Bucket Seat: BMW i Vision Dynamics

The Frankfurt Motorshow is always a buzz, with most of the German manufacturers using this platform to stage their greatest models and concepts, while there was smorgasbord of great cars to chose from at IAA 2017, my pick from the bunch was about the future of motoring. Yes while most manufacturers showed of their great tech in cars for present and future, with the world of motoring's immediate future looking to electricity for power, BMW lifted the covers on it's BMW i Vision Dynamics Concept. A year on from displaying their NEXT 100 vision at last years show, the i Vision gives the consumer a more realistic vision of what they can expect from the company in the coming years. 

The car is Future Mobility in a nutshell, it's an all electric, four-door Gran Coupe with a range of 600km, a top speed of over 200km/h and an acceleration of 0-100km in just four seconds. With BMW already one of the leaders in e-mobility with two models on sale worldwide in the i3 and i8 Hybrid, not forgetting the various plug hybrids offered across their range, the technology they have works and perfecting this technology and only do more good, not only for their cars but the future of motoring. Harald Kruger, Chairman of the Board of Management at BMW AG says that by 2015, BMW will be offering 25 models with an electrified drive system, of which 12 will be pure-electric. "With BMW i Vision Dynamics we are showcasing how we envisage future electric mobility between the i3 and i8: a dynamic and progressive, four-door Gran Coupe. We are therefore electrifying the heart of the BMW brand and, at the same time, elevating BMW i into a totally new dimension" - says Kruger. 

The design of the i Vision Dynamics borrows a lot from the Next 100 Vision, with tweaks to make the car more the standard of car that we have today. It's massive fused twin kidney grille design is a prominent feature of the car with even part of the bonnet lid molded to it's shape. The adaptive LED lighting is minimalistic but still offers that great character that is known to BMW design. The side profile of the car is extremely sleek, with it looking very similar to early concepts of the BMW i8. The frame-less windows also take the shape of the kidney grille. The roof of the car is an all glass panoramic roof which ties into the rear window, falling into the back with it's straight line boot lid and angled tail lights. The tiny lights and details in the design add to the progressive and elegance of the car. This car is basically what we can expect from the upcoming BMW i5, a first family sedan coming from the BMWi brand and one that would be welcomed into the market. 

Bucket Seat: BMW i3 Rex

As a kid, one of my favourite toys was my radio control car which my dad bought me for my 5th birthday. It was a Mercedes Benz 190E, scaled down to detail and one of the very few toys that lasted me a while before being dismantled to take a look at the inner workings of it. It seemed pretty simple, an electrical motor, battery being the key components to make it work. I then wondered why couldn't a normal car be made the same way? It was clearly evident that I wasn't the only one thinking this, there were problems to it though, at the time we didn't have much variety in the battery market with either lead-acid or alkaline on offer, both of  which were too big and weighed a lot. Not to mention the amount of charge either held was no where near enough to power a normal car for a kilometer let along an entire day. 

As time went on, technology evolved and whilst we all had fantasy's of what the future would look like for transport, whether a flying car would be a reality or even worth the effort or will scientist have found a way to teleport beings from one place to another? All that sounded cool but the fact is we're still miles away from inventing them right now and we have to look at what we can do now to improve something that the human race relies on so heavily on a day to day basis. With the increase in oil price and attention being made to pollution, car manufacturers were forced to develop cleaner, greener cars as way to stem away from combustion engines and find a new source of power for them. 

Step in BMW, they launched their electric BMWi range in 2013/14 and I've had the opportunity to drive both the i3 and the i8 during this time. Both of which are fantastic cars but for each one it was a short period so I couldn't really get a sense on how being an owner of such a vehicle would be like. Last week I was spinning around town in the i3 Rex, the Rex being the slightly pricey version which includes a petrol range extension engine should you run out of power in the batteries. My time with the car was nothing short of amazing, the car that BMW have created simply blew me away. 

STYLE

Quite honestly, every time I look at the BMW i3 or the i8 for that matter, I think it looks a decade ahead of its time and I think that's what they were heading for. It is the future of motoring so to capture that they had to break design barriers and create something to catch peoples eye out when it's on the road and boy did I get a lot of stares and pointing as I drove past people. Everything about the design still remains practical and pivotal to the car though, the cars design is to create minimal drag thus use less energy, the large wheels aren't for style either, when breaking the car uses the large brake discs to generate kinetic energy which then recharges the battery. The doors negate the use of a center pillar, hence saving on space as well as weight to the body. The entire car is made from a new weave of carbon fibre created by BMW for extra strength and minimise weight. They now feature this same carbon core for some of their other models in the range. 

