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      02-24-2014, 01:49 PM   #1
mrbelk
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Drove an i3 at BMWCCA event in ATL

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So I was invited by the Peachtree Chapter of the BMWCCA to attend an i3 presentation at the BMW southern region office in Sandy Springs this past Saturday. Evidently the event filled up in 2 hours for 40 participants. Everybody got a chance to drive one (I think they were all the highest spec, whatever that is, all in the orange color, all with NAV, no REx variants) over a 3-4 mile route around Sandy Springs. There were 5 for driving, one in the workshop on the ground and another up on a lift so we could look at the undercarriage.

The car looks funky from the outside; kind of like a Mini and a Honda Element hooked up and had a baby. Exterior styling is super-subjective, so I will refrain from making any judgements there except to say that my wife gave it her seal of approval.

The interior was a different story. I loved the materials (especially the "raw" eucalyptus wood dash) and interior design, although I thought the placement of the start/stop button was a little awkward in the way it was positioned the front of the gear-selector dial where it's obscured by the steering wheel. I think that the main information screen behind the wheel could be a little bigger, but the resolution, brightness, and crispness of the displays was amazing. I'm 6'5" and had enough room in the back seat that I wouldn't be uncomfortable riding in back to go downtown to dinner or whatever with other folks in the car. The front seats were very comfortable and supportive; typical of BMW seats in general.

The car drives amazingly. It's turning radius is <30' and we were doing slow-speed donuts in the back parking lot and marveling at how small of a turning circle it required. Acceleration is very strong, as you might imagine. We were challenged to try to get the lowest kWh/100km over the designated route and the winner was able to get 10.1 kWh/100km, which translates into almost 125mi of range. I think it would make a killer autocross car with its super-low CoG, amazing low end torque, and amazing steering. Evidently the contact patch of the tires is the same as a Mini in a car that weighs significantly less.

The car's cellular data connection can pick up new public charging stations as they come on line; so you don't have to fool with map updates to get those locations. You can program the car to pre-condition the cabin while it's plugged in to the house electric so that you don't waste battery power heating or cooling the car once you set off. You just have to maintain the cabin temp, which is much "cheaper." Evidently it weighs 1100lbs less than a Nissan Leaf.

We learned that the CF "life module" was designed with pre-determined cutaway points so that in the event of a crash damaged bits can be cleanly cut away and new sub-assemblies can be bonded right in their place with no loss of structural integrity.

Anyway, I came away highly impressed with the build quality, performance, etc. Can't wait to be able to take one on a longer drive, on the highway, into the mountains, etc.

-MrB
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      02-24-2014, 02:00 PM   #2
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awesome, thank you for the review. I am strongly considering one of these for my personal car.
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