Electric 3 Series revealed: BMW i3 brings 559 miles of range

When that range is depleted, the i3 can complete a 249 mile top-up in just 10 minutes when charging at its 400kW maximum DC speed. AC charging is rated at a maximum of 22kW.

Grunt comes from two sources: a 322bhp electrically excited synchronous motor at the rear and a 165bhp asynchronous motor at the front. These combine for 463bhp and 476 lb ft of torque.

BMW hasn't yet disclosed a 0-62mph sprint time, but it's expected to be around 4.0sec, despite the car weighing 2.3 tonnes.

While the i3 shares its platform with the iX3, there are significant technical differences. For example, the i3’s springs are softer, the stiffness of the top mount bushings have been reduced and it's fitted with different anti-roll bars, resulting in less yaw and roll inertia.

“It's easier to get good rolling behaviour and comfort” from the i3 than the iX3, engineers told Autocar, adding that a quicker steering ratio and a focus on improved aerodynamics at higher speeds creates a "distinctive character of the new 3 Series”.

The i3 also achieves the same 50:50 front-to-rear weight distribution as the SUV. 

At 4.76m long, 1.87m wide and 1.48m tall, the i3 is an all-round bigger car than the current ICE 3 Series, but it still offers “typical BMW sedan proportions”, with a long body and short overhangs, BMW's compact car design chief, Oliver Heilmer, told Autocar.

Its key addition is the new nose design, which is a "fresh interpretation of 3 Series face”, said Heilmer. Drastically differing from the current car, the design follows the same Neue Klasse philosophy as the iX3, combining the headlights and kidney grilles into one element. Yet whereas the SUV’s grilles are tall and narrow to showcase the car’s height, the i3’s are set wider to emphasise its width. 

Designer Felix Staudacher told Autocar that the i3 brings "a whole new design language" to the 3 Series for its eighth generation, because the team “are allowed to play with our icons”. Despite its drastic new look, BMW said it's still “immediately recognisable as a 3 Series”. Staudacher added that it sets “the standard for a whole new generation of BMWs", because the 3 Series is the “original measure of what defines BMW". 

The interior too has been overhauled and mirrors that of the iX3. It's centred around a slanted 17.9in infotainment touchscreen that houses the controls for most of the car’s functions and runs BMW’s latest iDrive software.

There is no instrument cluster, with a 43.3in-long ‘Panoramic iDrive’ display being fitted in its place. As in the iX3, this runs across the length of the dashboard just under the driver’s eyeline and displays key details such as vehicle speed and state of charge.