IT’S all very well for us hacks to be given fully-charged BMW i3s and taken out to Brands Hatch for a fiddle on the track, as I did on the launch of the BMW i3.

Range anxiety never came into it because no sooner had we drag-raced an M3 (click for the video) and done some slaloms and turning circle exercises, we were back inside tucking into sweet potato fries and pretending to read Very Important Emails.

But this encounter with the bleeding edge of EV-dom left me bursting with the obvious question: will a small business owner want this car, and is it going to be a hit or a flop out there in the real world?

Weeks before the i3 launch, I went to see Jonathan Money, a business contact of mine and founder/owner of a 14-employee, Portsmouth-based catering supplies company called Cream Supplies (have a look at the website). I went to discuss save-the-gorillas coffee and carrot juice, but as I left, we ended on the evergreen subject of wheels.

Without any prompting from me, he told me he was aware of the impending UK launch of the BMW i3, and that he was going to get one.

Golly, I thought: the BMW marketing men have found their mark. Where did all this come from and how does it fit against Jonathan’s current drive, a Fiat Doblo?

Jonathan’s EV rationale

Well, Jonathan exudes progressive values and the sector he works in is intensely aware of sustainability issues – fair trade, who grows those coffee beans, and with what insecticides. And he’s no slouch at business either and there have to be some rewards.

Those two elements are converging on an i3 purchase – sorry, I mean a lease. 

“I’m holding on to my Fiat Doblo until the end of the year when the MOT expires and will buy an i3 if it fails the MOT… which seems pretty likely…”