So who's getting an i3?

[gangzoom]

JonnyVTEC said:

A counter view on that would be that BMW spent the money on the body such that you need less battery to deliver similar to a leaf, with the mass reduction paying dividends to driving dynamics; the investment on the body gives the i3 USP that is 'paid for' by the reduction in battery size and hence its price.

But the i3 still has a 18.8 kWh usable battery versus the Leaf's 20kWh, only 6% less usable battery than the Leaf. So for all the carbon fibre technology the i3 only achieves slightly better economy. Don't forget the Leaf is the more practical car, it has a 370 liter boot which is bigger than the boot in a Focus, and is a 5 door which sits five people in comfort, compared to the i3 which is essentially a super mini.

I like the i3, I'm recommending my parent-in laws to get a second hand one, but brand new they are just too pricy compared the cheaper Leaf which has the same range, or the more expensive Tesla which is in a different league interms of performance/range etc.

Edited by gangzoom on Thursday 30th July 17:26

[JonnyVTEC]

You mean 24kWh for the Leaf... Yeah?

Then 21.6kWh for i3 as the battery u need to buy.

Guess fundamentally for BMW they needed to shed mass for it to drive like a BMW as wll. Your talking 500kg lighter. Impressive and a stepping stone to the saloons tech as per 7 series.

Edited by JonnyVTEC on Thursday 30th July 17:57

[gangzoom]

JonnyVTEC said:

You mean 24kWh for the Leaf... Yeah?

Then 21.6kWh for i3 as the battery u need to buy.

Guess fundamentally for BMW they needed to shed mass for it to drive like a BMW as wll. Your talking 500kg lighter. Impressive and a stepping stone to the saloons tech as per 7 series.

Edited by JonnyVTEC on Thursday 30th July 17:57

Leaf has 24 kWh battery but only 20 kWh is usable
i3 has 22 kWh battery only 18.8 kWh is usable

I agree the carbon fibre tech is great in the i3, but compared to the Leaf the i3 is very expensive. But I suppose you can say the same about a Juke versus a 1 series

Edited by gangzoom on Thursday 30th July 20:39

[JonnyVTEC]

Usable isn't really relevant to material cost. That a BMS issue and of course bmw have a 'hungrier' motor.

Sales figures speak for themselves really and the actual people buying leafs must be low as the leases are simply too good to ignore. The 30kWh variant will make them appealing enough for a lot more... Would enter my usage profile aswell.

[Amateurish]

gangzoom said:

Amateurish said:

True. But battery size is definitely a case of diminishing returns. You wouldn't pay 10 times the price for 10 times the battery size. Personally, I think the i3 Rex is the ideal solution, rather than carrying around 70kwh of very expensive battery all the time.

Given my Leaf has essentially the same range as a battery i3, I can tell you I would love to have 70kWh of energy rather than just 24kWh. The throttle response of the Leaf (I persume the i3) is great, but any 'spirted' driving drains the range pretty quickly - I've used 20% charge in a 10 mile B road drive. For me having a two stroke noisy petrol engine kicking in to recharge the battery takes the whole point of EVs. If I wanted petrol to power my car I would have keep my 335i.

I've got to say I disagree. The 80 mile range of the i3 and Leaf will be enough for 95% of most people's normal driving requirements. The question is, do you want to pay for the extra 50 kwh of battery just to cover the additional 5% of miles? The Rex's backup engine means that you can still use the i3 100% of the time, and only engage the engine for the occasional longer distance trip. I used to do 2000 miles a month in my i3, and almost all of that was on battery. But I still needed the Rex on a regular basis. I could never have done that commute with a Leaf.

Plus the Rex isn't at all noisy. Most of the time you would be hard pushed to even know that it was activated.

[V8mate]

Please forgive the fact that I haven't read through the seventeen (delicious, I'm sure) pages of this thread, before chucking a question in...

Why are i3s so expensive to lease?

For a 'normal' BMW with a similar retail price, they're about 40% cheaper on contract hire. Is there a fundamental EV vs fossil fuel issue I'm overlooking, or...?

[KTF]

V8mate said:

Why are i3s so expensive to lease?

Because

[dtmpower]

KTF said:

V8mate said:

Why are i3s so expensive to lease?

