Driving a BMW... indoors!
Leow Ju Len
15:15 August 8,2014
SINGAPORE — This is interesting. I’ve never driven a car inside a building before, let alone an air-conditioned one. But here I am in the BMW i3, deep inside Marina Bay Sands, where i3 joyrides are on offer at BMW World 2014.
I’m finally getting to drive the car after months of eager anticipation, but all I can focus on is trying to avoid pedestrians when they should really be avoiding me. Actually, are people still considered pedestrians if they’re walking indoors?
Anyway, no one seems to mind having an i3 run around indoors because it can zip along on battery power alone, of course. That means it emits nothing foul and doesn’t poison the air, at least not the air around its immediate vicinity. Unlike, say, me after a curry meal.
I reckon its silence will take some getting used to, though. I’m accustomed to BMWs making gorgeous, sonorous music from under the bonnet. Maybe it’s because I’m driving at walking pace, but there’s no sound coming from the rear end of the i3. Unlike, say, me after a curry meal.
MORE: A proper test of the BMW i3Accordingly, some people stroll right out into the BMW’s path, oblivious to the vehicular doom bearing down on them. Hopefully, actual roadside pedestrians will be more careful than the ones at BMW World, because nothing spoils your day like getting run over by a car.
It would be ironic to get done in by a BMW i3, too, because the car seems to generate feelings of good will. From the driver’s seat I wave at girls as I pass them inside the exhibition hall, and they actually wave back. On the final day of the event, the i3 joyrides were so oversubscribed that people had to ballot for them.
I’ll say this, driving an i3 even makes you pause and start to feel that burning hydrocarbons with a normal car might be a bit wrong. Like, say, farting in a baby’s face after a curry meal.
MORE: Watch us goof around in the i3 at BMW World 2014 on Channel NewsAsia's Cruise Control segment
About the Author
Leow Ju Len
CarBuyer Singapore's original originator, Ju-Len in person is exactly how he is on the written word and behind the wheel. Meaning that he darts all over the place and just when you thought he's lost the plot, you realise that it's just you not keeping up with his incredible rate of speed and thought.
on the go
Leave a Reply
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *.