[JasH]

I met with a BMWi official at the recent Pure Impulse event, and shared my thoughts on unacceptable flaws with the i8.

I share these here so that as many i8 owners as possible are motivated to also contact BMW, for all our benefit.

My comments were:

MUST BE FIXED
- when in Sports mode, the gear should be displayed BIG and central in the rev gauge [software update]
- when in Sports mode, the gear and revs should be displayed in the HUD [software update]
- give owners an option to buy much wider wheels which accept a range of widely available sticky tyres [paid parts option to be offered by i dealers]
- option in settings to unlock the 30% reduced power of the front motor, even if it means risk of wheel spin! [software update]
- oil and water temperature information [software update]


UNACCEPTABLE MISSING FEATURES
- lack of memory seats and door mirrors (motors are there, and your salesman said there was memory!)
- Adaptive cruise control (i3 has it)
- Auto parking (i3 has it)
- Traffic Jam Assist (I believe i3 has it)
- DisplayKey able to self park i8 (7 series has it)
- lane change warning of car in blind spot


USEFUL TO HAVE
- dash-cam recording using existing cameras in car


NICE TO HAVE
- interior lighting would automatically switch to red when engaging Sports mode [software update]


BMWi often say something would have weighed too much. However, these same engineers saw fit to install a nearly 1 kg cup holder in the i8. If they were willing to sacrifice all for weight, we would not have electric seats, heavy gas struts for doors and boot and numerous other luxury features either.

BMW should take a leaf from Tesla's book, and give i8 owners regular feature updates via software. This is their halo car, and they are squandering free front page headlines and fantastic PR.

[Jo-Sta07]

Originally Posted by JasH

I met with a BMWi official at the recent Pure Impulse event, and shared my thoughts on unacceptable flaws with the i8.

I share these here so that as many i8 owners as possible are motivated to also contact BMW, for all our benefit.

My comments were:

MUST BE FIXED
- when in Sports mode, the gear should be displayed BIG and central in the rev gauge [software update]
- when in Sports mode, the gear and revs should be displayed in the HUD [software update]
- give owners an option to buy much wider wheels which accept a range of widely available sticky tyres [paid parts option to be offered by i dealers]
- option in settings to unlock the 30% reduced power of the front motor, even if it means risk of wheel spin! [software update]
- oil and water temperature information [software update]


UNACCEPTABLE MISSING FEATURES
- lack of memory seats and door mirrors (motors are there, and your salesman said there was memory!)
- Adaptive cruise control (i3 has it)
- Auto parking (i3 has it)
- Traffic Jam Assist (I believe i3 has it)
- DisplayKey able to self park i8 (7 series has it)
- lane change warning of car in blind spot


USEFUL TO HAVE
- dash-cam recording using existing cameras in car


NICE TO HAVE
- interior lighting would automatically switch to red when engaging Sports mode [software update]


BMWi often say something would have weighed too much. However, these same engineers saw fit to install a nearly 1 kg cup holder in the i8. If they were willing to sacrifice all for weight, we would not have electric seats, heavy gas struts for doors and boot and numerous other luxury features either.

BMW should take a leaf from Tesla's book, and give i8 owners regular feature updates via software. This is their halo car, and they are squandering free front page headlines and fantastic PR.

I like all of those ideas. Carbon fiber bucket seats would be a nice option. Much more carbon in the interior as standard instead of cheap plastic.

But just give us more power.......

If they don't refresh the i8 I'll be out of the car in 2 years and it was novel while it lasted.

[stressdoc]

Excellent points.
CF rims, or some ultralightweight BBS RI-D option, would be great.

[Jo-Sta07]

Good point as well. I think BMW just did what they could do with the tech at the time and made the car as sporty as possible while still delivering comfort and range. But tech has moved on and the great thing about battery tech is with more range you get more punch!

So it's time they refresh. No reason that they couldn't get 400+ hp out of that platform with no weight penalty.

[PurplePeril]

The display key is such a missed opportunity- should have same functionality as it does on the 7 series. What were they thinking?!

[JasH]

Really glad to see my points resonate with others

Please, please do contact BMW too. They need to hear the message from as many customers as possible.

Additionally, I will print and take this thread to Munich in July, and hand it to the engineers when I meet with them.

[Jo-Sta07]

Originally Posted by JasH

Really glad to see my points resonate with others

Please, please do contact BMW too. They need to hear the message from as many customers as possible.

Additionally, I will print and take this thread to Munich in July, and hand it to the engineers when I meet with them.

How do I contact BMW?

[JasH]

Originally Posted by Jo-Sta07

How do I contact BMW?

In the UK, perhaps email corporatecustomerservice@bmw.co.uk

I am sure there are other email addresses here (ask your dealer), and also equivalents in the USA and elsewhere. Hopefully someone in the US will know of the relevant contact there.

[Barago]

all great points

[Fifer]

I'd swap all of your wish list for less obstructive a-pillars.

[skinrock]

Originally Posted by Fifer

I'd swap all of your wish list for less obstructive a-pillars.

I just want everything listed as well as this.

[jnkirk1974]

Originally Posted by JasH

- oil and water temperature information [software update]

It still floors me that something so basic was not included.

[13pauls]

Good points....but still the best car I've ever owned...

[heavymetals]

Originally Posted by 13pauls

Good points....but still the best car I've ever owned...

