LOH's OH's BMW i3S
Discussion
As usual, this wasn't meant to happen...
After a good year and a half of no Readers's Cars thread for me I thought I'd start one for this little lump of plastic and batteries. Those who have read some of my other Reader's Cars threads may remember my Civic Type-R thread and the fun we had in it...
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
There's links in the 1st post to some of my other threads but I'll link them here too...
MINI GP2 thread Porsche 911s
MX5 diary
Following my excellent Type-R I moved into a commercial vehicle for work and we used the Mrs venerable X1 for family duties. We bought the X1 as she had run a 2011 model for years that caused absolutely no bother except for servicing and tyres-it truly was the ultimate dependable family car-we're rural in the deep north and it even kept us going through our annual snow dumping without winter tyres. We loved those cars.
We bought one of the very final previous model X1s for this very reason-to get the last of these truly dependable machines. They were all spec'd up to the gunnels, ours was Valencia Orange with Dakota leather, full pano roof etc etc. After 2015 they moved from the 3 series estate with 1 series body panels onto a Mini Countryman with X1 panels-after my MINI GP I didn't fancy that.
However, with 2020 and all that clart, the X1 had covered a sum total of about 2.5k in a year. I started to seriously think about going electric for her. Then in combination, Rishi announced the tax breaks for companies buying them and seeing as she's a director of a couple of my companies I thought it was time to start looking.
So the i3. I'm not going to lie, BMW's i range had me hooked from the start. I know they aren't technically as good as some other EVs but it totally appeals to me in exactly the same way an Intergrale, NSX, MP4-12C and Honda Insight did/do.
I understand that people don't like BMWs but I still don't get why? An M3, a 320d estate, our X1, they're just brilliant cars. iDrive is still after all these years the best way of controlling everything. Reliable, well built, perfectly performing and utterly great to drive.
The i3 though, I just love cars that go about doing what you need in a totally different way, and let's get one point out there before we go onto anything else.
It's made of mother f
king carbon fibre too! 
Range? 180 miles is enough for us. It'll do her commute and I can buzz out to site or to see customers all over the county and get back. More modern alternatives are of course much better but, the honest answer is they all cost more and we don't need it.
Then there's the looks and interior of the thing-it's absolutely gorgeous.
So I started looking and once I'd decided we should go for it, started ringing BMW dealerships all over the country.
With the current rules, I needed for tax/company reasons to buy new or according to gov.'s website, " a car that has been used for demonstration purposes only". So an ex-demo then? Yes said the accountants! As long as I was the first retail customer. The hunt was on...
A lot of cars were registered at the end of last year/beginning of this. As the gov contribution was ending and tax rates were changing BMW were obviously needing to register a load of cars that could be ran by management and released into the second hand market in a few months.
This meant that a lot of cars weren't actually "ex-demo". They were company lease vehicles etc. What was clear however was a 70 plate ex demo was probably achievable at around £26k with delivery miles and some nice extras.
I pretty much rang up about every car on Auto Trader during the second half of April! Our local BMW dealership and I have a decent relationship-it's privately owned and I know the owners but my god they're tight. Twice they've missed a sale with us as they're just not willing or able to do a decent deal. Hey ho.
I was pretty much sold on a white (I hate white cars but the i3 works in it for some reason) down in Bolton but it had black seats in it and on the cloth i3, this looks a little st. In the end it was a deal breaker for the Mrs (and we have kids!) so we wanted the white interior or Loft or whatever it's called in i3-land.
After chasing my tale and ringing some dealers twice about the same cars (none seemed to know about the ex-demo loophole) one popped up in Leeds;
Imola Red
Loft Interior
Parking
Ex Demonstrator
i3S model
an 'S' model you say?
I jumped on it and rang up. £26,300. Blah Blah dealer ste I said £26k straight delivered to the deep north and I'll have it. Blah blah we don't barter or discount etc, so I said send me a video of it and let's ee what we can do.
