So who's getting an i3?

[Amateurish]

Took a test drive in a new i3 this week (I used to have one as company car). Took it on some local roads and mainly motorway, travelling at normal motorway speeds i.e. not drafting lorries which most EV owners seem to do. Got a range of 84 miles - not all that great. And that was after pre-heating.

[modeller]

Amateurish said:

Took a test drive in a new i3 this week (I used to have one as company car). Took it on some local roads and mainly motorway, travelling at normal motorway speeds i.e. not drafting lorries which most EV owners seem to do. Got a range of 84 miles - not all that great. And that was after pre-heating.

A 94Ah? That seems low if so. Reset the range history.

[Luke.]

modeller said:

Amateurish said:

Took a test drive in a new i3 this week (I used to have one as company car). Took it on some local roads and mainly motorway, travelling at normal motorway speeds i.e. not drafting lorries which most EV owners seem to do. Got a range of 84 miles - not all that great. And that was after pre-heating.

A 94Ah? That seems low if so. Reset the range history.

It's cold at the mo. So will be a bit lower.

[Amateurish]

modeller said:

Amateurish said:

Took a test drive in a new i3 this week (I used to have one as company car). Took it on some local roads and mainly motorway, travelling at normal motorway speeds i.e. not drafting lorries which most EV owners seem to do. Got a range of 84 miles - not all that great. And that was after pre-heating.

A 94Ah? That seems low if so. Reset the range history.

That was the actual range, I used most of the battery doing 55 miles.

[ds666]

I can imagine the range of 84 miles if you were mainly on motorway . But why would you want an i3 if you want to mainly use it on motorways ? It is a town /a/b road car . Using the new 94ah car as intended ( foot flat everywhere but no motorways) we get an easy 100 mile range in cold weather .
Why would you want to drive a car on the motorway that has a top speed of 95 mph ( I know the limit is 70mph but pleeeaaasssse ) .

[RossP]

Amateurish said:

modeller said:

Amateurish said:

Took a test drive in a new i3 this week (I used to have one as company car). Took it on some local roads and mainly motorway, travelling at normal motorway speeds i.e. not drafting lorries which most EV owners seem to do. Got a range of 84 miles - not all that great. And that was after pre-heating.

A 94Ah? That seems low if so. Reset the range history.

That was the actual range, I used most of the battery doing 55 miles.

Most of the battery in just 55 miles in a 94? That's going some! Least I've had in my 94 is about just over 80 miles and that was hammering it on a cold day.

[Luke.]

RossP said:

Amateurish said:

modeller said:

Amateurish said:

Took a test drive in a new i3 this week (I used to have one as company car). Took it on some local roads and mainly motorway, travelling at normal motorway speeds i.e. not drafting lorries which most EV owners seem to do. Got a range of 84 miles - not all that great. And that was after pre-heating.

A 94Ah? That seems low if so. Reset the range history.

That was the actual range, I used most of the battery doing 55 miles.

Most of the battery in just 55 miles in a 94? That's going some! Least I've had in my 94 is about just over 80 miles and that was hammering it on a cold day.

Didn't you get 35 miles range earlier?

[RossP]

Luke. said:

RossP said:

Amateurish said:

modeller said:

Amateurish said:

Took a test drive in a new i3 this week (I used to have one as company car). Took it on some local roads and mainly motorway, travelling at normal motorway speeds i.e. not drafting lorries which most EV owners seem to do. Got a range of 84 miles - not all that great. And that was after pre-heating.

A 94Ah? That seems low if so. Reset the range history.

That was the actual range, I used most of the battery doing 55 miles.

Most of the battery in just 55 miles in a 94? That's going some! Least I've had in my 94 is about just over 80 miles and that was hammering it on a cold day.

Didn't you get 35 miles range earlier?

Err, no!

[Amateurish]

RossP said:

Amateurish said:

modeller said:

Amateurish said:

Took a test drive in a new i3 this week (I used to have one as company car). Took it on some local roads and mainly motorway, travelling at normal motorway speeds i.e. not drafting lorries which most EV owners seem to do. Got a range of 84 miles - not all that great. And that was after pre-heating.

A 94Ah? That seems low if so. Reset the range history.

