[Chihuahua]

Fields BMW in Winter Park had an i3 demo day today, so I decided to take part. You had to sign up in advance, and surprisingly there were a lot of people that participated.

I think it's safe to say BMW has taken a lot of styling risks over the past several years. Many times I've found that new BMWs that didn't look good in pictures ended up looking much better in person. Not the i3. It looks the same in person as it does in pictures. Yes, it really does look like that. I still can't decide if I like the exterior styling or not.

Interior has a lot of familiar BMW touches. the iDrive is all there. Some of the materials are interesting; recycled plastics and eucalyptus planks. I noticed that the glove box lid was misaligned in all of the demo cars, but honestly I found the interior to be roomy, well designed, and well put together. The seats are comfortable enough; I wouldn't want to be in them for any more than a couple of hours though.

I've owned several BMWs, and an R50 MINI. I'd say the i3 drives more like the R50 than any of my BMWs, except for the fact that it is most definitely rear wheel drive. The acceleration is impressive. There is no waiting for the revs to climb, waiting for turbos to build boost, etc. It is full power, NOW, and you get that RWD acceleration feeling when you press the accelerator. It's addictive, but of course kills the range. I floored it a few times and got a big smile on my face each time. My wife was surprised as well. Handling is shockingly go kart like, even with that tall roof line and those goofy looking skinny tires. You'll never, ever, ever confuse this for say, an E60 550i Sport, but you can definitely feel the BMW DNA in this car. Again, I was very surprised at how well it handled considering what it is. This is a car I'd want to put out on a track; I don't think I could say the same about something like a Nissan Leaf.

I didn't post this in the 'i' subforum on purpose. These cars are going to start showing up in dealers soon, and I definitely encourage everyone to at least see it in person and take it for a test drive before you make up your mind about it.