BMW fans have never been reluctant to voice their opinions, whether it be views on polarizing designs, frustration with weight gain, or near-universal condemnation of front-wheel-drive models added to the lineup. But it’s probably safe to say that the i3 EV is still one of the most controversial vehicles BMW’s ever produced. Five years after its in

In our First Drive and Quick Spin of the 2014 BMW i3 electric car and our follow-up Comparison Test of the BMW i3 and Chevrolet Volt, we noted how the i3’s lightweight carbon-fibre construction and aluminum platform contributed to its class-leading acceleration and surprisingly nimble driving manners – but we were less impressed with the i3’s unusu

Add BMW to the list of automakers increasing the range of electric vehicles. On Monday, the German company announced that the 2017 BMW i3 would have an extended range of up to 200 kilometres in every day driving conditions. That is up from an estimated range of 130-160 kilometres on current models. The new model will be known as the BMW i3

FRANKFURT – If you want to know the definition of “polarizing,” BMW’s i3 is pretty much it. You either find this little electric runabout appealingly quirky, or you think it’s the strangest thing ever plunked down on four wheels. It’s now undergone a bit of a refresh, and while the haters will probably still grumble about its boxy shape, odd back w

Nothing but wind and tire-roar and the cheery raspberry of a 1970s BMW 2002tii. And then the V6 snort of a DeLorean DMC-12. And the cackling French insanity of a Renault 8 Gordini. And the tenor of a Datsun 240Z. The flat-four racket of a Porsche 356. The rumbling V8 of a Pontiac Beaumont. Manufactured of carbon-fibre and aluminium, the i3 im

The BMW i3 is not a car. It is a lunar landing vehicle. It is an away-mission shuttle. It is the first starfighter. Okay, maybe it’s just a troop transport, but the i8 could sure be mistaken for a starfighter! We have been waiting for a car like this for, well, forever. I am rather smitten with the i3. You see, like so many of my genera

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Introduced to Canada for the 2014 model year, the unique-looking BMW i3 electric runabout is visually and mechanically unchanged for 2017, with the same pug-nosed collection of peculiar but eminently practical curves, the same modern eco-lounge interior, and the same 170 hp (130 kW) electric motor driving the rear wheels. The only reason I ra

2014 BMW i3. Click image to enlarge Review by Lesley Wimbush, photos by Lesley Wimbush and courtesy BMW Amsterdam, Netherlands – Named for the dam that crosses the river Amstel, this charismatic city in the Netherlands is one of the world's toughest places to obtain a driver's license. As such, Amsterdam has developed a complex net

BMW will unveil a facelifted 2018 i3 at this fall's Frankfurt auto show, where the Bavarian company is expected to reveal a "hot hatch" variant of the EV called the i3S. According to the UK's Autocar magazine, details are sketchy, but they have it on good authority from a source that a new range-topping model will boast a new electric motor

Autonomous cars have been having a bit of a rough ride lately due to the fatal collision between a self-driving Uber and a pedestrian in Arizona this spring. But as BMW Group Technology Office VP Simon Euringer notes, human drivers are subject to serious driving errors far more frequently than machines are, yet it seldom makes national news. “We ar

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While BMW's electric models are currently styled to stand out very clearly as being EVs, the automaker's design chief says that as the electric cars become more mainstream, so will the designs. It's not hard to tell that BMW electric vehicles like the i3, i8, and iX3 are, well, electric. That's because the company needs to bring attention to the

It cost me ten bucks to drive the BMW i3s from the Greater Toronto Area to Sudbury, Ontario. A tricky machine (and experience) to sum up. That’s 390 clicks, door to door – starting in Central Ontario and ending at home some four hours north. It costs at least twice that amount to fuel even a very efficient gasoline car for the same driv

LISBON, Portugal – There’s no doubt the BMW i3 was ambitiously designed to rank amongst, if not outright be the most advanced and efficient electric vehicle on the planet. And it has been the most efficient vehicle or amongst the top few since it debuted in Canada in May 2014. That said, buying trends over the past five years suggest Canadians don’