Full Review: BMW i8

If you live in Hobart, Tasmania, it’s surroundings, or still haven’t left since Targa Tasmania ended a few days ago, then head over to Hobart Autohaus, where they have a pair of hybrid and electric i-series cars! An i8 and an i3!

The BMW i8 became a production car a fair while ago in 2013. It was introduced as a concept even further back, in 2011, under the name of ‘BMW Concept Vision Efficient Dynamics’. Germany started its deliveries of the car in 2014, and it has been quite a success to BMW. Although many have been sold, it is still quite a rare and certainly eye-catching car, because of it’s looks, sound and its supercar worthy price tag of $318,177!

The i8 is a plug-in hybrid car that blew us away, it is a hybrid like no other, and it’s nothing like BMW has ever made before! With a tiny 1.5 litre turbocharged inline-3, paired with a 7.1 kWh battery, it produces quite a small amount of power for the car it looks like. The electric motor produces 96kW (129 hp), sends its power to the front wheels, and the petrol engine produces 170kW (228 hp) and directs the power to the rear wheels, making it a hybrid all-wheel drive. With a combined output of just 266kW (357 hp), don’t look down upon it for the small amount of power it produces, as this car not only looks, but drives like a spaceship, accelerating it from from 0-100kph in just 4.4 seconds, reaching an electronically limited top speed of 250kph, as per usual for all BMW cars that aren’t ‘M’! Wait, this isn’t the fast bit yet! 100-160kph takes even less time than the 0-100kph speed, and this is where the car really starts to show its monstrous abilities! The i8 is capable of driving 37 kilometres on electricity (e-drive) at up to speeds of 120kph, before the petrol engine kicks in. Since it is a plug-in hybrid car, it uses very little fuel for a supercar, managing just 2.1L/100kms! That is very fuel efficient for the car it is!

Now you maybe thinking that the car doesn’t make a sound because of it’s tiny, engine, and its electric buzzing motor, but you would be wrong, as BMW have fitted all i8’s with speakers in the exhaust… Yes thats right! BMW have fitted the exhaust with artificial sound for that ultimate driving (and sound) experience! Well, sound… The car’s multimedia speakers are manufactured by Harman Kardon. Don’t forget the interior. That looks like a spaceship. Full stop.
So it looks, sounds, and performs like a supercar. What disadvantages can a car so perfect have?

Well, the brakes are a little underpowered, which doesn’t give the driver the most confidence. Although it is a luxurious car, the back seats are far from that… Why bother have them? Unless you had kids… or no legs… then you simply wouldn’t fit in the back seats! Getting into the front seats takes enough effort! The scissor doors not only look cool (amazing, awesome), but help try to solve the issue with getting into the car, giving more space to get in, but it’s not much use. It’s still very hard and time consuming to get to the rear seats, because the front seats are electric, meaning you would have to slide the button on the seat for quite a while before it moved far enough forward. If you did manage to get into the rear seats, then well done! But sitting their wouldn’t feel too great, as you’re watching your legs get stuck, and that would take the luxury off the people in the front seats, as they would have to be moved forward a fair bit! I guess you can use the rear seats as extra luggage space, as that’s what the car is missing. The electric motor is in the front, and the petrol engine is in the back, leaving very little space for storage!

Although these things are drawbacks, they are also opportunities for improvement, and we are certain that BMW will do the best they can to engineer around these slight disadvantages!
As mentioned, the BMW i8 looks, sounds and performs like a supercar. Storage space is a bit of a let down, but we can’t complain, as most supercars wouldn’t be able to fit much. Overall, it looks so good and menacing at the same time, and we can’t help but stare at it.