evo Verdict

BMW’s i3 city car was one of two new vehicles to launch the Bavarian ‘i’ brand – alongside the seminal i8 sports car. While the latter is more of an evo kind of car, the i3 still holds a lot of appeal, especially for those that spend most of their time in a big city.

It looks like nothing else on the road, has a surprisingly spacious and yet genuinely interesting cabin plus the instantaneous maximum torque makes it a hoot to drive – albeit in an urban environment. The only thing holding it back is its ultimate range – as with nearly all electric cars.

evo Tip

We’d be flabbergasted to find a BMW i3 buyer that doesn’t have a smartphone, so assuming you do, it’s worth installing the bespoke BMW i Remote app, as it enhances the ownership experience no end. A particularly useful feature is remotely checking how a charge is getting on, while it’s also possible to pre-set the climate control temperature for when you return to the car. There’s also what BMW claims to be a world first intermodal route planning system – i.e. it’ll guide you whether you’re in the car, on foot or using public transport… perish the thought.

Read more: Evo

BMW has seen sales of its electric division exceed 30,000 units by the end of the first half of 2015.

The i brand was launched in November 2013, when the i3 went on sale. More than 26,000 of the five-door family cars have been sold since then.

The i range was doubled when the i8 was launched last year. So far almost 4,500 units of the striking-looking plug-in hybrid sportscar have been sold.

In June 2015, total i range sales were 2,017, a rise of 65 per cent compared to the same month in 2014.

There has been a surge in the uptake of electric vehicles across the board. Vehicles such as the i3, the Nissan LEAF and the Mitsubishi have all played an important role in advocating a switch to electric transport.

With the UK government grant cap of 50,000 registered plug-in vehicles looming ever closer (now over 40k overall), the question is whether this uptake will continue to grow without the funding?

Source: Next Green Car