BMW's i3 comes to try and prove that electric cars don't have to be soulless appliances. Our press car came with a gasoline range extender for peace of mind, too.
BMW's i3 comes to try and prove that electric cars don't have to be soulless appliances. Our press car came with a gasoline range extender for peace of mind, too.
I assumed a dirt-cheap lease of a fully optioned i3 from a BMW employee so price isn't an issue. My wife loves it as her DD and I think that it is kind of fun to drive in a suburban environment. I haven't noticed a problem with straight line stability and I usually drive it 20-30 miles per week at 70 mph or more on limited access highways. In any case, it cut our gasoline bill by $250/month and allows me to save my M235i for longer and more involving drives.
My neighbor across the alley just got an I3 to replace the Volt he's been driving for a few years. Don't know if it has the range extender or not, though. I did notice as he was parking it the other day that it seems to have a really tight turning radius.
When it was introduced, i3 was the fastest and most fun to drive EV this side of a Tesla. And the idea of a carbon safety cell on an aluminum roller skate chassis really appeals to the geek in me.
But so much about this car seems like it was engineered for the novelty value -- the exterior styling, the interior materials, the micro 'dash' and other controls -- that the car's utility is compromised in all sorts of ways that you wouldn't expect in a small hatchback. It's essentially like BMW made a daily driver out of a concept car with little regard to what owners would actually want.
If you are a trendy single or couple in an urban environment, this may be the car for you. If you have kids and are looking for an EV to replace your VW Golf, the i3 is probably not the car for you.
Eh, I have one kid and the i3 Rex's my only 'real' car. Daily commute is 70 miles round trip & I charge at work.
A road trip for me is 200miles tops, which is just about what the full range is when depleting the battery & gas tank.
For $50k its ridiculous.. They're crazy cheap used, so for a 3 yr old model, you're looking at $20k.
On the used market $20K will also get you a newer-generation EV with much longer range (Leaf, Bolt, Ionic) or a newer plug-in hybrid that is not nearly as compromised as the i3 REx (Volt, Insight, Ioniq, etc).
nderwater said:On the used market $20K will also get you a newer-generation EV with much longer range (Leaf, Bolt, Ionic) or a newer plug-in hybrid that is not nearly as compromised as the i3 REx (Volt, Insight, Ioniq, etc).
This^^^ The i3 was built to a very specific market..
I have seen a few dip into the $13-14k range but they go fast at that price. Depending on your family situation and vehicle needs they are an interesting boutique commuter for that kind of money.
I would trust an i3 over an Ioniq. The Hyundai/Kia hybrids with the DCT trans instead of the conventional auto have NOT been holding up well from what I hear.
For me, the 1g Volt, Bolt & Leaf felt like penalty boxes compared to the mid-grade i3. It really does have a premium feel inside.
I wouldn't touch a Kia/Hyundai mostly because of their dealers..but also..Kia/Hyundai.
My Fiat 500e lease experience was positively awful because of the lousy FCA dealers that disavowed any knowledge of the car. It didn't help that most Fiat dealers near me shuttered. At least I know the BMW will be supported for a while and the dealers/support system isn't going anywhere. That's another concern for Tesla..after the warranty's up, good luck!
My Fiat 500e lease experience was positively awful because of the lousy FCA dealers that disavowed any knowledge of the car.
So you're saying it actually needed service?
In reply to Vigo :
Believe it or not, when I wasn’t bashing the living hell out of the front struts (replaced 2x) or in for a software update, it didn’t. Crazy, right?
The real fun began when it was time to return the car to its maker. Regular Chrysler dealers wouldn’t take it back. The place I leased it from folded. This is in SF Bay Area, mind you. I had to tow it 90 miles to a sympathetic FCA dealer in Concord. And after all that, Corporate has the gall to charge me full price for lease disposition. We eventually worked something out but not before many screw ups and bad feels.
Not to mention, I had to drive a Dodge Journey when the Fiat was in for service. Nobody should have to live through that. Nobody.
When the i3 goes in (which it hasn’t for the last 20k) I get something like a 330e and am treated like a human being.
I don’t have a single bad thing to say about the 500e, aside from it’s limited range (say 75mi). More fun to drive than the i3 but a bit more spartan. It’s Everything ppl like about the Abarth, minus the noise.
Shame about the lousy dealers
cdeforrest said:For me, the 1g Volt, Bolt & Leaf felt like penalty boxes compared to the mid-grade i3. It really does have a premium feel inside.
I wouldn't touch a Kia/Hyundai mostly because of their dealers..but also..Kia/Hyundai.
My Fiat 500e lease experience was positively awful because of the lousy FCA dealers that disavowed any knowledge of the car. It didn't help that most Fiat dealers near me shuttered. At least I know the BMW will be supported for a while and the dealers/support system isn't going anywhere. That's another concern for Tesla..after the warranty's up, good luck!
I looked for an E before buying my Abarth. Besides how fun the Abarth is, the real reason I did not get an E was due to lack of places to get it serviced. I have an FCA dealer not two miles away.. to say they disavowed knowledge of it is an understatement. The shop guy told me flat out they had nobody there to work on them
So here is my question. What work is needed on an electric car. I thought one of the big advantages was there was little to no maintenance other than brakes, tires and probably software updates. Especially on a new one, should be almost no cost until the battery pack ages, or am I missing something?
My Soul EV developed a charging fault that would interrupt overnight charging at random. I lived with it for a year because it rarely interfered with my commute, but when I finally took it for service the entire charging unit had replaced which required a special technician to come to my area to install. The part itself had to be shipped from Korea, so I was in a loaner car for nearly three weeks. Recall items and software updates also had to be scheduled so that a trained tech could come to the dealership to perform the work.
My local dealership was terrific to work with and close to my home, and all of the service performed on my EV was always covered under warrantee, but based on my experience I wouldn't call EV's absolutely "maintenance free." Heck, just ask any long-term Tesla owner...
In reply to dherr :
I've needed the following work done on the i3 Rex in the past 15,000 miles, all done on warranty--
I've also done an oil and filter change on the car, flushed brake fluid, changed the cabin air filter and replaced some interior trim bits that I felt the prior owner was a bit hard on. Refurbished one rim the prior owner curbed as well.
So, two of those items are peculiar to an electric car.
dherr said:So here is my question. What work is needed on an electric car. I thought one of the big advantages was there was little to no maintenance other than brakes, tires and probably software updates. Especially on a new one, should be almost no cost until the battery pack ages, or am I missing something?
while the drivetrain is mostly maintenance free.. it's still a car. the FCA dealer near me wouldn't touch an E to ANY work to it. Electric cars can be troublesome compared to their ICE powered sisters due to the differing electronics to optimize the battery run time and range.
My only out of pocket maint costs for either the fiat or i3 have been tires. Lots of tires. I did 45k on the fiat and the brakes were fine due to heavy regenerative braking - I definitely did not treat it gently.
The bmw’s ready for brakes and an oil change but it’s common Mini/bmw parts so no big whoop.
You'll need to log in to post.
