Item: BMW i3 2013-2022
Rating: 4

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If you bought a BMW i3 when new, know that, like BMW, you were ahead of the game.

This compact electric hatchback was comfortably the best contender in its class when it was launched in 2013, with a competitive official range of up to 205 miles, whip-crack acceleration that didn’t tail off in the motor’s upper reaches and bold styling that still hasn’t dated.

BMW's Mini E was a precursor to the creation of this, the new i3
Matt Saunders
Road test editor

That the i3 had such capabilities should come as no surprise, because an incredible amount of care was taken during its six-year development.

It was hidden away from not only the media and other car makers but even other sections of BMW’s already secretive Munich R&D centre.

The car was hugely controversial at the time, however, and some BMW engineers reputedly lamented a perceived waste of money they had worked hard to earn the firm over the years.

But that difficult birth was of a car that changed the face not only of BMW but of EVs too.

It arrived in the UK ahead of Tesla’s Model S, aiming to prove that EVs could be different from the three-box norm – and by the time it went out of production in July 2022, we continued to gawp and eventually mourn its death.

This was partly because of its ability to push the envelope. It had a carbonfibre-reinforced plastic body atop an aluminium chassis, the upshot of which was a 1290kg kerb weight.

That’s 300kg less than the first Renault Zoe and even 400kg lighter than the modern GWM Ora 03 – an astonishing achievement.

Two powertrains were available: an EV with 168bhp and a claimed range of 80-100 miles and a range extender (REx) with the same BMW-developed electric motor but also a 647cc two-cylinder petrol engine from a motorbike.

Both versions sent their power to the rear wheels via a single-speed transmission and used a 22kWh, 33kWh or 42.2kW h battery pack.

Performance? The standard i3 gets from 0-62mph in 7.3sec – about the same as today’s BMW 320d. But its mid-range performance is a real asset, with 50-75mph taking 4.9sec. That’s only 0.5sec slower than a contemporary BMW M4.

Athleticism around bends is the i3’s real forte, though, because despite an upright body and high centre of gravity, it contains body roll nicely, with enough purchase and balance to provide a flexible B-road gait.

Come facelift time in 2018, BMW added the i3s (for ‘sport’), which in addition to making an extra 11bhp and 15lb ft sat 10mm lower on a 40mm-wider track and had 20in wheels shod with performance tyres, making it more settled and very compelling indeed.

Which variant we would recommend depends on your driving. If you simply want something small for commuting, plump for the i3s REx, with its real-world 190-mile range, compared with a mere 100 miles for the EV.

No matter which version you go for, though, you get a lounge-like interior in which the materials feel as soft as they are attractive and as plush as they are hard-wearing.

The cabin also feels more expensive than it really is, thanks to the lack of a transmission tunnel and a minimalist dashboard design. Then there is BMW’s excellent dial-controlled iDrive infotainment.

So, let’s see: it’s handsome, fast, rangy, spacious and, even now, one of the best small EVs you can buy. No wonder a former Audi chief designer bought two of them.

Verdict

Model tested:

Rating: 8

Used BMW i3 2013-2022 review

Ride and space might frustrate, but BMW's striking first EV was a game-changer

Good

Sprightly performance

Characterful handling

Competitive price

Bad

Extended range could be greater

Limited usability

Rear door arrangement

DESIGN & STYLING

Pros

Revolutionary carbonfibre construction

Futuristic exterior design

Cons

Rear-hinged back doors aren't very practical

Distinctive design is not for everyone

It took a lengthy research effort – featuring prototypes such as the Mini E and BMW 1 Series Active E, and developing carbonfibre composites to new heights on strength, longevity and cost-effectiveness – to bring BMW to the point where it was ready to introduce this car. In the meantime, it watched rivals come to market with quicker-fix battery cars, but eventually its pay-off came.

The i3 was more innovative than anything that the early adopters of EVs had been offered so far. Like the Tesla Model S, it was a ground-up electric car, not a platform-engineered adaptation. That's something others have followed - such as the Hyundai Ioniq and Jaguar I-Pace.

But unlike even the Tesla, the i3 was constructed predominantly from carbonfibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP). That CFRP was micro-engineered to balance weight and strength against cost in pioneering proportions. It undoubtedly added to the purchase price of the car, but CFRP also allowed BMW almost entirely to offset the 230kg of the lithium ion battery pack from which the i3 draws its power.

BMW initially installed a 60kWh battery pack from launch, but 30 months later this was replaced by a more powerful Samsung-developed battery pack, which remained the same size but was more dense than its predecessor. That meant it could hold 50% more charge.

BMW also offered a home-charging unit called the i Wallbox Connect, which could provide 11kW of power to charge the battery. This enabled it to add 112 miles of range in under three hours, which at the time was five times quicker than doing the same process through a three pin plug.

As part of the weight-saving mission, the i3 was fitted with hollow driveshafts, lightweight cabin fittings – a honeycomb windscreen wiper, even – and forged aluminium suspension and wheels.

