I’m obsessed with BMW i3s. Obsessed.
Ever since buying the Cheapest One In America last year for $10,500 and putting about 10,000 miles on it, I cannot stop talking and thinking about i3s. I shop for them daily even though I already have one. I’ve joined every i3 owner’s forum, I’ve purchased the official BMW i: Visionary Mobility book, I stop by BMW dealerships just to look at their i3s, and I even bought a hideous BMW i3 T-shirt that my girlfriend isn’t the biggest fan of. And while I’ve been obsessed with many cars before, this time feels different, because there are very few people who get it like I do; most car enthusiasts have absolutely no interest in talking about i3s, and it feels weird.
As most of you know, I’ve been a car enthusiast for pretty much ever. I’ve owned everything from a 1948 Willys Jeep to a 1958 Jeep Forward Control to a 1965 Plymouth Valiant to multiple Grand Wagoneers to a 1966 Ford Mustang to Jeep Cherokees and five-speed Grand Cherokees and on and on. All of these are cars that traditional car enthusiasts love. Many have carburetors, all burn gasoline, their vintage design looks awesome, many are excellent off-road machines, and they’re fun to tinker on. Most people have some kind of connection to them or are interested in learning more, so they make for good conversation pieces.
The BMW i3, though, is different. It’s a relatively new, small, pug-nosed luxury compact car. Most people think it looks hideous, it only makes 170 horsepower, it’s doesn’t sound good, it has way less range than most EVs, it doesn’t handle that great, it isn’t easy to tinker on, and I could go on and on. The BMW i3 is, when viewed through the lens of many old-school car enthusiasts, not a car-enthusiast’s car.
Then how is that I, a diehard car enthusiast — someone so obsessed he studied engineering to develop cars in Detroit, then became a car journalist, then started a car enthusiast website — am so into this non-enthusiast car? I think the answer is a combination of two things: 1. You know how your friends who are the most diehard music fans tend to listen to music that normal people think sounds like garbage? Music that may be “technically” the best, but that is a bit odd to the masses? I think there’s some of that going on here. I think I’m in so deep that I see things in a way the average person doesn’t. And 2. What I’m seeing is just marvelous engineering: a carbon fiber body on an aluminum skateboard chassis; a rear electric motor coaxial with a little twin-cylinder scooter engine built in Taiwan; an insanely advanced and gorgeous interior made of sustainable materials; a crazy small turning radius thanks to skinny tires; ridiculously advanced interior features for a good price tag, and on and on. These aren’t things the traditional car enthusiast cares about.
I feel like I’m on an island. Nobody gets me! My old crew of friends whom I normally tell all about my cars — they don’t care about the i3. I don’t really care that they don’t care, since I don’t buy cars for anyone but myself, but this is a new feeling for me, and I now understand what my friend Nick feels when he talks ad nauseum about Pontiac Vibes (small cars that, like i3s, are just excellent at what they were designed to be). Here’s Nick at an event for members of the Genvibe Pontiac Vibe club:
To be sure, like Genvibe, there are plenty of BMW i3 owner’s forums, Facebook pages, and other support groups for the afflicted, but it’s not the same owning a car that isn’t something a traditional enthusiast would be interested in. I was recently on the phone with a BMW dealer inquiring about an i3. I made small talk; he told me he owned an E92 M3, I told him I owned a bunch of classic cars. “So, you’re a car enthusiast and an i3 fan, eh?”
What the … ? I’d heard similar things before when I talked about the i3. I guess people figure: How can a little compact car with little power, no manual transmission, no sound, and polarizing styling possibly be an enthusiast’s car? Isn’t this the same as liking a Toyota Prius?
I think it’s very different. I think the BMW i3 is the modern Citroen DS.
Watch that video above, and you’ll see YouTuber “Classics World” explaining why the Citroen DS is “The Greatest Car Ever Made.” Sure there’s some discussion about styling, and perhaps the DS has the i3 beat in that regard on the exterior (the i3’s interior, though, is a masterpiece), but design isn’t the DS’s biggest strength — it’s the car’s technology. You’ll see in the video that, what makes the car so impressive more than anything is its advanced tech — its unibody design and its self-leveling hydropneumatic suspension, which is part of a hydraulic system that powers all sorts of subsystems including power steering, brakes, turning headlamps, and on and on.
