I knew it was going to be a weird day.
Rolling clouds hung low in the troposphere, yet the normal swampy June humidity was nowhere to be found. To increase my trepidation, I found myself driving across the Wilson Bridge en route to Suitland, Maryland (an area which I suspected did not contain any tailors) so that I could go to the Passport BMW dealership and attempt to interact seriously with a luxury car salesman while wearing tattered gym shorts.
My mission was to finagle a test drive in BMW’s mind-boggling venture into the electric car industry: the BMW i3. BMW is known for luxury automobiles that combine elegance of heated leather seats with the raw power of a V8 engine with turbo drive, not for reinventing the standard definition of a “green car”.
The BMW i3 has been in the works for years, but only recently made its worldwide debut. At the New York International Auto Show earlier this year, the BMW i3 was lauded as the “2014 Green Car of the Year”; 100 percent electric, wholly sourced from sustainable products, and engineered to drive like a BMW, the i3 is the great white buffalo that both the car industry and environmentalists alike have dreamt about for years.
As I talked to the salesman, Mark (or maybe it was Mike) White, I commented that the i3 was a car unlike anything I had experienced. He responded, “It’s not a car, it’s an Urban Mobility Vehicle.”
And so the weirdness began.
Electric cars are not necessarily known for stylish design, and at first glance, the body of the BMW i3 looks like a cross between a Mini Cooper and an AMC Gremlin. However, as ridiculed as both of the aforementioned vehicles are, the BMW i3 is able to overcome any preconceived stigmas with its attitude. Thanks to its aerodynamic design, the panoramic windows wrapping the exterior, and two tone paint job, the BMW i3 has a savage edge to it that most electric cars do not. The frame of the car is comprised of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic, which has a 14 percent greater strength-by-weight ratio than steel. The signature BMW kidney grills, blackened and highlighted by a neon blue strip, emanate a futuristic“infrared-phaser-beam headlight” vibe. Suicide doors amplify the effect, cementing the thought: this isn’t your grandmother’s Prius, this is a freaking rocket ship.
However, just when you thought you were entering a rocket ship to take a trip to Mars, the interior grounds you; the transition from a futuristic, streamlined exterior into a staunch minimalist interior is jarring. The wood grain dashboard, fashioned from open pore Eucalyptus trees grown in a sustainable forest, connects you back with the Earth. The dashboard has no varnish on it, which contributes to the perceived sterile environment of the interior, but will allegedly accumulate a distinguished patina as it ages. Exposed plastic made from recycled plastic bottles and the kenaf plant, and in addition to the drab gray seats with leather accents, makes the interior feel like you’re sitting in an unfinished basement, or a car still in production stages. The interior is so minimalist that the electronics seem out of place. The 5.2 inch LCD instrument cluster and the 10.2 inch central display awkwardly interrupt the Thoreau-esque solitude of the interior. Although, once you squeeze four people into the front and back, solitude may not be an option anyway.
However, the muted interior cannot dampen one’s energy once the BMW i3 is in drive. The trick is getting it going: there is a start/stop button, but the engine is so silent it is easy to think that the car is already off. To compound confusion, the gear selector is located on the driving column, and operated by an odd rotational motion.
After that initial setback, I found out the i3 has an instantaneous pickup. We blasted off, darting forward with the lightest touch of the “gas” pedal, going from 0-40 in about 4 seconds. The i3 allegedly goes 0-60 in 7.2 seconds, but that remained untested for the sake of the residential neighborhood. However, 170 horsepower and 184 lb- ft torque was evident. The braking was just as impressive: to stop at slower speeds, merely lifting the foot from the gas pedal ceased movement almost immediately. The i3 contains a regenerative braking system, which harnesses the kinetic energy from the vehicle as it brakes and converts it into electricity that powers the in-dash displays. The car handled like a dream, deftly maneuvering around potholes, and demonstrated an impressively tight turn radius. Also, the i3 automatically shifts into neutral to conserve battery power whenever possible. The driving experience is completed by the BMW i3’s parallel park assist feature. With a simple push of the button, the i3 scans the road for suitable parking spaces, parking unassisted once one is found. After driving the BMW i3, you know this is not the standard rinky-dink electric car of the past.
One major drawback to the BMW i3 is its range for highway driving. A fully charged i3 will last for only about 90 miles and it takes about 3 hours to completely charge, mitigating chances of a road trip (although according to Mark/Mike, if i3 owners want to go on a road trip, then they can bring their car into any dealership in the Washington, DC area and swap it for a standard gas BMW loaner). BMW also offers a model with a range extender, a two-cylinder gas-powered motorcycle engine that maintains the charge state of the battery, which approximately doubles the maximum mileage. Then again, when city driving, the BMW i3 is now the most fuel efficient car in America. The car can be charged by plugging it into any standard 120-volt outlet. And BMW offers a mobile app for download, ConnectedDrive, which directs you to the nearest free charging stations located throughout the city. BMW also programmed ConnectedDrive to suggest other more fuel efficient methods of transport, such as by bus or by foot, when reasonable.
The craziest part of the whole experience was when I learned the price. The amount of specialized technology and emphasis on eco-friendly production and development misdirects you to think the i3 must be selling at prices comparable to a Tesla ($69,900). However, i3 prices are half that ($41,350), competitive with the national average prices for car sales ($32,531) reported in March.
The incredible amount of ‘green’ technology, engineering, and innovation that has been put into the BMW i3 outweigh any negative aspects of the car; it is a glimpse into the future. As with most weird things ahead of their time, a common reaction by people will be fear and disgust, perhaps even ridicule. That which upsets the status quo is rarely accepted wholeheartedly at first.
Even though the i3 may be rough around the edges at some points, BMW has engineered a car to perfectly beckon their target market: eco-friendly, carbon conscious urbanites. From there, the fuel savers and penny pinchers will show interest, then those worried about American dependency on foreign oil. Soon enough, other car manufacturers will join the ever elusive chase for the largest market share. The electric car will take over the roads, and it will be a revolution spearheaded by the BMW i3.