Sod all arrived by tea time so I started looking to see if anything else had turned up that Monday. Had a look and here's the car on Auto-Trader now at £25.5k. I rang up expecting it to be sold and the new cheap price to be a hook to get you calling up but no, after a whole 8 hours of being on sale it had been discounted by head office. Salesman reckoned I was lucky, I said he was- £25.5k delivered oop north and I'd pay a deposit there and then.
Job sorted
It arrived on the Friday. Out of courtesy I got in touch with the local salesman and in his words, they would buy it for stock at that price. Why was it so cheap? I had and still have no idea. All I know id I got an i3S in great spec for less that a standard i3 in crappy spec.
Value-wise-honestly I looked at so any cars I'm lost but I think it was spec'd up to a new price of around £38k less the gov. discount/rebate. At a few months old that's a bloody good buy!
Having said that at list price there are EVs that perform much better in range so I believe it's about the right price-plus its made of fking Carbon Fibre!
So enough of what and why, now onto what is it like?
In a word, amazing. I'll get onto that in the next post but we really did absolutely zero research on EVs before we bought it. We knew we'd charge at home, we knew it would be overnight so the standard granny charger (or brick as it's sometimes known) would do. BMW gave us one for a weekend about 18 months ago and I must admit we just loved it. Seriously the hardest thing for me was keeping from driving it at about 45mph on our local (30mph) roads as it just begs to be thrashed!
But more of that to come, pics etc 1st...
After a good year and a half of no Readers's Cars thread for me I thought I'd start one for this little lump of plastic and batteries. Those who have read some of my other Reader's Cars threads may remember my Civic Type-R thread and the fun we had in it...
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
There's links in the 1st post to some of my other threads but I'll link them here too...
MINI GP2 thread Porsche 911s
MX5 diary
Following my excellent Type-R I moved into a commercial vehicle for work and we used the Mrs venerable X1 for family duties. We bought the X1 as she had run a 2011 model for years that caused absolutely no bother except for servicing and tyres-it truly was the ultimate dependable family car-we're rural in the deep north and it even kept us going through our annual snow dumping without winter tyres. We loved those cars.
We bought one of the very final previous model X1s for this very reason-to get the last of these truly dependable machines. They were all spec'd up to the gunnels, ours was Valencia Orange with Dakota leather, full pano roof etc etc. After 2015 they moved from the 3 series estate with 1 series body panels onto a Mini Countryman with X1 panels-after my MINI GP I didn't fancy that.
However, with 2020 and all that clart, the X1 had covered a sum total of about 2.5k in a year. I started to seriously think about going electric for her. Then in combination, Rishi announced the tax breaks for companies buying them and seeing as she's a director of a couple of my companies I thought it was time to start looking.
So the i3. I'm not going to lie, BMW's i range had me hooked from the start. I know they aren't technically as good as some other EVs but it totally appeals to me in exactly the same way an Intergrale, NSX, MP4-12C and Honda Insight did/do.
I understand that people don't like BMWs but I still don't get why? An M3, a 320d estate, our X1, they're just brilliant cars. iDrive is still after all these years the best way of controlling everything. Reliable, well built, perfectly performing and utterly great to drive.
The i3 though, I just love cars that go about doing what you need in a totally different way, and let's get one point out there before we go onto anything else.
It's made of mother f
king carbon fibre too! Range? 180 miles is enough for us. It'll do her commute and I can buzz out to site or to see customers all over the county and get back. More modern alternatives are of course much better but, the honest answer is they all cost more and we don't need it.
Then there's the looks and interior of the thing-it's absolutely gorgeous.
So I started looking and once I'd decided we should go for it, started ringing BMW dealerships all over the country.
With the current rules, I needed for tax/company reasons to buy new or according to gov.'s website, " a car that has been used for demonstration purposes only". So an ex-demo then? Yes said the accountants! As long as I was the first retail customer. The hunt was on...
A lot of cars were registered at the end of last year/beginning of this. As the gov contribution was ending and tax rates were changing BMW were obviously needing to register a load of cars that could be ran by management and released into the second hand market in a few months.
This meant that a lot of cars weren't actually "ex-demo". They were company lease vehicles etc. What was clear however was a 70 plate ex demo was probably achievable at around £26k with delivery miles and some nice extras.
