RE: Chris Harris video: BMW i8
Discussion
Neat - thats my local In-N-Out burger!
I wish I saw you on the day Chris but nice to see you enjoyed yourself in my neighborhood. The i8 development mules have been running around Marina Del Rey / Santa Monica for months and the test drivers seemed to be enjoying themselves. Makes a nice noise too.
Did you stop by the Rock Store while you were up on Mulholland?
I wish I saw you on the day Chris but nice to see you enjoyed yourself in my neighborhood. The i8 development mules have been running around Marina Del Rey / Santa Monica for months and the test drivers seemed to be enjoying themselves. Makes a nice noise too.
Did you stop by the Rock Store while you were up on Mulholland?
graemel said:
I'll LMAO when the HSE decrees that all electrically powered vehicles have to emit a loud beeping sound to warn pedestrians that they are approaching. This will be an issue, mark my words.
Much though I hate to link to the steaming pile of satan's own dung, according to the Fail it seems the EU have already got that covered.....http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2595451/Si...
Aside from that, I have just seen the future - and I am reassured.
I'll tell you what should be banned. Quoting EU cycle mpg figures for hybrid cars like this. They are just irrelevant as it does not take into account the state of charge of the batteries at the start and end of the test, and also the cost of charging the thing.
A better representation for these would be a standardised miles-per-kw, factoring in a theoretical 100% energy conversion of petrol to energy (which of course would never happen). That way we can get a better (but still not perfect) comparison between petrol, hybrid and pure electric cars (although it would ignore the cost per kw of the two different fuel types).
A better representation for these would be a standardised miles-per-kw, factoring in a theoretical 100% energy conversion of petrol to energy (which of course would never happen). That way we can get a better (but still not perfect) comparison between petrol, hybrid and pure electric cars (although it would ignore the cost per kw of the two different fuel types).
Chris Stott said:
Really interesting car.
Oh, In And Out
Not the subtlest plug but to be fair mates who come back from the US tend to rave about them.Oh, In And Out
It sounds okay as an everyday car. Another review I read said it was a very frustrating car to drive as it was so close to perfect except that the software calibration with the transmissions (elec motors have a two speed and petrol has a variant of the auto in the Mini cooper) was really off kilter to the point they felt BMW had released the car unfinished (review on carsales.com.au). I was a bit mixed on the looks but seeing it in motion I think it's quite nice. I think if the software gets fixed it sounds like it would make a great commuter and then if you are really out to enjoy a nice road take your motorbike or Caterham.
If this is half-way any good (which apparently it is) then it is surely the future.
Which is sad as it doesn't appeal to me at all.
I'm not that old (36) but cars have changed so much (for the worse) in my lifetime:
Steering feedback used to be deemed essential for a sports car. Now it doesn't exist.
Automatics were for Americans ('cos they preferred them - fair enough) and people that couldn't drive a manual properly. Now it seems there are hardly any new manual performance cars.
The accelerator was connected by a cable which allowed you a very precise feel of how much force you were exerting on the pedal, and engines were responsive enough that you knew exactly how much extra forward momentum that force was going to translate to. Now we have drive by wire pedals that are just like pressing an electronic switch, with no tactile feedback.
Engines went BrmmBrmm! Now cars make fake BrmmBrmm noises because they don't actually go BrmmBrmm anymore.
You could approach the limits of the car relatively safely (where conditions allowed) quite easily, and enjoy really driving! Now all cars are so grippy you have to be an irresponsible accident waiting to happen to get anywhere near the limit.
There's lots more too obviously.
An MGB would be much more fun than this thing down a quiet country road, and yet it's meant to be a sports car isn't it? So it should be fun, not just fast and efficient.
I really hope there's some decent to drive cars still around in 30 years time, but I think they are going to be very very rare and hard to come by.
Or perhaps I shouldn't comment until I've driven it!
Which is sad as it doesn't appeal to me at all.
I'm not that old (36) but cars have changed so much (for the worse) in my lifetime:
Steering feedback used to be deemed essential for a sports car. Now it doesn't exist.
Automatics were for Americans ('cos they preferred them - fair enough) and people that couldn't drive a manual properly. Now it seems there are hardly any new manual performance cars.
The accelerator was connected by a cable which allowed you a very precise feel of how much force you were exerting on the pedal, and engines were responsive enough that you knew exactly how much extra forward momentum that force was going to translate to. Now we have drive by wire pedals that are just like pressing an electronic switch, with no tactile feedback.
Engines went BrmmBrmm! Now cars make fake BrmmBrmm noises because they don't actually go BrmmBrmm anymore.
You could approach the limits of the car relatively safely (where conditions allowed) quite easily, and enjoy really driving! Now all cars are so grippy you have to be an irresponsible accident waiting to happen to get anywhere near the limit.
There's lots more too obviously.
An MGB would be much more fun than this thing down a quiet country road, and yet it's meant to be a sports car isn't it? So it should be fun, not just fast and efficient.
I really hope there's some decent to drive cars still around in 30 years time, but I think they are going to be very very rare and hard to come by.
Or perhaps I shouldn't comment until I've driven it!
sege said:
If this is half-way any good (which apparently it is) then it is surely the future.
Which is sad as it doesn't appeal to me at all.
