BMW i8 - Outstanding
Discussion
Not wishing to prolong my now quite old other thread, I thought I'd start a new thread in appreciation of this truly great car.
I'm now in my 9 month of ownership and still in love with this car. If you're contemplating an i8, I can vouch for just how useable these cars are and how dynamic they are to drive and own.
Drove to Wilton House today, a round trip of 160 miles and loved every minute of that drive. Even with giving it some beans on numerous occasions, following a mates 600 bhp mustang, it returned 54mpg and still feels genuinely quick. Having had a brace of quick Caterhams and other performance cars, this is just as much of a drivers car as anything before.
Having got home and cleaned the car up, I just wanted to get back in and drive some more. Now that for me is a sign of a great car!
I'm now in my 9 month of ownership and still in love with this car. If you're contemplating an i8, I can vouch for just how useable these cars are and how dynamic they are to drive and own.
Drove to Wilton House today, a round trip of 160 miles and loved every minute of that drive. Even with giving it some beans on numerous occasions, following a mates 600 bhp mustang, it returned 54mpg and still feels genuinely quick. Having had a brace of quick Caterhams and other performance cars, this is just as much of a drivers car as anything before.
Having got home and cleaned the car up, I just wanted to get back in and drive some more. Now that for me is a sign of a great car!
Edited by culminator on Sunday 22 April 22:30
I had one for a weekend and did around 600 miles in it and if I'm honest I gradually fell out of love with it over the course of the weekend. The looks are fantastic and in my opinion it's one of the nicest interiors around. It's also very entertainingly fast, sounds good (it's the only car with 'enhanced' engine noise that I like) and surprisingly usable. So there's lots right.
I had a few niggling issues with it, silly as it sounds the main one was about the armrest on the drivers door not being comfy. My big issue is that it's not electric enough to justify the sort of halfway house it sits in. The real-world electric range was very short and in reality too short to make too much of a difference and when driven as a normal hybrid I didn't feel like the MPG was particularly impressive for the performance that I was using. I had expected that sticking it in 'Comfort' and putting thr cruise on at 70mph would return some very high MPG figures but I just didn't see them. And when driving it in 'Sport Plus', which I believe is the only really effective way to recharge the battery, the MPG went to single figures. My average MPG for the weekend was significantly lower than I expected and scarcely better than I would have expected from similar driving in my old SLK55.
It may well be that more time in the car might have allowed me to modify my driving style to better accommodate the cars quirks, but I would have hoped that as someone whose daily is an i3 that I would have been able to get the best from it with ease.
I found it very impressive for a lot of reasons, but simply not the eco sports car I was expecting.
I had a few niggling issues with it, silly as it sounds the main one was about the armrest on the drivers door not being comfy. My big issue is that it's not electric enough to justify the sort of halfway house it sits in. The real-world electric range was very short and in reality too short to make too much of a difference and when driven as a normal hybrid I didn't feel like the MPG was particularly impressive for the performance that I was using. I had expected that sticking it in 'Comfort' and putting thr cruise on at 70mph would return some very high MPG figures but I just didn't see them. And when driving it in 'Sport Plus', which I believe is the only really effective way to recharge the battery, the MPG went to single figures. My average MPG for the weekend was significantly lower than I expected and scarcely better than I would have expected from similar driving in my old SLK55.
It may well be that more time in the car might have allowed me to modify my driving style to better accommodate the cars quirks, but I would have hoped that as someone whose daily is an i3 that I would have been able to get the best from it with ease.
I found it very impressive for a lot of reasons, but simply not the eco sports car I was expecting.
TXG399 said:
I had one for a weekend and did around 600 miles in it and if I'm honest I gradually fell out of love with it over the course of the weekend. The looks are fantastic and in my opinion it's one of the nicest interiors around. It's also very entertainingly fast, sounds good (it's the only car with 'enhanced' engine noise that I like) and surprisingly usable. So there's lots right.