I pretty much rang up about every car on Auto Trader during the second half of April! Our local BMW dealership and I have a decent relationship-it's privately owned and I know the owners but my god they're tight. Twice they've missed a sale with us as they're just not willing or able to do a decent deal. Hey ho.
I was pretty much sold on a white (I hate white cars but the i3 works in it for some reason) down in Bolton but it had black seats in it and on the cloth i3, this looks a little s
t. In the end it was a deal breaker for the Mrs (and we have kids!) so we wanted the white interior or Loft or whatever it's called in i3-land.After chasing my tale and ringing some dealers twice about the same cars (none seemed to know about the ex-demo loophole) one popped up in Leeds;
Loft Interior
Parking
Ex Demonstrator
i3S model
an 'S' model you say?I jumped on it and rang up. £26,300. Blah Blah dealer s
te I said £26k straight delivered to the deep north and I'll have it. Blah blah we don't barter or discount etc, so I said send me a video of it and let's ee what we can do.Sod all arrived by tea time so I started looking to see if anything else had turned up that Monday. Had a look and here's the car on Auto-Trader now at £25.5k. I rang up expecting it to be sold and the new cheap price to be a hook to get you calling up but no, after a whole 8 hours of being on sale it had been discounted by head office. Salesman reckoned I was lucky, I said he was- £25.5k delivered oop north and I'd pay a deposit there and then.
Job sorted
It arrived on the Friday. Out of courtesy I got in touch with the local salesman and in his words, they would buy it for stock at that price. Why was it so cheap? I had and still have no idea. All I know id I got an i3S in great spec for less that a standard i3 in crappy spec.
Value-wise-honestly I looked at so any cars I'm lost but I think it was spec'd up to a new price of around £38k less the gov. discount/rebate. At a few months old that's a bloody good buy!
Having said that at list price there are EVs that perform much better in range so I believe it's about the right price-plus its made of f
king Carbon Fibre!So enough of what and why, now onto what is it like?
In a word, amazing. I'll get onto that in the next post but we really did absolutely zero research on EVs before we bought it. We knew we'd charge at home, we knew it would be overnight so the standard granny charger (or brick as it's sometimes known) would do. BMW gave us one for a weekend about 18 months ago and I must admit we just loved it. Seriously the hardest thing for me was keeping from driving it at about 45mph on our local (30mph) roads as it just begs to be thrashed!
But more of that to come, pics etc 1st...
Edited by LaurasOtherHalf on Sunday 16th May 21:54
Edited by LaurasOtherHalf on Sunday 16th May 21:57
Edited by LaurasOtherHalf on Monday 17th May 11:11
End of April and it arrives minging after crossing the Pennines during snow!
No plus pack which would have brought the HK stereo (not interested) but rear privacy glass which would.
Buying a car unseen, luckily it is absolutely mint. We bought our previous X1 the same way as it happens.
Edited by LaurasOtherHalf on Monday 17th May 11:12
Edited by LaurasOtherHalf on Monday 17th May 11:13
I’m sure I’m in the minority but I really like these. They’re a bit odd looking but bit works, especially for an EV.
I like the ethos too with the exposed carbon tub etc. They’re a hoot to drive too. I’d these had still been on our company car list when my vRS went back, I’d have had one in a heartbeat.
I like the ethos too with the exposed carbon tub etc. They’re a hoot to drive too. I’d these had still been on our company car list when my vRS went back, I’d have had one in a heartbeat.
They are indeed odd looking, one of those rare cars that looks strangely smaller in real life than it does in the pictures! Personally, I think the look terrific until you see them either head on or directly from behind-then they look uncomfortably narrow!
But the little details, the way it doesn't follow any conventional car design for what it does-that's what I love. It's say, the complete antithesis of a MINI or Fiat 500 in which the car is constrained by trying to look like the designers idea of that car. The exposed carbon, unpainted roof etc all just add to the good vibes.
Speaking of the MINI, that's exactly what it reminds me of to drive-my old MINI GP.
