I saw an i3 on the road the other day and it's a very odd looking vehicle really. Not futuristic or ground breaking. Just odd.

The main oddity is the wheels. They're quite large in diameter (17inch?) but skinnier than Russel Brand's pantaloons. This has the effect of making the car look cartoonish, like a soap box racer or indeed a pram.

They have lower rolling resistance, hence longer range. They obviously but function before form this time, which is a rarity.

I saw my first one the other day. Looked very nice!

That new VW thing has thin Tyres too. But that looks weird from all angles.

The 17" diameter alloys would suggest a nod towards bowing to the demands of its customers for larger, better looking wheels, otherwise smaller and lighter 15's or 16's would have fulfilled the function over form scenario better.

 

How anyone can say it doesn't look futuristic is beyond me, it looks like nothing else on the road. That doesn't mean that it can't be described as odd or ugly but it is undoubtedly futuristic.

They are 19" alloys actually

Seen one in a showroom!

They use like 19" spacesaver tyres lol

The 17" diameter alloys would suggest a nod towards bowing to the demands of its customers for larger, better looking wheels, otherwise smaller and lighter 15's or 16's would have fulfilled the function over form scenario better.

 

How anyone can say it doesn't look futuristic is beyond me, it looks like nothing else on the road. That doesn't mean that it can't be described as odd or ugly but it is undoubtedly futuristic.

I think this is true of the i8. That is a fantastic car and a bloody great piece of design. The i3 though is a bit meh IMO. Apart from the electric innards, it's not really doing anything revolutionary. The Audi A2 was doing all this light weight Ecomentalism in 1999.

I like the design, but have concerns in an emergency swerve.

Surely with such narrow wheels the i3 will respond to a yank on the steering wheel by just under steering straight on?

Rather than moving and then relying on the ESP to hold it all together.

Tyre is a 155/70/19

Bet that's hard to get a hold of

Oh and id imagine it will be a runflat aswell. Jeez louise

Tyre is a 155/70/19

Bet that's hard to get a hold of

 

Just checked price on blackcircles, only one tyre option (Bridgestone Ecopia EP500) and they are £132 delivered each

 

Edit: Just checked BMW's website and there's a 20'' alloy wheel upgrade for £1k

Thats quite cheap /\

I guess pram wheels will become a lot more common in the future for the low resistance etc.

Rear end looks like a really unimpressed face

I like the design, but have concerns in an emergency swerve.

Surely with such narrow wheels the i3 will respond to a yank on the steering wheel by just under steering straight on?

Rather than moving and then relying on the ESP to hold it all together.

 

 

 

I didn't see much understeer on Top Gear on Sunday when the Stig was taking the new Caterham Seven 160 for a thrash.

 

14" steels with 155-section tyres...

 

 

OK, so it has a lower COG but I can't see many i3's been driven on their limits

Edited 26 February, 201412 yr by silver1011

... can't see many i3's been driven on their limits

 

 

Then what was the point of making the i3 RWD ?

 

 

I suspect it has the potential to corner quite fast, even on those skinny wheels - read somewhere it has torque vectoring