We were blown away by the i8 on the international
launch but does the car’s wow factor translate onto the UK’s roads? We
travelled to Scotland to find out.
There are three different interior 'worlds' to choose from -
why they can't be called trims is beyond me - and they all have rather silly
names, too. 'Neso' is the standard setup with partial leather upholstery,
'Carpo' costs an additional £1150 and gains full leather and some slightly
plusher trims while the 'Halo' will set you back £2150 over the Neso setup and
brings such niceties as leather tanned with olive leaf extract. Having seen the
various offerings on the test cars we'd probably go with the Carpo (available
with black or ivory leather, we'd go for the latter) even if it does sound a
little bit like one of the Marx Brothers.
BMW's
new i8 should ultimately be like a Porsche 918 Spyder
for a fifth of the outlay, it’s certainly got some promising ingredients.
Externally there's a slightly disappointing range of colours
to choose from - effectively white, grey, silver and blue, or Crystal, Sophisto
Ionic and Protonic if you've fallen for the BMW naming convention. Each colour
can be teamed with different trim aspects that can actually quite dramatically
change the look of the car but the fundamental question remains as to why BMW
has deemed that it's most hi-tech car has to have its most restricted choice of
colours? Can you imagine how good it might look in some of BMW's funky
Individual hues? Or in the i3's Solar orange? It would seem that new owners
agree and we've heard of several early adopters who are sending their i8s
straight to the wrappers for a more arresting look as soon as they've driven
out of the showroom.
Externally there's
a slightly disappointing range of colours to choose from - effectively white,
grey, silver and blue, or Crystal, Sophisto Ionic and Protonic if you've fallen
for the BMW naming convention.
If we're nitpicking over the colours, it should also be
noted that there are a number of other areas where the i8 is less than perfect.
They're unlikely to be deal breakers but compared with every other BMW on the
market the amount of interior stowage space is pretty limited - to the extent
that there's only one cubbyhole that will actually take an iPhone.
Thanks to the design of the doors there are no storage bins
here and while there are three cup holders - two ostensibly for your rear seat
passengers and one between the front seats - they're not very deep and a
standard 500-millilitre bottle of water tends to flop around. And then there's
the rear seats themselves. These really are only suitable for children thanks
to restricted legroom and a roofline that makes it impossible to sit upright if
you're approaching anything like six-foot tall and ultimately the rear seats
will undoubtedly be used for stowing luggage as the boot itself is pretty small
at 154 litres - perhaps just enough for weekend away bags if you're happy to
pack in soft bags.
These models are
only suitable for children thanks to restricted legroom and a roofline that
makes it impossible to sit upright if you're approaching anything like six-foot
tall
While these are valid criticisms they really shouldn't be
allowed to detract from what is quite a remarkable achievement. I'm guessing
that for many people the way that an i8 drives will be largely irrelevant - it
looks so good that you could forgive it for having less than perfect
driving manners. But this is a BMW and, as we all know, BMW doesn't do duff
driving dynamics so it really should not have come as a surprise that BMW has
done such a good job on the i8. The way its various power sources and
transmissions combine together so seamlessly to create a perfect blend of
abilities, whether trundling through congested city streets, wafting along on
battery power alone in its eDrive mode, or in full bore Sport mode chasing down
apices as the tuneful three-cylinder bounds energetically towards the redline
really is a staggering achievement.
I might not be a big fan of supercars but the i8 ticks all
the boxes for me and may perhaps rekindle my love of the genre. The only thing
getting in the way is its price: at just £94,845 (including the £5k government
grant) it just seems way to cheap. One LaFerrari or ten i8s? No contest for me
- it's BMW all the way.