It's most definitely a "mum-bus" in the looks department but with it's battery weight way down low it handles and turns in the same manner as a MINI Cooper. With instant torque always on call it begs to be thrashed and with no oil to warm up you can do it from cold. For a BMW, it also has a lovely old school thin rimmed steering wheel as well.
The re-gen driving element is strangely intuitive and you adjust to it immediately. The theory is in normal driving, you only touch the brakes in an emergency stop-we live on a big hill and it works fantastically. On Friday I jumped into the car to pop into town for a take-away, 99 miles left on the range-down the hill and re-gen'd up to 100 miles. Pick up the curry and back up the hill to use it back down to 99.
There's different views you can have the display show and this is what the Mrs prefers but I find it a bit spurious as it seems to judge your remaining range on your driving profile, which may not be how your day ends up.
Personally I prefer to just look at the battery charge percentage but it's her car really so I leave it well alone.
We've only had it a couple of weeks so we're still getting used to it. Going off her driving it'll probably get charged Friday night for the weekend and then Monday night ready for her commute Tues-Fri. We set the timer on the app to have it nice and warm and ready to go in the morning for her.
For ease, I'll probably fit a fast charger somewhere discreet on the outside of the house but until then it can sit in the garage/workshop when it's on charge. It takes about 12 hours which isn't exactly fast on the three pin but no problem with our use of the car.
But the little details, the way it doesn't follow any conventional car design for what it does-that's what I love. It's say, the complete antithesis of a MINI or Fiat 500 in which the car is constrained by trying to look like the designers idea of that car. The exposed carbon, unpainted roof etc all just add to the good vibes.
Speaking of the MINI, that's exactly what it reminds me of to drive-my old MINI GP.
It's most definitely a "mum-bus" in the looks department but with it's battery weight way down low it handles and turns in the same manner as a MINI Cooper. With instant torque always on call it begs to be thrashed and with no oil to warm up you can do it from cold. For a BMW, it also has a lovely old school thin rimmed steering wheel as well.
The re-gen driving element is strangely intuitive and you adjust to it immediately. The theory is in normal driving, you only touch the brakes in an emergency stop-we live on a big hill and it works fantastically. On Friday I jumped into the car to pop into town for a take-away, 99 miles left on the range-down the hill and re-gen'd up to 100 miles. Pick up the curry and back up the hill to use it back down to 99.
There's different views you can have the display show and this is what the Mrs prefers but I find it a bit spurious as it seems to judge your remaining range on your driving profile, which may not be how your day ends up.
Personally I prefer to just look at the battery charge percentage but it's her car really so I leave it well alone.
We've only had it a couple of weeks so we're still getting used to it. Going off her driving it'll probably get charged Friday night for the weekend and then Monday night ready for her commute Tues-Fri. We set the timer on the app to have it nice and warm and ready to go in the morning for her.
For ease, I'll probably fit a fast charger somewhere discreet on the outside of the house but until then it can sit in the garage/workshop when it's on charge. It takes about 12 hours which isn't exactly fast on the three pin but no problem with our use of the car.
You got one then! Mine is the same colour (Melbourne red btw). They’re great little cars & if you want to annoy large ICE cars at the traffic lights, it’s so easy to do 
You’ve got a mega deal btw.
I find my I3S really relaxing to drive & it’s a genuinely nice place to sit. The ride can get a bit bobbly if you press on although the whole “one pedal driving” is great once you master it as you can maximise the range with the regenerative braking. The ability to pre-heat/cool the car is also something I enjoy.
If you have a local large Tesco’s, many have Podpoint chargers which are on free vend (7kw chargers) so you can shop & charge for free whilst you’re there. BEV owners are generally a great group with FB having a strong community (the founder of the one group is a PHer).
Obligatory pic of mine after collection in Feb 2020...
You’ve got a mega deal btw.I find my I3S really relaxing to drive & it’s a genuinely nice place to sit. The ride can get a bit bobbly if you press on although the whole “one pedal driving” is great once you master it as you can maximise the range with the regenerative braking. The ability to pre-heat/cool the car is also something I enjoy.
