RE: BMW i8 | PH Used Buying Guide

RE: BMW i8 | PH Used Buying Guide

Author
Discussion

vanman1936

759 posts

219 months

Thursday 2nd July 2020
quotequote all
I think they look amazing and one of those cars that owners rarely have a bad word to say about (vs keyboard warriors).

I am sorely tempted by one as a stepping stone to an R8/12C (need some practicality at the moment).......one question, do they HAVE to be plugged in / recharged as would need to park on the street or can I just leave engine / regen to charge up?

BishBosh

440 posts

224 months

Thursday 2nd July 2020
quotequote all
vanman1936 said:
I think they look amazing and one of those cars that owners rarely have a bad word to say about (vs keyboard warriors).

I am sorely tempted by one as a stepping stone to an R8/12C (need some practicality at the moment).......one question, do they HAVE to be plugged in / recharged as would need to park on the street or can I just leave engine / regen to charge up?
I do know the later versions will charge the battery when in sport mode. All be it slowly...they do not have to be plugged in to use them.

jjr1

3,023 posts

260 months

Thursday 2nd July 2020
quotequote all
They all charge fine in Sport mode unless you mash your foot to the floor.

In sport mode if the rev counter is red your batteries are charging. If you mash your foot down the red rev counter also gains a blue glow and your car is using everything, engine and batteries. Nice acceleration but no good for adding volts smile

Edited by jjr1 on Thursday 2nd July 23:04

jamesbilluk

3,689 posts

183 months

Thursday 2nd July 2020
quotequote all
Sport mode does charge the battery nicely! Even just driving at normal speeds whilst still in sports charges well, think I read somewhere that it only takes the charge up to 75% though.

Edited by jamesbilluk on Thursday 2nd July 23:58

ensignia

919 posts

235 months

Friday 3rd July 2020
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Looking at one of these to replace a Maserati Granturismo, but the only niggling thing is the rear seats are too small for adults.

Aside from that would love one, as the Maser is a little too archaic (the interior is seriously dated now) and 250 miles to £100 of super unleaded gets a bit wearisome.

FeelingLucky

1,083 posts

164 months

Friday 3rd July 2020
quotequote all
jjr1 said:
They all charge fine in Sport mode unless you mash your foot to the floor.

In sport mode if the rev counter is red your batteries are charging. If you mash your foot down the red rev counter also gains a blue glow and your car is using everything, engine and batteries. Nice acceleration but no good for adding volts smile

Edited by jjr1 on Thursday 2nd July 23:04
WTF!

Is that really true, in two years I never had the graphic go blue, I'm clearly too old and shouldn't really be on this site.
Seriously, I don't wish to doubt you, but is that really true??

Also, linked to the above, I found that Sport mode charged the HV Batt quite quickly.

As an aside, anybody on here gone from an original car to an LCI? I found the relatively minor differences made for a substantially better drive, the EV/ICE integration in particular. At some point I aim to get back into an i8, but only an LCI

HokumPokum

2,051 posts

205 months

Friday 3rd July 2020
quotequote all
BishBosh said:
vanman1936 said:
I think they look amazing and one of those cars that owners rarely have a bad word to say about (vs keyboard warriors).

I am sorely tempted by one as a stepping stone to an R8/12C (need some practicality at the moment).......one question, do they HAVE to be plugged in / recharged as would need to park on the street or can I just leave engine / regen to charge up?
I do know the later versions will charge the battery when in sport mode. All be it slowly...they do not have to be plugged in to use them.
yes but kinda defeat the purpose of having a hybrid. without an electrical supply you are virtually having to charge it up using the ICE on short trips. might as well just have the 3 cylinder mini engine without the battery....

jamesbilluk

3,689 posts

183 months

Friday 3rd July 2020
quotequote all
Agreed there, it does make more sense to charge from the mains if possible, I'll do any shopping trip using E mode/Comfort mode, then sports when the mood takes me. With some charge ups, I've been seeing 450/500 miles on a tank, very cheap tank to fill as well.

iain123

51 posts

104 months

Friday 3rd July 2020
quotequote all
FeelingLucky said:
jjr1 said:
They all charge fine in Sport mode unless you mash your foot to the floor.

In sport mode if the rev counter is red your batteries are charging. If you mash your foot down the red rev counter also gains a blue glow and your car is using everything, engine and batteries. Nice acceleration but no good for adding volts smile

Edited by jjr1 on Thursday 2nd July 23:04
WTF!

Is that really true, in two years I never had the graphic go blue, I'm clearly too old and shouldn't really be on this site.
Seriously, I don't wish to doubt you, but is that really true??

Also, linked to the above, I found that Sport mode charged the HV Batt quite quickly.

