BMW i3 Review & Prices

This is the new BMW i3, and before you ask: no, it’s not the funny little electric hatchback from a few years ago. This is BMW’s new electric 3 Series saloon, and that means it has an awful lot of pressure on its shark-nosed shoulders.

The 3 Series is the car BMW is built around. It’s the one that has to feel sporty enough for enthusiasts, posh enough for company car drivers, practical enough for families and premium enough to justify the badge. Turning that into an EV is a bit like remaking The Italian Job - you can do it, but you’d better not mess up the bit everyone actually cares about.

It’ll go up against the Mercedes C-Class Electric, Tesla Model 3, Hyundai Ioniq 6, Volkswagen ID.7 and Polestar 2, though the BMW’s range figure gives it a big advantage over all of them if that’s what you’re looking for.

On paper, the i3 is off to a very strong start. It has up to 567 miles of range, ultra-fast 400kW charging, two electric motors, 463hp and a 0-62mph time of 4.7 seconds. It’s also one of the best-looking BMWs in ages.

BMW i3: electric range, battery and charging data

Range: 567 miles
Efficiency: 5.2 miles per kWh
Battery size: 108.7kWh
Max charge speed: 400kW
Charge time AC: 15.5 hours, 0-100%, 7kW
Charge time DC: 21 mins, 10-80%, 400kW
Charge port location: Right side rear
Power outputs: 463hp

The design is easily one of the best things about the new i3. BMW’s recent styling has been, shall we say, brave. The XM, 7 Series and even the new iX3 SUV have all divided opinion, mostly due to their vast and varied grille treatments. The i3 is different.

Instead of a huge upright kidney grille you get two black panels stretching across the front of the car. The nose has a proper forward-leaning shape too, referencing classic BMWs. It makes the i3 look low, sharp and muscular without resorting to fake vents or shouty add-ons.

From the side it looks like a proper saloon too, in contrast to some electric cars which can look quite blobby. It’s sleek, clean and nicely proportioned.

The interior follows the same basic layout as the BMW iX3, with BMW’s huge Panoramic iDrive display projected across the base of the windscreen. We’ve sat in a pre-production i3, so the tech wasn’t fully functional, but the system is impressive in the iX3 and should give the i3 a properly futuristic feel.

It also feels suitably sporty from behind the wheel. You sit low, the driving position is spot-on and the dashboard has a clean, minimalist layout. There is a lot of information presented across the windscreen display, central screen and head-up display, so it could take a bit of getting used to. The steering wheel also looks a bit odd, with spokes at 12 and six o’clock, but that’s a small complaint in an otherwise very smart cabin.

Practicality should be reasonable rather than spectacular. This is still a saloon, so it won’t be as easy to load as a hatchback-backed Polestar 2 or Volkswagen ID.7, and it won’t be as roomy as the larger iX3 SUV. That said, it should be perfectly usable as a family car or company car, and BMW has already confirmed that an i3 Touring estate is on the way for buyers who want more boot space.

Range and charging are where the i3 really starts to look special. The standard i3 50 xDrive gets a 108.7kWh battery and an official WLTP range of up to 567 miles, making it one of the longest-range electric cars on sale in the UK - only beaten by the ultra-luxury Mercedes EQS.

It can also charge at speeds of up to 400kW - which BMW says will add up to 263 miles of range in just 10 minutes.

We haven’t driven the new BMW i3 yet, but there are good reasons to be optimistic. The new iX3 SUV uses the same basic technology and feels impressively light and agile for a big electric SUV, so putting similar hardware into a lower, lighter saloon sounds like an excellent recipe.

With 463hp, four-wheel drive and a 4.7-second 0-62mph time, the i3 should be properly quick as well. A single-motor model will likely follow soon after, just as it has with the iX3, bringing the starting price down.

Check out our best BMW deals right here on Carwow, or see what other electric car deals we have to offer. You can search for a used BMW here and remember that Carwow can even help you to sell your old car when the time comes.

The new BMW i3 starts from £53,005 in the UK, which gets you the i3 50 xDrive - the only model at launch. That makes it more expensive than a Tesla Model 3, but it’s cheaper than the equivalent Mercedes C-Class Electric - with much more range.

There’s also a First Edition model, priced from £57,905. This adds electrically adjustable seats, three-zone climate control, sun protection glazing and a heated steering wheel. You also get a 3D head-up display, Harman Kardon sound system, an auto-opening boot and upgraded 22kW AC charging instead of the standard 11kW setup. This will be the only model available for a short while after launch.