BMW i3 first drive: Have they kept the joy of driving alive?

This car matters. Not just in the evolution of electric cars, but in the history of the modern car.

Sure, hoisted hatchback crossovers outsell it, but some cars transcend fads to define an era. BMW’s 3 Series is one of them.

Which is why, for all the headline-grabbing attention on the estimated range of up to 912km, the real question has been: will it drive like a 3 Series?

The 3 Series’ long-awaited move to full electric carries more weight than most new-model launches. It might carry the i3 moniker, but if this proved to be a dud, the damage would inevitably wash over the 3 Series as well.

The good news is that the i3 suffers no such fate. Underpinned by the firm’s new EV platform – dubbed Neue Klasse, should you care – there are proper BMW driving traits on display.

However, we had reason to be initially concerned.

You can read a few signals from the suggested test route on a car launch. If it features mostly motorway, perhaps the engineers aren’t that happy with the cornering or ride on rough roads.

This drive started with a stretch of motorway where we were told to try their latest advanced assisted driving software. Hardly the ringing endorsement for a car that prides itself on driving pleasure.

Inside, it boasts the same impressive Panoramic Vision display as other BMW newcomers, setting a new standard for driver engagement with the tech. The steering wheel is slightly thinner as well, much better than in the iX3 and iX4.

There are sacrifices, of course. Opting for the i3 over iX3 reduces rear legroom and lowers the seating position, while you also lose out in the boot, though mainly in terms of loading aperture.

The i3 comes in two “flavours”, both with dual-motor all-wheel drive.

The i3 40 has a battery offering 82.8kWh of usable capacity, claiming a range of 710km and putting out 275kW (374hp). It can take up to 300kW on DC charging and hits 100km/h in just 5.4 seconds. All priced at €60,285.

The i3 50 version claims a range of up to 912km from its 108.7kWh battery pack, delivering 345kW (469hp) and a 0-100km/h time of 4.7 seconds. It can take a DC charge up to 400kW. Prices start at €67,215.

At this end of the market, a €6,930 price walk is not as painful as it would be for the rest of us, and offering greater battery capacity, 202km more range and 95hp more, it’s probably too tempting to pass up.

And so, to the road. In our i3 50 test car, the car’s balance was on a par with what we have come to expect from 3 Series, though there is a price to be paid for the battery weight.

That’s partly compensated by the four-wheel-drive format, with an electric motor on each axle. Both are independently controlled, and the electric synchronous motor on the rear provides primary power, while the front induction motor delivers additional power when needed.

Despite the lack of a mechanical connection between the two, they are co-ordinated by BMW’s new central computer system, which choreographs the systems responsible for how the car drives, accelerates, brakes and responds to steering inputs.

Where previously separate systems made independent decisions, the German carmaker has brought their functions together under a central controller, carrying the corny moniker “Heart of Joy”. The carmaker claims the new system responds 10 times faster than previous ones, ironing out the need for constant corrective interventions.

We’ve already tested it on the larger iX3, but can it deliver 3 Series dynamics to the i3 50 saloon weighing in at 2.3 tonnes?

The power is always on the tip of your toe, and the brakes are impressively grippy, but the most impressive feat is that the underlying safety systems don’t overly impose themselves on the car or bully you into driving in a style dictated to by software. You drive as you like, not under some computer diktat. Simple.

On the twistiest of Provençal roads, the i3 wound its way with composure, a little nose-heavy at times but always agile.

There were moments when it felt more like a 5 Series of old, in the way it carried its weight through the bends. That’s not a criticism, by the way; it’s just that this is a bigger, heavier expression of the traditional 3 Series formula.

And that formula is on display in the petrol-powered versions of the new 3 Series, also launched alongside this electric i3. Stick the new rear-wheel-drive four-cylinder 320 on the scales and the i3 40 is 410kg heavier. Compare it to the i3 50 and it’s over half a tonne.

Now the 320 and the i3 50 are not exactly comparable. But the M350 six-cylinder petrol is, and the difference here is still 345kg. You don’t need to tackle the twists and turns of Luberon, France, to realise those kilograms are going to count in the corners.

And there’s the rub. We followed our afternoon drive in the i3 50 with a very early morning run in the M350, in a gorgeous red. And if you were power agnostic, the sweet three-litre six-cylinder wins hands down.

Part of that is certainly down to the hypnotic howl of the straight-six that bounced off the mountain walls. But the reason we hated handing this car back was down to its incredible balance and composure.

Spend three hours driving this car (not on motorways, mind) and you’ll be reminded what driving fun was all about. And why BMW can carry the tagline “Freude am Fahren”, or joy in driving.

Sadly, fun isn’t free, or even cheap, these days. The all-wheel drive M350 with its 443hp hits the road at €111,585. That’s not a price walk from the i3 so much as a marathon.

Even the upcoming two-litre 211hp four-cylinder rear-wheel drive 320 is going to cost €67,655, making the i3 40 €7,370 cheaper and the best buy of the bunch for now.

A new plug-in hybrid version is promised with hopes of a three-figure electric range. Given the popularity of the current 330e, it may prove the preferred option for 3 Series buyers.

But for those ready to make the leap to full EV, the i3 demands surprisingly little compromise in the one area that matters most: the way it drives.

And for those who still believe the straight-six to be the finest expression of BMW’s joy of driving, start saving those euros. The M350 is incredible fun.