Overview

BMW i3 is the first fully electric BMW car. Over 200,000 i3 electric vehicles has sold worldwide since its launch in 2013. It has a carbon fiber chassis -like a super car- and uses a lot of recycled materials on the interior setup. Newest version of the vehicle, BMW i3 120 Ah has a 170 HP rear-wheel drive electric motor, while i3s version has a more powerful 184 HP drive unit. Both versions packed with the latest 42 kWh battery which is enough for 359 and 345 km of range, respectively. Latest i3 variants does support 50 kW DC charging, 0 to 80 percent in 35 minutes.

BMW already ceased production of the i3 for the US market. First purely electric BMW vehicle will be produced until sometime in 2022, but after that it will no longer be available to order. Newer EVs like BMW i4 and BMW iX will continue to carry the sustainable vehicle flag.

Performance

There are two options for this vehicle: i3 120 Ah and i3s 120 Ah. Base model i3 offers 170 horsepower, 250 Nm torque, while i3s version has 184 horsepower and 270 Nm torque. Top speeds are 150 km/h and 160 km/h, respectively. i3 can go from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 7.3 seconds, i3s a little bit faster in 6.9 seconds.

Design and Features

BMW i3 has the smallest kidney grille among the other BMW cars, and also it is totally closed in order to improve energy efficiency. Egg-shaped car has a very unique silhouette, it has only one full sized door on its side. Passenger door is designed as a “suicide” door, only be opened when the driver’s door is open. BMW i3 is certainly not for a back seat drive either. There isn’t much leg room in the back row and getting in and out of there is a bit of a hassle. And also, back windows are fixed. You wouldn’t be able to breath your own fresh air while enjoying the electric drive with i3 if you are the back seat occupant.

i3 has a 10-inch infotainment display running the BMW iDrive 6 operating system. It only supports the Apple CarPlay, though. No such luck for Android phone users.

Seats have manual adjustments, electronic controls are optional, as you should pay extra for most of the features that become standard nowadays. On the plus side, i3 has a little trunk in the front for the charging adapters and stuff.

Range and Charging

Both the i3 and i3s use 42 kWh, or 120 Ah lithium-ion battery pack. Ranges are 359 kilometers for the i3 and 345 kilometers for the i3s. These are all in the WLTP cycle.

50 kW DC charging became standard with the newest BMW i3 models. 0-80 percent of charge will take 45 minutes, while AC charging allows a full charge in almost three hours.