[rmclachlan]

I am about to decide on an i8 in the next few days, however my wife is not keen on the doors - she thinks they are impractical, and thinks getting in and out will be inelegant. I have no problems with access but do wonder about parking issues.

Can any owners comment on how easy or not the doors are to live with?

[Twitch Massacre]

Originally Posted by rmclachlan

I am about to decide on an i8 in the next few days, however my wife is not keen on the doors - she thinks they are impractical, and thinks getting in and out will be inelegant. I have no problems with access but do wonder about parking issues.

Can any owners comment on how easy or not the doors are to live with?

In my experience, as long as parking isn't too tight, they're even more practical than regular doors. The doors on my M6 coupe were quite long and covered a lot of ground on a full swing open. The i8 doors travel a shorter distance and cover less space, the only issue is while you can easily open a regular door a fraction of the way for those cases where space between your car and the next is extremely limited, the i8 door is designed to automatically swing open all the way so getting in/out when there isn't enough space to let the door open completely involves an awkward holding of the door and sliding in/out which is more trouble than it's worth.

[shawnhayes]

Originally Posted by rmclachlan

I am about to decide on an i8 in the next few days, however my wife is not keen on the doors - she thinks they are impractical, and thinks getting in and out will be inelegant. I have no problems with access but do wonder about parking issues.

Can any owners comment on how easy or not the doors are to live with?

Inelegant is an understatement.

While the "doors" are actually QUITE practical (when the rain is hitting, the door covers the occupant during entry and exit) and they take up VERY little space opening and closing, it's the rest of the CAR that makes it impractical.

The seating position is VERY low. You don't sit "ON" the car like most modern vehicles. You sit "IN" the car, in a deep cup. The very wide side sills and crash bolstering of the car make it extremely difficult to look cool getting in and out.

I'd suggest testing it out before buying. I love mine, but I look like a wet Saint Bernard trying to come in through the cat door when I get out.

Shawn

[jcpca356]

Doors make the car. If wife hates it, I'd drive it alone! (my wife loves it )

[twm6]

i daily my car and have never had any problem getting out the door and I practically park everywhere

with one exception last night where the bush on the side grew too large so my gf had to hold the door for me while I slip out

for me, no door = no i8

[ChiTownM]

Agree with everybody. I use the car with kids and wife and the doors are fine and make the car.

[Aye-eight]

No door issues here, either. The spaces in which you can manage to get in and out in a regular sports coupe are no smaller than the i8's. Maybe even the other way around. The swing radius of the doors is actually not that big. I did have to crawl in under the door once because a delivery van parked next to me so close that it was next to impossible to even get into the space between cars. Now THAT was inelegant. But trying to get into my old Porsche in the same situation, with those looong doors, would be a different story alltogether. Just the imagination causes backpain and a tear in my pants.

Under normal circumstances, getting in and out is not an issue, and you can actually look quite energetic of you do it right. Like jumping into a convertible over the doors in the old days.

If anyone has trouble getting over the sill and down into the seat, they shouldn't be driving i8, or any other sports car. They're SUV material. There's a great video somewhere on here of a 300lb+ (so it seems) person trying to get out of an i8. Epic!

[YWGT3]

Interesting that you've mentioned it. Having owned cars that my wife would not set foot in after a few trips (esp. the 911T), I decided to have her participate in the test drive and selection process for the following cars: Audi R8 V10, Merc AMG GT, Aston Martin Vanquish and the BMW i8. Prior to the process, I had anticipated that the i8 would be a definite "no go," given its the swan doors operation and its unique access. To my surprise, she liked the BMW best out of all the aforementioned. Her observations were as follows: the Audi was actually more difficult for her to get in and out of (go figure). She felt the Merc's interior was cramped and leaning towards being claustrophobic (I ordered it anyways but ended up cancelling it upon delivery), Aston was too similar to our AMG Cl63 with regards to being more of a GT than sports car. She was impressed with the i8 because it had that low supercar effect similar to what we've driven but without the harsh jarring ride.

The point being, your significant other has raised some good points to consider. But, as in our case, spending actual time familiarizing and test driving the vehicles together allowed us to either confirm or dispel any preconceived notions. Furthermore, it enabled for us to gain a better perspective as to what worked well for the both of us.

As for the i8 ingress and egress, my wife actually likes it. For her, each time it's a thrilling experience stepping into a low slung cockpit interior (one foot in then followed by the other) as well as operating the swan doors. When it comes time to exit, it's one leg out then the other for her (caveat, she's quite agile and enjoys doing high intensity aerobics daily).

As mentioned in another post, the i8 has ended up being my wife's choice of car to ride in, whether it be for short errands, daily or long weekend drives. To place things into perspective, she's never had the same level interest in any of the other cars we've driven in the past.

In your case, I strongly recommend having your wife participate in test driving all the cars on your wish list. Good luck on your car selection endeavor!

[Aye-eight]

Being a bit more serious than my previous post, I actually agree with YWGT3. I test drove the i8 back in Sept. 2014. It was just a thing for me, out of curiosity. I mentioned it casually to my wife the night before. She decided to join me, along with our newborn in her MaxiCosi.

After two hours in it, she liked the car almost more than I did. So we put in the order. Among the things we both love: the dramatic effect of the doors saying "I'm no ordinary car", and the stealthiness of gliding around the city in silence.