The DS was an engineering marvel when it arrived on the scene in 1955, just as the i3 was when it joined the party in 2013. It’s the little Bavarian compact’s carbon fiber body, it’s the rear scooter engine tucked right up against the electric motor, it’s the eucalyptus wood interior, it’s the door panels made of Kenaf fibers, it’s the absurdly skinny wheels — the i3 was, as engineering expert Sandy Munro put it when the i3 came out, “The Model T of our time.” It may lack some of the DS’s elegance on the outside, but look inside and under the skin, and what you see is pure magnificence.
But that’s not what most car enthusiasts care about, so for the first time I find myself obsessed with a car that is largely unloved. Folks, when asking me which cars I own, will show interest in all the old cars and then, when I mention the i3, will think it doesn’t fit in. But that’s fine.
But just because no one likes the music I like doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy it. It’s just a bit different going from rocking out with your friends to quietly listening to your tunes all alone with your headphones on.
Honestly all the more power to you liking an under appreciated car.
The most fun car I have ever driven is my 1980 Comuta Car. Originally with an 8 HP motor it got upgraded to a 72 Volt battery setup with a 21 HP motor and with 12 inch tires it has OODLES of torque, and drifts in snow so damn well.
I’ve only seen one i3 in my life as it filtered through traffic in Wodonga so I can’t comment much on the looks based on the 3 second glance I had, though it certainly looked alien compared to all the Land Cruisers and Ford Rangers on that road.
When I first met my cousin’s partner, I wasn’t sure what kind of bloke he’d be. With him owning multiple V8s including an XA Coupe I was thinking he might be closed minded and not interested in other stuff outside of muscle cars.
The reaction he had when he saw Bek’s Mighty Boy told me straight away that he’s an absolute enthusiast and we’ve had great conversations about all kinds of cars which is fantastic.
The Mighty Boy is an *excellent* litmus test, indeed.
Is that seriously the shirt? That’s hilarious!
It’s been cool seeing this transition in your automotive interests and life overall. If nothing else it proves that some dirty fingernailed, rust-flecked haired, greasy gearheads can actually objectively look at new technology and embrace it, rather than eschewing it like so many luddites in this hobby do. But it’s very clear that you’re more intelligent than the average petrolhead.
I don’t think being obsessed with the i3 is weird at all. It’s not my jam, but neither are a litany of other cars and types, from brodozers, to low riders, to the Subie/Mitsu rally crowd. But I appreciate the fandom and know all of us can be really into different things.
My main obsession is compact pickups, Rangers specifically, and will die on the hill that the 2002/2003 FX4 with the manual transfer case is the greatest Ranger ever made. Strangely, the number of likeminded people isn’t that large.
This rant would be similar to a guy who was raised in an uncivilized forest and finally was given shoes. He can’t believe how perfect they are.
I have owned multiple i3s, and I know a number of people who have also owned multiple i3s. I choose to believe that this says a lot about the car, rather than about my social circle.
But most importantly, where is the link to buy that amazing i3 shirt?
By the way, Mastodon has a rather healthy weird car community (weird.autos), with the i3 and Miata as patron saints.
Most of what I hear about the i3 is negative from a styling perspective — which I’ve never agreed with. I’ve always really liked them. (But then again, I gravitate towards compact, pod-like cars that push new boundaries and that have alternative drivetrains — very much including the Prius, which I’m sure will discredit me in a forum like this.)
We don’t hate on Prii here. At least, not unless we’re specifically talking about, say, manuals, V8s, et cetera. Lots of people here have and enjoy them. They’re great at what they do.
Many of us even go to bat for minivans. I don’t think Prii and minivans are terribly far apart in the Euler diagram of car enthusiasm.
I have a Prius v myself and I relate to what David’s saying…no, it’s not an enthusiast car, but I’m still applying several mods to it and I still love it for what it is–a fantastic compromise of fuel efficiency and space, and I love the eCVT.