PERFORMANCE

When talking performance on an electric car it is difficult because the motor is completely different and the figures it spits out might not seem as impressive as a normal day to day run around but driving it around will prove otherwise. The motor pushes out 125kW and 250 Nm Torque which doesn't raise any eyebrows but because the car only has 1 gear it's take of speed and reaction time is almost triple that of a normal car. On a 0-100kph sprint the i3 will out race many hot hatches on the road. The car comes with three driving styles being, Comfort, Eco Pro and Eco Pro Plus. Comfort making full use of the battery power as well as allowing the car to reach its' top speed of 160kph, move down a notch the Eco Pro, the cars top speed is limited to 105kph and on Eco Pro Plus mode it's brought down to 90kph and no use of the air-conditioning. Much like normal combustion cars, the more you put the foot down, the more juice it uses but with the i3 , it's always ready to shout you when doing so, helping you conserve the power.

COMFORT

The i3 is full of surprises, the car looks small but its more spacious than most cars on the market. The ergonomic and modern design of the cabin makes use of lighter and stronger materials which minimises space used and thus giving the passengers more much room. The seats are really comfortable and give of a good driving posture. The boot is pretty big as well, I managed to get a set of golf clubs in there with no hassle. Even though the car rides on 20"rims and rather large but narrow tyres, the ride quality is still great.

CHARGING

Now to the most important part, while the car does have a petrol engine, I never actually made use of it. Which I suppose is silly on my part seeing that I am testing the car and should have done so but the car tends to make you a better driver. I said earlier how it warns you when you accelerate too rapidly, well it also warns you when you brake too suddenly. Nothing about the i3 is like a conventional car, you hardly make use of the brake pedal when driving. Soon as you take your foot of the accelerator, the car instantly starts braking on its own to build up a reverse charge to recharge the battery. This helps when driving around urban areas with many stop streets and slow driving and will work well in inner city commuting. when you feel the range anxiety is going to hit, charging the car is as simple as popping the hood, take out the charge cable and plugging it in to your wall socket. While I didn't have a BMW wallbox installed at home, I had to opt for the long charge which takes about 8 hours to fully charge the car. With the wall box this figure is halved but for quick charging, you can head down to you BMWi dealership and make use of their DC fast charge station which charges the car in 24 minutes. 

COST FACTOR

Once fully charged the car will give you roughly 110km on comfort mode with this range extending when switching to either of the Eco modes. Having the car for a week made a big difference in how I found the car out, you will learn quickly how it works and you will adapt your driving style to suit the car. It ends up almost as a game where you see how much charge you can build up and in the end I found myself going 3 days without having to charge it. BMW say an over night charge will cost you in the region of R60, I'd say the most you can do is about 160km on a single charge if you really drive carefully. Thats about 40c a kilometer, which essentially is peanuts. The car is a bit pricey but you have to take into account not only the technology but the materials used to manufacture this car and it can do everything a normal car can do and more! The return on your investment is there, it will just take a little longer to show it.

VERDICT

I said at the very beginning, this car is a decade ahead of its time, it not only looks that way but theres no other car like it on the market. Yes in due course there will be other competitors but what BMW have done here is put down a marker and other manufacturers have taken up the challenge which can only spell good things for this segment. With more of them investing time and money into this technology it would only mean making this technology better and and the rapid rate we're creating new things, we could have this perfercted sooner than we think. It really is an eye opener of a car and if your daily commute is nothing more than 50km, I suggest you give this car a try. I've convinced quite a few people with my time with it and I'm sure it will continue to not only turn heads in the feature but also get people being more proactive in it. 

SPECIFICATIONS

Engine	Electric
Gear Box	Single speed automatic
Power	125kW
Torque	250Nm of torque
Top Speed	150 Kph
0-100kph	7.2 seconds
Price	R630,000

Bucket Seat: A weekend with the i3

When BMW launched their i Range in the country earlier this year, it issued a new era in motoring. Whilst many were accustomed to the hybrids, the mere thought of having a car that ran purely on electricity was a bit daunting especially with the energy crisis and the limited range that these vehicles could do. The concept behind these cars was never for long distance commutes though, with the strict regulations in most European countries with regards to C02 emissions and congestion charges for major cities, cars like the i3 were developed for these particular reasons. In essence, it is a city car, with zero emissions, practical and compact in design whilst remaining stylish, spacious and affording the driver and their passengers all the comforts we've come accustomed to in cars today.

