This might be my favorite car to drive. It does a-lot really well, and checks a lot of boxes. For BMW- this was a Halo car and a rolling testbed of future car-tech. Laser headlights (yes! I finally have LASERS shooting out of something), carbon fiber-reinforced plastic body shell, butterfly doors, and a performance hybrid AWD system. Halo cars are typically not profitable to develop and produce- their purpose is to create excitement about the brand, and say "look- here's what we can do". With the i8, the financial return will also come in all of the technologies that will appear in BMW cars over the next decade. Want to see what features will be standard on a Toyota Corolla in 10 years- go look at the very top of the line Lexus today, just like Corvette has always been the technology leader for General Motors, and so on. The i8 makes you feel like you've leaped forward in time- and just looks cool. It gets knocked by some car aficionados for not having a larger more powerful engine, or a longer range for the electric only mode. Neither was the point. The i8 is exactly what it was designed to be- a well balanced performance car that is comfortable to drive, relatively reliable and efficient, with super car looks. There are a couple odd quirks that come with it- such as BMW would prefer you not open the hood and touch anything, therefore you can't- with out searching out instructions, and tools. You also can't access the engine very easily. Rear seats- yes. Fit in rear seats- yes, if you are 5'2" or less. There is also a learning curve to getting into a car with doors that swing up- and better to practice with no-one around.
- 369 HP
-1.5 Inline Turbo 3 / Electric Motor
- Curb Weight 3,278 lbs
- 0-60 4.0 Seconds
- Top Speed of 155 MPH