BMW i3 94Ah 2016 Review

BMW i3 94Ah REX
Local Launch
Melbourne, Vic

The word 'excited' is perhaps too strong an adjective to throw around when talk turns to electric vehicles – Tesla and Porsche’s Mission E excepted. But there's reason to be at least intrigued by BMW's i3, now that it can run 200km in the real world.

And that 200km range is all-electric: no charging from onboard petrol power and no intermediate charging from a wall socket either.

The 94Ah (Amp-hour) battery extends the range of the i3 by over 50 per cent. A modified battery holds a larger charge for longer running. The battery occupies the same space in the car as the 60Ah battery but is heavier.

According to the official NEDC test, the i3 94Ah can complete a 310km journey before needing its battery recharged. But in the Australian environment, where air conditioning is in near-constant operation, the i3 can cover a real world distance of 200km, BMW claims. That's still a major improvement on the real-world range of the 60Ah version that continues to be available in Australia: just 130km.

The 94Ah option adds $2000 to the purchase price of the i3, but that premium equates to around a weekly tank of fuel for a conventional small car in the first year.

And after a two-hour drive around Melbourne's inner suburbs for the launch of the longer-range i3 it's fair to say that the 94Ah variant does everything advertised on the pack.

The car's trip computer revealed by the end of our odyssey that the i3 had travelled 45km over the two-hour period, but used less than a quarter of the charge available. That was in and out of moderate traffic, on a couple of stretches of freeway, and rarely spared power for the occasional fast launch at a green light.

According to the 'Range to empty' readout in the dash, the i3 had started out with 179km remaining but that figure had only dropped back to 164km after the 45km journey. (Ed: the mathematics of EVs is different, in more ways than one.)

Despite using the car's power to stay ahead of traffic, there was no need to exploit all the available performance during the drive. The i3 felt lively and strong even on light pedal pressure. BMW points out that the i3 is not an especially heavy car, its carbon-fibre reinforced plastic shell offsetting the weight of the lithium-ion battery pack set under the floor.

As a preliminary taste of what the i3 94Ah has to offer, it was all fairly compelling. However, before getting whipped up into a frenzy, this reviewer would like the opportunity to try the i3 94Ah over his standard 40km-per-day commute to determine whether that 200km real-world range is truly sustainable. A week-long test in my 'real world' would include the occasional dark and stormy night, bumper to bumper with the wipers at the double, headlights on and the heat cranked up to 23 degrees.

As for the rest of the i3?

Well, it's a known quantity from our previous i3 reviews and is a very sensible car for the city and inner suburbs. Steering is light but direct and the i3, thanks to the weight distribution and rear-wheel drive, noses in promptly when you haul on the wheel.

The turning circle is compact at 9.8m and naturally the car's external dimensions and its reversing camera make parking a breeze.

Ride comfort was generally fine, but you are aware from the slight sharpness in the initial compression that this is a rear-wheel drive car with some significant weight influencing the car's composure. We've experienced a similar sensation in the smart fortwo.

In our brief drive there was little opportunity to assess the i3 fully for dynamic ability, but its poise on the Eastern Freeway was unimpeachable. At speed the level of noise in the cabin was minimal and the i3 was stable and composed – much more so than I had expected, given this was a city car being asked to scoot along at higher velocities.

BMW explains that the i3's battery is mounted low, and the centre of gravity thus approaches that of the Z4 sports car. So this EV is not likely to fall over in a hurry.

The interior design and packaging are a bit like an Apple device – it takes a little adjustment at first.

Being familiar with BMW ergonomics is a good head start, of course. Once you're aware that the i3 'starts' with the push of a button on a stubby stalk and the 'gear selector' is a rotary switch in the end of that stalk (with Park actuated by a button), the rest is simple enough to follow.

The one other point that will catch out first-time drivers is the 'one-touch' accelerator. Ease off and the car will slow quite rapidly, like heavy engine braking in a manual-transmission diesel. In fact, the i3 will come to a complete halt without using the separate brake pedal, which is there for situations that call for more than ‘normal’ braking.

Climbing into the i3 is straightforward for occupants of the front seats, but less so for the rear-seat passengers. Access is via the ‘suicide’ doors that are heavy and solid. To open these, the front doors must be open first.

The added complication is there's a wide sill that forms part of the CFRP structure and it's also reasonably high above the road. Kiddies and adults climbing in the back will have to lift the leg well over this while also ducking the head (if they're of average height or above). There's adult-level headroom and legroom for two in the rear, provided the seat occupant in front is not too tall. No adjustable vents back there, however.

As far as seat comfort goes, the i3's pews are not that special. Much like the rest of the car, they're not designed for high-g cornering as much as hopping in and out at the start and end of a brief journey. Seat comfort was adequate for the two-hour drive program.

The i3 provides plenty of storage receptacles in the cabin, including moderately large bottle holders in the doors, plus a deep-set shallow bin in the dash top. This makes up in part for the practical, but ultimately stingy boot. A high floor and the i3's narrow tailgate limit the available volume for goods to carry.

Admittedly, there's room for a week's worth of groceries in the boot of the i3, and that's enough for a family of four… all that will fit within the small car's cabin.

Right about now, some are probably struggling to get their heads around all this. And just to confuse the issue further, some will question spending this much money on an electric car that only accommodates four.

But consider this: servicing, at $850 for the i3, is about two-thirds the cost of servicing for a 3 Series, BMW has revealed. The i3 costs about $5 to recharge overnight, based on 17 cents per kilowatt-hour, which means its running costs are about a third of the cost of petrol for a small car to travel a similar distance over the course of the year.

Getting in and out of tight parking spots and being able to place a toddler in a child safety seat without having to lean in and around a B pillar is gold. And speaking of that, what price the safety of the little ones in a side impact?

The i3 is not cheap, but it's robust and long-lasting, with the potential to save money every day for many, many years.

It may stand for everything you, the enthusiast, may hate in a car, but for every enthusiast there are probably four other members of the public who will love it.

2016 BMW i3 94Ah REX pricing and specifications:
Price: $71,990 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: Synchronous electric motor, 0.6-litre petrol two-cylinder range extender
Output: 125kW/250Nm
Transmission: Single reduction gear final drive
Fuel: 0.6L/100km auto (NEDC Combined)
CO2: 12g/km
Safety Rating: Five-star (ANCAP, 2014)

Also consider:
>> Nissan LEAF (from $46,990 plus on-road costs)