BMW i3 review: Electric car sets green standard thanks to aluminium from 560 cans of pop
Electric cars save on fuel and gases but the i3 goes further than that. Even the German i3 factory runs on wind power.
HAS anyone seen Swampy lately?
I’d like to think he’s got a nice corporate nine-to-five in the rat race somewhere, after realising that sitting in a tree doesn’t pay the bills.
If he has, he’s probably got a BMW i3.
We all know that electric cars save on fuel and gases but the i3 goes further than that. Eighty per cent of the aluminium is recycled — from 560 drink cans.
The dash and door panels are made from seagrass and unbleached eucalyptus wood.
The centre console is recycled plastic. The leather seats are tanned using an olive leaf extract, not chemicals. The passenger cell is carbon fibre-reinforced plastic.
Even the German i3 factory runs on wind power.
The key words here are responsible, renewable or recycled resources. Add rather expensive to that list and that’s the i3.
It’s a statement car — a very cool, feel-good statement car — but it starts at £30k.
Now BMW is growing the i3 family with the sportier i3s, available as electric-only or with a range extender (tiny two-cylinder petrol engine).
I’ve just driven the electric one. It sits lower and wider and has more power than the standard i3 but ultimately has less range.
It’s the equivalent of 184hp and 270Nm torque, with that extra shove most noticeable between 50mph and 70mph. It’s a lot of fun.
Nippy, rear-drive, brilliant BMW steering, turns on a six-pence and the regenerative braking when you lift the accelerator means you hardly ever touch the brake.
As for range, expect 120 miles per charge. That’s real world, not in a lab.
Other all-electric cars like the Nissan Leaf have a bigger 40kWh battery and go further.
But that’s a Nissan, not a Beemer. Which would you prefer?
And what makes the i3 so special is the design. The rear-hinged rear doors open like a Rolls-Royce. And that awesome eco-cabin I mentioned earlier is modern, roomy and top quality. Like a loft space.
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One last thing. BMW is now working to recycle sea plastics as front wings.
We dump nine million tonnes of plastic into our seas and rivers every year — and if we continue to do nothing, there will be more plastic than fish.
Sounds like a mission for Swampy.
Key Facts
BMW i3s
Price: £32,475 (including £4,500 grant)
Power: 33kWh battery
0-62mph: 6.9 secs
Top speed: 99mph
Emissions: Zero
Range: 125 miles