NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather forecasts

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Budget 2025
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
    • Cooking the Books
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • What the Actual
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Putting the i into sustainable, with BMW

NZ Herald
8 Nov, 2013 11:30 PM6 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

BMW's i3 electric car has just been launched internationally and is expected in NZ next year.

BMW's i3 electric car has just been launched internationally and is expected in NZ next year.

BMW has delivered a leading edge in electric car technology with the release of groundbreaking, range-extended i3

You really can judge a book by its cover: the BMW i3 is just as cutting-edge as its outrageous styling suggests.

The i3 is the first car to emerge from BMW's i-brand: a new division that puts the emphasis on sustainability, albeit without abandoning the driver-focused principles on which BMW has built its reputation.

Well, that's the theory.

The practical was provided by BMW's international launch for the i3 in Amsterdam last week: this megacity of seven-million-plus provided the perfect environment for the motoring media to put this new-generation electric vehicle through its paces.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

What makes the i3 so special? Carmakers are always telling us vehicles are all-new, but in this case it's really true. New in design, new in concept.

Almost nothing is shared with other BMW models.

The i3 is available in pure electric and range-extender models.

BMW i3
BMW i3

No matter: the driving experience is virtually the same.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The electric model has a 125kW/250Nm motor driving the rear wheels through a fixed-ratio gearbox.

The lithium batteries integrated into the floorpan take about eight hours to charge (between three and five hours using one of BMW's optional "i Wallbox" home-charge units) and can power the vehicle for 130km-160km.

Cables are provided for ordinary household sockets as well as more sturdy fast-charge connectors.

The range-extender i3 model is configured in exactly the same way, but also has a 650cc petrol generator and nine-litre fuel tank nestled next to the electric motor.

Discover more

New Zealand

Me and my car: Shane Cortese

15 Sep 05:30 PM
New Zealand

New BMW a worthy successor

22 Oct 04:30 PM
New Zealand

BMW makes the extras standard on X5

25 Oct 04:30 PM
Business

BMW says 3rd-quarter profit up 3.2 percent

05 Nov 09:07 AM

So when the batteries run flat, the generator fires up and maintains a minimum charge so that the electric motor can continue to work, until you have the opportunity to plug in again. Range is effectively doubled in this model, to about 300km.

Some of the BMW engineers on hand at the launch seemed implicitly dismissive of the range-extended i3- a step too far that spoils the "born electric" ethos.

Drive around a European megacity and you can appreciate that point of view: in Amsterdam there are 650 charge points, all listed on the i3's satellite navigation system. Frequent fast-charging is entirely feasible.

In New Zealand, not so much. Decent EV infrastructure must surely come at some point.

But until then, plugging in your EV is a matter of routine - at home overnight or, if you're lucky, at work.

In the absence of a network of public charge points, you really have to plan your driving around those times.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

So extended range will be a highly desirable feature for Kiwi buyers - a safety net even if they don't plan to use the petrol generator.

Like any other BMW production model, the i3 has a low centre of gravity (because the batteries are under the floor), perfect 50/50 weight distribution and rear-wheel drive.

However, it's nothing like any other BMW to drive and was never meant to be.

BMW's i3 plant is powered by wind turbines.
BMW's i3 plant is powered by wind turbines.

There is speed: the electric-only model sprints to 100km/h in 7.2 seconds, which is getting close to hot-hatch performance.

The range-extender version is slightly slower at 7.9 seconds, but still as quick as a Mini Paceman Cooper S.

The i3 actually feels a lot quicker than the numbers, because you get instant torque at any speed from the electric motor.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The car accelerates strongly/easily right up to 130km/h. Top speed is limited to 150km/h, to preserve battery life.

The i3 is dynamically accomplished, albeit in an idiosyncratic way. Despite the SUV-like ride height, stability is beyond reproach because of those heavy (230kg) batteries under the floor. BMW says the i3 is one of its best-performing small cars in the European emergency lane-change manoeuvre (the "elk test" that toppled the original Mercedes-Benz A-class back in 1997).

For a city car, the i3 rides on massive-diameter wheels - you have a choice of 19 or 20-inch rims - but the tyres are incredibly skinny at just 155/175mm.

