The goal of „project i” was to position BMW for the future by thinking of “sustainable mobility concepts. Ulrich Kranz, the executive who cares of the project, calls the new i3 „the dawn of a new age of electromobility”. Is he right?
The usual statistics – a high-torque 170bhp motor and a power flow uninterrupted by gearchanges, it’s at 62mph in 7.2 seconds. It can get more than 80 miles per charge, and can recharge in six hours.
At its core, the i3 is a city-dweller’s car. BMW rode 32 million miles with megacity drivers, and they determined that the ideal urban pod dweller drives an average of about 35 miles a day. The majority of the world’s drivers spend the majority of their time driving in cities. “It’s not an aggressive way of driving,” a BMW executive told me, “but cooler driving. Drivers can have a calmer, more relaxing driving style.” In addition BMW designed it to be an extension of a modern digital reality. The i3 comes equipped with a suite of apps that actually work. It has a center-console screen with a somewhat above-average GPS, but it’s not a crummy iPad knockoff like the ones seen in so many contemporary cars.
The BMW i3 is a car for upper-middle class people who either claimed to, or strived for, “sustainable lifestyles.” A vehicle that gives you the feeling you drive the latest technology and get the most of it.
