I penned this to go with a video I'm in the process of making about my love affair with this car and why I really think it's underrated. I'm sharing it with you guys first.
10 Reasons The BMW i8 Should be On Your Supercar Shortlist
The i8 is a controversial car. Most know very little about it other than that it cost an absurd amount of money and that BMW had such a hard time selling them that they'd lease them for $9.00 down and a monthly payment approximately the equivalent of a pack of Juicy Fruit. If you're lucky enough to find someone that does know about the i8 it's quickly followed by them passionately listing off five other cars they think are better looking, faster, more prestigious or more worthy of the elevated asking price. Whether you're shopping for a fun weekend car, a performance car, a grand tourer or a future classic, Today I'm going to give you ten reasons why the BMW i8 should be on your short list. Let's dig in.
10. Low operating costs - There are no expensive belt services here. No routine engine-out maintenance. Oil changes are cheaper and less frequent. Imagine a high performance car that averages 30 miles per gallon but only when you're beating on it. Otherwise it easily achieves efficiency in the mid-40's. Start every day with a full charge? You'll average 70 - 85mpg in normal driving. Or just drive in full EV mode and your first 15 - 20 miles will be solely on electric charge. You won't even be sipping fuel.
There is no other performance car with operating costs as low as the i8. There is no other exotic or semi-exotic car with operating costs near this. As the current owner of a Tesla and the previous owner of a Maserati Ghibli SQ4 I've experienced both sides of the coin in terms of ownership costs. The Ghibli is a profoundly frustrating car because it's owner experience mirrors that of an exotic car. There's the yearly $1000 service, $450 oil changes, ridiculously expensive brakes and when you're not dealing with any of that you're coping with daily driving a car that can quite easily average 12 miles per gallon and all this to turn a 4.6 second 0-60 time?
On the other end is the Tesla which requires tires every so often and that's really it. Once you experience this it is very difficult to let go of. For a year I owned my P85D and Ghibli at the same time and it was very hard to justify driving the Ghibli over the P85D. There's a lot of soul searching that occurs when you try justifying all the money it takes to keep that Ferrari-ish V6 fed just so you can hear it's exhaust. Conversely, the i8 feels almost like you're cheating, with operating expenses closer to the Tesla in terms of overall out of pocket costs but the driver engagement of a performance car.
9. It kids! - I have a 9 and 5 year old and a lot of my free time is spent with them. I love the idea of having something they could ride in. Otherwise it just becomes "dad's car". My 9 year old fits comfortably in the rear seat and thanks to the high bench height, doesn't need a booster. My 5 year old uses a booster but you only need to move the front seat up a couple inches to comfortably accommodate her. My All Children have no problem vocally asserting their dislikes which means that when they regularly ask if we can take the "cool car" I know they mean it.
Pictured: One happy child.
8. It's Comfortable - Slither on over the giant carbon fiber sill and fall into your seat (there is no graceful way to get into or out of the i8) and you're greeted with a very BMW interior complete with a run of the mill I-drive system. This was a point of contention with several journalists when the car was first released. Personally I think it's a good thing. BMW makes a great interior. Build quality is top notch and if you've driven pretty much any BMW in the last 10 years you could hop into an i8 without any kind of instruction and find yourself right at home. It is also spacious, almost cavernous inside. Visibility for a car this type is excellent. You can actually see through the rear window. The seats are comfortable. There is a decent sound system. A color heads up display. It is a BMW like any other BMW. This isn't an interior that's good for an exotic car. It's just a good interior. Other than looking silly every time you get in or out of the car, the i8 would make a perfect daily driver.
7. It Has Multiple Personalities - Depending on what driving mode you choose, the I8 can be front wheel drive, rear wheel drive or all wheel drive. In comfort mode - the I8's default setting - the engine works seamlessly with the two electric motors to achieve peak hybrid efficiency, turning on only to add power when needed or to operate when the primary electric motor is out of a it's peak efficiency curve. In this mode the i8 is sublimely comfortable and absurdly efficient, easily besting 60 - 70 miles per gallon at 75 mph. The ride is compliant and power is ample. This is the go-to setting for road trips and commutes to the office.
