Times driving Review 'Poor handling'

[electricvirgin]

Dont know if anyone has noticed this but the Sunday Times posted a review of the Rex a week or so ago and is surprisingly mean spirited about the i3, although broadly positive.

http://www.driving.co.uk/car-reviews/bmw-i3-and-i3-range-extender-review-2013-on/

The most surprising assertion is that the i3 handles poorly, even compared to leaf/Zoe. I confess i have not driven the quoted rivals but found the i3 to handle very well on test drive. Oddly enough he also says its softly sprung, whereas i feel the ride comfort was on the firm side?
The writer also complains the petrol engine sounds like a lawnmower (again not my experience!) which seems unfair.

 

[BrianStanier]

Agreed. The handling, ride and noise quite the opposite from my test drive. And I come from a Leaf.

 

[pastyboy]

Did he get his notes mixed up? I had one for a weekend and did an extended drive (over 200 miles in a day) and found the handling really good and the ride quite firm, which is the way I like it. I deliberately threw it into a few tight corners despite my wife gripping the seat because she did not think something that high with such skinny tyres could go around a corner at that speed. The car took it in its stride with just a little more roll that I am accustomed to, but not in any way excessive. As for the engine, I could not tell if it was on, although in the back it can be heard as a very low thrumming noise. The dealer forgot to tell me that the fuel gauge went from grey to white when it was on, and so I got down to 22 miles of electric charge with about 40 miles to get home before in my panic I found the menu on the iDrive. I did the journey mostly on motorways at speeds that I don't want to record on here (!) and found that the engine maintained the charge perfectly until you went well above what you should. I have always looked at electric cars with some disdain for being slow, boring and ugly. Whilst the i3 is not pretty it is quirky (and has a decent badge) and one drive was enough to convert me. I am certainly not doing it for the green feeling (my other car is a 330Ci to prove it). If the dealers can get people driving them I think they will sell well. I cannot praise Scott Martin at Dick Lovett Bristol highly enough for his advice and help with the buying decision and process, although the 100% write down in year one for a business and 5% BIK did help a lot with the decision. I would like to know how much a set of batteries or a motor are likely to cost though, in case I want to buy it in 4 years

 

[amateurish]

I do see where he is coming from with respect to the ride. I think this is the i3's weak point. On roads with a poor surface (plenty here in the UK) the i3 has a very "crashy" ride and is nowhere near as comfortable as other BMWs I have driven. The set up seems too firm, without enough give.

Handling I think is excellent.

 

[MikeS]

I can assure you that compared to my Z4 on run flat tyres there is no way the I3 can be considered crash. In fact my wife and I thought that the I3s we drove (both 19 and 20 inch wheels) were just as comfortable as our old 3 series.

 

[electricvirgin]

I felt the handling was good and the ride just a little harsh, but perfectly acceptable. In fairness its hard to get both so an element of compromise is inevitable, specially with a shorter car.

 

[elptex]

We test drove the Leaf, e-UP!, and i3 all on the same day, back to back in that order. It was fun. Incidentally we liked them in that order in terms of the 'driving experience'. The Leaf felt like a Camry/Accord/Mondeo/any other generic 4-door sedan, maybe even worse actually, more squishy while also feeling heavy in the steering wheel. The e-UP! felt more planted than the Leaf, much as you would expect from a box on wheels. It reminded me of a Mini with softer suspension and more body roll. The i3 felt the most solid of them all, with the dynamics of a solid ride being more than just suspension. I agree that the ride isn't the softest and most compliant--our 2-day test drive took us over our usual country lanes that are several lacking in smoothness while being abundant in pot-holes. Hitting a pot-hole isn't absorbed plushly or even comfortably yet, most importantly, it doesn't unsettle the car. It has a hot hatch feel over bumps, which is exactly what I expected from the dimensions of the car and being a BMW. Our current car is a 2008 VW Passat 2.0 TDI sedan/saloon and I'm used to cruising through a particular roundabout at 30 mph; I went to do the same in the i3 and there was very clear understeer for a second or so. I wasn't surprised by this having looked at how skinny the front tires are. Most importantly was that the understeer was linear and predictable, well managed by Traction/Stability control. To that end, it handles exactly how I'd expect: balanced between a bit sporty when you want and comfortable when you need.