It was with trepidation that I initially approached the BMW i3. You see, I was immediately attracted to its overall look and design – I like a traditional BMW just as much as the next auto journalist, but I'm also not so tied up in traditionalism that I can't appreciate when a company goes in a completely new direction, so long as that direction has specific intent and rational thought behind it. The BMW i3 has these in spades, but what I wasn't sure before driving it was whether or not it was as rewarding to drive as it was to ponder.

I was pleased to find that, if not fun to drive, the BMW i3 is at the very least fulfilling. The model I piloted was equipped with the range-extended engine, and that's the way I'd spec an i3 if I were to park one in my driveway. The vast majority of the time, my wife and I would run on pure electric power, but for those times when we need our only car to take us a hundred miles away, it's not out of the question.

The BMW i3 I drove took part in a drive, along with a number of other cars and trucks, that was a few hundred miles in length, and, just like all the more traditionally powered vehicles it was included with, it arrived at its final destination, and was then driven back a few days later. It's certainly not a perfect vehicle, but its execution is good enough that I consider it the best car I drove this year, due mainly to the fact that it's capable of doing things most other eco-friendly cars can't, and it does so with style.