I had a few niggling issues with it, silly as it sounds the main one was about the armrest on the drivers door not being comfy. My big issue is that it's not electric enough to justify the sort of halfway house it sits in. The real-world electric range was very short and in reality too short to make too much of a difference and when driven as a normal hybrid I didn't feel like the MPG was particularly impressive for the performance that I was using. I had expected that sticking it in 'Comfort' and putting thr cruise on at 70mph would return some very high MPG figures but I just didn't see them. And when driving it in 'Sport Plus', which I believe is the only really effective way to recharge the battery, the MPG went to single figures. My average MPG for the weekend was significantly lower than I expected and scarcely better than I would have expected from similar driving in my old SLK55.
It may well be that more time in the car might have allowed me to modify my driving style to better accommodate the cars quirks, but I would have hoped that as someone whose daily is an i3 that I would have been able to get the best from it with ease.
I found it very impressive for a lot of reasons, but simply not the eco sports car I was expecting.
The "electric only" range is clearly too short, BMW don't help matters by claiming a ludicrous 22 miles.I had a few niggling issues with it, silly as it sounds the main one was about the armrest on the drivers door not being comfy. My big issue is that it's not electric enough to justify the sort of halfway house it sits in. The real-world electric range was very short and in reality too short to make too much of a difference and when driven as a normal hybrid I didn't feel like the MPG was particularly impressive for the performance that I was using. I had expected that sticking it in 'Comfort' and putting thr cruise on at 70mph would return some very high MPG figures but I just didn't see them. And when driving it in 'Sport Plus', which I believe is the only really effective way to recharge the battery, the MPG went to single figures. My average MPG for the weekend was significantly lower than I expected and scarcely better than I would have expected from similar driving in my old SLK55.
It may well be that more time in the car might have allowed me to modify my driving style to better accommodate the cars quirks, but I would have hoped that as someone whose daily is an i3 that I would have been able to get the best from it with ease.
I found it very impressive for a lot of reasons, but simply not the eco sports car I was expecting.
I had a demonstrator on loan for two days, and spent most of that time in "Sport" mode, and spanking it, I could only get it down to 36 MPG, which at the time seemed poor, later I reflected that tickling my 997t gently down the motorway was the only time I'd ever seen 36 MPG on that.
FeelingLucky said:
The "electric only" range is clearly too short, BMW don't help matters by claiming a ludicrous 22 miles.
I had a demonstrator on loan for two days, and spent most of that time in "Sport" mode, and spanking it, I could only get it down to 36 MPG, which at the time seemed poor, later I reflected that tickling my 997t gently down the motorway was the only time I'd ever seen 36 MPG on that.
That's one of the issues with borrowing one. Typically you drive it harder and more often than normal and also expect it to "be more electric" - and it's typically not charged.I had a demonstrator on loan for two days, and spent most of that time in "Sport" mode, and spanking it, I could only get it down to 36 MPG, which at the time seemed poor, later I reflected that tickling my 997t gently down the motorway was the only time I'd ever seen 36 MPG on that.
Once you've had one for a while you "learn" how to get the best from it. Full Red Sporty mode when spanking, immediately knocking it back into Comfort/Eco when you trundle through villages and towns so it regains a fair amount of leccy power. You also typically need to be one gear higher when accelerating hard and let the leccy motor provide the torque.
It is a hybrid, not an EV, so typically gets it's best longer-range consumption when left to work it's own magic. I've averaged over 50mpg since I got mine 2 years ago. And I do spank it, a lot. I also do a lot of sub 10 mile journeys where the engine doesn't run at all.
MrOrange said:
FeelingLucky said:
The "electric only" range is clearly too short, BMW don't help matters by claiming a ludicrous 22 miles.
I had a demonstrator on loan for two days, and spent most of that time in "Sport" mode, and spanking it, I could only get it down to 36 MPG, which at the time seemed poor, later I reflected that tickling my 997t gently down the motorway was the only time I'd ever seen 36 MPG on that.
That's one of the issues with borrowing one. Typically you drive it harder and more often than normal and also expect it to "be more electric" - and it's typically not charged.I had a demonstrator on loan for two days, and spent most of that time in "Sport" mode, and spanking it, I could only get it down to 36 MPG, which at the time seemed poor, later I reflected that tickling my 997t gently down the motorway was the only time I'd ever seen 36 MPG on that.