What I like about this place is that we don’t hate on anything, even the most craptacular malaise GM shitboxes. At most we’ll roast people a little bit.
Efficiency fan here! Much love for the Prius.
I dunno. I find the enthusiast community pretty diverse. A REAL “car guy” (a phrase which includes females) doesn’t care what the other guy drives, as long as it makes them happy. And I applaud the clubs for pedestrian, throwaway cars of the past, that a handful of people love. There’s a Chevette club, fercryinoutloud.
“A REAL “car guy” (a phrase which includes females) doesn’t care what the other guy drives, as long as it makes them happy.”
Not so if what makes someone happy is to blow soot, blast sound or drive something that puts others at greater risk of death or injury.
I totally feel you. I went from daily driving a Mustang Cobra, to an Evolution IX, then X, then modded TDIs and now an Aluminum Monocoque 2000 Insight 5spd.
No one gets how much a manual trans car that weighs 600lbs less than a Miata can be fun.
Modding a car that will never rust out is an amazing feeling. Not even my old Evolutions could touch it in a corner deeper than 90 degrees on street tires.
On ramps where you do an entire 270 after going under the bridge to circle around and go left are THE most fun I have ever driven.
No one gets it thus instead of being 25k for a 15 yr old car like my Evolutions, I got mine for under 3k.
And no one cares or “gets” it. I feel ya.
I went from air cooled VWs to 80s Subarus to 126 & 123 diesel Mercedes mostly due to the economics. Now have a Bugeye and a Roadster—but geeked & gibbered as much yesterday seeing a new Insight as I did an Isuzu Impulse a few months back. Much of that geeking was due to things I’ve read here: I love a lightweight car you can throw at a corner with abandon.
Were I still commuting, the Insight would be high on the list
The lack of kink-shaming is one of the things I love about The Autopian community.
You’d be a coke dealer’s wet dream.
I am as obsessed as you, having finally bought mine a few weeks after you got yours. I utterly, utterly love it, besotted, for the same nerdy engineering reasons as you, as well as it being a brilliant car and PERFECTLY suiting my needs.
Most people dont get it at all, some going as far as telling me ‘your car is shit’. But when you come across a fellow owner you can be confident they’re as besotted as you and will get in a conversation about them for 20 minutes.
I followed a very clean, yellow colour storm Audi A2 into the supermarket last week, I’ve owned one of those too, and pulled up next to them, excited to share our love of ahead of their time, ultra efficient, engineering marvel, German superminis, but when I told the driver I loved their car, they looked slightly alarmed and hurried off.
So bizarre!
I’m buying a second one. It’s a bad decision, but I cannot help myself.
A 120Ah full EV? An i3S? What spec?
120Ah indeed. And I’m a Rex man!
Bruh what
Wisely Automotive on YouTube https://youtu.be/EfQDK1SiZ38?si=4K8pG2xpziJ7zx6v are a garage that deal in and repair almost exclusively I3s, you’ve probably already found them, but it’s a great channel.
Hahahaha! Sure the i3 looks like a mildly annoyed Guinea Pig, but it’s functionally beautiful. Everything just works the way it’s supposed to and it surrounds occupants in a high fat ice cream rich interior.
Your comparison with the DS is an apt one. Both are tech leaders. As more and more people choose the electric highway and get used to the idiosyncrasies of BEVs, they are going to realize just how forward thinking the i3 is, and was, when it debuted.
At some point it will join that select group of cars in this country that includes such vehicles as the Honda Element, the VW Rabbit pickup, the Nash Metropolitan, the Corvair, maybe even your soon to be rolling abode, the Aztek, and so many others that were ignored or disparaged in their time, but have gained appreciation and a following.
But for now, could you stop talking about it, I’m trying to find a deal.
I can sympathize, at least to some extent. My best friend and I have been first and second gen Explorer cultists for decades now, even trading them back and forth between us on occasion. Despite selling a lot of them over the years, car enthusiasts didn’t care about them back then and certainly don’t today. Oh well, I like them.
Also, my wife’s best friend used to have a Vibe with a custom plate that said “RATOR”. It was fantastic.
First/second gen Explorers are great.
