The BMWi8 – it’s a bit back to the future

(Warning: this is a non-technical review and I don’t watch Top Gear)

If you’re after thrills, attention, speed and a glimpse into the future, with hardly a carbon footprint to mention, the BMWi8 is just for you.

BMW’s most flamboyant car yet was released back in July and it certainly wouldn’t feel out of place in a futuristic Hollywood blockbuster.

I’d say it’s a bit back to the future, what with its upward-swingy doors and slightly menacing headlights, bringing to my mind a certain Doc Brown’s DeLorean time machine.

It’s quite a task not to just stand and gawk at it for a very long time.

Inside the car, the fun continues. There’s a digital dash and all the clever mod-cons you’d expect in such a mean machine to make it a super enjoyable experience.

The inside is surprisingly comfy even if the back seats and the boot are iddy biddy. To be fair I didn’t expect anything else.

What I didn’t anticipate, however, was how tricky it is getting in and out of this beast. Suffice to say I was very relieved I was wearing trousers or my dignity would have been swiftly destroyed.

Once on the road it’s quite a pleasure to pootle along at leisure in either comfort or eco mode while watching others goggling as you glide past. But, even better when on the open road you can toggle into sport mode, which is where the full awesome thundery power of the i8 comes into play.

Acceleration from zero to 60mph takes just 4.4 seconds.

Whatever that actually means, to me it was nerve-jangling speedy. However, its handling is obviously agile, the steering precise, and the braking effective, a combination which felt reassuring safe even at speed.

Of course, being a plug-in hybrid it’s also incredibly efficient. With a full tank and a fully charged battery the i8 can cover around 310 miles, so thankfully range anxiety shouldn’t be a massive issue.

The reality though is while it isn’t a time machine it certainly makes me think that we’re heading to the future – insanely FAST.

In the words of Doc Brown: “Roads? Where we’re going, we don’t need roads!”

Essential facts you might like to know

• It costs £99,845
• It’s a petrol engine with a 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbo
• It has a top speed of 155mph
• CO2 emissions are 49g/km (zero tax band)
• You’ll probably need a lie down afterwards

For more information about the BMWi3 tweet Andygclark or visit www.lloydnewcastlebmw.co.uk

 

BMWi3 rode and reviewed

After attending the launch event for the BMWi3 back in the autumn, I was super excited to get my hands on the real deal and road test the latest electric car to hit the market.

BMWi3, the German car manufacturing company’s first fully-electric and multiple award-winning car, has just been released for sale in the UK. It starts at £25,380 when factoring in the government’s £5,000 grant for electric vehicles.

Undoubtedly, the BMWi3 is a striking and interestingly-designed car. Boxy and upright, its unusually large front doors and flip open rear-opening back doors make it truly unique.

BMWi3 is definitely male; handsome, strong and sturdy. And boy, does he grab attention! Countless people stopped me to ask about it, pedestrians gawped from the kerbs, while other drivers frequently slowed down to take a good gander.

The interior is suitably funky, mixing a high-tech look with natural materials all made from renewable resources; a rather delightful and thoughtful combination.

And it feels big. Very spacious indeed thanks to the omission of door pillars, a super flat floor and raised seating position, which I’ve discovered is also drolly known as the ‘semi-command’ position. There’s plenty of head and leg room and the seats offer support and comfort. This all means that a family can comfortably fit into it and it can also hold a serious amount of shopping too.

As expected, the BMWi3 is jam-packed with an endless array of super-clever technical treats. Daunting for me I’ll admit, but undoubtedly handy stuff. And if it really does prove too tricky, the in-house BMW Genius team are on stand-by to show you the way.

Among others, it comes equipped with blue tooth, a digital radio, sat nav, and three driving mode options (comfort, eco pro, and eco pro+) to set its responses to your intended trip and driving style.

It’s not dull to drive – it definitely burns rubber. It darts off like a silent rocket, faster than the BMW’s sporty M3, and its battery regenerative system slows the car rather fiercely when you lift off the accelerator. And while its handling was a little choppy at times, overall it was a splendid ride.

The BMWi3’s range is similar to other electric cars, around 80 to 100 miles, so the pesky range anxiety did rear its head. I got down to just one mile before finding a charging point. While it was a rather fretful experience it highlighted to me that my planning ahead skills desperately need honing.

I joyfully note, however, that it comes complete with a mains power lead so charging overnight at home is a welcome option.

The BMW i3 is definitely one of my favourite electric cars available to date. It’s good looking, luxurious, practical and lovely to drive. And while progress on range obviously needs to continue I would go so far as to say I’ve experienced electric car nirvana.

For more information about the BMWi3 tweet Andygclark or visit www.lloydnewcastlebmw.co.uk

I’m all over the BMWi3

In the company of Renault Zoe – a girl’s world review

As an electric vehicle aficionado I jumped at the chance to take Renault Zoe, the latest addition to the French car manufacturer’s lekky car collection, for a four-day jaunt.

Of course, I want to talk about Zoe’s appearance first. And why not, as it’s certainly a head-turning, pretty-looking motor effortlessly bucking the trend of the aesthetically-challenged electric cars of the past.

Its exterior design is sleek and futuristic; sweeping squinty headlights and a cute rounded nose complete with an over-sized Renault badge doubling as the charging point adorn the front, while its beautiful backside is perfectly complemented with a large round bumper and small brake lights set at the outer edges.

Upon further inspection, I discovered that the hidden rear door handles pleasingly bear the thumb print of Zoe’s designer Jean Sémériva. Nice touch, Renault.

The Zoe’s interior doesn’t disappoint either. The dash is well laid-out and its touch-screen system is super-sleek with clear and easy-to-use menus. And while the use of some cheap-feeling plastics here and there was disappointing, the overall feel was undoubtedly ultra-modern.