Once you've had one for a while you "learn" how to get the best from it. Full Red Sporty mode when spanking, immediately knocking it back into Comfort/Eco when you trundle through villages and towns so it regains a fair amount of leccy power. You also typically need to be one gear higher when accelerating hard and let the leccy motor provide the torque.
It is a hybrid, not an EV, so typically gets it's best longer-range consumption when left to work it's own magic. I've averaged over 50mpg since I got mine 2 years ago. And I do spank it, a lot. I also do a lot of sub 10 mile journeys where the engine doesn't run at all.
On my test days, whilst behaving very badly, I only got it down to 36.
Now an owner, and driving with a level of care, I see astonishing economy.
As I’ve stated on the ‘other thread’ - I had my coupe for 2 1/2 years and sold it early March.
Had three issues during ownership; throttle body sensor which resulted in the ICE misfiring and rough as a dog. A software failure that caused the instrument panel to blank out - and another software issue that the car forgot everything!
Each time BMW support was super slick and the car whisked away and a high quality replacement BMW supplied as a loan.
We’ve also done some of the BMW I impulse events which are fantastically organised driving weekends. Met some great guys on that - the whole i8 experience has been great. The one & only thing that let BMW down, was the original supplying dealer; more specifically the Sales Exec.... what a to$$er he turned out to be!
My replacement Roadster is coming from Park Lane, which is BMW’s own dealership; hoping we’ll get a better service!
Did circa 12K miles at an average of 44.5mpg over the ownership with most being the daily commute of 15miles round trip.
Also ... having also owned and own noisy cars, there’s something really satisfying driving it in sport manual and using the ample torque pull you out of bends with the electric turbine yowl!
Graham
Had three issues during ownership; throttle body sensor which resulted in the ICE misfiring and rough as a dog. A software failure that caused the instrument panel to blank out - and another software issue that the car forgot everything!
Each time BMW support was super slick and the car whisked away and a high quality replacement BMW supplied as a loan.
We’ve also done some of the BMW I impulse events which are fantastically organised driving weekends. Met some great guys on that - the whole i8 experience has been great. The one & only thing that let BMW down, was the original supplying dealer; more specifically the Sales Exec.... what a to$$er he turned out to be!
My replacement Roadster is coming from Park Lane, which is BMW’s own dealership; hoping we’ll get a better service!
Did circa 12K miles at an average of 44.5mpg over the ownership with most being the daily commute of 15miles round trip.
Also ... having also owned and own noisy cars, there’s something really satisfying driving it in sport manual and using the ample torque pull you out of bends with the electric turbine yowl!
Graham
Edited by GrahamPM on Saturday 28th April 08:32
Hi All. Thought i would chip in with my experiance so far! Nearly purchased in 2016, but had a shocking sales experiance with my local dealership in Chelmsford, so after wasting an hour and a half only to be ill informed on car, i went to Southend and had a much better sales exoeriance. However, at this time i decided not to purchase an i8. Fast forward sept 2017, Romford dealer, again not very impressed. Pushy salesman, really tatty unloved used example in stock, not offered tge best deal on a new one! Then... i spoke to Jamie at Synter sheffield! Superb sales service! Ended up purchasing my protonic black from him, and had to drive circa 2 hours to pick it up. Car is faultless with its driving/performance etc. But below is a list of issues from day one! So, ive took the car to Topaz to get a quote for having a clear wrap on car, they advised the gloss section on the bonnet on my protonic is a sticker! And unlike other i8’s which have this painted, mine has a definite “ lip “ on the edges which will make the wrap difgicult to apply. On top of this, its finished with creases and sharp edges where the sticker laps under the bonnet. This is also now coming away under the bonnet. I also have loose buttons, large gaps on dash, ripples on leather of door panels. So ive been without the car for 2 weeks now, and the worlds most boring 3 series is currently on my drive. Car does not even have electric seats with lumbar! 