Why Don't People Like the BMW I8 Anymore? #blogpost

I feel weird. Two years of college and A-Level education has finally come to an end, and (touch wood) I should be in university by this September!

It’s been a complete see-saw period of time for me, at first I loved it: the people I met were SO friendly and made me feel special, the teachers were almost like family members and I was made to feel welcome whatever I said, did or wrote.

Fast forward into the next year, and chaos happens. Suddenly, I find myself hating it. I was drowning in coursework and just recently, I was head over arse throughout the incredibly pressurising exam period. On the plus side, last weekend, I went to see The Rolling Stones!! THAT was one of the best nights of my life!

But still, as college finished, I realised that all those people (a select few I had a crush on) would never be seen again. My life would steer into unknown territory. As I write this, I miss it deeply. I should’ve grasped each great moment and enjoyed it whilst I could’ve.

This neatly brings me onto BMW’s flagship sports car that’s been around for a while, the I8. Because at first when it was revealed in 2014, ooh everyone loved it. We thought it was the hottest thing from Germany since the recipe of currywurst.

After a while though, suddenly a lot of people either hate it or just think; ‘meh’. So, what happened? How did a car which seemed so cool become - dare I say it - a bit crap?

Well, with the help of a couple of CTzens’ opinions, I don’t think it’s difficult to work out:

The power train is embarrassing

In case you’ve been living in North Korea for 4 years, the I8 is famously powered by a 1.5 litre 3-cylinder engine, which on its own, kicks out around 240bhp. This is then stitched to a set of electric motors, which bumps up the power to 354bhp (or be it more, for the face-lifted model).

But here’s what I mean by embarrassing: picture this scene-

Baller: pulls up to a petrol station in an I8

Onlooker: “Cor! Nice car, mate!”

Baller: “Cheers. Just picked it up yesterday. Brand new.”

Onlooker: “Yeah yeah, what’s it packing under there?”

Baller: “err…. well…”

Now obviously, petrolheads like us will know that the I8 makes damn good use of the engine, but saying you have the same or smaller engine than an Essex girl’s white Mini to a random onlooker is going to set the wrong impression. You’ll leave that petrol station feeling a little bit red-faced…

The topic of the engine neatly brings me onto my next point:

Cars of a similar price bracket are more exciting

I know there will be nit-picky individuals in the comments stating the I8 was never made to rival a 911 or a thirsty V8 Jag, but if you were in the position to spend £104,000 on a new sports car, it would be hard to ignore what else you can get for the price of an I8.

Fellow CTzen ‘TheMindGarage’ (good name) has already stated that its price point is too difficult to justify over purpose built sports cars like the Audi R8 or the ooh-so-brilliant McLaren 540C.

The fact of the matter is; other cars are more exotic and exciting prospects. Why buy a 3-cylinder hybrid that can only realistically do 30mpg when you could have 911 T that does nearly everything a buyer wants it to do… perfectly.

Oh, and for the money, you especially can’t ignore the breathtakingly beautiful AMG-powered Aston Martin V8 Vantage. That’s a king compared to BMW’s pawn.

But enough of my cringey chess analogy, yes, the I8 isn’t made to compete against the many sports cars on sale, but since it sits in the same price region considering optional extras, the hybrid Beemer is (as GTR Turtle put it), NOT worth it.

A lot has happened in 4 years

This pretty much links to my last point, really. Since 2014, the sports car sector has seen many new, cutting-edge stuff for you to choose from.

And because newer, more puristic sports cars such as one from BMW, the M4 CS, offer more bang for your buck (at least compared to the I8), the latter just isn’t cool anymore because of this.

As I write this section, I’m finding it harder to explain my points. But I guess we can liken the I8 to the smartphone industry; back then, this was THE car to be seen with. But since better stuff developed up to now in 2018, not too many care about it…

I’m contradicting myself now as I am mainly a classic car guy… but that does bring me onto my next point!

I feel because of the thrilling engines, puristic driving experiences and their sheer timelessness, cars like the Vantage, F-Type, 911s etc. will become valued future classics. The I8 on the other hand is rather hard to think of as a future classic, because in my opinion, it was a car built at a particular time, for that particular time.

That time was 2014, which is old news right now. Heck, you don’t ever see Mecum Auctions ever selling hand-held phones from the ‘80s, do you?

Yeah, if this last point seems like a mess, it’s because I found it hard to put stuff down…

Overall then

In essence, the I8 was a technological fashion item. Cool then, but not right now. It was an exhibition piece which you can appreciate, but wouldn’t want to own over things we’re already accustomed to.

So effectively, the I8 has gone out of fashion. That’s probably the main reason why people don’t like it anymore. Another major reason is obviously it’s price brand new. It’s £104,000 price tag is silly, and anyone with sense would just go and buy something else instead.

The price is also silly because it depreciates like a Greek bank. That said, at £50,000, it does start to make more sense…

But if I were to change anything about the I8, I don’t think it would be the styling. It seems people really like the way this car looks, the fact it’s futuristic and sleek gives it some coolness.

The engine however? Well, it should’ve been either fully electric or had a straight 6 or V8 shoved into it. Either of those options would’ve made it more considerable over cars of its price bracket.

Nonetheless, this was the first article I’ve written in a while. I’m sorry if there are rusty parts or some points/sentences seem messy! But I hope you enjoyed reading and leave your thoughts/criticisms in the comments!!

Thanks for reading!