Buy BMW i8 now or wait a few months?
Discussion
JonV8V said:
Your second? Any reason for the change as there don't seem to be many options other than cosmetic (genuinely curious)
Hi,only reason for a second i8 was that i have a very good relationship with my dealer and to help him meet a specific target i got a newer car with the display key for the same payments as the previous car
cheers stv
Blimey, there's dedication! I'm still on my first and love it, mostly.
I say mostly only because in the ten months of ownership the 'after charge' range has dropped from 18 miles down to 12, 13 if I'm lucky. It has steadily twindled though 16-14-13. In fact by the time I've driven it off my driveway I've already lost a mile to 12 and no, my drive isn't a mile long, just a hundred feet to the road.
Vines of Guildford have had it three times now with nff, and it has been with them over a week on this occasion. They have changed a 12V battery and fiddled about with other things, I've yet to charge it and see what result it gives me but would be interested in any other i8 owners with there findings?
How many miles does your range indicator show after charge?
I say mostly only because in the ten months of ownership the 'after charge' range has dropped from 18 miles down to 12, 13 if I'm lucky. It has steadily twindled though 16-14-13. In fact by the time I've driven it off my driveway I've already lost a mile to 12 and no, my drive isn't a mile long, just a hundred feet to the road.
Vines of Guildford have had it three times now with nff, and it has been with them over a week on this occasion. They have changed a 12V battery and fiddled about with other things, I've yet to charge it and see what result it gives me but would be interested in any other i8 owners with there findings?
How many miles does your range indicator show after charge?
Edited by K2MDL on Friday 16th September 17:39
Edited by K2MDL on Sunday 18th September 08:07
I am on month five of ownership and until I read your post hadn't thought about the range depreciation. I am showing just 12 miles on a full charge at the moment, which has come down from when I first purchased the car.
Live to know what you find out about this.
Neil
PS - this aside what an amazing machine!
Live to know what you find out about this.
Neil
PS - this aside what an amazing machine!
neveratt said:
I am on month five of ownership and until I read your post hadn't thought about the range depreciation. I am showing just 12 miles on a full charge at the moment, which has come down from when I first purchased the car.
Live to know what you find out about this.
Neil
PS - this aside what an amazing machine!
Cold reduces range, you wont have any degradation after 5 months.Live to know what you find out about this.
Neil
PS - this aside what an amazing machine!
The cold certainly affects range....in winter my elec range is between 12-14 on the cluster.......this summer in the hot weather it has reached as high as 19 on the gauge......are you all running the latest software...i thought i heard there was a software update at the beginning of the year that made a very slight improvement in range.....i also find that using the precondition option when hooked up to the charger at home set for just before you leave makes a small improvement.
stv
stv
Hi i8 commentators,
Agreed of course external temperature has a big effect on Li-Ion batteries, but mine was showing more after charge in the cold of winter, (when it was 7-12deg), than it has been for the last 5-6 months and it's been bloody hot here! Even in the mid-twenty to twenty-five degrees, it struggles to show more than 13 miles remaining, after charge.
Speaking with Vine BMW this morning, they tell me they raised a ticket with BMW who told them to change the master 12V battery and do a software upgrade. He also told me that the range after charge is affected by how you were driving the vehicle before and builds up a history. I understand that but I have two other EV's (one an i3) and that shows me the same amount of miles after charge however I drive it, (usually hard!)
He agreed that the i3 uses the same monitoring system but on the evidence I gave them, BMW HQ said they have seen this before and recommended the 12V battery change (not the high Voltage Traction battery) and give the car back to me. He also stated that if the battery state of charge indicator shows anywhere between 12-18V "that's normal." Good for them!
When it arrives back on Monday and after a few days I'll report back. I did tell them to call me after the battery was fully charged to tell me what the range is but no call.... Bet myself £50 there will be no difference.
Interesting Autocar, (who are running a long termer i8), noted a few weeks ago they get 20 miles indicating after charge. I used to - nine months ago.
Other than that, the car is brilliant but instead of upgrading when BMW finally bring out a proper replacement, I'll now consider the new Honda NSX.
Agreed of course external temperature has a big effect on Li-Ion batteries, but mine was showing more after charge in the cold of winter, (when it was 7-12deg), than it has been for the last 5-6 months and it's been bloody hot here! Even in the mid-twenty to twenty-five degrees, it struggles to show more than 13 miles remaining, after charge.