Sliding the shifter into sport mode sheds the i8's Prius pretensions and elicits a completely different personality. Here the suspension stiffens, gears are held longer and shifts between them are firmer, throttle response is snappier and the engine is always on, playing double duty as primary source of thrust and power generator intent on keeping the batteries at a charge level that will accommodate maximum output from all three power sources on demand. The exhaust comes to life and sounds, well... good if not a little muted. Downshifts rev match and upshifts are met with pops and burbles, accentuated from the factory by the car's interior speakers but easily disabled if that's not your thing. Here the i8 is engaging and fun to drive hard. The ample torque results in a car that's easy to push out of the corners, even if you went in a gear too high.
In another life I had an E60 M5. The M5 is truly a marvelous car to drive... if you're driving it hard. Any kind of driving other than full tilt results in a car that's clunky, overly complicated and clearly designed with no thought given to daily driving duties. It's a car that always feels like it wants to be pushed and isn't at home unless that's happening. The i8, by virtue of it's powertrain, is a car that is truly at home on the highway or the canyons. It doesn't compromise.
6. It's reliable - Now typically reliability is something that is expected and not boasted about but let's be honest: this is an complicated car manufactured by a company who's reputation for making much less complicated cars is, um... well... questionable. But the prospects of long term ownership are truly good here. For one, as of writing this I've been in the community either as a prospective buyer or owner for a year and the only major common problem that seems to continually pop up is air conditioning compressors on the early model year cars. They tend to fail semi-regularly and if not caught in time, the already several thousand dollar repair bill has the potential to balloon to five figures.
Beyond that, the engines have proven to be pretty hearty and most issues are limited to smalll trim problems like accent lighting failing or the needlessly over-engineered fuel door not releasing. All those complicated bits though, the motors and batteries... that two speed transmission... nothing. I won't go so far as to say problems are completely non-existent but they are few and far between. If you're comfortable owning an S85 V10 M5 and have decided to forego your child's college education so that you have enough money on hand to fix VANOS/ rod bearing/ SMG pump issues the i8 will be a walk in the park. It's reliability is scary in theory; not in practice.
5. It's Unique - I'm an enthusiast but cars like the Corvette and Mustang do little to excite me. I can look at them and appreciate them for what they are. The C8 Corvette especially is a marvel to behold. Do I want one? No. I'm not sure why that is but I think part of it stems from the fact that in 5 years the C8 Corvette will be in every suburban garage and probably a left lane near you doing 5 miles under the speed limit, turn signal blinking away mile after mile. It is the Toyota Camry of performance cars: tried and true but utterly invisible and without occasion.
Living in Los Angeles, even cars like the 911 blend into the background. The i8, to me at least, has an errr of uniqueness. I embrace the controversy that surrounds it and excitedly attempt convince fellow gearheads just how great of a car it is when they inventible ask me "why?". The i8 was developed at a time where BMW was trying to prove something. Tesla came along and showed them they were doing it the wrong way but that's a story for another time. The point is, battery technology wasn't what it is now and so to keep weight down and increase efficiency BMW decided to incorporate a carbon fiber tub. And to keep costs down BMW developed a new way of manufacturing that carbon fiber tub.
Technology has accelerated to the point where engineering like this is no longer necessary and in fact now seems pretty absurd. And it's these absurdities that make the i8 such a uniquely lovable car. It is needlessly over-engineered yet still competent. There was never anything like it before and there will never be anything like it again. And with just a little over 20,000 examples produced over it's entire 6 year production run, ownership gets you access to a pretty exclusive club. One small enough that seeing a fellow owner is still a special occasion, complete with an awkward wave and a nod.
