Test drove an I3 today
Discussion
What a hoot! Car is clearly restricted up to about 30mph after which it flies. Had 95 out of it. Very quiet, with the exception of wind noise. Lively little thing with beautiful steering. I'm sure DMS could make this a sub 6 second 0-60 car, providing it doesn't have plastic gears like a toy!
Major flaw for me would be coming from a 2.7 tonne RRS where occupants weight accounts for 5% of the total mass to an I3 where the same occupants account for 13% of it's mass tells me you're less than half as likely to walk away in a head on collision with another vehicle.
Major flaw for me would be coming from a 2.7 tonne RRS where occupants weight accounts for 5% of the total mass to an I3 where the same occupants account for 13% of it's mass tells me you're less than half as likely to walk away in a head on collision with another vehicle.
Sounds like fun.
But what do you mean about surviving a crash? Weight doesn't have as much to with survivability of a crash as much as crumple zones and passenger cell design does.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3bFhVvdlaI
But what do you mean about surviving a crash? Weight doesn't have as much to with survivability of a crash as much as crumple zones and passenger cell design does.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3bFhVvdlaI
RumpleFugly said:
Sounds like fun.
But what do you mean about surviving a crash? Weight doesn't have as much to with survivability of a crash as much as crumple zones and passenger cell design does.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3bFhVvdlaI
Occupants of the smart car would be dead! It's primary use would be the 60 miles / day commute to school, and where I live that's dicing with tractors and muddy country lanes. Just don't fancy it in a small car again.But what do you mean about surviving a crash? Weight doesn't have as much to with survivability of a crash as much as crumple zones and passenger cell design does.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3bFhVvdlaI
As a city car or even a short motorway commute I can think of nothing better than the i3. Very very clever.
Edited by aceparts on Monday 20th January 21:35
Synchromesh said:
The side impact looks to be very impressive - I guess the short front overhang doesn't help with the frontal?Still 4* is decent enough no?
I should have withdrawn my comment. I'll clarify:
I3 crash test, ncap etc looks great. Ncap only compares similarly sized vehicles. I.e. 5 star smart car crashing into 5 star range rover isn't the same as 2 x smart cars crashing.
For me, now, small car vs big car debate. I would rather stick with big car.
If I moved or the range improved by 20% I would have one for work myself! May get one as a pool car for work anyway.
I3 crash test, ncap etc looks great. Ncap only compares similarly sized vehicles. I.e. 5 star smart car crashing into 5 star range rover isn't the same as 2 x smart cars crashing.
For me, now, small car vs big car debate. I would rather stick with big car.
If I moved or the range improved by 20% I would have one for work myself! May get one as a pool car for work anyway.
I test drove one today too. I had it as a courtesy car while the 540 was having some work done.
It looks fantastic, very futuristic and with lots of novel touches. I personally found the seat amazingly comfortable. The steering had a nice weight to it despite the skinny tyres. Acceleration around town was up there with the 540, but not sure it would be able to keep up at higher speeds. The 'engine braking' when lifting off took some getting used to. It took a bit of throttle control to just 'coast' but it's the sort of thing that soon becomes second nature. I can't make my mind up if the complete lack of engine noise is a good thing or not. On the one hand it makes conversation between front and rear seat passengers easy, but I do miss the aural queues about what the powertrain is doing. One niggle was that it had a great rear parking sensor, but none at the front - or could I just not find how to turn it on?
It looks fantastic, very futuristic and with lots of novel touches. I personally found the seat amazingly comfortable. The steering had a nice weight to it despite the skinny tyres. Acceleration around town was up there with the 540, but not sure it would be able to keep up at higher speeds. The 'engine braking' when lifting off took some getting used to. It took a bit of throttle control to just 'coast' but it's the sort of thing that soon becomes second nature. I can't make my mind up if the complete lack of engine noise is a good thing or not. On the one hand it makes conversation between front and rear seat passengers easy, but I do miss the aural queues about what the powertrain is doing. One niggle was that it had a great rear parking sensor, but none at the front - or could I just not find how to turn it on?
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