This past weekend the guys down at Supertech Durban offered me an i3 Bev to zoom around town in, it was an offer I couldn't turn down as I did drive one during the local launch but the real test was spending a few days with the car. For those who don't know much about the Supertech Dealership, it is KZN's only BMWi dealer, located at 8 Cliff Crescent, on the corner of Solomon Mahlangu Drive (Edwin Swales) and Vusi Mzimele Road (Bellair Rd). It is one of the countries biggest BMW dealerships and boasts one of the best sales figures. The Showroom was the first in the country to have  a dedicated M car showroom with tar flooring and racing design, as well incorporating interactive executive lounges where customers can customize their ideal BMW whilst watching it take shape on a giant LCD TV. This is part of Future Retail, a concept designed by BMW as a means to enhance the customer dealership experience. The Isetta Bar located in the dealership has a full restaurant menu and some of the best coffee I've had! Supertech Durban, falls under the Supertech Group, which consist of the Durban as well as Newcastle dealership. The Group prides themselves on service excellence which is testament to the awards they win. Supertech Durban was also recently awarded a 4 Star Green star rating, and being an i-dealer, its testament to their commitment to sustainability and eco-friendly living.

Once the keys to the i3 were handed over to me and was given a quick brief about the car, it was time to hit the road. When I say this car is nothing like you have ever driven before, I mean it, everything about it is magical as it's relatively new to you. Firstly, the silence, with no combustion engine present there is zero noise, the only noise you will hear is that of the wind resistance. Next up, the design, BMW have kept the design as close to the concept as possible, with futuristic lines and massive wheels (20"), it looks like a driving concept on the road. The interior follows that trend with clean lines, spacious cabin and a dash that's straight out of the future with 2 LCD screens giving the driver all the info needed.

With the i3 being battery powered, you may get range anxiety like I did the first time driving it. Many would start panicking when they see the range in their car say "100km" as that means their tank is running dry but with the i3 in comfort mode, that is all the range you get! Also with the depleting battery, you tend to want to head home soon as you can to start charging it again but the more time you spend in the car, the more you figure out the workings behind it. With the kinetic energy build up whilst slowing down, the car is able to regenerate power, so the more you drive and slow down, the more battery life you build up. It almost becomes like a game and that is where the city car aspect comes to it. If you're going to drive on a motor way at a constant speed, that is when you're going to use up the most power and not get a good range to your charge but if you take a drive to the suburbs with stop streets and traffic lights, you might end up reaching your destination with a higher range than what you started off with!

I say it's like a game but in essence the car forces you to become a better driver, even though for it's size and odd shape, it's no slouch. It has a top speed of 160kph and one can obtain it very quickly thanks to the electric motor output of 125kW and 250Nm of torque, couple that with the overall weight of just over a ton, thanks to the light weight shell that is manufactured in a special carbon fiber weave and the interior made from special light weight and recycled materials, the only real weight to the car is from the batteries of which that and the electric drive train along with the wheels, form one part of the car and the cabin and shell make up the second part.

Driving the i3 is not just an experience for the driver but for on lookers too. It's nothing like you've seen before so it will attract a lot of attention anywhere you go. I took it to some of Durban's hot spots just to see the general reaction from the public and I had a lot of positive feedback from people, many didn't know that it was available in the country and most were astonished that someone would actually drive one. That is what I feel needs to change, the overall mindset of the consumer, 

Many might be thinking, why would I pay that much money for a car like this? I'm not going to lie, it is pretty expensive but if one has to look at the average Golf driver in Durban, now if you live in Durban you would know that they are more GTI's and R's on the roads than TSI's, both of those are over 500K, both give you at most 400km on a tank of fuel if you're lucky. The BMW i3 isn't much more than that in costs but costs you a fraction in terms of refueling. A single charge for the i3 from 0% to 100% will cost you on average R25 and depending on your driving style and mode, the range will vary from 100km to 140km. There are 3 driving modes to the car, Comfort mode offers you a top speed of 150kph, which we aren't allowed to do on any of our roads so no need to worry about that. The two Eco modes are Eco Pro and Eco Pro+, with the latter being there if you really want to push the cars range to the limits whilst letting go of things like climate control and succumbing to a top speed of 90kph.

