[MichaelJohn]

I posted this on the M5 forum so I thought i’d post it here too. It’s long but you might be interested in my take on the car. I’m sure you guys know all this stuff already and i’m preaching to the choir as far as the goodness of the i8 goes. If I’ve made any errors please let me know as I’m still pretty much of a newbie here.

This post is long so bear with me as I am still under the new car spell. I haven’t posted here in a long time which, now that I think about it, is telling. The M5 is a wonderful car that I thoroughly enjoyed but I had lost my passion for it. It is undeniably very fast and refined but it’s just a little too big and heavy and not sporty enough (or sporty-looking enough) for me. I bought the car off the showroom floor in 2013 when my 2 kids were still in high school but now one is away in college and the other in grad school so I don’t really need a big family sedan anymore. I think this really hit home when I realized that I liked driving my wife’s VW GTI (really a fun car) and even our X3 as much or more than the M5. I also have an electric motorcycle, a Zero SR, so I know very well the incredible rush of instant electric torque and I wanted it in a car. No Teslas thank you. I test drove one and didn't like it. The interior was just too spartan. I have always had my eye on the i8 but when it first came out dealers around here were tacking on 50-100k to MSRP (and getting it) so I lost interest and forgot about it. Well, it’s 4 years later and how things have changed. Some dealers are now discounting new ‘17’s between 20 and 30k. I got a great deal on a mint CPO Crystal White ‘15 with 5,000 miles on it with the exact color combo I was looking for. I had nearly bought a 6,000 mile ‘14 but I decided that I didn’t want dark gray plus the ‘14’s don’t have comfort access and I’m spoiled. The test drive was a real eye opener. The car is often criticized for having supercar looks but non-supercar performance and I think that has helped to bring the prices down but the instant electric torque makes up for the relatively low horsepower number (more on how the power is underrated later) but unlike the M5 it gets all of its power to the ground without traction issues. Car & Driver got 0 to 60 in 3.6 and a few others have gotten 3.8 and that’s enough acceleration for me. It feels properly quick and unlike the M5 the throttle response is immediate. Even at 2,000 rpm in top gear on the freeway you just touch the pedal and it goes. The electric torque certainly makes a difference. It is also way more fun to drive than I thought it would be. The steering is light, accurate and feels just right. Being roughly 1/2 ton lighter than the M5 doesn’t hurt either even though the i8 not really a whole lot smaller. It’s not quite 911 sharp but the ride is more compliant and I don't mind sacrificing a little performance for comfort. Apparently the M division has helped with the suspension and it shows. It also has multiple and very distinct driving personalities - it’s a smooth and quiet stealth cruiser in all-electric mode, an everyday driver in comfort mode and a sports car in sport mode which gives you full-time all-wheel hybrid power, tightens up the suspension and charges the main battery. You never have to plug it in if you don’t want to but I do anyway because I get a kick out of seeing the interior light up in blue if you check it while it’s charging. Plug-in charging also gives you more electric range, which is admittedly not huge at 15-20 miles but it doesn’t really matter because popping it into sport mode quickly recharges the battery at the rate of 1 mile of range gained per 1 mile driven. That allows me to switch between gas and electric all the time which is strangely satisfying. Even in electric-only mode it has a little kick. Stuck in traffic? Go e mode or comfort and waste zero gas while idling. When the road opens up, flip the shifter into sport and take off. Sport mode also enhances the exhaust note and I have seen different explanations for that. Some say that the sound is totally synthesized and fake. Others, including a BMW engineer that I spoke with, say that it is real engine sound that is only acoustically enhanced. Frankly, I don’t care. It sounds really good, especially on the rev-matching downshifts (the auto box is first-rate). I’m tickled by the fact that BMW can get this kind of sound and performance out of a 1.5 liter three cylinder engine. Flat 6's, V6’s, V8’s and V10’s all have their own special charm and benefits but I am getting 35+ MPG right now with lots of sport mode blasts thrown in - what a treat that is. While some may wish for a bigger engine or more power I think that misses the point of the car. There are plenty of other high performance cars available for that but BMW was shooting for something different and I think they nailed it. When I take it out to run errands sometimes I don’t even use the gasoline engine at all - there’s something really cool about gliding around town. Then there's the doors. Though I have seen many reviewers praise the wow factor but criticize the functionality, entry and exit turns out to be a non-issue. If you’re halfway coordinated and not too large, getting in and out is no big deal - in fact, I rather enjoy it. The butterfly doors have actually worked out better for me as the passenger side door no longer has the possibility of hitting the side wall of my garage which I had padded to protect the M5’s door. Now the door just pops up and clears easily. At 6’ I can even squeeze into the back seat in a pinch though a long drive is out of the question unless you're tiny. At least there is usable space and I am always throwing stuff in the back. The front seats are very comfortable and the cabin is well appointed, spacious and luxurious - leather everywhere. Everything is simple, logical, and easy to get to. At night the color selectable interior LED ribbon accent lights really add to the futuristic look of the car. It has HUD too. The carbon fiber impregnated plastic tub is rigid as can be and the car is completely buttoned down, rattle-free and quiet at speed. And the looks...I am not an attention seeker but it's fun to drive something with such bold styling that is so different from other cars. Sometimes I go into the garage and just stare at it. No, it is not supercar fast and the M5 would probably walk it from a roll but it is quick enough for me - and it feels quicker than the M5. I don’t frequent drag strips or do 150 mph pulls anyway. In the real world it is plenty fast. Maybe I am getting old but blinding acceleration is no longer the be-all and end-all - the total package counts more for me. If all I cared about was acceleration I would go buy a Hellcat… Well, maybe not. Besides, whatever power this car has it gives it all to you right now. Another little known detail is that the high voltage belt-drive motor that functions as a starter motor for the gas engine and a generator/charger for the big battery is also used for extra boost in sport mode. It’s good for 11 more horsepower (so it’s 368 hp, not 357) and 37 more pound-feet of torque added to the already healthy 420 in a 3,400 pound car. So it actually has two electric motors helping the gas engine when they are called on. This little secret weapon shows up in the i8 technical manual which reveals the higher total output. I guess that BMW leaves this out of their regular specifications because you only get the bigger numbers in sport mode. For the price I don’t think there is anything else quite like it. I find it to be a special automobile and I appreciate it more all the time. It is a technological tour de force and to my eyes a wind tunnel-sculpted work of art. Just in case you can’t tell, I really like this car - I have never driven anything else like it. I thought I was going to regret giving up the M5 and I very nearly backed out of the deal in mid-negotiation thinking that I was being foolish to trade in a beautiful ‘13 M5 with 18,000 miles on it that was trouble-free and basically perfect. I’m sure glad I didn’t back out.