I was pretty anti-Prius, until we bought one. No regrets!
Same boat here. When I started to better understand the transmission and how power transfer is handled through the different modes, it was like a light switched on that made me suddenly really interested in this car I had thought was an appliance that I just bought to save money.
The only thing I hate about Prius is the name…too close to “priapism”.
In the meantime, sites like Prius Offroad have given me inspiration for mods to make mine just a bit more usable/distinctive.
And if/when the HV battery dies under my ownership, I’m planning to go to Project Lithium batteries for a performance boost.
As I posted separately, I think the Prius is absolutely excellent at what it is designed to do.
I can appreciate a track ready car just as much as I can appreciate a car that requires no repairs for 11 years, offers 50 mpg, and swallows a bunch of stuff in the cargo area.
I often find myself on an Island of niche car loving. Perhaps not quite as niche though. But I prefer a mid 50s pontiac or olds to a tri-five chevy. My favorite “muscle car” is a 1966 Charger. I love Jensen Interceptors. I’m 2.5 years in to rebuilding an International Travelall, not a Scout or vintage Suburban or Blazer. My DD isn’t a WRX, its the Saabaru Aero. And my friends are often looking at me oddly as I happily play slightly one side of typical. But they are good friends, and enjoy the enthusiasm I have, though they don’t share it.
Those BMW i3 forums are annoying as hell though. Someone will be like “Can I code the car to double my battery range?”
You can! Just set the speed limiter to 12mph.
Hey, there is nothing wrong with loving a car. People don’t need to understand. Hell, I’m a trucker that drives a chrome laden queen of the interstate, and obsess over my little economy sedan. My coworkers drive brodozers, make fun of my Mazda Yaris. I don’t care. But to my delight, plenty of you folks on here share my appreciation for them
No *snark* intended, but.. I’m positive the Yaris is a TOYOTA, not a Mazda. (LOL) My wife has a lil’ 2011 Mazda 2, which is similar & I would totally rock a Yaris.
2019 is a mazda 2 rebadge
Oh, gotcha. I didn’t realize. Cheers to the Fun econo-boxes !!
I get it. I drive a 911. But I love my Suburban, and will extol its many virtues to anyone who will listen. I listen to and love music by artists many have never heard of (currently Eric Erdman). It’s ok. When I’m among those who understand, we get it. When I’m not, well, it’s likely other things that we do have in common that brought us together in the first place. Most of us are not one dimensional – we have common interests, and divergent ones. We are not all going to agree on perspectives in our area of shared interest. And that’s ok. Otherwise the conversation would get very boring very quickly.
I get it. The i3 simplifies many aspects of your daily life and lets you concentrate on what matters.
I drive an absolute appliance of a car. A Model 3 RWD. I love it for how it has simplified my life. No more oil changes, gas station stops or worrying about that hundreds of moving parts that occasionally do things that give cars “personality” while wondering if that “personality” will be the next thing to break.
With a two year old and another baby due later this year, a worry free transportation appliance is perfect. Daddy doesn’t need to be covered in grease hunting for a 10mm socket while diapers need changing.
David, you are simply obsessed with what ever your most recent car purchases are. It’s less about the car than it is about your personality.
That is true. I did buy four Holy Grails. Four XJs before that. Two Grand Wagoneers, a J10, and a Cherokee Golden Eagle…
Oh boy, maybe I DO have a problem.
…maybe? ????????
Maybe???
I feel it.
I’ve never been so obsessed with a vehicle and everything it can do the way I am with my Wrangler 4xe.
But outside of actual 4xe groups on FB, most Jeep guys scoff at it because it’s a hybrid, and most car guys scoff at it because it’s a Jeep.
They do sound awesome as a concept, but I must paraphrase a comment I found on a different article, supposedly derived from a dealership tech:
“The ‘4xe’ stands for how long it will spend waiting for parts. The ‘e’ stands for ‘eternity.'”
(No disrespect, and I hope you’re having fun with yours!)
It’s quirky, and the EV/efficiency thing is fun and easy to get into! I remember first getting my Volt back in 2015 and i felt the same way.
I’m glad you never got into Amway, David!
Go Diamond!