Impending bmw i3 purchase

[Idiot88]

Please advise, looking to purchase a used i3 as a trial into electric car ownership, the model I’m looking at is a bog standard i3 early 2015 60Ah non-Rex, and have a number of questions if any one can jump in;

- connected services, is there a subscription/cost?
- real world range? Autotrader says 118, but seems optimistic 90 seems to be the normal/average
- does it support Bluetooth audio streaming (basic nav/ little screen)
- I believe you can set the shortcut key on the fob to start the climate before you get in, can this be done on early cars.
- can I leave it plugged in but set max charge level, so only the aux climate uses the mains electric, I don’t want to charge it every night as I was under the impression less cycles will degrade the battery less?

Is there anything else I need to be aware of? Or should look out for? it has the type 2 cable but not dc charging only ‘fast’ ac which I understand to be 7kw. Can anyone confirm.

Any help is appreciated, thanks.

[off_again]

Idiot88 said:

Please advise, looking to purchase a used i3 as a trial into electric car ownership, the model I’m looking at is a bog standard i3 early 2015 60Ah non-Rex, and have a number of questions if any one can jump in;

- connected services, is there a subscription/cost?
- real world range? Autotrader says 118, but seems optimistic 90 seems to be the normal/average
- does it support Bluetooth audio streaming (basic nav/ little screen)
- I believe you can set the shortcut key on the fob to start the climate before you get in, can this be done on early cars.
- can I leave it plugged in but set max charge level, so only the aux climate uses the mains electric, I don’t want to charge it every night as I was under the impression less cycles will degrade the battery less?

Is there anything else I need to be aware of? Or should look out for? it has the type 2 cable but not dc charging only ‘fast’ ac which I understand to be 7kw. Can anyone confirm.

Any help is appreciated, thanks.

We have a 2017 94Ah REX, so not quite the same, but some information at least:

1) Connected services - if you get it through a dealer, they should provide 1 year for free, but here in the US, its $50 a year after that.
2) Real world range - the 94Ah Rex is supposed to get 97 miles vs the 94Ah version getting 107 miles - so 10 different. I would suggest its larger than that as the Rex is heavier. But the 60Ah version is supposed to get 81 miles range, but this is in perfect conditions. For us, we saw an average of 80 miles range in summer - it was long a hot this year, so aircon was on a LOT! Fans and aircon kills the battery quickly and the cold will reduce it too. My crapmaths suggests that 81 miles is probably closer to 70 miles real-world, as long as you can manage the hot / cold. Garage it when possible, pre-condition in very cold temps and you should get something around that.
3) Bluetooth - not sure about the early models, but I thought they came well equipped as standard. So thats iDrive as standard with Bluetooth phone and iPod integration as standard. Normal BMW stuff and works well. No Carplay or Android auto until 2018, but there are after-market boxes for around $400 that will fix that for you if its important. Some will have the small screen, which is a bit crap. $400 upgrade to the big screen is worth it though.
4) Yes, early cars had the option button on the remote - though just use the app and you can either schedule a start time and pre-condition the interior or run it 5 mins before you leave. Pretty simple really.
5) Leaving it plugged in - yes, there are options to set the max charge and times to charge from. Not as sophisticated as the Tesla BMS, but seems to work well. And yes, when on charge it will manage where the electrons are coming from. Sensible really. Though, feedback on various i3 owners forums suggest that the batteries are actually very reliable, dont suffer much drop over time and can be replaced too! You can upgrade from the 60Ah to the 93Ah if its worth it!!! Normal EV practices do apply though - dont over charge, dont charge to 100% unless you need it and small top-up's are the way, not long charging sessions.

Charging - yes, the early models had an option for the DC fast charging, but I will admit we have never used it. Charging on 120v here in the US sucks. It takes HOURS.... well, 3 miles per hour charging to be precise! 240v is much faster and with the higher A / Kw rating, it should be 3 times the rate. We have used public L2 charging a couple of times and we were seeing 13 miles per hour charge, but thats at the higher Kw stations. So yeah, get one of those L2 chargers fitted with the higher Kw rating. Worst case though, standard 240v plugin one will be ok. We might be moving house, so I dont want to spend the money on something that I wont use. Though the Rex is helping out mitigate that part.

https://suncountryhighway.ca/ev-charge-times/

Other sites list out the i3 and its charging speeds for reference.

And a couple of comments from me on the i3 though. It is actually a lot of fun to drive, not at 10/10ths, but anything up to 7/10ths and its a lot of fun. Quick but not fast and surprisingly a lot of room in the inside. Oh, and if you didnt know, the Frunk / Fruit, is NOT water tight, so be cautious on that. The doors make it easier to use in tighter parking spots, rather than a 2/3 door car which would have a significantly bigger door, but its still pretty big, so be warned. Its nimble on its feet and it does have a distinct driving feedback - yes, it does feel like a rather squashed and tall BMW! But the ride isnt that smooth, can get a little choppy on certain roads and isnt the quietest EV around. But they make a convincing argument as a second hand model though, and my sis ran a Cloe for 3 years and that had a range of less than 80 miles! She used it all the time, bought a second one and didnt let the range get in the way. Some simple navigation and a short coffee break and the run from Wiltshire to Gatwick airport was easy! It was this that gave me the idea that we shouldnt be too worried about the range. Though, its not for everyone though.

