BMW i Series vs Chevrolet Corvette

What's the difference?

The thing that really grabs you from behind the wheel of a car like this is just how far EVs have come. The fact you can get a ridiculous range and have a really, really good time on the right twisting road is a pretty good deal and solidifies the fact EVs like this one are the future.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with travel, accommodation and meals provided.

Note: The author, Andrew Chesterton, is a co-owner of Smart As Media, a content agency and media distribution service with a number of automotive brands among its clients. When producing content for CarsGuide, he does so in accordance with the CarsGuide Editorial Guidelines and Code of Ethics, and the views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.

The Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray offers hypercar-level performance, aggressive design and brilliant dynamics at a bargain-price relative to similarly-configured Euro exotics. Blending raw V8 grunt with front-axle electric power it delivers an exhilarating drive experience.

While things like ingress and egress are a challenge and warranty coverage is modest, the car’s immense capability makes it an attractive option for anyone wanting a high-performance mid-engine machine without the astronomical price tag of a ‘traditional’ supercar.

It's hard to talk about the design of the BMW iX3 without spending some time at the front end. This is a bold, bold take on a BMW grille, and one that is entirely devoid of chrome or metallic lashings.

That’s not to say it’s boring. The iX3 has a light theme that runs inside and outside, the latter of which is called the Iconic Glow exterior package, which replaces the physical embellishments with white lighting that frames the kidney grille and the other inserts. It looks very cool and very modern.

In the cabin, the lighting theme continues, this time under the dash inserts that illuminate from within. But that’s not what really draws your eye.

That honour goes to the Panoramic Vision, which replaces the traditional driver’s screen with a pillar-to-pillar display that stretches the width of the cabin and displays all your key driving info.  It seems like a strange thing to get your head around but it felt natural almost immediately, with everything you might need (including a g-meter in its sportiest mode) on display.

Also new is the funky and chunky BMW steering wheel, which reminds me a little of one of those double-sided lizards, in that it can be hard at times to figure out which way is up, and which features 'Shy Tech' (features and controls stay out of sight until the driver or passenger needs them).

All in all, I like the space. There are just enough traditional-feeling elements mixed with new tech to make it feel futuristic and familiar.

If you asked primary school me to draw a ‘supercar’ I’d likely hand you a roughly hewn, multi-coloured wedge in Egyptian frieze-style 2D that could be interpreted as a prescient rendering of the current Corvette E-Ray.

GM has confessed that a big part of its motivation for going mid-engine with the current-gen Corvette is to help it appeal to a younger target market (maybe not under-10s) and Chevrolet has enthusiastically embraced the low nose, wide high-tail stance. You’re not going to miss it.

The E-Ray, like its track-focused Z06 sibling, is longer (+58mm) and wider (+92mm) than the standard Corvette Stingray, with huge air intakes in the nose and deep gills behind the doors.

Its distinctly angular design retains enough Corvette DNA to keep the C8 in the family. The headlights are reminiscent of the C7 that preceded it and the dual tail-light design is a neat reinterpretation of that signature element. A clear engine lid showcases the longitudinally mounted V8’s bright red engine cover.

Far from a clean or curvaceous shape, the E-Ray is all business with function driving its fighter jet form. And that carries over to the interior with the driver-focused cockpit making no apologies for concentrating almost exclusively on the person behind the wheel.

Multiple screens wrap around the instrument binnacle with the flat top and bottom steering wheel affording a clear view of them all.

The jagged lift-up gear selector controls would be right at home in an F-22 Raptor and despite the layout’s relatively fussy look it works super-well ergonomically, with clearly marked buttons (haptic and physical) easy to sight and operate.

The BMW iX3 is 4782mm in length, 1895mm in width, 1635mm in height and it rides on a 2897mm wheelbase.

It doesn't feel huge, but there's certainly enough space in the back seat for me. At 175 centimetres I have enough knee and headroom sitting behind my own driving position, plus you can adjust the angles of the rear backrest to get a little more comfy.

But while the front seat feels very modern, the rear is more a traditional back seat experience. Back seat riders get their own air vents and temperature controls, twin USB-C charge ports and a pull-down divider with twin cupholders, but that's about it.

The auto-opening boot reveals a 520-litre luggage space (1750 with the seats folded), all of which is unencumbered by charging cables and the like, which are housed in the 58-litre frunk.

Towing and electric vehicles are never the greatest of matches, such is the drain on the battery, but the iX3 can be fitted with a standard tow ball, unlocking a braked trailer capacity of 2000kg.