With Europe already taken to electric vehicles, there are many public charge facilities in place, we in South Africa have some way to go to get up to that level but we are not far off. During my time with the i3, one of the places I visited was the Oyster Box Hotel in Umhlanga, to my surprise one of the guards came running up to me as I entered, now with it already drawing attention wherever I went I thought it was just another person that wanted to see the car but in actual fact, he came to tell me that they have a dedicated bay for electric cars, complete with a plug point so I could charge the car while I enjoy my dinner. Best part about it, it was free! Then again with the minimal cost of charging the car, it would be pointless to charge someone for this service. Other places in Durban that have charging facilities are Gateway Shopping Center and I've heard that the Pavilion Shopping center will be adding a few to their latest wing of renovations. So the market is adapting to it and you won't be caught off guard should you require a top up. 

There are 3 charging methods for the car, the first is the conventional 3 -pin wall socket that you have at home, it works well but the charge time is pretty long, as I said takes up to 7 hours to fully charge it. There is an option to get a BMW Wallbox installed at your place of residence which reduces charging time by almost half, so 3 hours max and you're ready to roll and the last option is the DC charger which can be found at any BMW i-dealer. With the direct current option, charging takes 20 minutes, it is on this basis that they're working on rolling out DC charging points around the cities, I know Sandton BMW have installed one in Melrose Arch along with their new BMWi showroom. 

The car comes equipped with everything one would find in any normal car, climate control air-conditioning, BMW's connected drive with on call support. Bluetooth functionality, satellite navigation and leather seats. The cabin is extremely spacious and can seat 4 adults comfortably, I even squeezed in 5 during my time with it. The suicide style rear doors make getting in and out very easy for the passengers, apart from making the car look cool. Another great feature to it was the BMWi Remote app which I was able to download onto my cellphone. It gave me info such as the amount of battery life I had left on the car as well as charging times. I could even preset the aircon should I want the car cooled before I got in. Other things you can do with the remote app is unlock the car, hoot and switch on the lights should you for some reason can't find it in a parking lot. 

Overall it was an eye opening experience, I always thought of a battery operated car as a kid and here it is in production and on the roads. With the ever rising of the oil price and the damage caused by fossil fuels, this is the future of motoring. In time, the price of vehicles such as the i3 will come down as the demand for them increases, it's simple economics. The biggest challenge manufacturers like BMW will have is getting people to break their fear and actually experience what the car has to offer to which they will be pleasantly surprised like I was. 

You can follow Supertech Durban on their various social media channels,

Facebook: BMW Supertech
Twitter: SupertechDurban

Bucket Seat: BMW i3 & i8

Recently BMW South Africa launched their new i range of vehicles in South Africa, its been a long time coming, lots of hard work behind the scenes and finally after all of this we were ready to receive them, thus opening up a new era in motoring. When BMWi began their mission to build electric powered cars, there were loads of research and development with various prototypes and concepts but with every one the method was the same, to build a new vehicle that is purposely meant to be powered by an electric plant not simply putting an electric motor in a car that exists already, hence the term "Born Electric".

The fruits of their labour saw the i3 and i8 come into form and were displayed 3 years ago to the world as concepts. Futuristic and bold designs, made the cars look like they were 20 years ahead of time but little did we know that BMW were very close to production with them. When news broke of production ready cars, we waited to see how much of the outrageousness was discarded seeing that concepts always go heavily under the knife to cut costs for the models that make to the showroom but to everyones surprise, with these two much remained the same. 

This weekend I was invited by BMW to partake in the regional launch of the iSeries vehicles at their pop up store in Gateway. We were given a brief insight by BMWi Manager Deena Ralph Govender, into the reasoning for BMW to introduce electric cars and the complexities that they went into to ensuring that the cars were geared to be environmentally friendly in every aspect. From the carbon fibre plastic shell being 100% recyclable to using eco friendly materials to decorate the cabins of the cars. It was then time to get behind the wheel of the i3, a short route to KZN's only "i ready" dealership, BMW Supertech was planned. The route offered a bit of urban driving, city driving as well as freeway driving so we could put the i3 through its paces. 

The first thing that you realise when you're next to one, besides the futuristic design, is its size. While pictures do make the car look rather small, in actual fact it is quite a respectable size and when you get inside you recognise how spacious and comfortable it is with it being able to accommodate 4 adults with ease and comfort, with the car also having suicide style doors, not having a B pillar makes entering an exiting the car that much easier. The dash follows the BMW philosophy of clean cut and simple design with a modern touch, the conventional speedometer is replaced with a LCD screen and a secondary screen in the centre of the console to display entertainment and navigation along with BMW's Connected Drive. If you haven't heard of Connected Drive, it is basically your very own concierge service at the touch of a button. Its a 24 hour service for your every need, need directions? No need to punch it in manually into the GPS, simply tell the operator the place you need to go to, and in a matter of seconds your GPS will have the route for you to follow. 

