View Single Post
      03-27-2014, 03:55 PM   #1
Jason
Administrator
Jason's Avatar
United_States
40322
Rep
21,232
Posts

Drives: F80 M3
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: USA

iTrader: (0)

Thumbs up BMW i8 Praised in CAR Magazine Test Drive Review

BIMMERPOST NEWS
BMW i8 Earns High Praise in CAR Magazine Review
50
COMMENTS
Name:  bmw-i8-on-track.jpg
Views: 15738
Size:  223.5 KB

CAR has posted its effusive full BMW i8 [news/features] test drive review, which resulted in a full 5-star rating for overall rating, handling, performance usability and "feelgood factory."

Here are some of the most telling excerpts from the review:

Name:  Screen Shot 2014-03-27 at 1.59.49 PM.jpg
Views: 14095
Size:  20.9 KB

Play it right, and Eco Pro can extend the range over the regular Comfort mode, from 310 to 370 miles. Flick the gear selector left, to engage Sport mode. The dials switch to a bright red glow, any throttle resistance is replaced by eagerness. The six-speed automatic – already responsive in Eco Pro mode – shifts like lightning in Sport.

There may be a tiny turbocharged three with a balancer shaft behind you, but the petrol engine now snarls as you demand more from the i8. The three-cylinder is redlined at 6500rpm, but it’s no lightweight: it could power the coupe to its 155mph limited top speed without any electric assistance. That said, it needs revs to deliver significant slugs of torque, which is where the e-motor comes in. Its instant grunt fills the low-down gaps in the turbocharged petrol’s torque curve, ensuring relentless acceleration. It’s so continuous, you’d think the i8 has a rapid dual-clutch ’box. Indeed the petrol unit spins so eagerly to the limiter in Sport, that only the quickest fingers can keep up when you’re self-shifting.

The i8’s drivetrain combines the punch of a big-block V8 and the smoothness of a straight six. It can sprint from 0-62mph in 4.4sec, which is only one-tenth slower than the 911 Carrera S PDK. And the mid-engined i8 is said to have the edge over its M4 stablemate when it comes to 50-75mph acceleration. All the while the i8 delivers the goods without ruffling your feathers.

The i8 permits its driver to partly or fully deactivate stability control. This opens up a whole new dynamic experience, where this plug-in hybrid morphs into a flagship M8. On the attack, the car will deliver whiplash-style torque boosts as if a magic wand was briefly doubling the wattage. Through corners, you can step back on the gas unusually early, open the steering up right after the apex and summon enough lift-off oversteer to put a broad smile on your face. Zig-zagging through those fast esses requires no more than a flick and a counter-flick at the light helm, and the fifth-gear arc at the end of the long straight encourages the car to fade in and out of a subtle four-wheel drift: wonderful. And at the three or four points where you need the brakes big-time, the transition from energy recuperation to deceleration to ABS intervention is absolutely seamless in effort and response.

Although the batteries are almost depleted, we try one last full throttle acceleration manoeuvre, this time with DTC on for just a little bit of slip. The sticky though relatively narrow Bridgestones (195/50 and 215/40) shriek briefly as the car takes off in jump-start fashion, first pulling then pushing, the back chasing the front, relentlessly gaining momentum. Somehow, this feels like riding an accordion as it extends and contracts. And in the background, the tyres intermittently wail, the e-motor hisses, the petrol engine growls, and the computerised brain orchestrates the antics. No, this is definitely not your old man’s BMW.

So where does the i8 fit into the world? It’s not in the same league as those hybrid hypercars, the McLaren P1, La Ferrari and Porsche 918 Spyder. But they pack at least 500bhp more and five extra cylinders, inflated price tags and low production runs. With an annual output of 5000 cars, the i8 won’t be such a rare, shooting star. It’ll offer something different to the Audi R8 and Porsche 911, and appeal to tech-lovers who might not otherwise buy a self-centred sports car.

Innovative, pace-setting, radically different, the i8 is remarkable. In its performance and handling, it feels every inch a typical BMW, despite using technology – carbonfibre, electrification – well outside the company’s comfort zone. It takes something special to hit the bull’s eye in two contrasting areas. But the i8’s green footprint is every bit as impressive as the black tyre tracks the enthusiast driver can also leave behind.


Full review at CAR.

Appreciate 0