BMW i8 Review by BMW Blog: A greener sports car in supercar clothing

BMW Blog test drives and reviews the BMW i8 and says: This is not a supercar; it is a greener sports car in supercar clothing. Here is an excerpt of the review:

The 4.2-second claimed acceleration of the i8 up to 60 mph will hold true for certain. In Sport mode and ready to rumble, the 1.5-liter B38, with 24.7-psi maximum boost from the Conti turbocharger, is always on, even at stops where it would switch off in Comfort mode. At full boost – i.e. the B38, Bosch e-motor and 15-bhp secondary e-motor bolted to the ICE to help coordination (the “seamlessness”) between EV and hybrid mode-switching while on the fly – you get all the sound that BMW’s amplification scientists can muster from the three-cylinder. There is also a second amplifier arranged for the exhaust tone and it does sound pretty damned good to me and (apparently) to all passers-by.

Once I was comfortable with the possibilities of the boost-mode drivetrain, the ICE’s overrun 6,500-rpm rev-max, 5,800-rpm power peak, and the 20-inch skinny Bridgestones, that’s where I started feeling at ease in this alternative Porsche Cayman S, not to belabor the simile. It’s just that many are continuing to align the i8 with a Porsche 911 Carrera 4S and that feels like a stretch too far to me. And the Cayman S is my favorite Porsche so far, so what’s the harm?

You need to get used to the grindy baritone sound of the powertrain in this extreme mode of country road attack. I personally really like the sound a three-cylinder makes, so I like it a lot. The pumping-up of the sound, however, feels noticeably forced here. Again, not a heinous thing to really criticize, but if you’re a Bimmer fanatic you will debate it in your head.

Funnily, the experts here with me were very concerned about how we all felt about the state of the ride and handling of the i8. We all looked at one another and shrugged, agreeing that this was one of the strongest points of the entire equation. In town the ride is truly everyday comfy yet Euro-firm, then out on the squigglies and playing hard the Sport calibration of the dampers is terrific with ample feedback. This was particularly nice as it related to the steering feel. This could have gone all pear-shaped in a hurry with all of the electro intervention numbing up things. But the numbness is minimal in the complex of things. I did notice that in the four-wheel drive feel that there is the nearly requisite amount of push into hotter turns. To deal with this, I simply spent more time determining what the proper approach needs to be for this new-age car’s dynamics. Live with it and you’ll master it all pretty quickly.