BMW i3 update in July
Discussion
This is being sent out to existing owners who helpfully posted it on the facebook group:
With more detailed added by one of the BMW sales guys:
"I can confirm that the new car will be from July production and we expect the first customer deliveries to be September ready for the new registration. There will be no retrofit available to existing i3 as the cost would be close to £10,000 so this is better placed towards a new car.
The car will cost £1,350 more than the existing car and will include DC rapid charge as standard.
The new battery will be in both BEV and REX models.
The car itself will be in effect the same car visually and the main difference will be that Solar Orange will no longer be available and a new colour Protonic Blue will be available.
The official announcement will be on the 2nd of May but the original existing BMW i3 customers that were early adopters of the new technology have been informed first.
We are able to take pre orders but until the official announcement next week we won't know any more details than this."
They have the old stock on 'cheap' lease deals to clear them out before the new model arrives so if you were thinking about ordering one (or have an order placed already) it may be worth bearing in mind.
As an aside, interesting that they now quote Zero Driving Emissions rather than Zero Emissions.
With more detailed added by one of the BMW sales guys:
"I can confirm that the new car will be from July production and we expect the first customer deliveries to be September ready for the new registration. There will be no retrofit available to existing i3 as the cost would be close to £10,000 so this is better placed towards a new car.
The car will cost £1,350 more than the existing car and will include DC rapid charge as standard.
The new battery will be in both BEV and REX models.
The car itself will be in effect the same car visually and the main difference will be that Solar Orange will no longer be available and a new colour Protonic Blue will be available.
The official announcement will be on the 2nd of May but the original existing BMW i3 customers that were early adopters of the new technology have been informed first.
We are able to take pre orders but until the official announcement next week we won't know any more details than this."
They have the old stock on 'cheap' lease deals to clear them out before the new model arrives so if you were thinking about ordering one (or have an order placed already) it may be worth bearing in mind.
As an aside, interesting that they now quote Zero Driving Emissions rather than Zero Emissions.
At £1350 more including DC rapid (which was £500) the extra battery capacity is very worthwhile - wish mine had it... I find the 80-mile range not quite enough for me (regular 78-mile round trip with no fast changers en route in either direction) but I did manage 150 miles yesterday with a couple of rapid top ups (or rather one top up and one big recharge.
It frustrates me a bit that when you recharge on the road it slows down a lot past 80% so the max you can go to without spending a lot of time is 85% and when you get down to 7% the Rex kicks in - so the effective usable proportion falls to just 75 miles on a long run. I need to get over my pathological hatred of using the rex...
It frustrates me a bit that when you recharge on the road it slows down a lot past 80% so the max you can go to without spending a lot of time is 85% and when you get down to 7% the Rex kicks in - so the effective usable proportion falls to just 75 miles on a long run. I need to get over my pathological hatred of using the rex...
So the updated battery pack now meets my criteria for range on a single charge, and I'm interested.
Went into the local BMW dealer yesterday to find out a bit more and came out also considering a used REX, you can get one with a list price of 40k for 25k, less than a year old with only a few thousand miles on...
However, I've never bought a new or nearly new car before and am a bit overwhelmed with choice on how to finance it. The PCP residual value on the used REX is 10k after 3years, which makes that quite a lot of depreciation to pay off (similar to that of a new one!). 5k deposit + 299 a month is considerably more than my current car will cost over the next three years. Happy to pay a premium for new tech, but not that much!
Are there other ways of getting an i3 at a more reasonable cost? I've only looked at the official BMW used site, but have read about personal lease as well. Curious to know how others have financed theirs, or opinions as to whether prices might shift in the months after the new one is announced on Monday?
Went into the local BMW dealer yesterday to find out a bit more and came out also considering a used REX, you can get one with a list price of 40k for 25k, less than a year old with only a few thousand miles on...
However, I've never bought a new or nearly new car before and am a bit overwhelmed with choice on how to finance it. The PCP residual value on the used REX is 10k after 3years, which makes that quite a lot of depreciation to pay off (similar to that of a new one!). 5k deposit + 299 a month is considerably more than my current car will cost over the next three years. Happy to pay a premium for new tech, but not that much!
Are there other ways of getting an i3 at a more reasonable cost? I've only looked at the official BMW used site, but have read about personal lease as well. Curious to know how others have financed theirs, or opinions as to whether prices might shift in the months after the new one is announced on Monday?
