BMW i8

Getting inside the car, you can encounter a bezel for the iDrive controller and ceramic surround for the gear lever. Moreover, you can find an anthracite headliner, ‘Dry carbon’ interior trim, ‘Spheric’ leather upholstery that can be selected from either Accaro E-Copper or Giga Amido. The boot is tiny at 4.7 cubic ft. and is placed behind the engine, which is mounted in the rear end of the car. Talking about the infotainment system, it gets a 600-watt Harman Kardon surround sound system, along with an 8.8-inch freestanding display. Other interior features include Park Distance Control, LED headlamps with high-beam assist, ambient lighting system, powered seats, and a dual-zone climate control system.

There are a lot of visual updates that can be seen on the BMW i8. It now comes with a  ‘Coupe’ badging on the C-pillar and the car is now available in various paint schemes such as Crystal White with Frozen Grey highlights, Jet Black, and Donington Grey. The shoes that are on offer are Jet Black 20-inch light-alloy wheels that feature a radial-spoke design along with amazing tyre sizes (215/45 front and 245/40 rear). Some features that remain the same are dihedral doors, a sealed underbody, Air Curtains in the front apron, “stream flow” lines on the flanks, and contoured side skirts.

It offers great driving dynamics thanks to the long wheelbase of 2800 mm and a chassis that flaunts an almost perfect weight distribution of 50:50. The seats are electronically adjustable and offer a very sporty driving position for better driving dynamics. In addition to that, the layout of the powertrain and the all-wheel-drive system aids in offering amazing handling. Having said that, it now flaunts a new heads-up display that can be configured as well for a better driving experience. It now flaunts an Air Shutter on the bonnet. This feature opens or closes the shutter on the basis of the cooling and aerodynamic requirements. 

Powering this beast is a transversely mounted 1.5-liter turbocharged 3-cylinder engine, which is capable of churning out a maximum power of 228 hp between 5800 and 6000 rpm along with a peak torque of 320 Nm at 3700 rpm. Talking about the electric motor, it generates 141 hp at 4300 rpm and 250 Nm of torque. The petrol mill is responsible for sending the power to the rear wheels via a six-speed automatic gearbox and the electric motor is responsible for sending the power to the front wheels via a two-speed automatic transmission. It returns a good amount of fuel economy of 30 km/l, thanks to the hybrid set up.

The BMW i8 comes loaded with a ton of safety features such as frontal collision warning (alerts you when any object comes close to the front of the car), speed limit info, city collision mitigation, and pedestrian protection (automatically applies brakes when a pedestrian comes in front). Other safety features include ABS, EBD, Stability control, immobilizer, ISOFIX seat mounts, autonomous braking system, front impact airbags, side-impact airbags, overhead airbags, knee airbags, pretensioners, and more.

BMW i8 is one of the most sporty looking cars in the segment that not only offers a powerful performance but also returns good fuel economy. The cabin comes loaded with a lot of techs and it can be a great car for someone looking for a futuristic car. It is a great car in terms of aerodynamics and performance. With the combined power, this car can hit 0-100 km/h in just 4.2 seconds and also achieve a top speed of 250 km/h, which is fantastic considering the price point.