4. Exotic Build - From the scissor doors to the full carbon fiber tub, the i8 looks the part and has the engineering to back up the bravado. And perhaps that's why it is such a controversial car. The i8 has the bark of a Rottweiler and the bite of a... Golden Retreiver? I don't know dogs. Suffice it to say, the i8's looks defy it's performance but the latter shouldn't negate the former. Open the butterfly doors and you're immediately greeted with swaths of purposefully exposed carbon fiber. But it's not just for show. The i8's entire passenger tub is comprised of carbon fiber reinforced plastic with aluminum subframes at both ends and a tunnel mounted battery tying it all together.
And then there's the powertrain. While we can look at cars like the Corvette and heap praise on GM for what they've been able to accomplish with the almost absurd simplicity of the old pushrod V8, there is something to be said about modern hypercar powertrains, seamlessly blurring the lines between past and future and doing so without compromise. And this is where the i8 is truly under-appreciated. Here it has more in common with cars like the Porsche 918, a genuine hypercar which features a front mounted electric motor, a rear mounted electric motor and a rear mounted V8 engine that conspire to make 874 horsepower, propelling the car to 60 mph in just 2.2 seconds. The i8's powertrain is essentially a significantly scaled down version of this same setup. It utilizes a front mounted 129hp electric motor driving power to just the front wheels through a two speed transmission, an 8 horsepower rear motor that doubles as a generator and starter and a... wait for it... mid mounted turbo-charged 1.5 liter 3 cylinder engine lifted from a Mini Cooper. The entire system combines to put down 357 horsepower. If that doesn't sound like a lot, well... it's not but I digress. I'll elaborate more on that later. The important takeaway here is how seamless this entire system is. Much like it's hypercar brethren, the internal combustion does most of the heavy lifting and the dual electric motors add thrust where needed, resulting in a car with driving dynamics that belie it's numbers.
3. It is in fact not slow - BMW's official specs place the coupe's 0-60 time at 4.2 seconds though it's measured time is 3.8 seconds and my experience (and that of many owners) mirrors that. The i8's problem is one of perception. It's a car that screams "look at me!" even when it's parked. And so it's only natural that one might be disappointed to find out that a car designed to look very much like a supercar doesn't have the performance numbers to back up the looks.
And while yes, this is true, it is all relative. The i8 is not pushing the limits of performance but it's also not at all slow and indeed would be considered objectively fast. For comparison, a 2020 Porsche Carrera hits 60mph in 4 seconds flat. A similar vintage V8 Audi R8 - a car enthusiasts are quick to mention as a better alternative to the i8 - passes the 60mph mark in 4.2 seconds. The list goes on. The i8 is as fast as certain variations of the Lamborghini Gallardo, Mercedes AMG GT, Lotus Evora and the list goes on. Despite this, it's important to understand and appreciate that full tilt acceleration isn't the only metric on which a car is judged. If it was, the Tesla Model S would win every competition and yet - and I say this as someone who loved his P85D with a passion and still loves his Model 3 - the Model S is not a very engaging car to drive. The low end grunt of the i8's motors combined with the high end power of it's internal combustion engine conspire to give you a car that never feels underpowered. Hit the throttle in any gear and the endless torque instantly forgives you for entering that corner a gear too high. If 357 horsepower is the only number you pay attention to you'll never get the full picture. Context is everything. The i8 is a car that never feels wanting for power.
2. It's appreciating in Value - I paid $50,000 for my 2014 i8 with 37,000 miles on it. That $50,000 also bought me a spare set of rims and a two year exclusionary warranty that will take the car to 78,000 miles. At the time I bought the car I was disappointed that I wasn't able to negotiate a better deal however as time has passed I've come to realize that my purchase price was better than anything I could hope to find now. The cars listed in the low 50's have since sold one by one and nothing replaced them.
