BMW i3 review

Hello guys. This time I'll be making review on the new BMW electric vehicle in one of its new i categories.

The BMW i3.

Surely Tesla is the one who's leading the way in this EV world, and because they proved EV can be desirable, other major car companies are following pursuit. One of it is BMW, which is known for making angry looking cars. And their EV(which have green and friendly impression) line-up sure does looks angry too. More like an angry baby, I guess.

I think what's interesting about  this vehicle lies more in the hi-tech process of making this vehicle, rather than the fact that it is electrically driven car. To start with, some of the production factory, in Leipzig Germany and Moses lake, US , use wind power as a power generator. Plus, some of the panel in the car are made of recyclable material. Disposed plastic bottles, papers, yes.. that kind of stuff.

Lets start with the build process of the body frame. Since its an EV, it uses 'body on frame' structure rather than Unibody design, which is the conventional car's structure. The car's segment is divided into 2 parts, the 'life module' and 'drive module'.

The life module is actually the compartment that holds the driver and passenger seats. It is made up of high tech CFRP( carbon fiber reinforced plastic), 1/4 lighter than steel and 10 times stronger. BMW currently uses RTM( resin transfer molding) process to mass produce this carbon fibre. The process of cutting the parts is done by water jet cutter, which is very precise and doesn't interfere with its inherent structure. Oh, remember those time when you used to play car kit model, attaching pieces together by glue? The same way goes with this car, no bolts or screw used in assembling this module. Just glue.

The drive module, on the other hand, which consists of the battery, powertrain and chassis are made up of aluminum alloy. The i3 comes with 2 models, the standard and the range extender(Rex) and the latter comes with 647cc 2 cylinder engine. Both modules are attached with only 4 bolts and glue.

The door opens up much more similar with the mazda rx8. it also comes with the standard charging port which is in the front of the bonnet( 8 hours charging) and supercharger( 30 minutes)at the rear right side.

What's significant with rear gate is the combination is integrated with the panel, which mean if the light's broken, you have to change the whole rear gate, I guess

                                      

I3 comes with 2 different interior design, the 'loft' and 'suite'. Both come with 5.2 inch LCD cluster and the 10.2 inch display at the center on the dash. It also comes with standard air conditioning, leather wrapped steering wheel, a backup sending system, LED daytime driving lights, USB and auxiliary USB ports, hand free Bluetooth.

 

Maybe because of the fact that its an EV, the interface system does feel different with the standard one. The drive selector is also the same with Tesla model S. the handbrake area is replaced with multimedia and navigation scroll and button. And there's BMW connectivity application available in the app store, so you can have your car's data ( range, battery percentage) on your iPhone.

Price?

The standard i3 will cost you about 5 million yen, about RM151,000,while the range extender is available at 5.46 million yen, which is roughly RM165,400. but this car won't be available in Malaysia, so I must be the lucky one.