Automobile Magazine names the BMW i8 and 2 Series
Coupe on their
AUTOMOBILE All-Star list. To keep thing simple, Automobile Mag says their
All-Stars will be the only star cars and only new cars launched. No complicated
criteria, no price caps, no categories.
Both the i8 and 2
Series Coupe made their debut this year, and while the 228i or M235i are widely
available at U.S. dealerships, the hybrid sports car i8 remains sold out at
most dealers.
Here is an excerpt from
their review of the 2 Series
The 2 Series is BMW’s most intimate car, at
least distantly related to the 2002 model, and it’s diminutive by today’s supersized
standards. The 3.0-liter turbo is one of the sweetest engines made today,
partly because it’s potent but not pretentious, and intensely responsive. Like
the entire car, it’s not out to make a big statement. This car is for the true
Bimmer believers or, better yet, the car to create a new crop of believers.
The BMW M235i is not a
true-blue M model — gods willing, an M2 will arrive soon — but even the base
228i is a total blast. The engine and power are downsized (a 2.0-liter
turbo-four with 240 hp), but the fun isn’t. Equipped with a manual, it weighs
less than 3,300 pounds. It will teach you a lesson in rolling momentum, using
the brakes only when necessary and negotiating the highest cornering speed
while mitigating understeer. Any decent driver can go quickly with 600 hp and
carbon-ceramic brakes; it takes old-school skills to do the same in a 2. The
beauty is that you’ll murder heavier, high-horsepower cars in the corners.
In other words, it’s pretty hot stuff.
The specialness begins
the second you duck below the swan-wing doors, cosy into luxurious chairs, and
fire up the all-wheel-drive hybrid powertrain: 129 electric horses for front
wheels and a 228-hp, electrically assisted three-cylinder gasoline engine out
back. Gentle driving lets the i8 cover roughly 22 miles on battery power alone.
In our testing, it delivered up to 38 highway mpg.
Toggle up to Sport
mode, and the BMW i8 replenishes its 7.1-kilowatt-hour battery on the fly —
“fly” being the operative word, with the i8 surging from 0 to 60 mph in 4.2
seconds. The i8’s yee-haw acceleration doesn’t seem to compute with 357
on-paper horses, until you consider the slender 3,455- pound curb weight,
nitrous-like electric boost, and a ruthlessly effective six-speed automatic
transmission.
With a long wheelbase,
precise (if over light) steering, and an intimate GT-style cabin, the BMW is
adept at both stoplight and weekend getaways. All-wheel-drive poise combines
with surprisingly robust grip for a car with relatively narrow, fuel-saving
20-inch tires. Yet this hybrid saved some gas-electric fireworks for GingerMan
Raceway, carving fluid laps and charming the pants off driver after driver.
Written by Unknown
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