BMW i8 - long-term review

I found out the other day that my i8 has just turned 10. Although it was first registered in March 2017, it was actually built in January 2016. I just hope it wasn’t languishing in a field for 14 months. Next month maybe I’ll find out, as it’s off to BMW UK for a good going over.

But first it was time for a belated birthday treat - a day at Dunsfold, piggybacking the Atom 4RR vs Nichols N1A test. So, what does the i8 have to say for itself? Well look it’s not, and never was, intended to be a track car. According to BMW, the i8 was a “trailblazer for futuristic design and sustainable, dynamic driving pleasure”.

The rumour, however, is that just before Covid BMW had worked on the possibility of creating an Mi8, possibly replacing the three cylinder 1.5 with the 4.4-litre V8. That’s something I want to dig into further down the line. But first Dunsfold.

Off I went for a lap, gear-lever nudged across into Sport mode, which tightens steering, suspension and throttle, plus recalibrates the electric motor and exhaust (with extra artificial piped noise into the cabin). It’s still rapid, that’s for sure, beautiful throttle response, big torque, linear delivery the whole way across the rev range. Impressive rather than thrilling.

And the same applies to the handling. It’s neat, but plain. Light, accurate steering, but not that interested in really digging in to corners. It doesn’t want to get itself dirty, prefers to just skim over the surface. It’s great at that, but push it too hard and it’ll soon understeer. No hint of the back getting involved. Which is a bit dull, I admit.

And that despite weight distribution being about bang on. 49:51 on a set of Intercomp cornering weighting scales, and a total weight of 1,565kg with a full tank of fuel. This is the point I want to make and why people who look at the i8 as nothing more than a 911 rival aren’t seeing the full picture.

Weight matters. BMW used the carbon-tubbed i8 to point that out. Hybrids are complex pieces of engineering with lots of facets that add weight. The M5 Touring I ran last year weighed almost a tonne more on the same scales (2,480kg). It could go much further on electric, yet overall was pushed to average 35mpg. Today a hybrid Golf weighs 1,650kg, BMW’s own 330e is 1,900kg, even a McLaren Artura is only 60kg lighter than the i8.

The problem is that the world watched as BMW tried something radical and new with the i8 and i3. And it failed. The cars weren’t replaced, they didn’t sell like 911s and Clios, the carbon chassis technology was abandoned. So everyone backed away, chose the easy option and added weight. Cleverness cost BMW. Next time I’ll learn if it’s likely to cost me.