The BMW i8 Is Over-hyped, but That Doesn't Mean It's Not Great: Review

By Hannah Elliott

"Excuse me, Miss. Excuse me!"

The New York City police officer down on Ludlow Street was tapping my window with the insistence of the law.

"Oh boy," I thought. "Here we go again." I had been idling for way too long, talking on the phone in what definitely could not be considered a parking spotcould not even really be considered a loading spot, if I were honest.

I reluctantly rolled down the window.

"Yes, officer?" I asked.

"This is THE BEST looking car I have EVER seen," he told me, smiling. "The best. Wow."

I should have known. There had been the couple in a Tesla who smugly pointed out to me that their car is "completely electric" but mine "looked better." There was the thirtysomething who stared at it longingly as he took 15 minutes to load his wife and toddler into an Audi station wagon at a nearby parking garage. And the dozen or so gawkers who hung their heads like dogs out the windows of taxis and trucks and town cars as they snapped cellphone photos.

This is how it feels to drive a BMW i8.

Hype vs. Reality

I drove the new i8 hybrid for four days around New York, north along the West Side Highway, south through Williamsburg and Red Hook, and all over Soho, Chinatown, and Tribeca. More than any other car I've testedincluding Bentleys, Rolls-Royces, Ferraris, McLarens, Lamborghinis, Teslas, Aston Martinsthe i8 generated constant excitement, curiosity, and genuine enthusiasm.

People know what the i8 is, which is great. I love it when people get excited about cars. It's also great because the i8 bears out BMW's long-term commitment to alternative fuel. It shows that unlike its competitors, when BMW makes a hybrid it doesn't sacrifice the sexy lan that German engineering and design provide.

And this is very much a special car. Slipping under the butterfly doors to settle low behind the steering wheel makes you feel like you're entering a personal spacecraft. Rolling out (yes, you'll have to rollthis thing is low!) as you push up that door makes you feel like a modern day Marty McFlyjust back from the future. It handles as well as an M3. So it's no surprise BMW has been hyping this thing for five years.

But that's the problem. Hype is always a problem.

When I posted a photo of the i8 on my Instagram feed, someone wrote, "Best car in the world at the moment?" Clearly BMW's publicity stunts (special secret test drives, leaked photos, podium placement at every global car show since 2009) have paid off. But the answer is: No, it's not the best production car in the world. Try the Aventador, the Wraith, the 650S LINK for that.

The BMW i8 is a great car, an important car. But it's not the best. Not by a long shot.

Not a Tesla

The $137,000 i8 I drove has a twin-turbo, 3-cylinder 228 horsepower engine combined with a 129-hp electric motor. That means its hybrid all-wheel-drive system gets total output of 357-hp, about the same as an $85,000 Porsche 911 Carrera. This car will go 155 miles per hour at top speed and hit 60mph in 4.4 seconds. That's about the same as that 911 and a second faster than a base-model Tesla Model S, which, parenthetically, isn't really a competitor here. The Model S is a large luxury sedan and the i8 is an agile sports car. Despite the fact that they are both cool and they both use electricity to run, they were designed for completely different purposes.

Great Brakes

Driving the i8 is fun. It's agile and quick to maneuver, and not so stiff or so low as to dampen any fun as I traversed the pockmarked moonscape that is New York City. The car comes with multiple drive modes (eDrive, Eco Pro, Comfort, Sport) and a 6-speed rear automatic transmission (the 2-speed front automatic transmission applies only when you're using the electric motor). The accelerator lags momentarily from a dead stop but quickly accelerates when both electric motor and gasoline engine become engaged. (The regenerative power saving engages the moment you ease off the gas.) The transition between electric and gasoline power is seamless. The braking on the i8 is as good as on any car I've driven.

Don't expect i8 to roar like a Jaguar, thoughlet alone a Ferrari. It burbles and hums when it's not running silently. This, in most neighborhoods, will endear you to your neighbors.

One note: Some electric die-hards play a game whereby they try to use only the electric mode during daily commuting and then try to balance fuel/electric intake at higher speeds. That strikes me as a pathetic proposition. BMWs are made to be ultimate driving machines, not oversized gutless plastic toys. If you're one of the 500 lucky ones to buy this car this year, buy it to drive it, not to dawdle around with it like a clammy-handed adolescent on a joy stick. It can handle the aggression.

And really. This is quite a bit more special than a daily commuter anyway.

Sculpted Like a Space Ship

The best thing about the i8 is how it looks: like some galactic glider. The front end has the face of a shark, with laser-focused headlights, a tiny direct nose, and V-shaped belt that starts on the hood and follows through to the sleek rear. The sides are sculpted like a rocket; the glass rear hatch adds to its futuristic design. The winglets that stretch from the peak of the car to its rear fenders don't bend, but they do make a functional air chute and an alluring aesthetic hook. The many blue accents that illuminate i8 inside and out come very near the line of tackiness, I admit. I like the car, so I'll say they stay on the good side of tacky, but they flirt with disaster. It's one degree away from Tron.

Usually when I drive these cars, I like to invite friends to ride along. Their impressions are always illuminating. This time, three different men who sat in the passenger seat asked why it didn't have a sunroof and why the swan-like doors didn't operate at the push of a button. I didn't have a good answer for either question.

Smart Interior

The interior of the i8 stands up perfectly to its exterior. It feels fresh, smart, and intuitive, if decidedly made of less high-grade materials than, say, a Bentley or a Rolls. Or even a Mercedes. Anyway, the front seats allow plenty of headroom, the two rear seats are large enough to hold adults comfortably in the back, for a spell. I like that the cup holders are positioned toward the rear of the center consoleit keeps them accessible but out of the way. I like the small, tight steering wheel, the spheric leather seats, the auto-dimming mirrors, the heated seats, and the Harman Kardon surround sound. The i8 has a nearly high-def 360-degree rear-view camera that removes all pressure from parallel parking such a rare coupe. The heads-up display worked like a lynchpin to pull all of the technology together: seamless contact with the roadwith the driving experienceat every turn. You can buy a custom-designed set of four carbon-fiber textile bags that Louis Vuitton made especially for the i8, but don't worry if you can't afford the additional cost. The trunk is big enough to hold a weekend bag and some groceries.

Which brings up a good point. The i8 is priced fairly, even though it costs more than mid-level Porsches, BMWs, and Audis. It's an important, exciting car that drives well and looks hot. (Be forewarned, though, that some dealers in LA, ahem, are charging $50,000 more than the sticker price.) If you can get one at MSRP, and if you're okay sitting out the six months it'll take to work your way through the waiting list, then buy one.

The BMW i8 isn't a supercar, but it's still a super car. I just wish it had come without all the hype.

Q1. Apply the consumer behavior process on the BMW 8i case. Think about the product from perspective of Both the Marketer and the Consumer in terms of Pre Purchase, Purchase & Post Purchase decisions.

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