As of this writing, a quick search of Autotrader reveals that the cheapest i8 for sale in the country of any year is $63,000, with most early models sitting between $65,000 and $70,000. Future value is of course open to debate but I truly think the i8 has a good chance of appreciating from it's current value. As the price continues to decline the car attracts the attention of buyers who otherwise wouldn't consider it, either because they couldn't afford to or because they didn't think it was a good value. And as the owner pool continues to cycle I believe we're rapidly approaching the bottom of the bell curve in terms of depreciation and have turned the corner to stagnation/ appreciation on the earliest examples of the car. Two months after my purchase I have a standing offer of $60,000 for my car but little desire to sell it. I can't think of anything else I could buy around this price point that would supply equal parts uniqueness, comfort, efficiency, low cost of ownership and overall performance all wrapped up in an exotic package.
1. It's a Bargain - The i8's original asking price of $147,500 puts it in the company of objectively more competent cars with equal or greater street credit. Cars like the Aston Martin Vantage, the 911 Carrera and Acura NSX come to mind. We can probably all agree that at $150,000 the i8 is a tough sell but depreciation has hit fast and hard which means nobody is actually paying that much. Nice examples of early (2014 - 2015) i8s can be had for around $60,000.
You might be thinking "But I can get a new Corvette for that price!". And you'd be right. You can get plenty of faster or better handling cars for that price. And that's an argument that can be made for any car you choose. There is always something better for less money. Just ask any car enthusiast on any automotive forum. There will be no shortage of passionate replies telling you how stupid you are for not buying a ___________.
But the reality is there isn't that much else in this price range in the used exotic/ semi-exotic niche and certainly nothing that looks as super-car-ish as the i8. If you're looking for something a little special in this range you're looking at GT-R's, most of which have been absolutely abused by each of their 16 previous owners or if you want to spend a little more you might consider the V8 version of the Audi R8. These are also both amazing cars but I'd argue that the i8 is a better overall car than either for all the aforementioned reasons.
At the end of the day the i8 is certainly not the car for everyone but it's unique origins, quirky powertrain, limited production numbers and overall driving experience combine to make it the right car for me and I think that as they continue to cycle into the used market more buyers are going to come to appreciate the i8 for what it is, not for what they think it should have been.
10 Reasons The BMW i8 Should be On Your Supercar Shortlist
The i8 is a controversial car. Most know very little about it other than that it cost an absurd amount of money and that BMW had such a hard time selling them that they'd lease them for $9.00 down and a monthly payment approximately the equivalent of a pack of Juicy Fruit. If you're lucky enough to find someone that does know about the i8 it's quickly followed by them passionately listing off five other cars they think are better looking, faster, more prestigious or more worthy of the elevated asking price. Whether you're shopping for a fun weekend car, a performance car, a grand tourer or a future classic, Today I'm going to give you ten reasons why the BMW i8 should be on your short list. Let's dig in.
10. Low operating costs - There are no expensive belt services here. No routine engine-out maintenance. Oil changes are cheaper and less frequent. Imagine a high performance car that averages 30 miles per gallon but only when you're beating on it. Otherwise it easily achieves efficiency in the mid-40's. Start every day with a full charge? You'll average 70 - 85mpg in normal driving. Or just drive in full EV mode and your first 15 - 20 miles will be solely on electric charge. You won't even be sipping fuel.
There is no other performance car with operating costs as low as the i8. There is no other exotic or semi-exotic car with operating costs near this. As the current owner of a Tesla and the previous owner of a Maserati Ghibli SQ4 I've experienced both sides of the coin in terms of ownership costs. The Ghibli is a profoundly frustrating car because it's owner experience mirrors that of an exotic car. There's the yearly $1000 service, $450 oil changes, ridiculously expensive brakes and when you're not dealing with any of that you're coping with daily driving a car that can quite easily average 12 miles per gallon and all this to turn a 4.6 second 0-60 time?
On the other end is the Tesla which requires tires every so often and that's really it. Once you experience this it is very difficult to let go of. For a year I owned my P85D and Ghibli at the same time and it was very hard to justify driving the Ghibli over the P85D. There's a lot of soul searching that occurs when you try justifying all the money it takes to keep that Ferrari-ish V6 fed just so you can hear it's exhaust. Conversely, the i8 feels almost like you're cheating, with operating expenses closer to the Tesla in terms of overall out of pocket costs but the driver engagement of a performance car.