Practicality is a relative concept when you’re looking at a two-seat, mid-engine sports car, which means the Corvette E-Ray is not functional in the Kia Carnival sense. But there are some concessions to the need to store things inside it.

In terms of storing people, getting in and out of a C8 Corvette isn’t exactly straightforward. The car sits close to the ground, which despite decent door apertures, means to gain access you’re lowering yourself across and into the heavily bolstered seats using an ungainly, vaguely yoga-style technique. Same goes on exit with more than a little grunting required to hoick yourself out of the car. Not an easy proposition for a daily driver.

Once inside, headroom for me at 183cm is good and for storage there are slim pockets in the doors (with no scope for bottles), two cupholders in the centre console and an oddments tray ahead of them. The glove box is a good size, a lidded box between the seats houses USB-A and USB-C outlets and there’s an awkward-to-use upright wireless phone charging slot between the seat backrests.

Boot volume is 204 litres, unless you’ve removed the roof panel and clipped it into its storage position there. A surprisingly easy process, by the way. If that’s the case you’ll be leaning more heavily on the 142-litre frunk. Overall storage capacity of around 350L is pretty handy for a car of this type.

Not surprisingly, given the scale of this car’s wheel and tyre package, there’s no spare. The Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres are run-flats.

And substantial practicality points go to the front lift system which, via the press of a console button, rapidly raises the car’s nose by 50mm to help avoid driveway and speed bump scrapes.

In the US the Corvette E-Ray is offered in three imaginatively titled trim levels - 1LZ, 2LZ and 3LZ in coupe and power-folding hardtop convertible form.

Australia takes the top-spec 3LZ coupe only, priced at $292,990, including GST and LCT but before on-road costs. 

If your heart’s set on a full-convertible Corvette you’ll need to opt for the non-hybrid Stingray ($232,990, BOC), but the coupe’s targa-style, lift-out roof panel gets you most of the way there, anyway.

Aside from the safety tech we’ll get to shortly, that figure gets you a heap of standard fruit, the highlights including:

• An extended leather interior (upper and lower sections of the instrument panel, trim panels, console cover and centre floor console) 
• Microfibre on the pillars and headlining 
• Heated, ventilated and power-adjustable ‘GT2’ seats (with nappa leather and carbon-fibre trim)
• A heated leather and carbon-fibre trimmed steering wheel 
• Carbon shift paddles
• A 14-speaker Bose audio system
• Wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay
• A multi-readout head-up display
• A performance data recorder
• Removable roof panel 
• Body colour mirrors and spoiler
• Carbon splitters 
• Carbon rocker panels 
• Black exhaust tips
• Gloss black five-spoke forged alloy rims (20-inch fr / 21-inch rr), 
• Carbon ceramic rotors 
• Red brake calipers 
• Magnetic Selective Ride Control suspension 
• Front-lift system 
• Engine Appearance Package (including a flashy red engine cover)

Other, similarly-configured ways to accelerate from 0-100km/h in less than three seconds cost twice as much as the E-Ray. Ferrari 296 GTB? Prepare to part with $604K. Lamborghini Temerario? You’ll need to cough up $534,169. Porsche 911 Turbo S Coupe? It’s $577,300. 

On that basis, this Corvette is a supercar bargain.

We’ll focus on the 50 xDrive, as that’s the one we’ve driven, and because the powertrain is a peach. Its twin-motor all-wheel drive set-up delivers a total 345kW and 645Nm, which is a lot. And because there is no traditional transmission to step through, and because all that oomph arrives at once, it feels plenty punchy indeed.

BMW says the sprint to 100km/h takes 4.9 seconds, and we believe them. Top speed is a claimed 210km/h.

The Corvette E-Ray is powered by a mid-mounted 6.2-litre, naturally aspirated ‘LT2’ V8 featuring dry sump lubrication, a billet steel crank, forged conrods and variable valve timing for 369kW (at 6450rpm) and 637Nm (at 5150rpm).

It sends drive to the rear wheels via an eight-speed dual-clutch auto transmission with (carbon) paddles on the steering wheel for manual shifting.  

A single 119kW/170Nm electric motor on the front axle contributes to total outputs of  488kW/806Nm and delivers ‘eAWD’. 

Claimed 0-100km/h acceleration time is a sizzling 2.9 seconds.

As we mentioned at the top of this review, this is another big plus for the iX3. Its massive 108.7kWh net NMC battery delivers a maximum driving range of 805km, which is frankly ridiculous. To get it, you need to engage Efficiency Max, which dulls the drive experience, but that is an impressive number all the same. Engage the sportier settings and the figure drops to more like 650km-plus. 