If you have a local large Tesco’s, many have Podpoint chargers which are on free vend (7kw chargers) so you can shop & charge for free whilst you’re there. BEV owners are generally a great group with FB having a strong community (the founder of the one group is a PHer).
Obligatory pic of mine after collection in Feb 2020...
I'll be really interested to see how you get on with this. We will need to replace our X3 sometime soon.
We are inevitably moving to EV for commute/utility vehicles.
Utility car for 2 adults 2 kids is a litmus test.
Jonny Smith's vids suggest this car is not the pinnacle of the market, he goes bonkers for the Korean EVs right now. But choice is more complicated than that.
Question: what snow tyres will you go for, or skinny EV tyres be ok round our way?
Problem: think you have an accelerator pedal problem (accelerator? is that the word for it in an EV? Go Pedal?) - I overtook your car the other day seemingly having some velocity problems.....
Kudos for going EV
We are inevitably moving to EV for commute/utility vehicles.
Utility car for 2 adults 2 kids is a litmus test.
Jonny Smith's vids suggest this car is not the pinnacle of the market, he goes bonkers for the Korean EVs right now. But choice is more complicated than that.
Question: what snow tyres will you go for, or skinny EV tyres be ok round our way?
Problem: think you have an accelerator pedal problem (accelerator? is that the word for it in an EV? Go Pedal?) - I overtook your car the other day seemingly having some velocity problems.....
Kudos for going EV
Edited by The_Doc on Monday 17th May 10:55
The_Doc said:
I'll be really interested to see how you get on with this. We will need to replace our X3 sometime soon.
We are inevitably moving to EV for commute/utility vehicles.
Utility car for 2 adults 2 kids is a litmus test.
Jonny Smith's vids suggest this car is not the pinnacle of the market, he goes bonkers for the Korean EVs right now. But choice is more complicated than that.
Question: what snow tyres will you go for, or skinny EV tyres be ok round our way?
Problem: think you have an accelerator pedal problem (accelerator? is that the word for it in an EV? Go Pedal?) - I overtook your car the other day seemingly having some velocity problems.....
Kudos for going EV
Thanks for the heads up on the colour MrC, see how much I know about my own car?!We are inevitably moving to EV for commute/utility vehicles.
Utility car for 2 adults 2 kids is a litmus test.
Jonny Smith's vids suggest this car is not the pinnacle of the market, he goes bonkers for the Korean EVs right now. But choice is more complicated than that.
Question: what snow tyres will you go for, or skinny EV tyres be ok round our way?
Problem: think you have an accelerator pedal problem (accelerator? is that the word for it in an EV? Go Pedal?) - I overtook your car the other day seemingly having some velocity problems.....
Kudos for going EV
Edited by The_Doc on Monday 17th May 10:55
Doc, winter wheels are actually quite expensive on these and I think I’m right in saying the S has specific wheels to it.
The advice is somewhat conflicted on the Facebook group I’m on, some saying they advise them and others saying the skinny wheels cope fine with the snow without resorting to winters. My concern would be the regen blocking the brakes but I suspect BMW thought of that long before I did.
The conflicting advice is probably simply down to those who’ve shelled out on winter wheels and those who haven’t!
I’m more inclined to see how it goes on the standards to begin with and take the mrs out for a lesson in the snow, if it doesn’t work out I can always buy the tyres and have them swapped and balanced twice a year.
I watched a bit with Jonny Smith on the i3S and I get why the i3 has been left behind with the range compared to everything new. The simple thing for us is I just like the i3 better than everything else and the range is of no consequence. It’ll get us to newcastle and back in a charge and anything further we have other options.
For me, the i3 is BMW’s Honda, in the same way it’s Z4M coupe was it’s TVR.
They’ve thrown everything at it and binned the rule book on how it needed to be done.
There should be no reason as to why it should ever become unreliable however with all the tech that’s not a given. I know our local dealer group have never replaced the batteries on a single example yet.
As long as the gov. don’t change the goalposts on companies owning EVs (not a given) I see no reason not to keep it for the realistic life of the vehicle if it does prove reliable.