I'm not that old (36) but cars have changed so much (for the worse) in my lifetime:
Steering feedback used to be deemed essential for a sports car. Now it doesn't exist.
Automatics were for Americans ('cos they preferred them - fair enough) and people that couldn't drive a manual properly. Now it seems there are hardly any new manual performance cars.
The accelerator was connected by a cable which allowed you a very precise feel of how much force you were exerting on the pedal, and engines were responsive enough that you knew exactly how much extra forward momentum that force was going to translate to. Now we have drive by wire pedals that are just like pressing an electronic switch, with no tactile feedback.
Engines went BrmmBrmm! Now cars make fake BrmmBrmm noises because they don't actually go BrmmBrmm anymore.
You could approach the limits of the car relatively safely (where conditions allowed) quite easily, and enjoy really driving! Now all cars are so grippy you have to be an irresponsible accident waiting to happen to get anywhere near the limit.
There's lots more too obviously.
An MGB would be much more fun than this thing down a quiet country road, and yet it's meant to be a sports car isn't it? So it should be fun, not just fast and efficient.
I really hope there's some decent to drive cars still around in 30 years time, but I think they are going to be very very rare and hard to come by.
Or perhaps I shouldn't comment until I've driven it!
Your comments ref the autos is slightly wrong, it was because autos were so poor. Usually 4 spd slush boxes compared to manuals with 5/6 spds, 20mpg worse on fuel and usually an extra 2-3 secs lumped onto the 0-60 time whilst still being more expensive to buy in the first place. Usually only good for towing. Which is sad as it doesn't appeal to me at all.
I'm not that old (36) but cars have changed so much (for the worse) in my lifetime:
Steering feedback used to be deemed essential for a sports car. Now it doesn't exist.
Automatics were for Americans ('cos they preferred them - fair enough) and people that couldn't drive a manual properly. Now it seems there are hardly any new manual performance cars.
The accelerator was connected by a cable which allowed you a very precise feel of how much force you were exerting on the pedal, and engines were responsive enough that you knew exactly how much extra forward momentum that force was going to translate to. Now we have drive by wire pedals that are just like pressing an electronic switch, with no tactile feedback.
Engines went BrmmBrmm! Now cars make fake BrmmBrmm noises because they don't actually go BrmmBrmm anymore.
You could approach the limits of the car relatively safely (where conditions allowed) quite easily, and enjoy really driving! Now all cars are so grippy you have to be an irresponsible accident waiting to happen to get anywhere near the limit.
There's lots more too obviously.
An MGB would be much more fun than this thing down a quiet country road, and yet it's meant to be a sports car isn't it? So it should be fun, not just fast and efficient.
I really hope there's some decent to drive cars still around in 30 years time, but I think they are going to be very very rare and hard to come by.
Or perhaps I shouldn't comment until I've driven it!
I can imagine many people 10-20 years ago would have gone the auto option back then if they were as good as they are today.
dandare said:
I like the exterior, although rear of the wheels is a bit short.
As for the interior being modern, was Chris tripping? It still looks old fashioned compared to some of the 10 year-old TVR interiors. Really boring and doesn't fit the exterior. Maybe that's a clever marketing ploy. Change too much, and only the brave would buy it. One step at a time for Joe Public.
Still, well done BMW, even though I wouldn't want one.
Sit and one and you will see why Chris said what he did - it makes a TVR look prehistoric. Uber cool and high tech.As for the interior being modern, was Chris tripping? It still looks old fashioned compared to some of the 10 year-old TVR interiors. Really boring and doesn't fit the exterior. Maybe that's a clever marketing ploy. Change too much, and only the brave would buy it. One step at a time for Joe Public.
Still, well done BMW, even though I wouldn't want one.
Very interesting video. It's good to see that manufacturers are embracing hybrid power as a way of enhancing the cars enjoyability and performance, rather than to solely improve efficiency and emissions.
skyrover said:
Depressing IMO
Why? Looks incredible, goes like stink and yet is still more economical by a long way than anything else which offers similar performance. Apart from the fake noise (which I'm sure there must be a way to disable), what's not to like?Not really sure who will buy it but I think it's great....seen a few i3's and think they age every other car on the road and I suspect the i8 will do the same.
As someone said you'd have one of these over a 6 series but then a 640d can be put on the road for half the price pretty much.
As someone said you'd have one of these over a 6 series but then a 640d can be put on the road for half the price pretty much.
TimLambert7 said:
If i owned one of these I wouldn't let a tuner within 20 metres of it.
BMW, one of the largest car manufacturers in the world have set up a hugely complicated power plant. No tuner can come close without seriously fecking it up, surely?
Just a few more turns in the electric motor, no? (looks at old Tamiya Manta Ray on shelf).BMW, one of the largest car manufacturers in the world have set up a hugely complicated power plant. No tuner can come close without seriously fecking it up, surely?
Edited by sixspeed on Thursday 1st May 09:23
Great piece as usual from Chris Harris. The only thing for me is that these cars are supposed to be the holy grail (or heading that way - it's still early days) of performance, fuel consumption, and green credentials and all that. No mention of the fuel consumption on that test though which would have been interesting given the mixed driving it had and the type of car it is. I mean after all, manufacturers are posting fabulous fuel figures for these cars, what are we getting in reality?
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