[jmg]

My F80 M3 lease will be up before the next generation M3 will be out and I've come across a great deal on an i8. I know that the straight line performance is pretty close to the F80 but I'm a little worried that I'll miss the feel of a high performance ICE.

Any i8 owners come from an F80 or similar and felt that way? How's the daily driveability? I find it a bit of a pain getting in and out of the i8, but it will be a secondary car so I'm not too worried. I also have an i3 for more daily driving and commuting. I don't think it will be too redundant having these two next to each other in the garage. I also read about the possibility of a faster i8 in the future. Timing is bad and that won't be in the cards for me. I don't want to spend this much and be outdone in such a short amount of time.

Pros:
Looks stunning
Hybrid
Still fast
More noticeable

Cons:
Too noticeable?
Skinny tires? How's the handling aspect
I might miss the sound and feel of an ICE
Two less doors
Trunk space?
Less comfortable?
Newer faster i8 might be coming



Also, does BMW still have free charging through ChargePoint?

Any other feedback and observations that could affect my decision?

[vance]

Unless you have like a stage 2 tune on your M3, the i8 will be quicker than it. However, with that being said, if the i8 will be primarily a weekend car, I’d say skip on it and splurge for a McLaren 570s or maybe Jague F-Type SVR if you want something a bit cheaper. Both will be quicker/faster than the i8 and be just as fun. The i8 can be a daily driver (it is for me) if you don’t have to transport kids often and don’t have lots of cargo/bags/luggage to carry on a regular basis. That’s my 2 cents

Edit: as far as charging goes, I’ve plugged in my i8 like once ever and it was just for looks and to test it. There’s really no need to when sport mode recharges the electric battery. I’ve never found any chargepoint places in Texas; we only have Blink basically

[BeMyWife]

I have an M4 as well as an i8 and I can say for sure that the two cars serve completely different purposes and cannot "replace" each other. As far as daily drivability I find them both very comfortable to drive as a daily although the i8 will draw more attention. If you sell and replace the M3 with an i8 I am positive that you will start to miss the feel of the F80.

[i8_2018]

I would pick a different car.

[jmg]

Originally Posted by BeMyWife

I have an M4 as well as an i8 and I can say for sure that the two cars serve completely different purposes and cannot "replace" each other. As far as daily drivability I find them both very comfortable to drive as a daily although the i8 will draw more attention. If you sell and replace the M3 with an i8 I am positive that you will start to miss the feel of the F80.

Originally Posted by i8_2018

I would pick a different car.

Hmmm not very encouraging. Would it help to know that I will only have the car for 2 years? I do plan on just lease swapping it out if I get tired of it.

[i8_2018]

The i8 is a superb daily citycar in my view. As a weekend toy there are many others I think you would enjoy more. Since you have an i3 you already get the electric instant torque feeling there. Perhaps if you tell us what feeling you are after and what factors are important?

[orion1977]

The i8 gets me a lot of women.

[wanesso]

Any chance you can keep the M3 too? Having totally different cars to drive is a luxury but worth it if you can--even for a while........

[jmg]

Originally Posted by wanesso

Any chance you can keep the M3 too? Having totally different cars to drive is a luxury but worth it if you can--even for a while........

Nope. Lease is up and I can't really afford both an M3 and an i8.

[Maanpur]

Originally Posted by orion1977

The i8 gets me a lot of women.

[Maanpur]

Originally Posted by jmg

My F80 M3 lease will be up before the next generation M3 will be out and I've come across a great deal on an i8. I know that the straight line performance is pretty close to the F80 but I'm a little worried that I'll miss the feel of a high performance ICE.

Any i8 owners come from an F80 or similar and felt that way? How's the daily driveability? I find it a bit of a pain getting in and out of the i8, but it will be a secondary car so I'm not too worried. I also have an i3 for more daily driving and commuting. I don't think it will be too redundant having these two next to each other in the garage. I also read about the possibility of a faster i8 in the future. Timing is bad and that won't be in the cards for me. I don't want to spend this much and be outdone in such a short amount of time.