As an aside, anybody on here gone from an original car to an LCI? I found the relatively minor differences made for a substantially better drive, the EV/ICE integration in particular. At some point I aim to get back into an i8, but only an LCI
Yes, but it just a blue circle on the inside of the tacho. Not always easy to spot as things can be speeding up outside at that point.

jjr1

3,023 posts

260 months

Friday 3rd July 2020
quotequote all
iain123 said:
FeelingLucky said:
jjr1 said:
They all charge fine in Sport mode unless you mash your foot to the floor.

In sport mode if the rev counter is red your batteries are charging. If you mash your foot down the red rev counter also gains a blue glow and your car is using everything, engine and batteries. Nice acceleration but no good for adding volts smile

Edited by jjr1 on Thursday 2nd July 23:04
WTF!

Is that really true, in two years I never had the graphic go blue, I'm clearly too old and shouldn't really be on this site.
Seriously, I don't wish to doubt you, but is that really true??

Also, linked to the above, I found that Sport mode charged the HV Batt quite quickly.

As an aside, anybody on here gone from an original car to an LCI? I found the relatively minor differences made for a substantially better drive, the EV/ICE integration in particular. At some point I aim to get back into an i8, but only an LCI
Yes, but it just a blue circle on the inside of the tacho. Not always easy to spot as things can be speeding up outside at that point.
Also when the blue inner circle comes on the sound changes again and gives you a 'starship enterprise' noise as well. Just mash your foot.

Pioneer

1,309 posts

131 months

Saturday 18th July 2020
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I've had BMWs since I was 18 (now 47). Probably about 30+ so far. Lots of boring 4 cyl rep mobiles but plenty of nice ones too. Bought the wife an i8 a while back thinking I wouldn't like it. I do, in fact, it's my go-to car now over anything else. A hoot to drive, peanuts to run and still feels fresh and modern. Prefer it to every single one of the M cars I've had. She had a 2017 M4CP conv. before and I could tell she wasn't that fussed about it. She loves that i8 though! She's a lot younger than me and I think it appeals more to her generation than us older petrol heads. It's got me sniffing around EVs now. That instant torque is what's addictive, the ice just can't compete. Hers was 2 years old, had done most of its money already and only had 8k on the clock. Lost plenty more on my daily (LWB 7 series) than I'll ever lose on that i8.

CraigV6

348 posts

131 months

Saturday 18th July 2020
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The prices of these are now starting to interest me.

One query for owners - will they fit in a single garage?

vanman1936

759 posts

219 months

Sunday 19th July 2020
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How can you tell if they have the 30 or 42 litre tank?

MrOrange

2,035 posts

253 months

Monday 20th July 2020
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CraigV6 said:
The prices of these are now starting to interest me.

One query for owners - will they fit in a single garage?
Car is 2.2m wide plus another .3m to open one door so you really need at least 3m width. Mine lives on my drive and pretty much fills that, zero chance of getting it into my (new build) garage.

carnut360

127 posts

174 months

Monday 27th July 2020
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Certainly the most exciting car i have driven in ages, so i sold my Ferrari California and bought the roadster!.

BishBosh

440 posts

224 months

Monday 27th July 2020
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carnut360 said:
Certainly the most exciting car i have driven in ages, so i sold my Ferrari California and bought the roadster!.
Wow! Nice thumbup


W12GT

3,525 posts

221 months

Saturday 1st August 2020
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borat52 said:
Never really saw the point in this car.

An alpine is a much better sports car, a R35 GTR will annihilate it in performance, a Conti GT will be a better GT and a Tesla is a better electric car.

Massive identity crises IMHO and always thought it looked like it was rolling around on bicycle wheels.
What a ridiculous post! You can’t select 4 different cars, pick out their best strength and then say they are better than ONE car. The point is the i8 does it all very well. Take it from a now ex Conti GT owner - they are dull, terribly terribly dull.


Edited by W12GT on Saturday 1st August 09:36

AlexNJ89

2,443 posts

79 months

Monday 10th August 2020
quotequote all
How do i8 owners find the doors to be on a day to day basis?

I'm worried I'll park in Sainbury's car park and come back to find someone parked too close too me, have to linger by my car until the owner returns.

CEBR8

16 posts

87 months

Monday 10th August 2020
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Yep that’s happened to me once in a car park, couldn't get the driver door open so just climbed over the passenger side to avoid waiting, now I just find an end space facing driver side door and problem solved.
I also have this at home with neighbours parking too close due to shared drive. I can’t bloody wait to move in 3 months!

jamesbilluk

3,689 posts

183 months

Monday 10th August 2020
quotequote all
AlexNJ89 said:
How do i8 owners find the doors to be on a day to day basis?

I'm worried I'll park in Sainbury's car park and come back to find someone parked too close too me, have to linger by my car until the owner returns.
I've had that happen once, the wing mirrors of the car who had parked neck to me seemed to be the problem, I managed to hold the door just open enough and Limbo under it. I've found they're not as bad as I had read though, not needing any more space than my previous M4 doors did, and they kepe you dry from the rain!