One final comment - the interior is nice and I like the cloth seats (again, California here and I will never know why people are obsessed about getting black leather seats in this place!). They have different specs, but the insert ones are nice and the plain cloth are great. Is leather worth it? Not sure, but the heated seats are very good, so if you do have leather, it should be bearable in cold weather.

[oop north]

I had a 2015 60ah Rex for three years and 39k miles. The range - the best I ever managed (with 7% left) was 98 miles. I could reliably manage 85 miles by doing 60moh on a long motorway run outside winter but in winter it could be as bad as 55 miles (if around freezing and you park up and let it get completely cold and then set off again)

For the pre conditioning I just used the app not the key fob

[exe888]

I'm saying this as a current 94 REX and a previous 60 REX owner.
Just be aware of the potential problems with lack of range.
It is horses for courses of course, but a 60 BEV is a pretty restricted horse.
My 60Ah got an average of 4.2 miles/kwh overall.
It'll do about 5 in the summer and about 3.6 in the winter.
A lot of the time is spent in eco pro plus (heating off) to get these numbers.(eco pro plus speed restriction to 56 MPH can be overridden by activating cruise control)

If you have say 17kWh left in the battery (there will be some drop off in capacity by now), I would have got on average 70 miles per full charge.
You can check for max battery capacity via some hidden menus, easy to find on youtube.
I suppose if its not for you, they've stopped depreciating....
I've loved my i3s, I have access to a model 3 Tesla as well, the i3 holds it's own.(range excepted)

[Idiot88]

exe888 said:

I'm saying this as a current 94 REX and a previous 60 REX owner.
Just be aware of the potential problems with lack of range.
It is horses for courses of course, but a 60 BEV is a pretty restricted horse.
My 60Ah got an average of 4.2 miles/kwh overall.
It'll do about 5 in the summer and about 3.6 in the winter.
A lot of the time is spent in eco pro plus (heating off) to get these numbers.(eco pro plus speed restriction to 56 MPH can be overridden by activating cruise control)

If you have say 17kWh left in the battery (there will be some drop off in capacity by now), I would have got on average 70 miles per full charge.
You can check for max battery capacity via some hidden menus, easy to find on youtube.
I suppose if its not for you, they've stopped depreciating....
I've loved my i3s, I have access to a model 3 Tesla as well, the i3 holds it's own.(range excepted)

Thanks for the advice, we have taken delivery now, with reference to the battery range car is low mileage and in current cold’ish weather done 67miles. Car isn’t the only one in the house hold currently so only used for commuting.

Only thing I can’t sus out when phone calls come in it doesn’t put the call audio through the car, but does when I dial out?

[SWoll]

Idiot88 said:

Thanks for the advice, we have taken delivery now, with reference to the battery range car is low mileage and in current cold’ish weather done 67miles. Car isn’t the only one in the house hold currently so only used for commuting.

Only thing I can’t sus out when phone calls come in it doesn’t put the call audio through the car, but does when I dial out?

Android or IOS phone?

I used to have to pair/unpair a work Android phone regularly due to issues on our 2019 i3 but zero issues with a personal iPhone.

[Idiot88]

SWoll said:

Android or IOS phone?

I used to have to pair/unpair a work Android phone regularly due to issues on our 2019 i3 but zero issues with a personal iPhone.

2x iPhones

[SWoll]

Idiot88 said:

SWoll said:

Android or IOS phone?

I used to have to pair/unpair a work Android phone regularly due to issues on our 2019 i3 but zero issues with a personal iPhone.

2x iPhones

And you're accepting the calls with the iDrive system rather than the handset?

Any idea if it's had the latest software update applied?

[uknick]

There are 2 options for Bluetooth in the i3, basic and enhanced (which is a cost option).

Both should allow you to answer your phone using the steering wheel button. This shows the differences;

Feature Basic Bluetooth Enhanced Bluetooth
Hands-free calling Y Y
Access to the phone’s contact book Y Y
Pairing two phones N Y
Connecting iOS devices through the USB cable N (need Y-connector) Y
Music streaming N Y
Playing music from a phone through a USB port N Y
Album art covers N Y
Office (reading/sending SMS, calendar, tasks, notes) N Y

If the formatting doesn't look great try here

https://www.bimmer-tech.net/blog/item/56-bmw-enhan...


If you don't have the original build sheet you'll need a VIN decoder to see what your car has.

[bonerp]

Have you driven one on a motorway or dual carriageway? I was about to buy, but its so skitish I didn't buy in the end.

[anonymous-user]

bonerp said:

Have you driven one on a motorway or dual carriageway? I was about to buy, but its so skitish I didn't buy in the end.

BRIILIANT isn't it! God i love driving a car that turns so well after years of over tyred, push the nose out, understeering barges........