Having so little rubber on the road reduces rolling resistance and allows a turning circle so tight you have to experience it to believe it: just 9.86 metres.

All of the above mean the i3 can be quite nimble, but it still requires a certain driving technique.

You can't throw the car into corners too aggressively because there's a limit to the amount of grip those slivers of rubber can provide.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Here's the other strange - but ultimately enlightening - lesson you need to learn about the i3: one-pedal driving.

There's a huge amount of regenerative drag built into the powertrain, so when you lift off the throttle the automatic-braking effect is quite severe.

This is quite deliberate: the idea being that you simply drive with the throttle and ignore the brake unless there's an emergency.

So it proved: by the end of our two days in Amsterdam, I was driving the i3 in congested urban areas solely by accelerating and decelerating, never touching the stop-pedal. Loved it.

The interior is a sustainability showcase, with recycled plastics, door trims made from the Kenaf plant and leather tanned in a natural process using olive leaf extract. Regardless of its eco-status, the i3 certainly feels special on the inside.

When you leave the car, a little part of the i3 can come with you.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The vehicle has an embedded SIM card that communicates with an application on your iPhone or Android device. Through the phone you can check on charging status, view analysis of your driving style and even fire up the climate control before you get back to the vehicle.

In Europe, these car-to-phone-to-BMW-server functions extend into advanced route planning and even real-time public transport information. What level of connectivity will be offered in New Zealand is still not known - the local BMW "i-team" (yes, there is one) is working with colleagues in Australia around this issue.

Also not known at this stage is price. However, we're talking more high-end smartphone than landline, if you know what I mean.

Overseas, the i3 is priced at a similar level to entry-level 3-series models, so don't expect too much change from $80,000.

Early adopters, over to you.

BMW's plant with wind turbines.
The BMW i3 is being produced in  at its  Leipzig facility in Germany, that runs on wind turbines.
The BMW i3 is being produced in  at its  Leipzig facility in Germany, that runs on wind turbines.
BMW's i3 electric car has just been launched internationally and is expected in NZ next year.
BMW's i3 electric car has just been launched internationally and is expected in NZ next year.
BMW's i3 electric car has just been launched internationally and is expected in NZ next year.
BMW's i3 electric car has just been launched internationally and is expected in NZ next year.
BMW's i3 electric car has just been launched internationally and is expected in NZ next year.
BMW's i3 electric car has just been launched internationally and is expected in NZ next year.
BMW's i3 electric car has just been launched internationally and is expected in NZ next year.
A customer checks ou the new BMW i3 electric vehicle at the Southbank dealership in Melbourne.The car goes on sale in Australia mid-2014 and will be in NZ late next year.

Image 1 of 11: BMW's plant with wind turbines.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

New Zealand

Parents battling to keep young teen away from older boyfriend turn to Family Court for help

24 May 10:00 PM
New Zealand

Gazan doctors' 9 children killed in Israel airstrike, 13 dead in Kyiv | NZ Herald News Update

New Zealand

'Good movers': Former Silver Fern driven to cut injury risks as ACC claims rise

24 May 06:00 PM

The Hire A Hubby hero turning handyman stereotypes on their head

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

Parents battling to keep young teen away from older boyfriend turn to Family Court for help

Parents battling to keep young teen away from older boyfriend turn to Family Court for help

24 May 10:00 PM

When her parents found out the relationship had turned sexual they were 'extremely upset'.

Gazan doctors' 9 children killed in Israel airstrike, 13 dead in Kyiv | NZ Herald News Update

Gazan doctors' 9 children killed in Israel airstrike, 13 dead in Kyiv | NZ Herald News Update

'Good movers': Former Silver Fern driven to cut injury risks as ACC claims rise

'Good movers': Former Silver Fern driven to cut injury risks as ACC claims rise

24 May 06:00 PM
'One hesitation and you're history': Plea to lower speed limit in Bay View

'One hesitation and you're history': Plea to lower speed limit in Bay View

24 May 06:00 PM
Gold demand soars amid global turmoil
sponsored

Gold demand soars amid global turmoil

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP