Should You Buy a BMW i8? (Test Drive & Review)

All right guys, how's it going? Welcome back. Well, today I'm finally behind the wheel of a BMW i8, which I've wanted to drive since it was first released back in 2014. It looks like I've driven it straight off the set of some weird Keanu Reeves sci-fi film, doesn't it? You don't see many of these on the roads, but whenever you do, you just have to stop and stare. It's like looking at a concept car. Every time I see one, I notice some new design feature that I'd previously missed. I mean, can you believe this car's been around for nearly a decade? It still looks as fresh and as out there as the day it was released. BMW stopped selling the i8 back in 2020, and I'd be very surprised if they ever made another. It wasn't exactly a box office smash hit. Which is weird, because all the ingredients are there. Something just didn't quite click. Let me tell you a bit more about it, in case you don't know. You'd have thought this very futuristic car, with its fancy gull-wing doors and its supercar stance, would have had some screaming V12 engine, wouldn't you? Well, no. It actually has the engine from a Mini Cooper. Behind me somewhere sits a 1.5 three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine from a Mini. Only it's been tuned to provide 230bhp, and that drives the rear wheels. In addition to that, beneath me you've got some batteries, and then up front you've got an electric motor which makes 130bhp, and that drives the front wheels, so technically this car's four-wheel drive. So combined, you've got 360bhp. Now, back when Ronald Reagan was president, that figure was a lot for a car. But nowadays, not so much. That horsepower figure, though, doesn't tell the full story, because you get the instant torque from the electric motor, so it's a lot quicker than that 360bhp figure suggests. This'll do 0-62 in just 4.4 seconds. It feels properly quick. You can also plug it in overnight and you'll get 30 miles of pure electricity. Granted, in the winter that figure will drop to around 20. But such is the way with batteries, I'm afraid. And when it's fully charged, you can drive this at speeds of up to 75mph on battery power alone. It's a bit like the 530e I filmed with last year. 30 miles of battery range might not sound like an awful lot, but it could actually do most people's commutes. It'd certainly do mine. What we have here, then, in the i8, you might think, although it sounds like a bit of an oxymoron, is a sensible supercar. No, not really. Although it might look like a supercar, it doesn't really feel like one. And that's not a bad thing, by the way. This isn't intimidating or frightening like a supercar would be. This is actually incredibly easy to drive. When you're in it, it feels as though you're in an ordinary car, which is odd, because everywhere you drive it, people stop and point. And for a split second, you think, why are they pointing at me? And then you remember what the exterior looks like, and it all makes sense. Inside the i8, it's all typical BMW of this era, which is to say, very good. It's all really nicely finished. Everything's sensibly laid out. The quality and the fit and finish of absolutely everything is superb. It has a six-speed old-fashioned automatic gearbox with a torque converter, which is daunting to use as a microwave. The steering's light and easy. I've got sat-nav, heated seats, Harman Kardon stereo. You've got cameras everywhere too. Like I said, it's really easy to live with. We're on the bypass now, so I think I'll knock it into sport mode and sting it. And just like that, I've disappeared. Almost feels like at 88 miles an hour, this thing's just going to take off. As I've just demonstrated then, it is properly quick in a straight line, but it's never frightening. You've got all the grip in the world. When I was looking at cars before I bought my AMG GT, I did consider the i8. I didn't actually drive one, but I did look at an awful lot of them online. I thought the i8 would make a great choice because you get supercar styling with supermini running costs. For example, here in the UK, this is actually free to tax. It'll cost you absolutely zero in road tax. How good's that? It'll also average 40 miles per gallon, and you can pick them up for around £40,000. I just think it's a bargain. It all sounded too good to be true, and I was really tempted. But then I started watching online reviews, and everybody seemed to slate it. Most of them said the doors were stupid. They all said the sill was too high, making it really awkward to get in and out of. They said the windows didn't go down fully. They said the steering was too light, the noise was too artificial, and the tyres were too narrow. They said you can't drift it, doesn't handle like a 911, blah blah blah. In fairness, they're all valid points, but for me, driving this in the real world, none of that really matters. Yes, getting in and out of it can be a bit of a challenge, unless your name's Beth Tweddle, but eventually you do get used to it. There is a knack to it. You've got to go in bum first, rest your backside on the sill, and then kind of slide backwards, and then swing your legs around in. It's a bit like how I imagine the Queen would get on a horse. But once you're in, then it is worth the slight struggle because the seats are very comfortable and supportive. And the steering wheel feels lovely. You get these nice little accents of blue lighting. I know it's a cliché when talking about cars, but it is a really nice place to be. And every time you glance into your door mirrors, you're reminded of the wacky car that you're in. I think it's awesome. Yes, the doors are a bit