Out of curiosity, what have you owned?

[ericsi]

I think the specific upgrades do not matter so much (well... they do!), what really matters is that BMW should keep evolving the car in the same way McLaren and Tesla do.

Both brands offered power upgrades (mp4 12c) and / or software updates (iris / iris 2 and endless with Tesla), meaning that the consumer does not feel like he has just bought an appliance about to get obsolete.

If you think about it, it is also the apple business model who keep giving you software updates for all past iphone / ipad products.

If bmw i really wants to be the brand of the future, they have to behave like one and behave like the above companies. People will move on quickly otherwise.

[fishpond]

I'm afraid I don't agree with the priority you have on your list. I think an individual's perspective will depend on how you use your i8. Given that I use mine as a daily driver, for me the items I'd like to have are:

- 32A / 7kw on board charger
- memory seats

The rest of this things that you mention would be nice to have, but I wouldn't in anyway say that they are "unacceptable flaws with the i8".

[ChiTownM]

Originally Posted by ericsi

I think the specific upgrades do not matter so much (well... they do!), what really matters is that BMW should keep evolving the car in the same way McLaren and Tesla do.

Both brands offered power upgrades (mp4 12c) and / or software updates (iris / iris 2 and endless with Tesla), meaning that the consumer does not feel like he has just bought an appliance about to get obsolete.

If you think about it, it is also the apple business model who keep giving you software updates for all past iphone / ipad products.

If bmw i really wants to be the brand of the future, they have to behave like one and behave like the above companies. People will move on quickly otherwise.

This is the main point IMHO. Since I was an early adopter in 2014 I wish that many upgrades could be retrofitted or programmed. Keyless entry, display key with full functionality a la 7, adaptive cruise control, self parking, blind spot warning since the car has limited visibility and a battery upgrade that will not break the bank. I also like the idea of a configurable gage display panel, allowing for full customization. We all know that with the LCIs arrival the value of our cars will tank even further as is already has thanks to BMW flooding the market.

Great car, but BMW severely screwed up the GTM and angered many of their brand loyalist that spent too much time and money with the release of this car. What a shame, and their PR is ridiculous. I did actually take it all the way to Leo Willich, head of NA, and got a pretty aloof response letter. No wonder he will be replaced......

Rant over.

[drlonline]

From one who doesn't own an i8 (yet), all of the recommended changes in this thread seem to make sense to me. I'm hoping a number of them will be incorporated in the LCI car coming in 2018, which I plan to buy. One other feature that recently occurred to me was the front bumper height adjustment available on the newer Porsches where one can raise the front of the car a little bit when needed to clear an obstacle such as a speed bump or steep driveway. Curious to know from you owners how valuable you think this would be.

[Maxxsirrah]

Originally Posted by drlonline

From one who doesn't own an i8 (yet), all of the recommended changes in this thread seem to make sense to me. I'm hoping a number of them will be incorporated in the LCI car coming in 2018, which I plan to buy. One other feature that recently occurred to me was the front bumper height adjustment available on the newer Porsches where one can raise the front of the car a little bit when needed to clear an obstacle such as a speed bump or steep driveway. Curious to know from you owners how valuable you think this would be.

Dont have a problem with the height personally....

[JasH]

Thanks for the comments everyone.

A pillars are indeed rather thick, but we all knew how they were when we bought the car. They don't really trouble me, although thinner ones would be better.

Height raising suspension would be very useful for me, but that's never going to be possible to add to our cars now. And it might well add a lot of weight.

Faster charging does not matter at all to me personally, but I do see that some want it. Nor do I want a bigger/heavier battery personally.

[Louv]

"Unacceptable"? So then you didn't buy the car? Or you are selling yours?

You don't actually expect BMW (or any large company) to suddenly smack their foreheads and say "YES, OF COURSE!!! Why didn't WE think of all those things?!?" I'd wager my car that they had already considered every single thing you have thought of. And they thought of it five years before you did.

Developing any complex product is constant compromise. You can't have everything. ("where would you put it?") The i8 was developed as a very fast, skunk-works product.

Schedule, Features, Quality. Pick Two. If you don't understand this concept, talk to someone who develops products for a world market. They'll explain how the world actually works.

Yes, absolutely, give BMW your feedback. But if you expect them to jump up and hand you keys to a new vehicle that they've been keeping hidden just for customers like you that want MORE... then you might want to check your tenuous handle on reality.

Tone it down if you want them to take you seriously. You are sounding just this side of crazy. Or you are sounding like a spoiled, entitled child stomping his feet and throwing a tantrum.

If it was truly "unacceptable" then you would have already walked away.

Better yet, go start a car company and build your perfect car.

[NGR]

I'd be happy with wider tyres (if improved handling and no serious weight penalty), unlocked electric motor (no weight penalty) and more options in the software such as gear and rpm on the HUD - again, no weight penalty.

I don't think these things would have cost BMW much to implement if at all and shouldn't affect the efficiency of the car which is one of it's big achievements.

BMW don't want to put certain features in lesser models because they want the M brand to stand out (such as HUD features), but the i8 platform is not a lesser model, it is more expensive and exclusive than the M models and should have the distinction of having more features. The HUD hardware is there, why the hell can't the software be flexible enough to let me see anything I want up there?