9. It kids! - I have a 9 and 5 year old and a lot of my free time is spent with them. I love the idea of having something they could ride in. Otherwise it just becomes "dad's car". My 9 year old fits comfortably in the rear seat and thanks to the high bench height, doesn't need a booster. My 5 year old uses a booster but you only need to move the front seat up a couple inches to comfortably accommodate her. My All Children have no problem vocally asserting their dislikes which means that when they regularly ask if we can take the "cool car" I know they mean it.
Pictured: One happy child.
8. It's Comfortable - Slither on over the giant carbon fiber sill and fall into your seat (there is no graceful way to get into or out of the i8) and you're greeted with a very BMW interior complete with a run of the mill I-drive system. This was a point of contention with several journalists when the car was first released. Personally I think it's a good thing. BMW makes a great interior. Build quality is top notch and if you've driven pretty much any BMW in the last 10 years you could hop into an i8 without any kind of instruction and find yourself right at home. It is also spacious, almost cavernous inside. Visibility for a car this type is excellent. You can actually see through the rear window. The seats are comfortable. There is a decent sound system. A color heads up display. It is a BMW like any other BMW. This isn't an interior that's good for an exotic car. It's just a good interior. Other than looking silly every time you get in or out of the car, the i8 would make a perfect daily driver.
7. It Has Multiple Personalities - Depending on what driving mode you choose, the I8 can be front wheel drive, rear wheel drive or all wheel drive. In comfort mode - the I8's default setting - the engine works seamlessly with the two electric motors to achieve peak hybrid efficiency, turning on only to add power when needed or to operate when the primary electric motor is out of a it's peak efficiency curve. In this mode the i8 is sublimely comfortable and absurdly efficient, easily besting 60 - 70 miles per gallon at 75 mph. The ride is compliant and power is ample. This is the go-to setting for road trips and commutes to the office.
Sliding the shifter into sport mode sheds the i8's Prius pretensions and elicits a completely different personality. Here the suspension stiffens, gears are held longer and shifts between them are firmer, throttle response is snappier and the engine is always on, playing double duty as primary source of thrust and power generator intent on keeping the batteries at a charge level that will accommodate maximum output from all three power sources on demand. The exhaust comes to life and sounds, well... good if not a little muted. Downshifts rev match and upshifts are met with pops and burbles, accentuated from the factory by the car's interior speakers but easily disabled if that's not your thing. Here the i8 is engaging and fun to drive hard. The ample torque results in a car that's easy to push out of the corners, even if you went in a gear too high.
In another life I had an E60 M5. The M5 is truly a marvelous car to drive... if you're driving it hard. Any kind of driving other than full tilt results in a car that's clunky, overly complicated and clearly designed with no thought given to daily driving duties. It's a car that always feels like it wants to be pushed and isn't at home unless that's happening. The i8, by virtue of it's powertrain, is a car that is truly at home on the highway or the canyons. It doesn't compromise.
6. It's reliable - Now typically reliability is something that is expected and not boasted about but let's be honest: this is an complicated car manufactured by a company who's reputation for making much less complicated cars is, um... well... questionable. But the prospects of long term ownership are truly good here. For one, as of writing this I've been in the community either as a prospective buyer or owner for a year and the only major common problem that seems to continually pop up is air conditioning compressors on the early model year cars. They tend to fail semi-regularly and if not caught in time, the already several thousand dollar repair bill has the potential to balloon to five figures.
Beyond that, the engines have proven to be pretty hearty and most issues are limited to smalll trim problems like accent lighting failing or the needlessly over-engineered fuel door not releasing. All those complicated bits though, the motors and batteries... that two speed transmission... nothing. I won't go so far as to say problems are completely non-existent but they are few and far between. If you're comfortable owning an S85 V10 M5 and have decided to forego your child's college education so that you have enough money on hand to fix VANOS/ rod bearing/ SMG pump issues the i8 will be a walk in the park. It's reliability is scary in theory; not in practice.
