BMW i3

Two years ago, such futuristic shapes looked like they wouldn’t ever come close to a production line. One year ago, exposing the second concept-car that similar to the previous started to attract more lasting attentions. And when the spy shots started to appear at the Internet… Well, the day has finally arrived. The car will be officially launched in August and hit the streets only in November, but these waits don’t matter anymore. After all, here they are: the official information of BMW’s very first totally electric vehicle.

Anyone who at least pays attention to which cars are used specially in the big cities will notice that eco-friendly vehicles are already popular. Whether for the increasing number of options, the increasing number of customers or the fact that those create an infinite loop, a few years ago it became possible to affirm that suspicion against electric propulsion is being eliminated by the successive improvements performed by the automakers day after day. Hybrid vehicles needed to be the first step because using combustion engines to help the electrics worked as a “bridge” both literally and metaphorically: besides solving the problem of the last decade’s electric systems not being efficient enough to the job, the very public wasn’t confident enough yet. There were concerns about battery life, maintenance, maximum range, recharging, resale and pricing, which could only disappear with time. This is precisely what makes the difference in favor of the current decade, actually. Electric vehicles could only become popular among this public. The automakers made countless evolutions, the governors started to help with the taxes, and the customers became much more open-minded.

In other words, the market became prepared to welcome the electrics as freely as the hybrids were in their time. Therefore, since the options are arriving from so many brands and in so many prices, today it’s already possible to make comparisons in a given category, like sedans or hatchbacks, instead of analyzing all the EVs in the same group. Following this train of thought, it’s possible to observe diverging strategies in the luxury market. The Big Three from Germany created their hybrids simply as one more trim of their current vehicles, which is important because associates the new propulsion to the car’s well-established public image. However, Audi and Mercedes-Benz are planning to do the same with their electrics, through pompous names such as e-tron and Electric Drive. BMW, however, decided to create a whole new line. Creating entirely new cars is certainly taking the hard way, but if it succeeds, this automaker will be able to do its best with both lines without one interfering on the other – this, in turn, is extremely important to an automaker with so heavy traditions. So since the i line needed to start from scratch, why not do it with the excellent memories brought by associating BMW to the number three?

The pictures anticipate i3 won’t have anything to do with family sedans or SWs, though. It’s a compact hatchback inspired in minivans, like the old Audi A2, VW Golf Plus and, inverting the proportion, Mercedes-Benz B-Class. Looking at this car gives a very strong “wow, that’s different” feeling, and it’s very probable that it comes more from analyzing it under the standards of a BMW than for i3 itself. After all, the strangest elements would be the black-painted rear and, specially, the oddly-shaped side windows – if Citroën made DS4’s rear doors open with double-sized windows only to avoid the style losses of dividing these, why BMW couldn’t get away with i3? But there’s much more to say about this car. BMW made enormous efforts to keep it very close to all the other EVs when it comes to the “tech specs”. There are carbon-fiber chassis and several components in aluminum, leaving the weight at impressive 1195 kg – an Audi A1 is slightly heavier than that. Such good shape gives great help to all the typical electronic systems dedicated to improve the efficiency. The driving modes, for instance, abandon BMW’s sportiness in favor of Comfort, Eco Pro and Eco Pro+, the latter two able to improve around 15%.

However, the regenerative braking deserves individual attention: BMW tuned it so strong at lower speeds that it even activates the braking lights in some times, which could even allow to drive i3 through the urban traffic only pressing and releasing the throttle. The futuristic interior offers Standard, Loft, Lodge and Suite trims, all using wood from sustainably managed forests and naturally tanned leather and including typical BMW items, such as iDrive’s screen and rotary controller. And if you’re concerned about the recharges, a standard household socket does the task in between 8 and 10 hours, but there will be a fast-charge kit that delivers 80% in three hours and iWallBox, a residential charger like Toyota Prius’. When it comes to external recharging, ChargeNow network will be used. And if all that isn’t enough, i3 offers a second version: besides the 168-hp and 184-lb-ft electric engine with 230 kg of batteries, the Range Extender option adds a two-cylinder 650cc gasoline unit, whose 34 hp won’t power i3 themselves but recharge the batteries, increasing the range from 80-100 to 160-186 miles. The combustion unit lowers the 0-60 mph time from 7s2 to 7s9 due to the additional weight, but keeps the top speed at 93 mph. The price, however, goes from £25,680 to £28,830.