That was the actual range, I used most of the battery doing 55 miles.

Most of the battery in just 55 miles in a 94? That's going some! Least I've had in my 94 is about just over 80 miles and that was hammering it on a cold day.

Sounds like we had the same experience then. I reckon the rex would have engaged after 80 miles. Although to be fair I wasn't hammering it - probably averaging 70.

Edited by Amateurish on Sunday 12th February 00:13

[anonymous-user]

So, about 3000 miles into i3 ownership a couple of observations from me:


1) The blind spot due to the width / position of the A pillars is massive! Twice now they have completely blanked a car on a roundabout (which double looking luckily showed up, followed by a panic brake application (only times i've used the brakes pretty much)

2) On certain road surfaces, at certain speed, the cabin boom is horrible. Guess the carbon space frame has a node close to certain road frequencies (seems to be about 30 to 40mph on rough, but not bumpy surfaces)

3) I hate the massive pedal mapping change between normal and eco pro mode. Why the pedal is so soggy in eco pro i have no idea. If i want to accelerate more gently, i shall just press the pedal less.


4) Everything else is brilliant! ;-)

[RossP]

Max_Torque said:

So, about 3000 miles into i3 ownership a couple of observations from me:


1) The blind spot due to the width / position of the A pillars is massive! Twice now they have completely blanked a car on a roundabout (which double looking luckily showed up, followed by a panic brake application (only times i've used the brakes pretty much)

2) On certain road surfaces, at certain speed, the cabin boom is horrible. Guess the carbon space frame has a node close to certain road frequencies (seems to be about 30 to 40mph on rough, but not bumpy surfaces)

3) I hate the massive pedal mapping change between normal and eco pro mode. Why the pedal is so soggy in eco pro i have no idea. If i want to accelerate more gently, i shall just press the pedal less.


4) Everything else is brilliant! ;-)

Agree on point 1 but common problem on modern cars.

On 3 that's sort of the point and is the same as ICE beemers too.

Have you checked out http://bmwi3owners.uk ?

[Greg_D]

the eco pro thing is there to make you drive like a granny

[ohidunno]

Hello all, I'm just about to pull the trigger on a 2015 MY i3 BEV.

The one I have my eye on is at a car supermarket. They don't prep their cars like a BMW main dealer but it seems pretty straight, just some light scratches and a small amount of wear to the (leather) drivers seat.

My only reservation is that it has only one key. Do these normally come with 2 or 3 keys? I will call BMW for a quote but I imagine they are not cheap.

Also is there anything else that I should insist that the car comes with? What leads should I receive for example? I'm slightly nervous about buying a specialist vehicle from a supermarket but it has one year of manufacturers warranty remaining which gives me a fair bit of protection I figure.

Many thanks,

[Greg_D]

you need the 13a charger (should live under the front boot - house plug one end and charger fitment the other with a box of tricks in the middle) and 2 keys

[ohidunno]

Cheers Greg, that's what I need to know. £270 for a new key apparently.

[Greg_D]

Oh yes, the towing eye compressor and flat tyre gunk as well

[CooperS]

Should I be disappointed that theres firmer talk of a face lift i3 late this year early next?

My only concern is the interior tech which in the latest BMW is a step up from the older models.

[MitchT]

The OH is interested in getting an i3. It'll be a used one if that makes any difference. Any idea whether the electric-only or hybrid would be best? It'll mostly be used for me to drop her at the railway station on a morning and pick her up in the evening - literally one mile each way - and the supermarket run - maybe five miles each way. Also, occasional trips to her dad's - about 25 miles each way.

Being relatively narrow, tall and light, how do these handle in crosswinds?

[anonymous-user]

My little battery i3 managed ~50miles on a 0degC night, with lights and wipers full on, driven sensibly but not particularly slowly (ie 70mph on dual carriageways etc) and got home with around 10 miles range left. That i think is pretty worst case, so it sounds like you, like me, don't need either the big battery or the Rex. This means a cheaper, faster car! ;-)

[Goatex]

MitchT said:

Being relatively narrow, tall and light, how do these handle in crosswinds?

Not very well...but don't let that put you off, I think they are great cars.