And what wheels: five inches wide but 19 inches in diameter, for excellent aerodynamics and low rolling resistance. The i3's turning circle was unaffected, with a decidedly wieldly 9.86m.

The extended-range version – fitted with a two-cylinder engine/generator to quell any range concerns and therefore the heaviest that any i3 was likely to get – tipped the scales at 1315kg.

INTERIOR

Pros

Light, airy, spacious cabin

Good amount of standard kit

Cons

Boot not that big

Recycled trim elements

For anyone accustomed to BMW’s established cabin architecture, the interior’s appearance was quite a step change. You sat elevated and upright on firm, flat seats, confronted not by a darkly imposing dashboard but by a stripped-back, light-toned design flooded with natural light from the enlarged windscreen. There was an airiness, spacicousness and cheeriness to the i3's interior.

What separated the i3 from rivals (aside from its complete lack of a foot-hindering transmission tunnel) were the cherry-picked locations where either its price point or eco credentials poked through.

BMW removed the instrument cluster completely, opting instead for a pin-sharp screen ahead of the driver. Most other functions were corralled on to an even larger, 10.25in widescreen display controlled by the familiar, thigh-high iDrive.

The backdrop for these handsome slabs of LCD was a swathe of PUR-Sensatec, an entirely recycled trim material that closely resembles moulded packaging. The layout of what switchgear was left was impeccable, and the single steering column stalk – including drive select – was the icing on the modernity cake.

The i3’s structural integrity may have permitted the elimination of B-pillars and the fitment of coach doors, but the opening remained slender and too distant from the floor to be labelled especially convenient. Nor was the space they access particularly roomy. Even worse, because they interlocked, the back couldn't be accessed without first opening the front door.

Nevertheless, the i3 provides one of the most appealing environments available for under £5k.

The i3 on the whole was certainly very well equipped from new with an iDrive system chocked full of BMW ConnectedDrive Services, sat-nav, DAB radio, Bluetooth and a USB port. It also came with heated front seats, rear parking sensors and auto lights and wipers thrown into the package.

However, BMW wanted the i3 to be more than a mere driving machine, but a personal statement, and it created four ‘interior worlds’, each with their own design style.

There was standard-fit Atelier trim, Loft, Lodge and Suite options, which upgraded the seats from cloth to premium leather and the dashboard from recycled material to eucalyptus wood

When the i3 was facelited in 2017, it was given a moderate refresh with a new front bumper and rear apron, while LED headlights and a new generation of iDrive helped to give the small EV added sparkle.

You could also add options such as a rear-view camera, collision and pedestrian warning, city braking, active cruise control and traffic jam assistant.

The iDrive system was also updated, and the i3s came with a larger, 10.25in screen as standard. As for its design, the i3s didn't look that different, except for the creative use of gloss black exterior trim to give the car a sporty profile. It also had 20in alloy wheels as standard.

ENGINES & PERFORMANCE

Pros

Range extender broadens appeal with additional range

E-motor provides plenty of shove

Cons

Range of the BEV model isn't great

REx adds only marginal performance gains

Becuase the i3 was rear-driven, it had the kind of power delivery that we’d come to know and love from a pure EV. With peak torque from zero revs and no discernible lag at any speed, you put your foot down and the i3 would respond immediately – and strongly too.

The 0-62mph sprint was claimed to take 7.3sec in the all-electric model and was accompanied by a seamless, prolonged shove in the back. The top speed may have been only 99mph, but the performance on the way to it wouldn't be out of place in a warm hatchback. The range extender, which weighed 120kg more, took 8.1sec and had the same top speed. The i3S with its more powerful motor could do the same sprint in 6.9sec (or 7.7sec in range-extender form), before topping out at the same top speed of 99mph.

Normally, you’d be frightened to use all of that poke in an EV because of the rapidly reduced range that a heavy right foot brings. And on battery power alone, the i3, in our hands, returned a typical range of about 75 miles.

But, in the range-extender version of the i3, the fact that there was that twin-cylinder bike engine secreted beneath the boot floor gave you a certain confidence, even if the fuel tank was only small.

It was possible to ask the i3 to hold its battery charge once it had fallen below 75% full, from which point the car would run with electrical power provided by the petrol generator.

In doing so, we found that the battery depleted a little between switch-offs, but we still rate the range extender as an extremely worthy feature, turning the i3 from short-hop urbanite into something acceptable as an only car.

Find yourself without electrical back-up for a few days and the i3 could manage around 40mpg on generator, accompanied by a muted, quite endearing twin-cylinder thrum.

On battery power, we saw as much as a 94-mile range and as little as 68 miles. With a fresh charge and a fresh tank, then, you could expect comfortably over 150 miles before having to find a power source of one kind or another.

RIDE & HANDLING

Pros

Solid rolling refinment

Element of agility to its handling

Cons

Steering a little too quick

Firm ride

In a few ways – control weighting and consistency – the i3 drove similarly to other BMWs. But in most respects it was nothing like any other BMW at all.

