2014 BMW 535d And BMW i3

Welcome to the future.

This is the garage of the future, a BMW i3 electric vehicle and a BMW 535d diesel side by side. Actually, it’s not exactly the future. More like this coming spring, when the i3 goes on sale in the United States.

BMW has been telling anyone who would listen that it’s very interested in the future, but no one has been paying attention, what with BMW’s twin-turbo this and 500-hp that. But now the era of alternative fuel is upon us, and when you see the i3 and the 535d together in the same garage, you realize that the future is not what you anticipated.

It feels like the future when you’re in the i3, as BMW designers have consciously chosen to make the car look like a very stylish science experiment. The interior is also forward-thinking in its use of sustainable materials, which include not just the natural fibers of the kenaf plant but the equally natural leather, wood, and wool that you expect to find in a fine luxury car.

In fact, it feels as if you’re in a fine luxury car when the four-seat, rear-wheel-drive i3 motors through city traffic. The cabin is hushed, while the ride is wonderfully resilient and controlled, even on the tall, narrow 155/70R-19 tires. This is not a transportation pod. It is a perfectly poised BMW. The i3 is incredibly maneuverable, and yet it is stable in crosswinds even at its top speed of 93 mph. The one-speed automatic transmission also makes the i3 feel calm, even as the car gets to 62 mph in 7.2 seconds. Most of the time you drive with only the accelerator pedal, since the regenerative brakes have a strong deceleration effect when you lift off.

The 535d drives in much the same refined way, although naturally everyone expects this of a 5-series sedan, especially since the latest car’s refreshed styling makes it look so much sleeker. Yet it’s impressive that the 3.0-liter turbocharged six-cylinder diesel doesn’t represent a compromise in the experience, and the diesel stereotypes of noise, vibration, and smell aren’t a factor. Most of all, the eight-speed automatic transmission brings the powertrain alive by making the most of the engine’s 413 lb-ft of torque across the whole face of the speedometer dial.

As it turns out, this EV and diesel are surprisingly alike. Each is a very specific solution to a particular transportation context. The EV meets the challenge of urban driving by delivering 80 to 100 miles of mobility while limiting the daily gouge on your wallet for the cost of fuel. (An optional 647-cc, two-cylinder engine to recharge the battery can extend range to 185 miles.) The diesel is best while cruising steadily on the open highway, where it’s amazing fuel economy and extended cruising range are most noticeable, again without unduly affecting the thickness of your wallet. Even so, both BMWs make you pay a premium over a conventional gasoline-powered car for the privilege of sailing past the filling station; it will take some time to recover the $42,275 price of the i3 and the $58,450 price of the 535d in fuel savings.

When you put the two cars together, you see how alternative fuels can be practical. Where once diesel seemed problematic to find, BMW’s connectivity and navigation systems take the worry out of the process. Although an EV-friendly infrastructure in the United States is still many years away, BMW is establishing an elaborate network of services for its forthcoming i3 to counter range anxiety.

With this garage in suburban New Jersey, where office parks have taken the place of the apple and peach orchards, we realize again that things change. American drivers now understand that while diesel isn’t the answer to everything, it is the answer to some things. And thanks to BMW’s ambitious plan to make EVs practical instead of just eccentric, perhaps their particular merits will become equally apparent … and a BMW i3 will arrive in our garages sooner rather than later.