5. It's Unique - I'm an enthusiast but cars like the Corvette and Mustang do little to excite me. I can look at them and appreciate them for what they are. The C8 Corvette especially is a marvel to behold. Do I want one? No. I'm not sure why that is but I think part of it stems from the fact that in 5 years the C8 Corvette will be in every suburban garage and probably a left lane near you doing 5 miles under the speed limit, turn signal blinking away mile after mile. It is the Toyota Camry of performance cars: tried and true but utterly invisible and without occasion.
Living in Los Angeles, even cars like the 911 blend into the background. The i8, to me at least, has an errr of uniqueness. I embrace the controversy that surrounds it and excitedly attempt convince fellow gearheads just how great of a car it is when they inventible ask me "why?". The i8 was developed at a time where BMW was trying to prove something. Tesla came along and showed them they were doing it the wrong way but that's a story for another time. The point is, battery technology wasn't what it is now and so to keep weight down and increase efficiency BMW decided to incorporate a carbon fiber tub. And to keep costs down BMW developed a new way of manufacturing that carbon fiber tub.
Technology has accelerated to the point where engineering like this is no longer necessary and in fact now seems pretty absurd. And it's these absurdities that make the i8 such a uniquely lovable car. It is needlessly over-engineered yet still competent. There was never anything like it before and there will never be anything like it again. And with just a little over 20,000 examples produced over it's entire 6 year production run, ownership gets you access to a pretty exclusive club. One small enough that seeing a fellow owner is still a special occasion, complete with an awkward wave and a nod.
4. Exotic Build - From the scissor doors to the full carbon fiber tub, the i8 looks the part and has the engineering to back up the bravado. And perhaps that's why it is such a controversial car. The i8 has the bark of a Rottweiler and the bite of a... Golden Retreiver? I don't know dogs. Suffice it to say, the i8's looks defy it's performance but the latter shouldn't negate the former. Open the butterfly doors and you're immediately greeted with swaths of purposefully exposed carbon fiber. But it's not just for show. The i8's entire passenger tub is comprised of carbon fiber reinforced plastic with aluminum subframes at both ends and a tunnel mounted battery tying it all together.
And then there's the powertrain. While we can look at cars like the Corvette and heap praise on GM for what they've been able to accomplish with the almost absurd simplicity of the old pushrod V8, there is something to be said about modern hypercar powertrains, seamlessly blurring the lines between past and future and doing so without compromise. And this is where the i8 is truly under-appreciated. Here it has more in common with cars like the Porsche 918, a genuine hypercar which features a front mounted electric motor, a rear mounted electric motor and a rear mounted V8 engine that conspire to make 874 horsepower, propelling the car to 60 mph in just 2.2 seconds. The i8's powertrain is essentially a significantly scaled down version of this same setup. It utilizes a front mounted 129hp electric motor driving power to just the front wheels through a two speed transmission, an 8 horsepower rear motor that doubles as a generator and starter and a... wait for it... mid mounted turbo-charged 1.5 liter 3 cylinder engine lifted from a Mini Cooper. The entire system combines to put down 357 horsepower. If that doesn't sound like a lot, well... it's not but I digress. I'll elaborate more on that later. The important takeaway here is how seamless this entire system is. Much like it's hypercar brethren, the internal combustion does most of the heavy lifting and the dual electric motors add thrust where needed, resulting in a car with driving dynamics that belie it's numbers.
3. It is in fact not slow - BMW's official specs place the coupe's 0-60 time at 4.2 seconds though it's measured time is 3.8 seconds and my experience (and that of many owners) mirrors that. The i8's problem is one of perception. It's a car that screams "look at me!" even when it's parked. And so it's only natural that one might be disappointed to find out that a car designed to look very much like a supercar doesn't have the performance numbers to back up the looks.