If you made it through all of this, thanks for taking the time and I hope a little of my appreciation for the i8 has rubbed off.

[363ny]

Great write-up! Congrats on your i8 and enjoy in good health! I have had mine for about 18 months and it still puts a smile on my face every time I drive it.

[NGR]

Pretty much echoes my thoughts completely!

I do miss spanking an M engine up to 8k RPM but then I remember the ease of the i8 performance, the different noise it makes, the doors, the looks and everything else you wrote about. Yep, I love it for being so wonderfully different.

[Maanpur]

Congratulation. I agree with you. Total package counts for me as well and not just 0 to 60 numbers. I came from a M6 and prefer i8 over M6.

[orion1977]

I thought I was the only one who goes to garage just to stare at it.

🤣🤣

[MalibuBimmer]

Thank you for the report.

Pro tip: Paragraphs are your friend. Do not be afraid to have plenty of them.

[MichaelJohn]

Originally Posted by MalibuBimmer

Thank you for the report.

Pro tip: Paragraphs are your friend. Do not be afraid to have plenty of them.

You're welcome.

On a forum I'm not too worried about proper paragraph usage. Having taught French at UC Berkeley and English here and in France I reserve myself the right to compose in stream of conciousness.

[JasH]

Originally Posted by MichaelJohn

On a forum I'm not too worried about proper paragraph usage. Having taught French at UC Berkeley and English here and in France I reserve myself the right to compose in stream of conciousness.

With respect, your post is unreadable as a result, and I skipped it. Take the friendly advice

[YWGT3]

Excellent write-up. I can truly appreciate where you're coming from.

[ImGoingPlaces]

Originally Posted by MichaelJohn

You're welcome.

On a forum I'm not too worried about proper paragraph usage. Having taught French at UC Berkeley and English here and in France I reserve myself the right to compose in stream of conciousness.

Dont mind him.

Really love your post. I feel the same. Like your vibes and your energy. Enjoy man. pS

is that your house in the background?
nice

[Maxxsirrah]

Originally Posted by JasH

With respect, your post is unreadable as a result, and I skipped it. Take the friendly advice

I took the same view unfortunately. Too many other things to read and not enough time!!

[emmfive]

I speed read your novel MichaelJohn My lease is up in June, I may be going the other way, from the i8 to the new M5. However I really like the i8, and I'm having some pre-separation anxiety. So I may end up saying screw it, and get another i8.

[Barago]

I don’t think I could ever go back to a “normal” BMW after owning an i8. Even a ///M...and I’ve had a few prior

[ericsi]

I can only agree with most of what you say.

I has many 911's (gt3, rs, turbo s etc), aston's but got tired of them relatively quickly. The i8 is super relaxing and trouble free.

[MichaelJohn]

Originally Posted by ImGoingPlaces

Dont mind him.

Really love your post. I feel the same. Like your vibes and your energy. Enjoy man. pS

is that your house in the background?
nice

Thanks for the comment, I appreciate it.

Thanks to everyone else as well, even to those who didn’t or couldn’t read my post. Sorry ‘bout that. I was more concerned with content than form and it all just spilled out.

No, it’s my neighbors’ house. I’ll let them know it got a compliment on a car forum - they’ll enjoy that as they are car people too.

I have decided that my new goal is to get worse mileage. I am obviously not driving this car hard enough.