New BMW i3

BMW accidentally shows off new i3 electric sedan before big reveal

Someone at BMW is having a very awkward Tuesday. The company was getting ready to show the world its brand-new i3 sedan on March 18, but the internet got there first. A video that was supposed to stay hidden until Wednesday briefly went live. Even though BMW deleted it quickly, people on social media were fast enough to grab pictures. Now, we have a clear look at what BMW calls its most important vehicle ever.

This new model belongs to a group BMW calls "Neue Klasse," which means "New Class." It follows the larger iX3. The SUV is already stealing the show, but many fans have been waiting for the sedan. It is meant to be the electric version of the famous 3 Series. BMW has been testing the i3 in the freezing cold of Sweden, and now that the camouflage is off, we can see that the car looks modern but still feels like a classic BMW.

The front of the car has a new look. BMW changed the famous "kidney grille" to be much thinner. Instead of being tall and chunky, it now stretches across the whole front of the car. Since it's not really needed for cooling, it is just an illuminated part of the new design. The headlights have a "four-eyed" look - a famous style for the brand. It looks clean and simple, which is a big change from some of the busier designs BMW has used lately. The car does not try too hard to look like a spaceship, which will please long-time fans who just want a nice-looking sedan.

On the sides, the i3 has lines that look very sharp and crisp. The door handles sit flat against the body of the car. It still has that curve in the back window called the Hofmeister kink - this is a design detail BMW has used for many years. The back of the car has thin lights that wrap around the corners, making the car look wide and steady on the road.

Inside the cabin, things look very different from older BMW models. There is a huge 17.9-inch touchscreen right in the middle. Most of the buttons are gone, so you will use the screen or your voice to change the music or the temperature. The steering wheel has a new shape with four spokes. One of the coolest features is the Panoramic Vision display that puts information like your speed right onto the bottom of the windshield. It stretches from one side to the other, so the driver does not have to look down at the dashboard.

The battery is apparently quite large, with a total capacity of 108.7 kWh. BMW says this should help the i3 travel up to 805 km on a single charge. This is a very long distance and would put it ahead of many other cars on the road today. Of course, this number comes from tests in Europe, so it might change a bit when it gets to other countries, but it is still a very impressive number.

www.arenaev.com

BMW accidentally shows off new i3 electric sedan before big reveal

The leaked BMW i3 sedan reveals a sleek new design as the company prepares for its official debut.
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“The essence of the BMW brand”: this is the new, 560-mile BMW i3

The second neue Neue Klasse is perhaps the most significant electric BMW yet

In short, this is the electric version of the most important car BMW has and will continue to build. The very “essence of the BMW brand”.

It’s the new BMW i3 saloon – essentially an electric, next-generation 3 Series.

And yes, we can all breathe a collective sigh of relief because this electric, next-generation 3 Series looks… good. Really, really good. A “2.5-box” shape with short overhangs, flared arches, gently sloping roof, and low, classy proportions. A well resolved kidney grille/quad headlight arrangement. A lovely rear light signature.

Phew. Classy drivetrain, too, as we’ve discovered from its (very) big brother, the iX3. At launch, BMW will offer the i3 as a 50 xDrive model, which means way more efficient (compared to the older e-BMWs) electric motors on the front and back axles, 800-volt architecture, 463bhp, 476lb ft and a whopping 560 miles of range. Five hundred and sixty.

That’s an insane amount of range, and comes courtesy not only through better motors, but also the new cell-to-pack design which doesn’t group cells into modules inside the battery but instead bolts them straight in saving weight and adding strength. There’s also new software controlling the battery.

Moreover, BMW reckons you can replenish up to 250 miles of range in around 10 minutes on a fast enough charger (400kW). Admittedly few and far between, those, but still. The only anxiety you’ll have is picking out a good colour, because the i3’s four ‘superbrains’ will take care of literally everything else.

Like the one that handles the battery we noted above, and of course the ‘Heart of Joy’ that handles all the fun bits like the steering, brakes, regen and suspension. Again, if it’s anything like the iX3, it ought to be a well resolved thing. There’s level 2 driver assistance, bidirectional charging, and over the air updates, amongst a myriad of next-gen tech stuffed inside.

Speaking of inside, if you’ve been anywhere near or in an iX3, the i3 should feel quite familiar. And perhaps a little intimidating at first, not least because there’s a lot going on. Like the ‘Panoramic Vision’ which projects loads of stuff across the entire bottom section of the windscreen. Literally from pillar to pillar.

 
New SA-bound BMW i3 revealed: Bold new look, radical cabin and 900km on a charge

The BMW i3, as you once knew it, is dead. Long live the new BMW i3.

Revealed in Munich on Wednesday, this sleek new sedan is not an electric version of the existing 3-Series sedan - it’s a new “from the ground up” model. Following in the footsteps of the all-new BMW iX3 revealed last year, the new i3 is the second model to be built around BMW’s all-new Neue Klasse platform that was designed specifically for next-generation electric vehicles (EVs).

But where does this leave the current internal combustion-engined 3 Series? Word on the street is that the 3 Series will be heavily updated, retaining its current ‘CLAR’ architecture but inheriting much of the new i3’s design language and cabin technology.

The new i3 certainly is innovative. It features an 800-volt electrical system for faster charging and improved efficiency, while its ‘Gen6’ battery tech, featuring round lithium-ion cells, enables a claimed range of up to 900km on the WLTP cycle. This makes it one of the longest-range EVs on the market.

It supports DC charging of 400kW, adding up to 400km of range in just 10 minutes. The car also supports bidirectional charging, allowing it to function as a mobile power source.

But is it fast?

That you can bet on: the i3 50 xDrive model features dual electric motors that deliver a combined 345kW and 645Nm, while also providing all-wheel drive. According to BMW, the pairing of an electrically excited synchronous motor at the rear and an asynchronous motor on the front axle improves efficiency while reducing energy losses by up to 40% compared to the previous generation.

Beyond straight-line performance, BMW says the i3 sets new standards for driving dynamics, with a low centre of gravity, advanced suspension setup and a new “Heart of Joy” control system that processes inputs up to 10 times faster than before, promising sharper handling and smoother responses.

The new BMW i3 is practically a supercomputer on wheels, with four “superbrain” computers taking charge of everything from the driving dynamics to automated driving functions, infotainment and comfort. Furthermore, over-the-air updates will improve the vehicle over time.

 
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