[Tengocity]

Before we bought a mini for the wife I looked in to the i3, but it took ages for BMW to respond to my enquiry, and in that time we decided that the range wouldn't be quite big enough so decided against it.

I thought that the test drive would still be worth trying for future considerations, and boy am I glad we did.

I thought it was quite a fantastic little car! And I've come away from it a lot more excited overall that driving the M4 last weekend. I can't believe I just wrote that, and not sure whether that says more about the M4, the i3 or me getting old perhaps.

I knew it would be silent, but I think until you actually drive on the road in an almost silent electric car for a few minutes it's kind of hard to believe. And whilst I also knew the electric cars produce their max torque immediately I just wasn't prepared for the way this thing accelerates to 40mph. Truly, ahem... Electric!... is the only way I can describe it!

The throttle response is superb, and so between that and the powerful retardation when you lift (energy harvesting) it's a car you truly drive with almost the throttle only. Odd for the first couple of miles and then you soon judge it very intuitively. And I actually found a complete hoot to drive... not like it corners with amazing flatness, but it's a lot of fun, and the throttle can be used to trim the understeer very easily. It was great on the motorway, and went up to 80ish very happily. The ride comfort was fine too.

The design is clearly a talking point, but loved the general proportion and stance of it, and the driving position. Not so keen on the interior design.. a bit of an 80s version of what the future is like, and the eco/sustainable materials were a bit naff to me.

The wife absolutely loved it too and said she would much rather drive it than her new mini, but also hated the interior even more!

It's safe to say that we will be very keenly watching the icars closely, and if something with better range, or something like a 3 series sized version of the i8 came out then we would be all over it.

Maybe I should drive the Tesla!

[JD6]

Did you try and brake sharply in it? Perhaps it was the skinny tyres, or that it's deceptively heavy, but I was expecting it to stop a lot quicker than it did.

I agree that the low speed acceleration is fun though.

[Tengocity]

I barely used the brakes to be honest. Around town and short journeys though, I would be happy to take that no matter what else I had in the garage!

[jusdorange]

I'm not a fan

seating position is far too high

[Nick the Greek]

Good write up Terry.

[Tengocity]

Yes, would always be a second car, but we would always need 2 cars anyway.

As for the seating position, seemed right for what the car is supposed to be.

Anybody any idea what the monthly payments on an i8 are?

[335dJa]

Originally Posted by Tengocity

Yes, would always be a second car, but we would always need 2 cars anyway.

As for the seating position, seemed right for what the car is supposed to be.

Anybody any idea what the monthly payments on an i8 are?

It's on the "current offers" part of bmws website

[Tengocity]

Originally Posted by 335dJa

It's on the "current offers" part of bmws website

So it is.. not much of an offer though - Full price and 7.9% APR
25k deposit and £999 per month

Nowhere near as tempting as the M5 offer. Same deposit and same mileage as and the M5 can be had for £100 less per month than an M3!

[jusdorange]

Originally Posted by Tengocity

So it is.. not much of an offer though - Full price and 7.9% APR
25k deposit and £999 per month

Nowhere near as tempting as the M5 offer. Same deposit and same mileage as and the M5 can be had for £100 less per month than an M3!

+ good luck getting one even in 2015

I would have given you our build slot but gone now

i8 is a novelty / short term investment, nothing more

[gtsussex]

Originally Posted by jusdorange

+ good luck getting one even in 2015

I would have given you our build slot but gone now

i8 is a novelty / short term investment, nothing more

Absolute bollocks, I was offered March delivery when I went to dealer to look at one couple of weeks ago.

If you run your own company, it's rather tempting as I can write off 100% of value on first year. So it has to lose £20-£25k in that year to actually cost me anything.

[oop north]

I drove a Tesla today! Loved it, but not quite sure about the £7.5k down and £700 a month for 6 years to pay for it! The acceleration at motorway speeds was very impressive and the tech is good too. The tyre noise on 21 inchers (I'd have the standard 19s) wasn't too bad and of course no engine noise. Just very normal and simple to drive with monster sat nav screen. Most importantly the range is enough to be a main car - but we'd have to have another big car as (1) it cannot tow and (2) the extra seats to make a 7-seater are too small for my kids

[jusdorange]

Originally Posted by gtsussex

Absolute bollocks, I was offered March delivery when I went to dealer to look at one couple of weeks ago.

If you run your own company, it's rather tempting as I can write off 100% of value on first year. So it has to lose £20-£25k in that year to actually cost me anything.

there's claiming then actually getting ...

last I heard there's still nearly a years wait for new orders

write it off how ? do expand

[Alkidrew]

Wonder how fuel cards will work. At the moment I pay for fuel with a work card and it is an expense on my p11d so deducted before tax. For me to charge from my home supply. I'd need a way to deduct that cost before tax...not difficult though.

[gtsussex]

Originally Posted by jusdorange

there's claiming then actually getting ...

last I heard there's still nearly a years wait for new orders

write it off how ? do expand

Basically all cars bought through company can be depreciated on the books and that depreciation can be used to reduce corporation tax on profit a company makes. At present it's 8% per annum on normal cars so not great.

In a bid to encourage company owners to buy hybrids and electric cars, the government are allowing you to write off 100% of the value of the car.

So if you buy an i8 for £110k, writing that off will take about £23k off you corporation tax bill. In other words, free motoring. Clearly you have to a) make a profit and being paying corp tax anyway and b) be able to buy the car!

[Steve C]

Originally Posted by jusdorange

there's claiming then actually getting ...

last I heard there's still nearly a years wait for new orders

Mate of mine ordered one last week....for a June delivery.

[jusdorange]

Originally Posted by Steve C

Mate of mine ordered one last week....for a June delivery.

ok well maybe it's come down now

still 6-8 months vs 6-8 weeks

[....,,,,..,,..]

Not heard of any delays, in fact am sure someone on here has recently ordered one.

[jusdorange]

Originally Posted by Brigand

Not heard of any delays, in fact am sure someone on here has recently ordered one.

was somewhat exaggeration to say not avail in all of 2015

but it's still 6 month wait for an i8 vs a 6 week M5

[335dJa]

Probably depends if you spec msport brakes..

[jusdorange]

back to the i3;

whilst it's great value compared to other EVs like the e-up / e-golf , leaf etc

it's only suited for low milers
the battery will need changing after few years

so a smaller car say like a polo plus a lot of petrol might be suitable

personally not sold on EVs - YET !

but I suppose someone needs to be the early adopters , so if the additional expense works for you , go for it

i3 LCI should be decent

[Tengocity]

Originally Posted by jusdorange

back to the i3;

whilst it's great value compared to other EVs like the e-up / e-golf , leaf etc

it's only suited for low milers
the battery will need changing after few years

so a smaller car say like a polo plus a lot of petrol might be suitable

personally not sold on EVs - YET !

but I suppose someone needs to be the early adopters , so if the additional expense works for you , go for it

i3 LCI should be decent

I think the battery issue is absolutely not an issue. There is a substantial warranty in place for now and In 5 years I expect that technology will have moved on so much that you'll want to swap to new batteries as a retrofit which will increase range. Makes sense to utilise the already existing platform. And as a used car with little other running costs they will be a bargain.