i3 at a combined 117 MPGe when running on electricity and 39 mpg when the gas generator kicks on. We recorded an average of 60 MPGe when totaling our fuel and electricity consumption. Admittedly, we burned as much gas in a week as many i3 owners will use in a month or three because we left the i3 unplugged several times just to experience the car with the range extender running.
A Smarter, Dorkier Future
Never mind that the BMW i3 is the dorkiest-looking thing on four wheels since the Smart ForTwo. In a market where many electric cars are mere conversions of gas-powered models, the i3’s purpose-built, clean-sheet design stands out. The series-hybrid powertrain, the sophisticated materials, and the unique construction method make for a smarter electric car at a still-reasonable as-tested price of $52,550 before rebates. With elevated driving dynamics and clever packaging, the i3 predicts a realistic future, one where cars are just as interesting as they are in today’s market.
Limited-Range Range Extender
The i3 is rated to cover 72 miles on electricity alone (or 81 miles without the weighty range extender), although as with every one of its peers, you can watch the predicted range drop five miles for every three or four you drive. BMW’s range-anxiety Prozac is a 647-cc two-cylinder engine turning a 34-hp generator. The gas engine, borrowed from BMW Motorrad’s C600 Sport scooter, never drives the wheels, making the i3 the only true series hybrid on sale today (R.I.P. Fisker Karma). Yes, we know, the Chevrolet Volt and the Cadillac ELR operate primarily as series hybrids, but GM allows their engines to drive the wheels directly in rare circumstances. BMW never does.
The range extender maintains a small buffer zone in the battery to reconcile the disparity between turning the wheels with a 170-hp electric motor and recharging the battery with a 34-hp generator. It takes an extra 0.9 second to get to 60 mph with the gas engine turning, and it’s possible to outpace the generator with sustained accelerator application. A driver spiriting the i3 around our real-world testing loop saw the car struggle to maintain 65 mph while climbing one of the slight grades that pass for hills in Michigan. That’s an extreme example, though. On the highway, the i3 buzzed happily at 80 mph, the engine humming audibly but not intrusively.
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The single significant flaw with the i3’s range extender is that it drinks from a Big Gulp–sized gas tank. At 1.9 gallons small, the gas reservoir contributes another 75 miles or so to the i3’s reach, but the range indicator drops at an alarming rate, no better than when the car is running on battery alone. So it alleviates the anxiety of driving an electric but doesn’t solve the range issue the same way a Volt does. Take the i3 on a 500-mile weekend and you’ll stop to refuel every hour. Wasn’t driving an electric car supposed to be about avoiding gas stations?
The i3’s stunted range is a product of policy, not product planning or technical capability. California’s zero-emission-vehicle mandate allows BMW to earn credits for range-extended i3s as if they were pure battery-electric cars rather than hybrids—but only so long as the electric range meets or exceeds the gas range. The i3 would be far more practical and the $3850 premium for the range extender would be much more palatable if the gas tank simply held another five gallons of fuel.
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The EPA rates the range-extended i3 at a combined 117 MPGe when running on electricity and 39 mpg when the gas generator kicks on. We recorded an average of 60 MPGe when totaling our fuel and electricity consumption. Admittedly, we burned as much gas in a week as many i3 owners will use in a month or three because we left the i3 unplugged several times just to experience the car with the range extender running.
A Smarter, Dorkier Future
Never mind that the BMW i3 is the dorkiest-looking thing on four wheels since the Smart ForTwo. In a market where many electric cars are mere conversions of gas-powered models, the i3’s purpose-built, clean-sheet design stands out. The series-hybrid powertrain, the sophisticated materials, and the unique construction method make for a smarter electric car at a still-reasonable as-tested price of $52,550 before rebates. With elevated driving dynamics and clever packaging, the i3 predicts a realistic future, one where cars are just as interesting as they are in today’s market.
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