Ok so finally had some time to drive the car and take some pics. Remember first day I got it, it blew rear strut assembly and they replaced it and flatbeded back to me. No issues since then. My comparison is to gen 1. Have not driven gen 2
Looks:
Car does get a ton of attention, maybe not as much as my spyder but very close. I still think r8 looks better as it is a cleaner design. That being said it does grow on you and it is a huge pain in the ass to wash with all the busy bodywork. I do think it is a bit busy, but over all I like it.
Egress:
Believe it or not I find it easier to get in and out of the I8 then the r8. The doors are not an issue and I do like them. As far as seat comfort goes I think the I8 is a little more comfortable, but the seats are a little narrow and not much adjustment. No heated steeering wheel.
DD: The I8 wins here as I drove it to manhattan twice and felt it was just much more comfortable and easier to drive going back and forth to NYC. The dash and controls are full digital and you have 4 drive modes, all electric, comfort , sport and eco pro. Each setting changes the suspension and steering etc.
Unique thing about the BMW is the carbon fiber chasis, which makes the whole car super stiff and super solid, never a creak, rattle, noise etc. It makes the car super quiet in electric mode and the car is built like a bank vault which improves its handling for the narrow tires on it.
Performance: I would say overall the car has 75% of the speed and handling of the r8. Maybe 80%. My son felt the car was faster seat of the pants. The electric motor gives you a huge boost of torque all the time and the tranny is super smooth. It feels more like a jet taking off then a conventional engine. You sort of have to drive it to understand it.
So combined with the carbon fiber chasis two electric motors and 3 cyclinder twin turbo it's pretty amazing driving. It's more like a Jekyll and Hide car. Performance when you want it and quiet when u want.
I have only filled the tank once in 500 miles, because in the morning I drive all electric, so no gas. It's average gas mileage is 37 and I don't drive it easy.
Sound: Sound is not as bad as you think even though it's piped in it sounds pretty good. I was shocked. Is it like my gmg exhaust not at all but it's nice. The other thing I like is the electric motor gives off this cool wine. You get a combo of both, very different. My son thinks it's cool. He didn't like it at first but was shocked at the performance.
So for my purpose of DD and for $1100 a month and 10k miles a year it's something I can drive everyday that's has real good performance and tech and you get great gas mileage.
I think the only other car like it would be P1 or Porsche 918. Nsx is not plug in hybrid and does not have all the carbon fiber chasis. Of course the other cars have way more performance, but they are like $1,000,000
So my review in a nutshell. Who knows in 30 months I may be in another r8.
Looks:
Car does get a ton of attention, maybe not as much as my spyder but very close. I still think r8 looks better as it is a cleaner design. That being said it does grow on you and it is a huge pain in the ass to wash with all the busy bodywork. I do think it is a bit busy, but over all I like it.
Egress:
Believe it or not I find it easier to get in and out of the I8 then the r8. The doors are not an issue and I do like them. As far as seat comfort goes I think the I8 is a little more comfortable, but the seats are a little narrow and not much adjustment. No heated steeering wheel.
DD: The I8 wins here as I drove it to manhattan twice and felt it was just much more comfortable and easier to drive going back and forth to NYC. The dash and controls are full digital and you have 4 drive modes, all electric, comfort , sport and eco pro. Each setting changes the suspension and steering etc.
Unique thing about the BMW is the carbon fiber chasis, which makes the whole car super stiff and super solid, never a creak, rattle, noise etc. It makes the car super quiet in electric mode and the car is built like a bank vault which improves its handling for the narrow tires on it.
Performance: I would say overall the car has 75% of the speed and handling of the r8. Maybe 80%. My son felt the car was faster seat of the pants. The electric motor gives you a huge boost of torque all the time and the tranny is super smooth. It feels more like a jet taking off then a conventional engine. You sort of have to drive it to understand it.
So combined with the carbon fiber chasis two electric motors and 3 cyclinder twin turbo it's pretty amazing driving. It's more like a Jekyll and Hide car. Performance when you want it and quiet when u want.
I have only filled the tank once in 500 miles, because in the morning I drive all electric, so no gas. It's average gas mileage is 37 and I don't drive it easy.
Sound: Sound is not as bad as you think even though it's piped in it sounds pretty good. I was shocked. Is it like my gmg exhaust not at all but it's nice. The other thing I like is the electric motor gives off this cool wine. You get a combo of both, very different. My son thinks it's cool. He didn't like it at first but was shocked at the performance.
So for my purpose of DD and for $1100 a month and 10k miles a year it's something I can drive everyday that's has real good performance and tech and you get great gas mileage.
I think the only other car like it would be P1 or Porsche 918. Nsx is not plug in hybrid and does not have all the carbon fiber chasis. Of course the other cars have way more performance, but they are like $1,000,000
So my review in a nutshell. Who knows in 30 months I may be in another r8.