Pros:
Looks stunning
Hybrid
Still fast
More noticeable

Cons:
Too noticeable?
Skinny tires? How's the handling aspect
I might miss the sound and feel of an ICE
Two less doors
Trunk space?
Less comfortable?
Newer faster i8 might be coming



Also, does BMW still have free charging through ChargePoint?

Any other feedback and observations that could affect my decision?

i8 is my daily driver. I had an M6 prior to purchasing an i8. I personally really like it as a daily driver and prefer driving it over the M6. I also have a Maserati Ghibli SQ4 and prefer i8 over that as well. i8 handles really well and is sharp around the corners. I changed the tires to 245/40/20 in the front and 285/35/20 in the rear and now have amazing road grip. Everyone is different so go test drive one and see how you like it.

[mastermason11]

If you are looking for rawness coming from your M3, and in the neighborhood of the i8 price range, better of going with the Porsche GT3.

[ChiTownM]

Originally Posted by mastermason11

If you are looking for rawness coming from your M3, and in the neighborhood of the i8 price range, better of going with the Porsche GT3.

Fully agree. For all other reasons i8, I daily drive mine and it allows me to take kids with me too when required.

[pizzapie]

I just traded my 2015 F80 in for a protonic red 2017 I8. Put 200 miles on it Sunday. I miss lumbar support and rawness of the F80. Otherwise the I8 is a fun change! I do live in LA these days so heavy traffic etc gets me mad when I drive the ///M and sit there. In the i8 it feels normal. On highways or curvy mountain roads the i8 is fun!

[Amgeater2]

Originally Posted by vance

Unless you have like a stage 2 tune on your M3, the i8 will be quicker than it. However, with that being said, if the i8 will be primarily a weekend car, I’d say skip on it and splurge for a McLaren 570s or maybe Jague F-Type SVR if you want something a bit cheaper. Both will be quicker/faster than the i8 and be just as fun. The i8 can be a daily driver (it is for me) if you don’t have to transport kids often and don’t have lots of cargo/bags/luggage to carry on a regular basis. That’s my 2 cents

Edit: as far as charging goes, I’ve plugged in my i8 like once ever and it was just for looks and to test it. There’s really no need to when sport mode recharges the electric battery. I’ve never found any chargepoint places in Texas; we only have Blink basically

Where in Hell are you getting a 570s for the price of an i8 also how can you compare a 570s with Jaguar... oh my oh my

[Amgeater2]

had an M4 before the i8, and didnt miss one bit the M4. as mention before they are two very diffrent cars but bottom line is that the i8 IMO is just an overall bettter car execpt for the the sound system... the HK sucks !!

[vance]

Originally Posted by Amgeater2

Where in Hell are you getting a 570s for the price of an i8 also how can you compare a 570s with Jaguar... oh my oh my

Notice how I said “splurge” for the 570s which runs about $150k used. Of course the 570s is much better than the SVR, but the SVR is no slouch either and pretty good bang for the buck on a barely used one

[ImGoingPlaces]

just replaced my f80 with an i8 thats being shipping from CA , this thread is very useful to me. thanks

[mastermason11]

Originally Posted by vance

Notice how I said “splurge” for the 570s which runs about $150k used. Of course the 570s is much better than the SVR, but the SVR is no slouch either and pretty good bang for the buck on a barely used one

570S is cool when its not broken. Maintenance on this car is by day and night more involved than a BMW.

[stressdoc]

Originally Posted by ImGoingPlaces

just replaced my f80 with an i8 thats being shipping from CA , this thread is very useful to me. thanks

Congrats, let us know your thoughts on the comparison.

[jmg]

Originally Posted by ImGoingPlaces

just replaced my f80 with an i8 thats being shipping from CA , this thread is very useful to me. thanks

Congrats! I'll be eagerly awaiting your impressions!

[jmg]

Originally Posted by mastermason11

If you are looking for rawness coming from your M3, and in the neighborhood of the i8 price range, better of going with the Porsche GT3.

If I could get a new GT3 for the price I could get a new i8, I'd get the GT3!