Thinking of buying a 2016/7/8 i3 or i3S

[iDrive]

Hi

I've driven a couple of i3 - A 60AH and a 94AH - and am looking to buy.

I see the 94AH Rex as my ideal, looking at the distances I do, so...

2016 (16 Plate) i3 94AH Rex to 2017 (66 Plate) would mean £Nil Tax (VEL)

Beyond that they become liable for £150ish road tax due to the Rex

Then the i3S came in 2018 but at just over £40k new it means the road tax (VEL) is £480 for 6 years

Any views from owners/drivers on strengths of the alternatives please?

[iDrive]

off_again said:

2017 i3 Rex owner here.

Couple of comments - the Rex is useful, but make sure you want / need it. It does change the balance of the car and makes it rear heavy (obviously). The BEV models are nicer handling and if you can get the biggest battery, its usually sufficient for most use cases. The 120 model does significantly increase the range obviously.

Spec is very dependent on what you want too. Personally, we didn’t want leather, which meant that we had to drop a few options like the better stereo. However, be picky as to what you want. All are pretty well optioned to start with and come with a lot. Reversing camera is good and make sure you go for the bigger screen as it makes everything else easier to use. And if you can, get one with CarPlay. You can retrofit CarPlay (aftermarket) and a bigger screen on 2017 and earlier (we did this), but post 2018 was a change in the head unit so make sure you get what you want, as adding it later gets very expensive.

Other than that, they are a fun, funky and weird looking car. Bigger on the inside than you might think and a great handling and driving little car. Just dont expect it to be a mile muncher on the motorway. It’s good, but its twitchy in wind and the steering is very light and sensitive. But around town its awesome - and the turning circle is amazing. So many places you can get in, through and around!

Thanks - Thats useful!

I had a 94AH with Rex last week and took it for a 100mile trip - Range started as 112miles on battery, but as I cruised at 70mph I saw the battery range drop below the "Distance to destination" on my SatNav...

I rarely do that length of journey and have an alternative for when I need to, last week was just a check!

How much to replace a small-screen on a 2017 for a large one?

I've seen a neat i3s but it seems a big jump in annual cost for it.

My budget falls short of the 120AH at the moment.

Annoyingly, I used to buy at BCA, but they are Trade-Only currently, and have a few going through.

[iDrive]

Thank you!

I am currently looking at a 2017 94AH Rex which is fully loaded vs a 2018 94AH i3S which has no extras added

The 2017 car is advertised for a higher price than the 2018 i3S, and I anticipate the i3S will cost more per year to run due to Luxury Tax.

Any views on which is the one to buy?!

Fully loaded inc Harmon Kardon, Leather etc

[iDrive]

Thanks for your replies

I've just reserved an i3 94AH with Sytner on line - A very well spec'd car

My typical commute is 35miles and there is no charging at my place of work. Occasionally I need to do a little more, unpredictably how much and what time of day, so the Rex seems to be the ideal back-up solution currently.

I used to own registration V240OLT, sort of wish I'd kept it now!