Starting the car is an experience on its own, because the electric motor is so silent you don't know if the car is on or not! The car comes with an automatic gear box with the selector finding a new space up next to the steering column, now it's just a single gear system to regulate the speed so it's a smooth ride from the go. Acceleration is instant as you tap the pedal, the propulsion of the car is intense with the torques kicking in at drastic speeds, 0-60kph in 4 seconds, that's faster than some sports cars! and as a top speed of a 150kph. When you release your foot from the accelerator, the car begins to brake on its own to regenerate power to the batteries, this in effect recharges your car as you drive. The i3 comes in two versions, the BEV and the REx, the BEV being full electric which offers the driver a range of 160km from a full charge with the REx having a range extending petrol engine not to power the car but to generate power to the batteries allowing the cars range to be just over 300km on a full charge. 

With SA not being fully equiped for electric cars just as yet, BMW are offering owners of the i3 an option to exchange their car for a combustion variant should they require to go on a long distance trip. This is all factored into the price of the car. The BEV comes in at approximately R525,000 and the REx at R585,000 at base prices. Yes it does seem a bit steep for a city car but if you do the math, you will be saving tons of money in the long run. To fully charge your car using a normal wall socket takes 6 to 7 hours and costs a mere R21, if you get the BMW iWallbox installed at home charging time is reduced to just 2 hours. There is another quicker option but will only be available at BMWi dealerships where a DC charger is on hand to do the job in just 20 minutes. Getting back to the savings, with your average 1.6 hatch, many average 400km on a 45 litre tank which costs you close to R500 now, you can do 400km in the i3 BEV for just R63, that's a good R400+ saving for you. 

Now I've already touched on how futuristic the car looks and the amazing performance and economy but there's still more cool things to the car. BMW have an app available on both Android and iOS platforms for owners to download and use, this makes use of Connected Drive and gives you live data of your car, so for example the amount of charge left in the battery, where you car is parked within a 1,5km radius (for when you can't remember where you parked in the mall?!) and the best feature for me, is pre-conditioning your car from your phone. With our blistering summer temperatures, we often park our cars out in the sun and when we get back in, it feels like we stepped into the sauna, with this app you can tell the car to run the aircon at a specific temp before you get to your car, so by then the car is at the perfect temperature for you to be in, how cool? The app can also lock and unlock your car so if you leave your keys inside by mistake, there's no need to call a locksmith and you can also use the hooter, may sound like a weird feature but when you have a car like the i3 or i8 you will be attracting attention from others so you may want to clear the crowd as you get to your car. 

Later that evening I got the chance to drive the i8, its been little under 24 hours since I've driven the car and I still have this smile on my face. I expected it to be a lot like the i3 but it was nothing like it at all. Being a hybrid, the car makes use of a 1.5 ltr, 3 cylinder petrol engine but unlike most hybrids on the market, the emphasis is on the electric motor with the petrol engine just their to assist. The low stance and tub cabin makes it feel like the ultimate sports car with the dash reminiscent to that of a space ship which is quite fitting as when you flick the car into sports mode, the dash colours change from blue into red and when the pedal is floored it feels like you've hit hyperspeed and about to jump into a new vortex. I still can't put into words what feelings that go through you when driving that car, it really is a piece of art, in fact both cars are in the own right and are real game changers. It will be interesting to see what other manufacturers will do now since they have to play catch up. 

For more info on the i3, you can visit their campaign site at: http://goo.gl/CwkthW

Or if you want to book a test drive, simply fill your details at: http://goo.gl/KqKsRD

JIMS 2013

We paid the Johannesburg International Motor Show a visit this past weekend and despite the crappy weather the show proved to be quite worth while. Exhibitors spent more than R350 million on the stands so you know their displays was nothing short of world class. Highlights from the stands were the Audi A3 Sedan, BMW i8, Lexus LFA, Mercedes Benz new S-Class range, Honda's NSX, Land Rovers Range Rover Sport and Jaguars F Type to name a few. We did our best to capture some of the models, bare in mind that we attended on a public viewing day so it proved to be tricky to get the perfect angle and good images but we tried our best, if only we were invited for the media day....

The show is still on this weekend, so make your way down. It will cost you a mere R100 for entrance and you're guaranteed to have a great day out!