[jdhiro]

Man, is there a lot of vitriol in this thread.

In fairness, I believe there is a ton of stuff to like about this car. Low center of gravity, lightweight, RWD, and EV torque. It's also roomy for it's size and great for the city. BMW has some great engineering under it's belt; I think it's unfair to criticise the driving experience before anyone has had a chance to drive it. If there is any one thing this car is poised to do great, it's the driving feel. It's even more asinine to proclaim that the i8 will be crap as well.

All that aside - DEAR LORD MY EYEBALLS. The overall form of this vehicle is really unappealing. The final execution lost everything that was visually interesting about the concept (that wasn't the best to start with). It just oozes 'economy' from the outside.

[tommolog]

Originally Posted by JasonNW

Man, is there a lot of vitriol in this thread

There certainly is but that's nothing new in any forum. The good news is nobody will be forced to buy one! That being said I think BMW is going to sell a lot of i3's if they manage to keep the price in the rumored $36-$42K (base MSRP) range.

Even though some here might find it hard to believe there are a lot of people out there looking for an electric car that performs well and isn't *too* expensive. The Model S is an awesome electric vehicle but the least expensive one is over $70k(US) before any tax incentives. The i3 will be nearly half the price. Journalists that have driven in one already claim a 0-60 time of 7.2sec(not fantastic, but quick enough to have fun) and handling that is excellent - partially because of the low center of gravity with the battery pack positioned beneath the drivers compartment.

I'm planning on getting one myself and I know a lot of others on waiting lists as well. To each his own...

For anyone interested here's the article written by a journalist from the UK that rode in a pre-production i3:
http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/...ontent-block=0

[cc3]

Great article that one from Car Mag. When I first read it I thought this car will be fun as well as having all the other electric car factors. I put in an order as well. Seeing the car in the flesh on 1 August at a BMW event in London.

[pkimM3r]

Originally Posted by cs4444

I would imagine being RWD, and with tires that narrow you could have some fun on a wet street.

have you seen chris harris on cars with a c63 on 4 spares? lol

[bimmerjph]

Originally Posted by tommolog

For anyone interested here's the article written by a journalist from the UK that rode in a pre-production i3:
http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/...ontent-block=0

"The i3’s steering is an unassisted rack-and-pinion device, but it’s by no means slow, heavy or indifferent."

If that is true... that is a very very good sign.

[jdhiro]

Originally Posted by gaz26

Great article that one from Car Mag. When I first read it I thought this car will be fun as well as having all the other electric car factors. I put in an order as well. Seeing the car in the flesh on 1 August at a BMW event in London.

Tears of joy when I read this in the article:

The i3’s steering is an unassisted rack-and-pinion device

Congrats on your i3 preorder! Pay no attention to all the haters on here.

[ecaedus]

for a mini van i think it's perfect. then again, i don't think BMW should be making mini vans at all.

for a thing on four wheels it has to be one of the ugliest in this decade, all the way up there with the prius, leaf, scion crap.

a price of around $35K sounds reasonable, with subsidies and tax exempts and a kick ass leasing deal the ReX version should be able to sell well. if it's in the $40K range then i wish BMW good luck on selling it. theres simply too much competition in this segment

[cc3]

Press saying US versions to start at $34500. Now that's great.

[lasovan]

NEW! Press kit. Some pictures and text.

http://bmwi.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=862808

[kv12]

The car would be revealed on July 27th so here is a quick rendering of the latest BMW i3 spyshots with the camouflage removed.

[tommolog]

I put together a list pictures of the colors we've seen so far on the pre-production cars during test drives. We've seen six different colors so far:


Dark Gray - looks like black from some angles


Basic Gray



Basic Silver - Possibly called Ionic Silver


Light Blue-Silver


Solar Metallic Orange - Made specifically for the i3

White

[SCOTT26]

Originally Posted by tommolog

I put together a list pictures of the colors we've seen so far on the pre-production cars during test drives. We've seen six different colors so far:

There are several exterior colour and interior colour personalisation for the i3.
It will be a bit more restrained than say a MINI but not as OTT as a Fiat 500.

My i3. Sadly it will be destroyed in August.

[turbolag]

Originally Posted by ecaedus

for a mini van i think it's perfect. then again, i don't think BMW should be making mini vans at all.

for a thing on four wheels it has to be one of the ugliest in this decade, all the way up there with the prius, leaf, scion crap.

a price of around $35K sounds reasonable, with subsidies and tax exempts and a kick ass leasing deal the ReX version should be able to sell well. if it's in the $40K range then i wish BMW good luck on selling it. theres simply too much competition in this segment

I hope for 29-30k, after whatever incentives there are. For more than that...ehhh. In the end I think it's a compact. The interior is nice though, I'll have to see it before I make a decision.

I think it actually looks quite nice. The back end looks like shit but I don't mind...too much.

[turbolag]

Originally Posted by SCOTT26

There are several exterior colour and interior colour personalisation for the i3.
It will be a bit more restrained than say a MINI but not as OTT as a Fiat 500.

My i3. Sadly it will be destroyed in August.

Why destroyed?

Will there be any light greens or vibrant blues?

[tommolog]

Originally Posted by turbolag

Why destroyed?

Will there be any light greens or vibrant blues?

He's driving a pre-production test car. Now that they will be making real production cars soon they'll likely destroy most of the test cars.

[SCOTT26]

Originally Posted by turbolag

Why destroyed?

Will there be any light greens or vibrant blues?

Its one of the first ReX first production prototypes, inside though it is not finished as the interior is all hard pre-production plastics , it is purely used for collecting and collating driver behaviour in multiple circumstances in any form of exposure to any elements - rain , shine or snow the car has been put to the real life scenarios that customers potentially will face.
So everything is electronically logged as each kilometre is collected , assessed and seen if it can better it next time around.

Yes there will be a color labeled BMWi blue amongst another couple of bluish hues.

[SCOTT26]

Courtesy of Autoblog.NL

The new BMW i3.

[SCOTT26]

Accessibility with the BMW i3.

[SCOTT26]

The Cockpit of the BMW i3 - Minimalism with a spatial feel .

[SCOTT26]

Progressive future... The Instrument panel of the BMW i3.

[SCOTT26]

Sustainable through and through... Recycled materials in the BMW i3.

[SCOTT26]

The BMW i3... from Concept to reality.