One huge side effect of testing new cars for a living is seeing peoples' reactions when you're piloting something that's either all new, never been seen before or something exotic or ultra-expensive. The BMW i8 is all of those things and was handed over to me for an entire weekend.
Related: More on the BMW i8
Since a Cars.com review was already in the works I didn't want to write about the i8's performance but rather the many looks — and even rude commentary on my manhood — from people I came across. Here is what I encountered after three days with the plug-in electric sports car.
The Oncoming Traffic Stare: You could almost predict the drivers who would take notice of the i8 from what they themselves were driving. That's how I could take some note of a Subaru WRX driver or the guy behind the wheel of an Audi A6 as they traveled my way on suburban roads. The reaction was the same: eyes bugged, heads snapped to attention and then turned as we passed each other. This was the most common reaction I encountered.
The Speed Up/Slow Down Commute Stare: This was a close second in terms of how often it happened. At least this situation — where a driver of another car would decelerate to check out the back of the car, speed up to come beside the i8 and then eventually move along — wasn't inherently unsafe. Unlike, say...
The Turning Left Through an Intersection in Front of Stopped i8 Stare: I'm always amazed at people texting as they turn through an intersection with a green arrow. But the extreme gawking as cars crossed an intersection and drivers noticed the low-to-the-ground i8 midway through seemed similarly dangerous. The necks craned for a good 45 degrees before drivers had to pay attention and start steering straight again.
The Neighbors Thinking It's the Batmobile: I love my neighbors, and they generally show interest in what I'm driving when it's something that specifically interests them. The i8 elicited comments from everyone on the block, and the non-car folks almost all said it looked like the Batmobile.
The Hip Teenager With the Sideways Baseball Hat Taking a Smartphone Picture As He Skateboarded Down My Street Without Stopping: Uh ... that kind of says it all.
The Group of Teenagers Taking Pictures in a Parking Lot: A group of surprisingly polite teenagers came across the i8 while I was parked at a nursery waiting for a call and asked if it was OK for them to take a picture. I said "sure" and then one pulled out an iPad of all things and shot away.
The Car Blocking My Exit From a Garage Just to Stare: I get it. The i8 is hella cool and you've never seen one before. That doesn't mean you should stop directly in front of me while I'm trying to exit a parking garage when you have plenty of space to move up.
The Wife Tired of Climbing In and Out: The i8 is cool, but there's no getting used to the huge sills of carbon fiber that you have to literally climb over to get in and out. Ingress and egress are tricks to be perfected if you want to own one. Clearly my wife is not one of those people. Truth be told, even my kids tired of finagling their way into the tiny backseats. And they live to climb on things.
The Smart-Aleck Tollbooth Worker: I've had many a toll taker comment about the cars I'm driving, but I've never experienced an exchange like the one I had when driving the i8. The man in the booth asked me point blank how much the i8 cost, and when I told him it stickers at $136,000 in a polite way he responded, "For that kind of money I'd buy a Maserati. You know, a real man's car."
Cars.com photos by David Thomas
from KickingTires http://ift.tt/1hiG57n
Put the internet to work for you.
No comments:
Post a Comment