KTF said:
The thread suggests it's a change to the battery only. No other changes.
That's a pity. I really think it could use a minor facelift and a slight 10-20 bhp bump in power for the larger battery option. I thought that the speedometer screen with its oversized bezel looked out of date even back in 2013.EricE said:
That's a pity. I really think it could use a minor facelift and a slight 10-20 bhp bump in power for the larger battery option. I thought that the speedometer screen with its oversized bezel looked out of date even back in 2013.
Whilst I know what you mean about the bezel...perhaps you did not realise that laws governing vehicle electronics state that whilst digital displays are fine for showing speed and other such information the vehicle on-board systems must have a separate system of warning lights and notifications for brake-fluid/circuit, indicators etc, this is why you have a large display (relatively) surrounded by borders for the warning lights.
EricE said:
That's a pity. I really think it could use a minor facelift and a slight 10-20 bhp bump in power for the larger battery option. I thought that the speedometer screen with its oversized bezel looked out of date even back in 2013.
There's still nothing else like it on the road, so why a facelift? The upgrade is rumoured to bring in improvements in drivetrain efficiency (motor, electronics). It's not an ICE , therefore having old fashioned dials on the cluster doesn't make sense. The display gives all the info you need. Not sure it needs more power either. One of the guys on the i3UK FB forum recorded 0-100km in 5.7s last week on theirs .. and it's still BMW's fastest accelerating car off the blocks. Not bad for a city car
nbetts said:
Whilst I know what you mean about the bezel...perhaps you did not realise that laws governing vehicle electronics state that whilst digital displays are fine for showing speed and other such information the vehicle on-board systems must have a separate system of warning lights and notifications for brake-fluid/circuit, indicators etc, this is why you have a large display (relatively) surrounded by borders for the warning lights.
I am aware of that but even so they could have designed the display to look a bit more sleek, not like they shrunk a TFT computer monitor from 2001. On a different note, that's a new colour isn't it? Estoril Blue? Looks good.
EricE said:
I am aware of that but even so they could have designed the display to look a bit more sleek, not like they shrunk a TFT computer monitor from 2001.
On a different note, that's a new colour isn't it? Estoril Blue? Looks good.
I agree with you EricE...On a different note, that's a new colour isn't it? Estoril Blue? Looks good.
Protonic Blue I think... the solar orange/red is now gone/or going from the line-up as I understand it.
AlfaFoxtrot said:
So the updated battery pack now meets my criteria for range on a single charge, and I'm interested.
Went into the local BMW dealer yesterday to find out a bit more and came out also considering a used REX, you can get one with a list price of 40k for 25k, less than a year old with only a few thousand miles on...
However, I've never bought a new or nearly new car before and am a bit overwhelmed with choice on how to finance it. The PCP residual value on the used REX is 10k after 3years, which makes that quite a lot of depreciation to pay off (similar to that of a new one!). 5k deposit + 299 a month is considerably more than my current car will cost over the next three years. Happy to pay a premium for new tech, but not that much!
Are there other ways of getting an i3 at a more reasonable cost? I've only looked at the official BMW used site, but have read about personal lease as well. Curious to know how others have financed theirs, or opinions as to whether prices might shift in the months after the new one is announced on Monday?
Personal lease is the cheapest route today. With the technology rapidly improving, residuals are low, as few want yesterday's tech at today's prices.Went into the local BMW dealer yesterday to find out a bit more and came out also considering a used REX, you can get one with a list price of 40k for 25k, less than a year old with only a few thousand miles on...
However, I've never bought a new or nearly new car before and am a bit overwhelmed with choice on how to finance it. The PCP residual value on the used REX is 10k after 3years, which makes that quite a lot of depreciation to pay off (similar to that of a new one!). 5k deposit + 299 a month is considerably more than my current car will cost over the next three years. Happy to pay a premium for new tech, but not that much!
Are there other ways of getting an i3 at a more reasonable cost? I've only looked at the official BMW used site, but have read about personal lease as well. Curious to know how others have financed theirs, or opinions as to whether prices might shift in the months after the new one is announced on Monday?
Best deal I've seen is 9+23 £185+vat. This may reduce further with the upgraded model coming out.
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