The battery has a 10 year warranty on it, servicing should be cheap and relatively sparse (a brake change on them is easy), as long as the ECUs don’t throw a wobbly then I hope it’s one of those items that’s paid for and is just “there”.
roadie said:
I really like how forward looking these appear to be. Almost like a modern Mini.
That's a good analogy as I had an R56 Cooper S previously so I'm familiar with the wheel in each corner & how manoeuvrable they are. When people say quite a few electric cars are about the torque/ability to pull away briskly, the I3S is definitely that, so something like a Tesla Model 3 must properly try & adjust your perception of acceleration. The I3S is apparently one of the quickest cars in the BMW range from 0-40 mph when you use the Sport setting.Even though the I3 is 8 yrs old, it still attracts interest on the roads & there are some with over 100k miles advertised, although these are mainly the ones with the ranger extender I.e. the small motorbike engine under the boot floor.
With reference to the OP,s original comments, I have owned a BMW X1 xdrive, petrol for about 4 years and have had no issues whatsoever. Previously I had a similar model but diesel. Again, no issues, to the extent I was happy to pass it on to my daughter! Some people seem a bit iffy about these cars, including the motoring press but to me they are absolutely fine.
Following this with interest as i have just ordered one on a two year lease deal.It will be replacing an Alfa Romeo Giulia Veloce in early July and,as much as i will miss the Alfa,i am really looking forward to it's arrival.I didn't have much choice with colour so have opted for Imperial Blue.The final decision to order was based upon taxation reasons as the 1% BiK rate will cost me far less than the Alfa.
I’ve had 2 of these in the past.
Their ‘strange’ handling is actually a positive after owning a world of bolted down rocket ships. Rolling round and bobbing everywhere is great fun.
The brakes though were a liability, I wouldn’t want to rely on them for an emergency stop... very weak
Their ‘strange’ handling is actually a positive after owning a world of bolted down rocket ships. Rolling round and bobbing everywhere is great fun.
The brakes though were a liability, I wouldn’t want to rely on them for an emergency stop... very weak
Great cars these, a bit underated as people (including many on PH) assume the are odd looking eco cars. They are fun to drive, tardis like space, very nippy, great interior and cheap to run.
We'e had our imperial blue i3s for 18 months as a company car, and could have chose a Tesla Model 3 instead, which is a far superior car on paper, but just lacked interest for me that the i3 has. Our other car for family space and longer journeys is m340i touring, but the i3s feels just as quick and more responsive around urban areas.
We'e had our imperial blue i3s for 18 months as a company car, and could have chose a Tesla Model 3 instead, which is a far superior car on paper, but just lacked interest for me that the i3 has. Our other car for family space and longer journeys is m340i touring, but the i3s feels just as quick and more responsive around urban areas.
I like the fact that it’s an EV that looks odd, they designed it to be the best possible EV rather than an EV that looks like conventional car with a bonnet etc.
The fact the it uses recyclable materials is a plus. Pretty sure I read that the plant they’re made in uses as much renewable energy as possible.
A colleague has one and uses it more than his M140i.
The fact the it uses recyclable materials is a plus. Pretty sure I read that the plant they’re made in uses as much renewable energy as possible.
A colleague has one and uses it more than his M140i.
I must admit the BIK rate and tax write-off were exactly what pushed me into getting one-one of those things where it's the final excuse you need to buy what you want.
One negative so far is the i3S' ability to make my beloved VW Amarok feel like an utter dinosaur after a quick drive in the EV. That and the £90+ fill ups!
We will miss the old X1 although it went off to a nice chap from Yorkshire. In the end we did really quite well out of it as it was an attractive buy for someone privately and thus, didn't have to play the trade in games that plague a BMW main dealership. We were offered between £9k-£9.5k as part-exchange, £10k from WBAC and £11.5k as a private sale.
I priced it on facebook at £11,750 seeing as the cheapest 2015 with less than 40k miles on AT was £14k. Buyer and seller both happy it would seem.
