It seems these days that more people are pushing for more fuel efficient cars. While hybrids still use mostly gasoline, there have been a few electric vehicles introduced. Now, BMW has created an electric vehicle that's not only fuel efficient, but fun to drive.
Once you get in, you are greeted by not only loads of head room and space to breath, it's luxurious and environmentally friendly. The seats are covered in wool, but you can have old fashioned leather seats if you want. The dashboard is covered in a combination of leather and hemp fabric. Instead of regular wood, the trim uses a more friendly eucalyptus. The most noticing thing is that the driver sits higher than everyone else to give them a better view of the road.
Like most other electric cars, when you put your foot down, you get all the power and torque all at once. With 170-hp and 184 lb.-ft. of torque, you will hit 60 mph in around 7 seconds. That's a couple seconds faster than most other electric cars. Since the car is made out of carbon fiber, it's very stiff and very light. The one thing that's surprising is the way this car stops itself. When you take your foot off the gas, the energy moving the car is then transferred to stop the car and recharge the batteries. Realistically, it's so sudden and immediate that there's really no point in even using the brakes. Then there's the way this car corners. Unlike most electric cars, the i3 is rear wheel drive. Plus, it has skinny tires that offer very little grip. Thanks to those two things, you can have some real fun drifting this car.
One problem with electric cars is that they don't have a long range before you have to recharge it. In the i3, you can get around 100 miles on one charge, even if you drive the car like a complete madman. If that still doesn't sound like much, there is an optional range extender that puts a 2 cylinder engine inside to charge the batteries and give a range of 180 miles. The other problem isn't the car itself, it's the GPS that's been fitted. This particular GPS is not only confusing to read, it's confusing to operate. You could get lost just by trying to figure out where the GPS is sending you.
But besides the GPS, this is actually a pretty fun little car. It's much more spacious than it looks. It's faster and way more fun to drive than other electric cars. Plus, it has a much longer range before you need to recharge it. In the future, oil will be gone and gas powered cars will be useless. But now, we have a good reason to actually enjoy driving an electric car.
Special thanks to Tully BMW in Nashua, NH for test vehicle.