Where it differed most was via its dimensions, which were reflected in the way that it drove. Because it was a tall, narrow and short EV, it had a tight turning circle, and a trademark feeling of stability and solidity that you got with most BMWs of that period.

Around town, the i3 had a firmness to its ride (to help prevent it from lolling around) that never seemed to abate. Throw in its rear weight bias – 57% of the mass over the back axle – and it was inevitable that the i3's dynamics made it more like, say, a Mitsubishi i than a 7 Series.

Up the speed and the i3 was a slightly nervous motorway companion, one that was quick to change direction and react to minor steering inputs. It wasn't a big deal or a great criticism – just unexpected from a BMW.

BMW sensibly prevented you from being able to switch off the i3's stability control system, although it was possible to turn off the traction control if you wanted to spin up the front wheels to gain purchase in poor conditions.

On normal surfaces, you'd have had to try hard to trouble the DSC system, because the i3 – despite its minimal surface contact with the road – generated a commendable amount of grip, at 0.74g, so it never felt out of its depth on back roads.

The steering felt quicker than its 2.5 turns lock to lock, but it certainly gave the i3 an agile feel.

Initially, there was understeer, which the i3’s stability control quelled rapidly. In poorer conditions the i3 even displayed a hint of power oversteer, which the electronics stamped out just as rapidly.

But the i3 had trademark BMW traits too. Steering weight was heftier than in typical city car and the pedal and lever responses were similarly firm. They imbued the i3 with a sense of solidity, and cabin noise and refinement levels – both of which were fine – only added to the feeling that this was a special little car.

MPG & RUNNING COSTS

Pros

Premium feel justified price

Good warranty

Cons

Expensive to buy when new

Some rivals bigger and cheaper

The i3 wasn't cheap when launched back in 2013. The all-electric version cost from £34k and over £37k for the range extender, not to mention the i3s, which would set you back in excess of £40,000 if you opted for the range-extender version.

Back then, the government offered money towards a new EV, which meant you could have an i3 for the same price as a BMW 120d SE. But the i3 was still almost £5k more expensive than the larger Nissan Leaf and over £10k more the Clio-sized Renault Zoe’s entry point.

However, BMW called the i3 the first premium electric car, and it certainly lived up to the billing. In terms of quality, the i3 was in another league.

VERDICT

Verdict

Model tested:

Rating: 8

Used BMW i3 2013-2022 review

Ride and space might frustrate, but BMW's striking first EV was a game-changer

Good

Sprightly performance

Characterful handling

Competitive price

Bad

Extended range could be greater

Limited usability

Rear door arrangement

It’s the range-extender version of the new BMW i3 that helped it earn a four star-rating when we first tested it.

If it had been available as only an EV, it would have been harder to justify its high initial cost, especially when considering its limited usability. But the petrol generator gave it a chance to be a go-anywhere only vehicle while retaining an electric range as strong as most pure EVs.

We would have liked its fuel tank to have been bigger than that of a scooter, but its mere existence brought the i3 credibility.

It appealed on many levels thanks to its attractive design, alluring interior and sprightly performance – and, best of all, it had what it took to appeal to people who like driving cars.

Alternatives such as the last-generation Volkswagen e-Golf or Hyundai Ioniq Electric might have offered considerably more room, but they had far less charm and lacked the premium edge that the BMW commanded.

The BMW i3 was as worthy as any EV, but was one whose soul exists to be enjoyed, not just endured.

Jonathan Bryce

Title: Social Media Executive

Jonathan is Autocar's social media executive. He has held this position since December 2024, having previously studied at the University of Glasgow before moving to London to become an editorial apprentice and pursue a career in motoring journalism.

His role at work involves running all of Autocar's social media channels, including X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, YouTube Shorts, LinkedIn and WhatsApp.

Matt Saunders

Title: Road test editor

As Autocar’s chief car tester and reviewer, it’s Matt’s job to ensure the quality, objectivity, relevance and rigour of the entirety of Autocar’s reviews output, as well contributing a great many detailed road tests, group tests and drive reviews himself.

Matt has been an Autocar staffer since the autumn of 2003, and has been lucky enough to work alongside some of the magazine’s best-known writers and contributors over that time. He served as staff writer, features editor, assistant editor and digital editor, before joining the road test desk in 2011.

Since then he’s driven, measured, lap-timed, figured, and reported on cars as varied as the Bugatti Veyron, Rolls-Royce Phantom, Tesla Roadster, Ariel Hipercar, Tata Nano, McLaren Senna, Renault Twizy and Toyota Mirai. Among his wider personal highlights of the job have been covering Sebastien Loeb’s record-breaking run at Pikes Peak in 2013; doing 190mph on derestricted German autobahn in a Brabus Rocket; and driving McLaren’s legendary ‘XP5’ F1 prototype. His own car is a trusty Mazda CX-5.