Charging is 22kW AC and an impressive 400kW DC – or 300kW in the upcoming 40 model — which means a 10 to 80 per cent charge in 21 minutes when plugged into the fastest of chargers.

BMW says to expect 15.1-17.1kWh/100km in terms of energy usage on the WLTP cycle.

The Corvette E-Ray’s official fuel consumption figure for the combined (urban/extra-urban) cycle is 11.5L/100km.

The car’s Active Fuel Management system is able to subtly drop four cylinders under light loads, a small V4 (rather than V8) light on the dashboard the only clue this sleight-of-hand trick has been performed.

Auto stop-start is also standard, although we admit to switching it off (via a haptic button on the dash) most of the time. And purely in the name of science and fully exploring the car’s performance potential we may have leaned into the E-Ray’s dynamic abilities more than once.

Overall, across a week of mainly city and suburban running with some freeway sections thrown in, we recorded an on-test average of 13.5L/100km, which is still more than acceptable for this type of performance car. 

Brim the 70-litre tank with minimum 95 RON premium fuel and using our real-world figure you can expect a driving range of around 520km.

The E-Ray features a 1.9kWh lithium-ion battery, self-replenished from coasting and braking, allowing an EV-only (and neighbour-friendly) ‘Stealth Mode’ for four to six kilometres at a maximum of 72km/h. 

And there’s a ‘Shuttle Mode’ (not suitable for public roads) which also engages just the front axle on electric power for moving silently around a driveway or into a garage to a speed of 24km/h.  

BMW spent a lot of time describing this car as being of revolutionary importance to the brand. It was designed as an EV from its inception, but is also the flag bearer for the New Class gen of cars, and so it has all sorts of features and tech that will roll out across the rest of the BMW range.

Does it feel overly revolutionary from behind the wheel? Not really. I mean, it drives forwards and backwards, and turns around corners when you move the wheel, all of which is to be expected.

But it does mostly feel very BMW, which I think is what they meant. The Jekyll-Hyde nature of the iX3 becomes apparent the moment you engage its sportiest driving modes and flatten your foot. This is proper push-you-back-in-your-seat acceleration that feels slightly more violent than the iX3's claimed zero-to-100km/h time suggests.

Then there's the flip side of that coin. Engage Efficiency Max and you can seemingly drive forever (or at least more than 800km), sipping battery juice and riding in peace, quiet and comfort. 

But at its core, and no matter the drive mode, it feels like a BMW. Crucial to that is a thing the brand calls the Heart of Joy, which sounds utterly sci-fi but really is a computer brain that works on traction and power to make sure you never lose grip.

If you've ever been in a car where the traction control light is flashing on a dash, you'll know what usually happens is it cuts engine power until you find grip, and it gives you power again, then cuts it, then gives it to you as required to find the grip, and it can give you that kind of jerky, stop-starty kind of feeling.

The iX3 doesn't do that. Instead, it plays with traction and is far more subtle without ever cutting power, and gives you the feeling of being able to tip into a corner and then power out without ever feeling like you're going to lose grip, or power.

The bigger electric motor is at the rear axle, which delivers most of your performance unless you need extra grip. So, when you are powering out of a bend, it feels a lot like a rear-wheel drive car and really well sorted from behind the wheel.

If that's the driver's side of the equation, the other side of it is pretty good, too. We took to the town at city speeds, and it was super comfortable, quiet and absorbed most of the road imperfections pretty easily.

Interestingly, the suspension isn't high-tech. There's nothing adaptive about it, and there's no air cushioning or anything like that. But it feels well tuned, and is pretty comfortable, even on dodgier road surfaces, while still delivering a sense of connection.

My favorite kind of mid-size SUVs are ones that have that dual nature. Something that has space for the family and all of their things, but also something that can be a fair bit of fun on the right twisting road, and this one absolutely nails that brief. It is a hoot to drive on twisty stuff. 

Downsides? Well, you can't entirely disguise more than two tonnes of weight. If you're going downhill, especially on a twistier road, you can feel the weight around you, especially when you go to pull up in a hurry, despite the strong-biting brakes.

The other thing is the steering, which is direct and lovely but quite light. It doesn't have that meaty heft some BMWs offer, and as a result, it can be interesting to place the vehicle. You can find yourself a bit further over in the lane, or further away from an apex than you're expecting, because your light inputs have really shifted the vehicle. 