Because

Don;'t think that's the reason , a mainstream 320d is very cheap to lease relative to other lesser saloons. I suspect BMW don't need to flood the market at present on the new tech and also don't want a over supply of 2nd hand i3 when the leases expire.

[Amateurish]

V8mate said:

Please forgive the fact that I haven't read through the seventeen (delicious, I'm sure) pages of this thread, before chucking a question in...

Why are i3s so expensive to lease?

For a 'normal' BMW with a similar retail price, they're about 40% cheaper on contract hire. Is there a fundamental EV vs fossil fuel issue I'm overlooking, or...?

No discounting on the i3. The 3 series will be heavily discounted for lease.

[ChrisW.]

Why i3 ?

Because it is FUN.

Conservation of linear momentum was never so exciting outside of the Physics class as it is with the "super light" i3.

And the steering is so communicative that people who value driving skill can really get their teeth into it.

Not wishing to blow any trumpet, but --- I'm good in the wet, and the narrow tyres just add to the --- FUN.

8000 miles in, and I love mine.

Every commute has become a computer game ...

[RossP]

Wot Chris said

[MagicalTrevor]

Ordered my i3 yesterday

i3 REX
Laurus Grey (wasn't brave enough to spec orange!)
Turbine alloys (the more expensive Turbines)
Suite - leather interior
Media Package, Professional
Driving assistance package - I want the active cruise control
Sunroof
DC Rapid Charge

[Tim 80TO]

After 40 years of owning/driving Porsches of every model, I have just bought an i3 Range Extender, because I wanted to try the new technology. I'm very pleased with it - it feels much more advanced than a conventional car. It has superb acceleration and handles well, even on it's skinny tyres; the interior is brilliant, and it should be very cheap to run. Yes, they are expensive, but new technology is not cheap. If you have not driven one, I recommend that you try one - you might also get hooked!

[RossP]

Welcome to the club Tim! Decent folk in the i3 UK facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/bmwi3uk/

[MagicalTrevor]

As I said in another thread. I reckon that I'll save nearly £2k a year in fuel (£500 in electric vs £2500 in diesel) so using man-maths then that'll almost fund my racing budget for the year... or rather... I can spend £2k more on racing

The savings buying it through a limited company means that it's not too dissimilar in cost to an Audi A3/BMW 1 series or posh Golf.

[GreatGranny]

Got a 24hr test drive in an i3 next week.

Clicked the link on PH and were contacted by the nearest dealer to my work.

I have a 60 mile commute each way so will be interesting to see how it performs against the Leaf I test drove last year.

Forgot the ask the salesman if I can charge it on a normal 3 pin plug.

[daemon]

I see 2013 registered ones are now on the BMW AUC site from £18,495.

Though this looked like value - 2014, 1400 miles, £18,695 and the following options :-

BMW Professional navigation system.
HV battery preparation.
Heated front seats.
19" BMW i Turbine-spoke style 428 alloy wheels.
Auxiliary cabin heating system.
Real time traffic information.

http://usedcars.bmw.co.uk/BMW-i/E-eDrive-170bhp/En...

[MagicalTrevor]

GreatGranny said:

Got a 24hr test drive in an i3 next week.

Clicked the link on PH and were contacted by the nearest dealer to my work.

I have a 60 mile commute each way so will be interesting to see how it performs against the Leaf I test drove last year.

Forgot the ask the salesman if I can charge it on a normal 3 pin plug.

Yes, you can charge it from a 13 amp socket. The charger/cable is probably in the front boot (or 'frunk' - front trunk).

Get them to lend you an ecotricity card so you can charge it on the motorway.

[RossP]

daemon said:

I see 2013 registered ones are now on the BMW AUC site from £18,495.

Though this looked like value - 2014, 1400 miles, £18,695 and the following options :-

BMW Professional navigation system.
HV battery preparation.
Heated front seats.
19" BMW i Turbine-spoke style 428 alloy wheels.
Auxiliary cabin heating system.
Real time traffic information.

http://usedcars.bmw.co.uk/BMW-i/E-eDrive-170bhp/En...

That's a low mileage for a 19 month old car!

[GreatGranny]

MagicalTrevor said:

Yes, you can charge it from a 13 amp socket. The charger/cable is probably in the front boot (or 'frunk' - front trunk).

Get them to lend you an ecotricity card so you can charge it on the motorway.

Cheers Trevor.

Thanks for ecotricity card reminder, had forgotten about that.