BMW i3 Range Extender (2014) Review by CAR

The BMW i3 with range extender is reviewed by CAR Magazine. This feature maintains the charge of the lithium-ion battery at a constant level while on the move as soon as it dips below a certain value. So how is it on the road? Here in an excerpt of CAR’s review:

What’s it like on the road?

Until the petrol engine fires up, this is an all-electric car, and therefore very similar to the regular i3 we drove (and liked) earlier in 2013. You won’t notice the weight penalty of the two-cylinder engine, so the i3’s still exceptionally swift off the line with traction never an issue for those slim rear tyres. Braking stability is impressive too – the i3 has strong retardation from its regenerative braking effect alone, but dab the left pedal for a swifter stop and it digs its heels in more stubbornly than an anti-fracking protestor.

Despite the battery aiding a low centre of gravity, the lofty i3 can’t cloak its height through bends, especially on the squidgy winter tyres of our test car. There’s body roll and eventual understeer to curb your enthusiasm, but the i3 clings on much longer than you’d imagine, having eyed its anorexic rubber and slab-sided profile. However, in isolation, you wouldn’t notice the extra heft of the motor, equivalent to a rotund passenger permanently on board.

Though the steering wheel, plentiful in its adjustment, is a delight to twirl with its response and feel, the i3 would benefit from more support from its slim, lightweight front chairs to keep driver and passenger from falling about the handsome, minimalist interior during the agile direction changes the i3 is capable of.