And while yes, this is true, it is all relative. The i8 is not pushing the limits of performance but it's also not at all slow and indeed would be considered objectively fast. For comparison, a 2020 Porsche Carrera hits 60mph in 4 seconds flat. A similar vintage V8 Audi R8 - a car enthusiasts are quick to mention as a better alternative to the i8 - passes the 60mph mark in 4.2 seconds. The list goes on. The i8 is as fast as certain variations of the Lamborghini Gallardo, Mercedes AMG GT, Lotus Evora and the list goes on. Despite this, it's important to understand and appreciate that full tilt acceleration isn't the only metric on which a car is judged. If it was, the Tesla Model S would win every competition and yet - and I say this as someone who loved his P85D with a passion and still loves his Model 3 - the Model S is not a very engaging car to drive. The low end grunt of the i8's motors combined with the high end power of it's internal combustion engine conspire to give you a car that never feels underpowered. Hit the throttle in any gear and the endless torque instantly forgives you for entering that corner a gear too high. If 357 horsepower is the only number you pay attention to you'll never get the full picture. Context is everything. The i8 is a car that never feels wanting for power.
2. It's appreciating in Value - I paid $50,000 for my 2014 i8 with 37,000 miles on it. That $50,000 also bought me a spare set of rims and a two year exclusionary warranty that will take the car to 78,000 miles. At the time I bought the car I was disappointed that I wasn't able to negotiate a better deal however as time has passed I've come to realize that my purchase price was better than anything I could hope to find now. The cars listed in the low 50's have since sold one by one and nothing replaced them.
As of this writing, a quick search of Autotrader reveals that the cheapest i8 for sale in the country of any year is $63,000, with most early models sitting between $65,000 and $70,000. Future value is of course open to debate but I truly think the i8 has a good chance of appreciating from it's current value. As the price continues to decline the car attracts the attention of buyers who otherwise wouldn't consider it, either because they couldn't afford to or because they didn't think it was a good value. And as the owner pool continues to cycle I believe we're rapidly approaching the bottom of the bell curve in terms of depreciation and have turned the corner to stagnation/ appreciation on the earliest examples of the car. Two months after my purchase I have a standing offer of $60,000 for my car but little desire to sell it. I can't think of anything else I could buy around this price point that would supply equal parts uniqueness, comfort, efficiency, low cost of ownership and overall performance all wrapped up in an exotic package.
1. It's a Bargain - The i8's original asking price of $147,500 puts it in the company of objectively more competent cars with equal or greater street credit. Cars like the Aston Martin Vantage, the 911 Carrera and Acura NSX come to mind. We can probably all agree that at $150,000 the i8 is a tough sell but depreciation has hit fast and hard which means nobody is actually paying that much. Nice examples of early (2014 - 2015) i8s can be had for around $60,000.
You might be thinking "But I can get a new Corvette for that price!". And you'd be right. You can get plenty of faster or better handling cars for that price. And that's an argument that can be made for any car you choose. There is always something better for less money. Just ask any car enthusiast on any automotive forum. There will be no shortage of passionate replies telling you how stupid you are for not buying a ___________.
But the reality is there isn't that much else in this price range in the used exotic/ semi-exotic niche and certainly nothing that looks as super-car-ish as the i8. If you're looking for something a little special in this range you're looking at GT-R's, most of which have been absolutely abused by each of their 16 previous owners or if you want to spend a little more you might consider the V8 version of the Audi R8. These are also both amazing cars but I'd argue that the i8 is a better overall car than either for all the aforementioned reasons.
At the end of the day the i8 is certainly not the car for everyone but it's unique origins, quirky powertrain, limited production numbers and overall driving experience combine to make it the right car for me and I think that as they continue to cycle into the used market more buyers are going to come to appreciate the i8 for what it is, not for what they think it should have been.
Wouldn’t take much to publish on our site if we did reader opinion pieces.
