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I think there's a lot of insight in this comment. I also believe a lot of customers (current and potential) would really like to buy an EV from an established c
by mstade 7y ago
I think there's a lot of insight in this comment. I also believe a lot of customers (current and potential) would really like to buy an EV from an established car maker rather than a new comer, and I believe they really want it to look and feel just like a 3-series, or 5-series, or whatever they're called – not the abomination that is i3. I believe this is what everyone except Tesla understands, and I really don't know but
maybe it's exactly for the reasons you lay out: they don't want to cannibalize on the gas guzzler series. But if they don't eat themselves, someone else sure will!
- HiroshiSan 7y agoCompletely agree with you there, both the i8 and the i3 in my opinion look like electric vehicles you'd read about in a sci-fi novel, but neither are cool or sexy.
- ryandrake 7y agoHonestly the world needs more unique-looking cars. Every 4-door sedan made after 2000 or so looks like the same boring identical “bar of soap with wheels”. With only a few minor differences (headlight and tail light shape, grill, etc. from a large distance only car experts tell any of the major brands apart visually.
- perl4ever 7y agoI'm old enough to remember (although I didn't particularly notice it at the time) when headlights were standardized. In fact, I've got a car from the 80s right now, and the (pop-up) headlights are round and say "Sylvania". I don't think that the diversity of headlights is an exception to the rule of cars all looking the same, but rather one instance out of many of designers having far more freedom than they did historically, and so there's a lot more variation in what they produce. Fewer and fewer people are buying sedans, but it's easy to pick a couple to contrast. Take the Ford Fusion and Taurus. The Fusion is all ovals, while the Taurus seems to be made out of chamfered blocks and trapezoids. Or consider the previous generation Hyundai Sonata. The current one is generic looking, I would agree, but the one sold from 2010-2014 looked like no other sedan that I've seen.
- HiroshiSan 7y agoI remember when Kia and Hyundai were known as cheap Korean cars, whoever is in charge of branding has really done a great job turning things around. I especially love the look of the 2019 genesis and the Kia stinger is quite interesting, it feels very American in a way I can't describe when I see one on the road.
- TheSpiceIsLife 7y agoKia Stinger looks American, in my opinion, due to the vents forward and aft of the front wheels; tall blunt nose, high rear with short rear window. It looks a bit like a Mustang.
- HiroshiSan 7y agoI just read that the designer of the stinger was previously designing for Audi, I can see a pretty similar resemblance to the a7 in the rear.
- taurath 7y agoAnd engineering. I used to think the long warranty was just because it was guaranteed to break, but having gone a decade with friends going through their entire life cycles they’re very sturdy cars. Definitely giving Honda a run for the money.
- braythwayt 7y agoOh come now, the industry gives you both kinds of design: “Two box” and “Three box!”
- nr152522 7y agoI decided on an i8 over the Tesla model S. The driving experience and the interior quality of the i8 was, IMO, superior. It was a close call mind you. I even put down a 4K deposit on the Tesla. I felt the i8 was an £80k car with £30k of tech, whereas the Tesla was a £30k car with £80k tech. As an unexpected bonus, my pregnant wife found it easier to get in and out the i8 compared to standard cars entries :)
- hn23 7y agoYou will be out of seats soon...
- CameronNemo 7y ago>everyone except Tesla understands Why do you claim this? Tesla cannot change the fact that they are a newcomer. They can only stand by their vehicles as best they can (which has been difficult for body work, but most mechanical issues can be handled efficiently). Furthermore, the look of Tesla vehicles is 100% optimized for drag efficiency. Most electric car purchasers care about range a lot more than look...
- mstade 7y ago> Why do you claim this? Because they are the only manufacturer of EVs that look and feel mostly like regular cars. It's really that simple. Also, please don't miss the "I believe" part of my statement, I have zero facts to back this up, it's just my opinion. > Furthermore, the look of Tesla vehicles is 100% optimized for drag efficiency. Who cares? I want my car to be 100% optimized for not looking like a deranged design experiment. I want it to look like all the other cars. I, just like most other people, aren't special and don't really care to look that way either.
- basch 7y agoisnt Hyundai competitive now, and they look like cars?
- erikpukinskis 7y agoYes, but there is no real production so you can’t get one.
- thefounder 7y agoJaguar makes iPace model now that can compete with Tesla on looks and even beat it on UX
- webaholic 7y agoat what price though?
- timthorn 7y agoThe 3-series and 5-series have had electric options (330e & 550e) for some time now.
- mullingitover 7y agoThose are plugin hybrids with pretty anemic all-electric range.
- dhruvrrp 7y agoThey both are hybrids so don’t even fall under the same category as electric cars for most people. The bmw website doesn’t even show options for 330e so that seems to be discontinued and for the 530e the electric range is 16 miles, so basically a luxury Prius.
- timthorn 7y agoI don't know where you're based, but I wonder if that's a US perspective? I've been driving a PHEV in the UK for 5 years, and perhaps 50% of my colleagues with EVs also have hybrids (including a couple with the 330e); I've never known anyone say they're not electric cars before. The 330e is still available on the BMW UK website.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- rhizome 7y agoNot sure where the 330e went, but there's going to be a 2020 hybrid X1.
- mstade 7y agoYeah I don't really consider hybrids EVs to be honest. I want to get off fossil fuels, not have a token battery that barely gets me out of the driveway.
- timthorn 7y ago
- evo_9 7y agoMy abomination i3 is the best car I’ve ever owned. To each there own, I personally think it looks like it came out of Blade Runner and the only real complaint I have is I wish it were AWD and had wider, less bicycle-like tires.
- Ocerge 7y agoI can't provide a source right now, maybe Matt Farah, but I've always heard i3s are of extremely high quality. Perhaps people like to project their range anxiety onto the rest of the vehicle?
- nvrspyx 7y agoI can’t speak for everyone, but it’s not so much the quality that puts me off, it’s the appearance. I personally think it’s ugly and there’s way too much “noise” in its aesthetics, for lack of a better term. But as the previous commenter said, to each their own. I’m sure it’s a fine car. It’s just not the aesthetic I’d go for, especially as far as BMWs go.
- turk73 7y agoI know circuses are pretty much a thing of the past, but the i3 would fit right in at one. I always just figured that people who buy EVs really want everyone else to know it.
- evo_9 7y agoIt really is. The entire body is carbon fiber. We had a major hailstorm about a year back and it trashed everyone's car except mine at my office. No damage. I also had a joker run a light and clip my left-rear quarter panel - moving me about 1.5 feet in the process - also no damage. I'm actually leasing mine and plan on buying one used. You can find them for sub-25k and quite honestly it's one of the best values EV-wise you can find.
- mstade 7y agoI’m sure it’s a great car but man it looks terrible, and I’m willing to bet a lot of consumers are just as vain as I am. It is of course just my opinion, and as you say: to each their own. I’m glad you like your car, but if I was to buy an EV I want it to look like a regular car – not like something out of blade runner.
- kerridge0 7y agoIt's not an abomination it has some flaws which don't affect me, others that make me compromise a bit (drive more slowly, stop more often), but some reasons I chose it other than it being the only affordable electric car available that met all my requirements, was because of the bmw quality and attention to detail which are also hallmarks of the brand.