Used i8 as daily?

[Heres Johnny]

Prices in the UK are all over the place. Some of the last to be made are being listed stupidly high, the roadsters are too, however earlier models out of warranty are more realistic.

A 2020 coupe for £96k!!
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202110258...

2019 LCI Coupe for £68k
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202201261...

2018 pre LCI and you're under 60k. I can recommend the LCI as the extra battery is worth having and the idrive is a slightly later version, but not at 96k

[originals]

Excuse the potentially naive questions but when was the LCI? AND what is CPO?

[Heres Johnny]

originals said:

Excuse the potentially naive questions but when was the LCI? AND what is CPO?

LCI is life cycle Inpulse in BMW speak and is basically a mid term update to the car spec. You can spot an i8 LCI because it has Coupe or Roadster written on the side just behind the rear quarter lights.

CPO is certified pre owned - basically bought from the manufacturer with all that offers, usually a decent warranty, serviced, all recalls done. minimum tyre depths etc as part of their 3 thousand point check list

[originals]

Many thanks. What year was the LCI on the i8? And what are the benefits?

[Heres Johnny]

originals said:

Many thanks. What year was the LCI on the i8? And what are the benefits?

Mid 2018. We had a 68 plate LCI which was, IIRC, Sept registered, and as a 1 year old car at the time was about 45k off list, wish I'd kept it now given the prices.

The primary differences from memory were a touch more power, a 50% bigger battery, an updated idrive (became touch screen), and the usual options list like wheels etc. were juggled around. The bonnet vent thing also became filled in as another distinguishing feature. The roadster was also launched as part of the LCI.

[originals]

Excellent. Thank you.

[SWoll]

It's a funny one as the fact it's a hybrid is the part that interests me the least. The construction methods and the fact it's the most exotic modern car you can buy for £50k are the real draw. Far more interesting than anything from Porsche or Audi at the same price point IMHO.

A 2018 i8 or a slightly newer Cayman GTS/Audi TT-RS for £55k? Absolute no brainer for me.

[originals]

It's an i8 or LC500 for me at the £50-£60k price point.

Or a Guila Quadrifoglio as an outsider.

[SWoll]

originals said:

It's an i8 or LC500 for me at the £50-£60k price point.

Or a Guila Quadrifoglio as an outsider.

You're looking at £70k+ for a 2018 V8 LC500 though, which is what you would want I assume? Bit of a heavy beast as well.

I like the QF but wouldn't consider it an alternative personally.

[SWoll]

Wouldn't put me off but must admit this surprised me. No quicker over a 1/4 mile than our eTron?

[ZesPak]

One of the main criticisms when it came out was that it looked a lot faster than it actually went.

Edited by ZesPak on Tuesday 15th February 16:47

[off_again]

Yeah the i8 wasnt the fastest in the world, but for what it is, its still pretty fast. Some simple performance modifications can make it significantly faster though. Rich Rebuilds on YouTube went through the process:

https://insideevs.com/news/448413/rich-rebuilds-mo...

Managed to get to the 12.2 / 12.3 range on the 1/4 mile times. Takes it up a notch and into the previous generation 911 Carrera times. Of course, you could just get a 911 anyway, but hey, everyone has one of those...

[cerb4.5lee]

ZesPak said:

One of the main criticisms when it came out was that it looked a lot faster than it actually went.

Edited by ZesPak on Tuesday 15th February 16:47

Agree. I think they have always been more about the way they look rather than the performance that they offer. I think they look stunning whenever I see one.

[SWoll]

Loks like the CW numbers aren't very accurate (funnily enough)

TG tested the i8 vs the F80 M4.



Not supercar quick but plenty quick enough, and looks to be well suited to road speeds.

More digging turned up that ACS have a few parts for the i8 including a 21" wheel set that jumps from the standard 195/215 setup to 245/285 which I imagine changes the character of the car significantly.

£5.5k with tyres though

https://performancem.co.uk/choose-your-car/bmw/i8/

Now those are are some full arches.

[mr_tony]

We ran an i8 as a family car back in 2015, replaced a Range Rover with it. Had 2 small kids in car seats, plus fitted a pushchair in quite regularly. Boot space is very limited (can still get a cabin carry on suitcase in the boot though). Brilliant thing. Only one main downsides as a daily…

1. The battery on the early cars isn’t big, standard electric only range was around 13 miles. The later cars contingent with the convertible increase this to 19/20 miles.

2. It’s not really that efficient. Mpg is ok, but not surprising. But if you only do short trips then obviously combined with the battery it will work better.

3. Doors, they look cool but you do need to always consider where you’re parking, as it can be easy to end up in a situation where you park so,ehwere come back and discover someone parked close enough to you that you can’t open the door. I ended up climbing into the passenger side to flip into the drivers seat on a number of occasions. Eventually I usd to always select a parking spot on the end of a row. I imagine mclaren / lambo drivers have the same challenge…

On the plus side, it’s still a great looking car, and the midrange torque in sports mode is where the fun is, with the low wide footprint, good grip from tyres it’s hilarious fun to throw through the twisties, it gets its power down well and catapults you out of bends or roundabouts in a very enjoyable way..

[ZesPak]

mr_tony... where did you fit in a pushchair?
I've been in one on several occasions and we had a hard time fitting a skateboard

[mr_tony]

ZesPak said:

mr_tony... where did you fit in a pushchair?
I've been in one on several occasions and we had a hard time fitting a skateboard

You have to be inventive - you could get a single collapsible buggy between the rear seats resting on the central armrest…… used to be ideal for family visits into central London…

[SWoll]

Replaced a range rover as family transport. That's what I call commitment.

Looks to me, in coupe form at least, that as a two seater it has more than enough space between the boot, parcel shelf and rear seats to carry luggage for a week away? Certainly appears a lot more practical than many a sportcar anyway?

[mr_tony]

If there’s just 2 people in the car then the rear seats are larger than 911 seats (I could just about sit behind myself and I am reasonably tall. Touring would be no problem for a week away.

[jamesbilluk]

This was my way of passing it off as viable family transport, it was quite a nifty little buggy, and I could close the boot hatch.