👎 so this is quite dissapointing too. The dealer is investigating the paint/sticker issue next week, so i am awaiting a resolution to this. They have said they are replacing a whole door inner, and have said nothing can be done about poor fitting of panels, and buttons out of aligment. My car is with Southend, as i was told they have the more experienced tecs with i8,s. I have also broken the passenger seat!!!! My daughters £3 thin water bottle rolled under the seat, and with the chair being moved forward allowing my son out of the rear, it crushed said bottle, and broke tge metal sub section in 2 places. So the bottle came out completely in tact, and the car has 2 snapped pieces of metal. When the bottle was discovered under the seat, the car was in at Colchester, whom lent me a brand new m3! So that was good! But they advised they only recently became i8 dealers, so i decided to let the mire experianced team at Southend sort the car out. Upon collecting my car from Colchester, it was as dirty as when i dropped it off, with the sales guy saying his team were not capable of washing a matt car! Really!!!! So good and bad from the dealers. In regards to my now broken seat, bmw uk have finally agreed to pay half of the £1600 cost of the new seat section. Im still not happy about this! As much as its my fault for the bottle rolling under the seat etc, would you expect a £3 flimsy water bottle to destroy 2 pieces of metal in a £115k car??? Incidentally, the bottle is perfect! And did not even soring a leak! So its not like it crushed the bottle before the seat broke. So im awaiting my car back as of right now. Its not been a great experience owning my first BMW so far, and if it was not for the effiency and tax breaks the car comes with, i would have purchased another 911! Or evena used mclaren ! Which might still happen if things dont improve.
I will keep this post a bit shorter!!! Lol! Ive not seen my car now for some 7 weeks! Still no door panel or “ vinyl” bonnet sticker ( Note!!! Vinyl! Not Painted!! ) No idea when the car is coming back! And dealer reported problems reported as “misaligned buttons, ill fitted panels, loose buttons” were met with response, “ Cant do anything about this! There all like it!! “
Cant wait to get shot of this overpriced, £115k piece of s
te!!!!! My advice!!! Avoid the i8 at all costs! Buy a used 911 instead! Thats what im gonna do! IF it ever comes back! ??????
Cant wait to get shot of this overpriced, £115k piece of s
te!!!!! My advice!!! Avoid the i8 at all costs! Buy a used 911 instead! Thats what im gonna do! IF it ever comes back! ??????Edited by 911cck on Friday 25th May 21:51
911cck said:
... loose buttons” were met with response, “ Cant do anything about this! There all like it!! “
I don't get why they think this is acceptable, especially on a car with such sharp styling that relies on everything being tight. The buttons on the OBC in my 19 year old E36 aren't loose. The buttons on the front panel of a 30 year old Roland synthesizer that I got off eBay for £150 aren't loose!If i can figure out how to do it peeps. Will post some pics for you all too see.
The leather portions of the door have many ripples within it ( awaiting replacement! ) the bonnet “ V “ section in Gloss is a sticker! And is coming away after 3 months usage! ( car was new in Nov 17 ) and then i have the loose fittings, unaligned buttons, big gaps and small gaps in same areas. Which they tell me cannot be fixed!!! Im obvs paying a hefty monthly figure, but driving a £250 pcm 320 i!! Which is rather rubbish! And costing me more in fuel and congestion charge! Im missing the fun of what should be a food car for the recent food weather. Including seceral good weekend drives, and a charity event for sick children! All in all! Its been a really bad experiance so far!
The leather portions of the door have many ripples within it ( awaiting replacement! ) the bonnet “ V “ section in Gloss is a sticker! And is coming away after 3 months usage! ( car was new in Nov 17 ) and then i have the loose fittings, unaligned buttons, big gaps and small gaps in same areas. Which they tell me cannot be fixed!!! Im obvs paying a hefty monthly figure, but driving a £250 pcm 320 i!! Which is rather rubbish! And costing me more in fuel and congestion charge! Im missing the fun of what should be a food car for the recent food weather. Including seceral good weekend drives, and a charity event for sick children! All in all! Its been a really bad experiance so far!
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