It’s clever too: the dash display area informs how economically you’re driving. The digital readout glows green for eco-driving, blue if you’re a bit heavy on the metal and violet if you’re consuming a lot more power than necessary. Another smart touch is the ability to warm up the car’s interior remotely, perfect for frosty mornings.

Any electric car is not good for long distance treks, and the Zoe is no different. The gearless, automatic design is especially built for city driving and its range falls short of 100 miles. As most of my initial impressions of the Zoe were mainly gathered on long stretches of more rural roads rather than city streets, I did experience a few bouts of range anxiety.

Somewhat naively, I was expecting to be able plug the Zoe into the mains and easily charge her overnight. This was not the case. To my chagrin, I was restricted to using public charging points leading to a mad-capped quest to charge the Zoe as her power speedily drained away.

Two attempts to charge up Zoe in the market town of Morpeth, Northumberland failed me due to unexplained technical glitches. Eventually I was led, thanks to the handy Charge Your Car iPhone app, to a lovely Northumbrian cheese farm where a charger was thankfully was in order. While this presented me with a good excuse to sit in a warm café while the Zoe rebooted, it did mean that I lost nearly a whole working afternoon; not a practical or convenient arrangement for most.

To be fair, however, it should be noted that a home wall charger is included in the purchase price.

Clearly with its limited range, the Zoe is not going to be the average motorist’s first car. As a second urban run around it’s ideal. Available from an acceptable £13,650 and with the addition of the £5,000 government grant it’s affordable, has bags of character, drives pretty well and, in my opinion, is one of the more attractive electric vehicles on the market.

To enquire about Renault Zoe tweet @WORGC or visit www.drivebenfield.com

Greening your travel

Travelling is often an unavoidable expense of life and doing business. We all need to get about whether it’s getting to work, doing the shopping or running your kids’ social lives.

However, there are a number of ways that you can reduce this– and save yourself a bit of cash too.

Always try and optimise your route – plan out your journey so you can take the quickest route and minimise the risk of getting lost and therefore using more fuel than necessary!

Consider the kind of vehicle you drive. Older models are less efficient in terms of fuel consumption so optimise fuel consumption by driving at a sensible speed, checking your tyre pressure, removing any unnecessary weight, changing gear at the correct time, and so on.

If you’re planning to change cars you could consider purchasing a hybrid model, which combine a petrol engine with a battery so are relatively fuel efficient. Electric cars will save you money on fuel, are tax free, and are immune to congestion charges. Charge your Car is available to all owners and drivers of electric vehicles, and members can access any charging points across the UK.

The Plug-in Car Grant offers a grant of 25 per cent towards the cost of an electric or hybrid vehicle, up to a maximum of £5,000 eligible for a range of cars.

Consider if it’s really necessary to drive; could you walk, cycle, take public transport or use the telephone?

If you need to use your car to commute see how the National Car Sharing Scheme to find people who make the same journey as you and are willing to share the costs.

Although this is business-focused, you may also wish to listen in on this radio interview I took part in a little while ago on green business travel.

My weekend with a Nissan Leaf

I’ve never been one to gush over a car. As long as it gets me safely from point A to point B and doesn’t cost the earth (in more ways than one) I’m happy. Even so, the opportunity to take the Nissan Leaf electric car for a weekend held enormous appeal.

In principle, I’m a massive fan of electric vehicles, but I had never actually sat in one let alone driven one.

The Nissan Leaf’s quirky styling immediately had me smitten. The headlights are like frog eyes and its body is sleek and sporty.

The interior is smart too and was luxuriously spacious with plenty of leg and head room.

Climbing behind the wheel and switching on the power button activates a host of lights on the dashboard in a futuristically impressive fashion.

Its clever on-board computer includes a sat-nav, a rear-camera for reversing, and can even look-up nearby charging points.

There’s even an app so you can instruct the car to warm up from afar so it’s toasty upon arrival.

As expected, the car was disconcertingly silent. More surprisingly, it was quick – its power immediate and responsive, and torque uphill was even and constant.

It was a pleasure to drive in weekend city traffic, as well as winding country roads. It felt robust and sure-footed and handled well. Once I had adjusted to the auto gearbox it was a pretty relaxing experience.

When it comes to charging up the battery there are a few options. You can recharge with a standard cable and household plug that takes up to eight hours. Great for me but admittedly no good if you live in a block of flats or don’t have a garage or driveway.

The other options are offered via charging points, which takes around half the time. Better yet, there are also rapid charge points that take about 30 minutes. Using these spots is free, so in the cities you’ll escape annoying parking fees.

While North East England is incredibly well plugged-in, lack of recharging points elsewhere in the country poses a problem for distance driving and requires meticulous forward planning.

But things are getting better. I was reliably informed that charging points are arriving on both the M6 and M1 so ‘range anxiety’ may well soon become a thing of the past.

A full charge will last for about 100 miles, which costs roughly £2 in electricity. It doesn’t take much number crunching to realise the significant savings this offers.

At £31,000 the Leaf isn’t cheap, but drivers can claim a £5,000 government grant towards this upfront cost.

Running costs are cheaper than its conventional counterparts. Aside from the eye-watering fuel savings, electric cars are exempt from tax and congestion charges and tend to have cheaper insurance premiums.

So if you drive to work and have access to charging points, it’s worth seeing if the sums work for you.

A stress-free option could be to lease one, which works out at about £250 a month – which is likely to work out less than the average monthly fuel bill.

I can safely conclude that my weekend with the Leaf was a joy and when I’m ready to purchase a car in the future, it will be at the top of my list. Even my petrol-head husband agreed.

For information on charging points in North East England visit the Charge Your Car website.

For details on electric vehicle grants go to the Department of Transport website.