flamboyant, but it just kind of adds to the drama of this kind of car. You do have to be careful though that you don't park too close to the car next to you, otherwise you just won't get out. And if you don't like the idea of that, then I think you'd best just stick it to a Golf. And yes, the windows don't go down fully, but they still go down far enough that you can reach for a parking ticket, or you drive for a McDonald's order. Unless you drive around everywhere like Tom Selleck with your arm out the window, it's not really an issue, is it? Wouldn't be for me, anyway. I don't dispute that on a track, something like a Porsche 911 would run rings around this. Here in the real world, on real roads, I think it's great. Excellent, in fact. And most of the time, there's no noise at all, which kind of reiterates that futuristic feel. Yes, the steering's a bit too light and a bit too artificial, but that just means it's very easy to manoeuvre and park. I genuinely think this is good enough and fun enough to drive for most people. I think most people just want to take something out for half an hour or an hour at the weekend and have a good blast. And this won't leave you feeling empty. It just won't. I remember people complaining about the blind spots, but you're in a car with doors, for heaven's sake. It's going to have some blind spots. They're not that bad. And you've got sensors and cameras everywhere, so it's not like you're going to get into any trouble. I just don't think you'd ever tire of its straight-line speed. I wouldn't, anyway. I love the fact that it's both ordinary and extraordinary at the same time. It's a peculiar car, really, this. There are some quite obvious drawbacks with it, though. For example, the interior storage is lacking. I've only got one cup holder, but I do have this storage area here, which would be quite handy for your keys or your wallet, or your glasses. There are no door pockets, for obvious reasons. Imagine loading it with your ice scraper, CDs, keys, whatever you keep in your door pockets, and then you open it to get out, and everything drops to the floor. How embarrassing. The boot's tiny, too. I mean, like, smart for too tiny. It offers 154 litres of space, or in other words, not enough. On the plus side, you do get two rear seats, which you can use to store many things, up to but not including human beings. I wouldn't fancy being stuck back there on a long journey, would you? Something else that I don't like is the noise from the engine. You can occasionally hear that rattling three-cylinder, which is a noise I detest. It reminds me of the old, coarser one litres. In Sport mode, you get some artificial noise pumped both inside and outside. That sounds a bit better, but in all honesty, I wish they hadn't bothered. I think this car works better when it's just silent. I don't know what people are talking about, this handles perfectly well. Brakes are good, too. Ooh, there. A little bit hot under the car, for a second. Under acceleration, when you're not in Sport mode, you get the occasional grumble. It sounds a bit like the Fiat TwinAir engine you'd find in a Panda. And that's probably the first and last time anyone's compared an i8 to a Panda. That's what it reminds me of, though. That sort of thrummy sort of engine. Thrum? Is that a word? Or have I just made it up? Look at this, though. I'm sat at a traffic light, and it is completely silent. I can hear the birds chirping. And then floor it. See what I mean about the Panda noise? That TwinAir rumble. Another negative is the ride is a bit firm. It's a bit choppy. But, I mean, look at it. It's hardly going to ride like a Phantom, is it? I really like this car, you know. After watching all those video reviews, I really wasn't expecting to, but I'd have one. I think one day I will own one. I'm not sure when I'd use it, but when's that ever stopped me? It's an excellent modern sports car, this. I think what you've got is a normal car – this is no more complicated to drive than a Toyota Prius – wrapped in the shell of a supercar. It's a good combination. I think I could use this as my everyday car. I really think I could. I also think it'd make a great road trip car. Wouldn't cost the earth, either. I mean, this'll average 40 miles per gallon. It's free to tax. I can't imagine the servicing costs are high, either. I mean, you're paying for an oil change on a mini-engine. Can't be silly, can it? I just think it has an awful lot going for it. And this might sound a little bit shallow now, so keep this one under your hat, but I quite like the attention that it gets. And perhaps the best thing about it is you can pick up good examples for just £40,000. Such a lot of car this for £40,000, it really is. I don't think I'd have been very satisfied with it if I'd bought it brand new at £100,000, but used at £40,000. Bit of a no-brainer. I think what I've stumbled upon here is one of the automotive world's best-kept secrets. I don't think I'd ever tire of walking up to it. It's stunning. Before I drove this, based purely on the reviews I'd seen and read, I thought this was just a gimmick. I thought this was just BMW's DeLorean moment, but happy to report I was completely wrong. Well, I think that's about it. So to answer the title of this video, should you buy a BMW i8? Yeah, I would. Thank you once again for watching. Make sure you give the video a thumbs up if you enjoyed it. Make sure you subscribe if you haven't done already. You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. I'll leave the link below. If you've got any comments or questions, let me know below and I'll do my best to get back to you. So yeah, cheers guys. See you next time.