You wouldn't believe it however that despite having a smaller boot, the passenger area in the i3 actually has more space than the X1. Granted, the X1 was wide enough to have a three seat bench where the i3 makes do with 2 but I can drive the i3 with the seats fully pushed back which fractionally wasn't possible in the X1 with the isofix bases in for one of the kids seats. With the rear seats sitting higher than the fronts the kids seem to like the elevated position for sightseeing.
I do wish it had the rear privacy glass for them however, I've left a message at the local place that does it but they're too busy doing £2k details to bother replying by the looks of it.
One negative so far is the i3S' ability to make my beloved VW Amarok feel like an utter dinosaur after a quick drive in the EV. That and the £90+ fill ups!
We will miss the old X1 although it went off to a nice chap from Yorkshire. In the end we did really quite well out of it as it was an attractive buy for someone privately and thus, didn't have to play the trade in games that plague a BMW main dealership. We were offered between £9k-£9.5k as part-exchange, £10k from WBAC and £11.5k as a private sale.
I priced it on facebook at £11,750 seeing as the cheapest 2015 with less than 40k miles on AT was £14k. Buyer and seller both happy it would seem.
You wouldn't believe it however that despite having a smaller boot, the passenger area in the i3 actually has more space than the X1. Granted, the X1 was wide enough to have a three seat bench where the i3 makes do with 2 but I can drive the i3 with the seats fully pushed back which fractionally wasn't possible in the X1 with the isofix bases in for one of the kids seats. With the rear seats sitting higher than the fronts the kids seem to like the elevated position for sightseeing.
I do wish it had the rear privacy glass for them however, I've left a message at the local place that does it but they're too busy doing £2k details to bother replying by the looks of it.
Retrospectively fitting privacy tint is a bit of faff (don’t ask me how I know) but it does transform the look of the car.
Strangely I too came from an X1 albeit mine was a 2011 & I sold it with 130k miles on and the only problem I had was a brake switch sensor just as I was selling it
Back to the I3, they are very room in the front with no transmission tunnel to intrude and the seating position is like being in a small SUV.
Strangely I too came from an X1 albeit mine was a 2011 & I sold it with 130k miles on and the only problem I had was a brake switch sensor just as I was selling it
Back to the I3, they are very room in the front with no transmission tunnel to intrude and the seating position is like being in a small SUV.
Greg_D said:
I’ve had 2 of these in the past.
Their ‘strange’ handling is actually a positive after owning a world of bolted down rocket ships. Rolling round and bobbing everywhere is great fun.
The brakes though were a liability, I wouldn’t want to rely on them for an emergency stop... very weak
The brakes post 2018 are much better! Not sure what they a have done, but somewhere they have stiffened things up because my old 2015 i3 the pedal was hideously spongy, and had to be pushed to the floor to do an emergency stop, but my 2019 S seems fine, with a firm responsive pedal (well responsive enough for the use they get, which tbh, is never)Their ‘strange’ handling is actually a positive after owning a world of bolted down rocket ships. Rolling round and bobbing everywhere is great fun.
The brakes though were a liability, I wouldn’t want to rely on them for an emergency stop... very weak
Max_Torque said:
Greg_D said:
I’ve had 2 of these in the past.
Their ‘strange’ handling is actually a positive after owning a world of bolted down rocket ships. Rolling round and bobbing everywhere is great fun.
The brakes though were a liability, I wouldn’t want to rely on them for an emergency stop... very weak
The brakes post 2018 are much better! Not sure what they a have done, but somewhere they have stiffened things up because my old 2015 i3 the pedal was hideously spongy, and had to be pushed to the floor to do an emergency stop, but my 2019 S seems fine, with a firm responsive pedal (well responsive enough for the use they get, which tbh, is never)Their ‘strange’ handling is actually a positive after owning a world of bolted down rocket ships. Rolling round and bobbing everywhere is great fun.
The brakes though were a liability, I wouldn’t want to rely on them for an emergency stop... very weak
If you can jump from an Amarok at its weight and straight into an i3 without recalibration go your driving they’ve got it right.
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