Speaking with Vine BMW this morning, they tell me they raised a ticket with BMW who told them to change the master 12V battery and do a software upgrade. He also told me that the range after charge is affected by how you were driving the vehicle before and builds up a history. I understand that but I have two other EV's (one an i3) and that shows me the same amount of miles after charge however I drive it, (usually hard!)
He agreed that the i3 uses the same monitoring system but on the evidence I gave them, BMW HQ said they have seen this before and recommended the 12V battery change (not the high Voltage Traction battery) and give the car back to me. He also stated that if the battery state of charge indicator shows anywhere between 12-18V "that's normal." Good for them!
When it arrives back on Monday and after a few days I'll report back. I did tell them to call me after the battery was fully charged to tell me what the range is but no call.... Bet myself £50 there will be no difference.
Interesting Autocar, (who are running a long termer i8), noted a few weeks ago they get 20 miles indicating after charge. I used to - nine months ago.
Other than that, the car is brilliant but instead of upgrading when BMW finally bring out a proper replacement, I'll now consider the new Honda NSX.
At last!
Three times taking it back to Vines with three times "No fault found Sir", they finally admitted there was a fault. Apparently the main 12V battery was indeed faulty and whilst you wouldn't think it would affect the range it does. A complete software update to accepyt a "different type of battery" and they said it will do the trick. Charged it up for 2 hours and it already showed 18 miles. At last. Fingers crossed for the next few months.
Just shows you, do not accept no fault found if you've done your homework and convinced there is indeed a fault. Pity they took 7 months to actually do something about it but job done.
Three times taking it back to Vines with three times "No fault found Sir", they finally admitted there was a fault. Apparently the main 12V battery was indeed faulty and whilst you wouldn't think it would affect the range it does. A complete software update to accepyt a "different type of battery" and they said it will do the trick. Charged it up for 2 hours and it already showed 18 miles. At last. Fingers crossed for the next few months.
Just shows you, do not accept no fault found if you've done your homework and convinced there is indeed a fault. Pity they took 7 months to actually do something about it but job done.
mrv12 said:
Is an i8 a "supercar" though? But regardless of that it seems the i8 is depreciating faster than other supercars. Within a year or two, the technology being used in the i8 will be considered old. It's a hybrid that can only do ~22 miles on electric, meanwhile Tesla can do over 200 miles. If I could stomach the depreciation of the i8 I would buy one now, but I think it's just a smarter choice to wait it out a little longer.
Trying to drive everywhere on just batteries misses the point of that car. Sure, if you're popping to the shops it's fine. But driving the car properly is about enjoying the way the hybrid system combines the electric power up front and the turbo at the rear. Edited by mrv12 on Wednesday 18th May 14:45
You'd need 60kWh batteries to have a 200-mile EV range which would add a lot more weight. Right now the car manages to feel about 200kg lighter than it actually is, and a tesla feels like a truck by comparison.
Dr Gitlin said:
Trying to drive everywhere on just batteries misses the point of that car. Sure, if you're popping to the shops it's fine. But driving the car properly is about enjoying the way the hybrid system combines the electric power up front and the turbo at the rear.
You'd need 60kWh batteries to have a 200-mile EV range which would add a lot more weight. Right now the car manages to feel about 200kg lighter than it actually is, and a tesla feels like a truck by comparison.
The Tesla could almost be used as a truck though. Come to think of it, wasn't a proposed tesla truck supposed to use the same chassis as the S?You'd need 60kWh batteries to have a 200-mile EV range which would add a lot more weight. Right now the car manages to feel about 200kg lighter than it actually is, and a tesla feels like a truck by comparison.
Dr Gitlin said:
Trying to drive everywhere on just batteries misses the point of that car. Sure, if you're popping to the shops it's fine. But driving the car properly is about enjoying the way the hybrid system combines the electric power up front and the turbo at the rear
You'd need 60kWh batteries to have a 200-mile EV range which would add a lot more weight. Right now the car manages to feel about 200kg lighter than it actually is, and a tesla feels like a truck by comparison.
Chris Harris' excellent review of the i8 had him relishing the EV 'silent' mode in town immediately after some brisk driving through the mountains. May have been scripted though, but I can see 'proper' driving including chill-out periods in EV mode You'd need 60kWh batteries to have a 200-mile EV range which would add a lot more weight. Right now the car manages to feel about 200kg lighter than it actually is, and a tesla feels like a truck by comparison.
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