The i3s’s cabin is quite unlike that of any other car on the market.
There is no transmission tunnel to get in the way, and many of the materials used throughout are enticingly unconventional: the top of the dashboard is fashioned from recycled plastic, for instance, and olive leaves are used to tan the leather upholstery. Sustainability is the defining characteristic here, which is entirely fitting and only makes the i3 seem a more authentic product.
Even with the dark colour scheme of our test car’s interior, the cabin doesn’t give the impression that it’s lacking in space – at least from the front seats. The large windscreen not only provides excellent forward visibility, but it also lets plenty of natural light into the cabin. Although you sit fairly high up, you also sit with legs outstretched and head space is excellent.
Relocate to the back seats, though, and this same sense of spaciousness isn’t as prevalent. Visibility is good back there but leg room is tight even by supermini standards and the rear-hinged coach-style rear side doors – which are interlocked with those at the front – can make accessing the back seats a more elaborate process than it really needs to be, particularly in a narrow, perpendicular bay. It also pays to remember that the i3s is a strict four-seater.