But BMW has nailed the brief here. Do keep an eye out for the cheaper one that's coming, though. It could be a bang-for-bucks, rear-drive bargain.

Let’s get the acceleration thing out of the way. The Corvette E-Ray is obscenely fast. If you’re determined to bend the space-time continuum, it’s keen to assist.

Claimed 0-100km/h time is just under three seconds but on a closed track using launch control we’ve previously recorded a time of 2.4sec, which is hypercar territory.

The big V8’s furious roar is amplified by the standard performance exhaust and the dual-clutch auto is a slick, positive, high-quality unit. Manual shifts via the wheel paddles are rapid-fire.

Suspension is by forged alloy double wishbones front and rear with magnetic adaptive damping standard, the latter allowing you to dial in Sport, Touring, Track and Weather modes as well as two customisable settings - MyMode for everyday driving and the performance-focused Z Mode. 

Weather optimises the car’s systems for slippery conditions, as its name implies, and Track is best left for the circuit as it’s unbearably harsh on anything less than a billiard table smooth surface. Sport is more liveable but the pick is Touring which retains the car’s fundamental agility while providing excellent compliance.

Shudder over patched suburban roads in Sport then switch to Touring to illustrate an amazingly forgiving ride.

Despite its aluminium-rich space frame, the E-Ray still weighs in at 1800kg but it responds like a lightweight. The steering is brilliantly precise without being overly sharp and road feel is superb. In terms of cornering, the C8 Corvette is the quintessential apex predator. 

Thanks in no small part to an electronic limited slip differential the E-Ray puts its power down on corner exit with impressive force and grip from the monster Michelin Pilot Sport 4S rubber is prodigious. 

The tyres measure 275/30x20 at the front and no less than 345/25x21 at the rear, bearing in mind a current F1 car’s rear tyres are 375mm across the tread.

Brakes are also professional grade with carbon ceramic rotors (398mm fr / 391mm rr) clamped by Brembo six-piston alloy calipers at the front and four-piston units at the rear. While some carbon set-ups need to be at a high temperature for optimal performance there are no such worries here. The E-Ray washes off speed with prodigious yet satisfyingly progressive power. 

Worth noting if you’re a track day demon, there’s an ‘Enhanced Performance Data Recorder’ and ‘Performance App’ that jointly provide everything from side-by-side video analysis and graphical data displays to tyre temp and pressures and even coaching tips.

‘Performance Traction Management’ also allows you to fine-tune traction and stability controls to suit specific track conditions.

Under the heading of miscellaneous observations; the GT2 seats are grippy yet supremely comfortable, an 11.1m turning circle is sizable and over-the-shoulder rear three-quarter vision is limited, although there’s enough camera coverage to minimise the problem for parking. 

No surprise, given the Corvette’s relatively low volume, it hasn’t been assessed by ANCAP but active (crash-avoidance) safety tech includes:

• Forward collision alert
• Low-speed auto emergency braking
• Follow distance indicator
• Lane-keeping assist
• Lane departure warning
• Rear cross-traffic alert and
• Blind-spot monitoring
• HD reversing camera
• Front kerb-view camera
• Dual-mode camera rearview mirror system
• Intelligent auto high beam
• Tyre pressure monitoring.

The airbag count is four, front and side for driver and passenger, which is fair enough for a two-door sports car.

For the record, no child seat top tether or ISOFIX anchor for the passenger seat. 

BMW offers a five-year, unlimited kilometre warranty, which is about right for the traditional premium players, but off the pace elsewhere. The traction battery is then covered for eight years or 160,000km.

The service intervals are condition based, rather than timed, and BMW sells a pre-paid package for the iX3 which is $1614 for four years, or $2420 for six years.

You can upgrade either to what BMW calls Service Inclusive Plus, which includes high-wear stuff like brake discs and pads and it is $5535 for four years or $6615 for six years.

There are around 50 BMW dealers across Australia covering mainly cities and key regional centres.

GMSV’s warranty cover for the Corvette sits at three years/100,000km which is woefully under-done, even in the context of high-dollar sports cars.

For example, Aston, Ferrari, Lambo, McLaren and Porsche, while still at three years, offer unlimited-kilometre cover.

Service is recommended every 12 months/12,000km, the average annual price for the Corvette coming in at around $1100 over the first few years, largely because the first and every second service thereafter is a major one, including things like a transmission fluid change.

That’s way lower than most mid-engine Euros and it’s important to note service price will vary according to the car's use, different state and territory labour rates and other factors.

There are around 55 GMSV dealers in Australia focused on capital cities as well as major regional and rural centres.