[shawnmkrt]

There is going to be instances where some jack ass parks to close to you and you cant open your door, So in that case you have to crawl through your passenger seat which is a pain in the ass but ive done it.

[Aye-eight]

Originally Posted by shawnmkrt

There is going to be instances where some jack ass parks to close to you and you cant open your door, So in that case you have to crawl through your passenger seat which is a pain in the ass but ive done it.

Same here. Today, in fact. After all that touting above. Serves me right.

[YWGT3]

Originally Posted by shawnmkrt

There is going to be instances where some jack ass parks to close to you and you cant open your door, So in that case you have to crawl through your passenger seat which is a pain in the ass but ive done it.

That must have been annoyingly close as the door clearance for my i8 is far less than my CL63 AMG or even my previous sports cars, including the Porsche 911T.

[Aye-eight]

Originally Posted by YWGT3

That must have been annoyingly close as the door clearance for my i8 is far less than my CL63 AMG or even my previous sports cars, including the Porsche 911T.

In my case, it was so close, I couldn't squeeze through myself and had to walk around the car to unplug it.

[YWGT3]

Originally Posted by Aye-eight

In my case, it was so close, I couldn't squeeze through myself and had to walk around the car to unplug it.

Sounds like you have a good reason for BMW to offer the 7 series' autonomous parking feature in the i8.

[MKSixer]

To the OP...

I've not had trouble with ingress and egress in the i8 and I need bilateral hip replacement. Everyone finds their own method to get into the car.

Additionally, my brother, a stroke victim with a serious right side deficit can manage the car quite nicely. If the seat is raised to its maximum height, one can almost slide across the sill.

Good luck and please keep us posted on your progress!!

Cheers-mk

[Aye-eight]

Originally Posted by YWGT3

Sounds like you have a good reasone for BMW to offer the 7 series' autonomous parking feature in the i8.

Wouldn't that be great. Beamed into the car overnight as a Tesla-style upgrade. All the sensors are there ...

[formulagt]

impractical, and thinks getting in and out will be inelegant. I have no problems with access but do wonder about parking issues.

Perfect timing as my wife went for a ride in our i8 for the first time yesterday. Some background, she's not a complainer and has ridden in some of my previous cars with challenging ingress/egress :

Audi R8
Lamborghini Gallardo
Porsche 996 C2S with GT3 Fixed Seats/Roll Cage

I showed her the easiest way to get in (sit on sill, swing in left foot and right foot then plop over) - she was wearing a dress too, which I figured she'd say something about but considering it was a 10 sec tutorial, she had no issues. Getting out her biggest issue was figuring out how to open the door LOL. Same deal, feet out, sit on sill then "hop" out. It's honestly looks "easier" than when she jumped in the Lambo and a helluva lot easier than getting strapped into the GT3 seats LOL. It's all about getting comfortable with the process IMO.

Also, keep in mind - happy wife, happy life LOL.

[MKSixer]

Originally Posted by formulagt

Perfect timing as my wife went for a ride in our i8 for the first time yesterday. Some background, she's not a complainer and has ridden in some of my previous cars with challenging ingress/egress :

Audi R8
Lamborghini Gallardo
Porsche 996 C2S with GT3 Fixed Seats/Roll Cage

I showed her the easiest way to get in (sit on sill, swing in left foot and right foot then plop over) - she was wearing a dress too, which I figured she'd say something about but considering it was a 10 sec tutorial, she had no issues. Getting out her biggest issue was figuring out how to open the door LOL. Same deal, feet out, sit on sill then "hop" out. It's honestly looks "easier" than when she jumped in the Lambo and a helluva lot easier than getting strapped into the GT3 seats LOL. It's all about getting comfortable with the process IMO.

Also, keep in mind - happy wife, happy life LOL.

For those wearing dresses, particularly short ones, a foldable modesty sheer may be an appropriate piece of equipment for the glove box.

[formulagt]

For those wearing dresses, particularly short ones, a foldable modesty sheer may be an appropriate piece of equipment for the glove box.

Yeah, but that's no fun...LOL!

[rmclachlan]

I will keep you all updated as there is no decision yet.

I did try the R8, which my wife preferred due to the more conventional door, although to my mind it is harder to get in and out of the R8 as the doors are enormous, really long with a wide swing. I think I appreciated the i8 doors more after trying the R8. We will see....

[Aye-eight]

Originally Posted by rmclachlan

I will keep you all updated as there is no decision yet.

I did try the R8, which my wife preferred due to the more conventional door, although to my mind it is harder to get in and out of the R8 as the doors are enormous, really long with a wide swing. I think I appreciated the i8 doors more after trying the R8. We will see....

The R8 is a car that I really used to like and I thought about getting one. But having had my i8 for over a year now, the R8 is so YESTERDAY!

[YWGT3]

Originally Posted by Aye-eight

The R8 is a car that I really used to like and I thought about getting one. But having had my i8 for over a year now, the R8 is so YESTERDAY!

Couldn't agree with you more. The R8, in my opinion, besides being a bit tinny feeling (thin and light sheet alloy doors -perhaps in an effort to reduce weight in favor of performance driving), had the least interesting interior and the least advanced infotainment system of all the vehicles I test drove at the time.