So who's getting an i3?

[anonymous-user]

tyrrell said:

Anybody with real world experience of the new i3S ?

Nope. I'm slightly disappointed by it really. Not enough changes and the extra performance is pretty irrelevant really (i'd suggest a std i3 is more than fast enough anyway for the sort of car it is)

What the i3 needs is BMW to ditch the silly ReX, and pack the space with some more batteries imo. 50 to 60 kWh would nail it!

[Frimley111R]

I was talking to a BMW specialist about their i3. They said in winter, with the heater on, the lowest range they saw was 30 miles on a full charge!!! Blimey!

[Luke.]

Frimley111R said:

I was talking to a BMW specialist about their i3. They said in winter, with the heater on, the lowest range they saw was 30 miles on a full charge!!! Blimey!

For the smaller battery I take it?

[Frimley111R]

Luke. said:

Frimley111R said:

I was talking to a BMW specialist about their i3. They said in winter, with the heater on, the lowest range they saw was 30 miles on a full charge!!! Blimey!

For the smaller battery I take it?

I am not sure but probably yes, he said it was one of the last of the models before the upgrade.

[nbetts]

Frimley111R said:

I was talking to a BMW specialist about their i3. They said in winter, with the heater on, the lowest range they saw was 30 miles on a full charge!!! Blimey!

I can believe that - When it was bloomin' cold and I had not pre-conditioned the i3 (so the batteries are at right temperature as well as the cabin) I had jumped in my 1st Generation i3 to see the range at around 38 miles (battery) and a very similar number for the REX.

But, that is the very worst I have ever seen it - I balance it out by saying that I used to see around 80 miles in battery and around 75 miles on REX on a normal summer day in Britain

With my later i3 (94Ah) - It has not really been very cold this winter yet and I have seen 65 miles on battery alone on the coldest day since acquiring this version in September 2016 - most days it will show 100+ miles in temperatures like today

On a hot summers day last year - it was showing 140 miles

Cold Weather does have a serious effect on EV's - a lot of which can be mitigated by pre-conditioning the car before departure - it certainly takes a lot of the sting out of range depletion.

[nbetts]

With it being 2018 - I am now thinking about my 3rd i3.

I bought the first generation when it was launched and sold that when I replaced it with a 94Ah version in September 2016.

The 2nd i3 I have leased which is working out very well in terms of cost compared to the previous i3 that I bought outright.

My question is, do I need to start making plans for my 3rd i3(S) now? Or what are the lead times like or any radical plans in the i3 lifecycle that I must delay my change for?

Thanks in advance

[Frimley111R]

There will always be something new on the horizon but nothing much until 2019 IIRC.

[nbetts]

Frimley111R said:

There will always be something new on the horizon but nothing much until 2019 IIRC.

My lease for the current i3 expires September 2018. Happy to get another i3 as it meets my needs perfectly but will pause if there is a newer/better alternative around the corner.

[Greg_D]

i've not been actively looking at prices, but notice that bmw are sneaking the monthlies up. i got 6+24 @ £260+vat (loaded REx) in feb last year which i thought was brilliant value for money. the same car appears to be around £350 atm.

i'll struggle to look past another when the time comes though, it really does tick a lot of boxes for the daily hack and is narrow which is great for shopping centres/cinemas etc...

[modeller]

Greg_D said:

i've not been actively looking at prices, but notice that bmw are sneaking the monthlies up. i got 6+24 @ £260+vat (loaded REx) in feb last year which i thought was brilliant value for money. the same car appears to be around £350 atm.

i'll struggle to look past another when the time comes though, it really does tick a lot of boxes for the daily hack and is narrow which is great for shopping centres/cinemas etc...

£350 where please? I'm not finding a 6+24 for less than £480. There seems to be strong demand at the moment which is keeping prices up.

[EddieSteadyGo]

modeller said:

£350 where please? I'm not finding a 6+24 for less than £480. There seems to be strong demand at the moment which is keeping prices up.

The high lease price per month is mainly caused by the low residual values predicted by BMW. So I would say the lease price is high due to the predicted weak demand (in 2-3 years time).

[53x11]

Morning. long time forum follower, new contributor

About to start a new job that involves a 100 mile round trip. I don't think the site I will be working on has a charging point so am looking at an i3 with REX.

Currently in a BMW M135i auto that is seeing 34mpg ave but my PCP is limited to 10K/year.

Would an i3 be a viable option if I could get a good deal from BMW (2 years into a 3yr PCP)? I'm a Ltd company so can claim the VAT back on the fuel I think.

Anyone done a similar swap? Current thinking is i3 for daily and 'fun' car in the garage eventually

[Luke.]

53x11 said:

Morning. long time forum follower, new contributor

About to start a new job that involves a 100 mile round trip. I don't think the site I will be working on has a charging point so am looking at an i3 with REX.

Currently in a BMW M135i auto that is seeing 34mpg ave but my PCP is limited to 10K/year.

Would an i3 be a viable option if I could get a good deal from BMW (2 years into a 3yr PCP)? I'm a Ltd company so can claim the VAT back on the fuel I think.

Anyone done a similar swap? Current thinking is i3 for daily and 'fun' car in the garage eventually

Yes. I often do a 110 mile round trip in ours and never use the Rex. Weather dependent of course. BTW, you'll find the i3 could become your fun car. 0-30 is faster than an M3.

[53x11]

Luke. said:

Yes. I often do a 110 mile round trip in ours and never use the Rex. Weather dependent of course. BTW, you'll find the i3 could become your fun car. 0-30 is faster than an M3.

Cheers. I've registered via the BMW forum on here for a test drive so if I like it it could just come down to numbers from BMW finance.

[Greg_D]

if work will let you plug into an external socket during the day it will be a fantastic car for the job. it feels a little lightweight on motorways compared to something like a 5 series, but £/mile it will be unbeatable. it is also a pretty decent place to be for a relatively small car. i use mine as a commuter and it is fantastic.

[RossP]

tyrrell said:

Anybody with real world experience of the new i3S ?

I am getting one on extended test next Friday. I'll report back!

[anonymous-user]

Anyone else occasional lurch off in the wrong direction when trying to pull off a swift 3 pointer turn that requires swapping from D to R and back to D again? No haptic feedback from the gear selector knobulator (it always springs back to centre) and direction will change whilst moving slowly (a few mph as far as i can tell) so unless you are actually looking at the gear display indicator lamps or dash, then it's easy to fail to shift into opposite direction despite twisting the knobulator.

Of course, the simple option is to make sure you stop completely, foot on brake, then shift but this takes what feels like ages to do, compared to trying to do it in one fluid motion (especially when other road users are honking because you've held them up for 3/4 of a second.... ;-)

[Goatex]

I went from an M135i to an i3 Rex and have not once wished I still had the 1 series, nice car though it was. Just over a year into i3 ownership and loving it.

[53x11]

Goatex said:

I went from an M135i to an i3 Rex and have not once wished I still had the 1 series, nice car though it was. Just over a year into i3 ownership and loving it.

Thanks. Just waiting a call from my local i3 dealer now about the test drive (email for BMW UK said I should hear in a couple of days). Getting quite exited about the test now after all these positive comments.

[modeller]

Goatex said:

I went from an M135i to an i3 Rex and have not once wished I still had the 1 series, nice car though it was. Just over a year into i3 ownership and loving it.

Did the same swap. No regrets. Just ordered my 2nd i3 today (i3S REX) .. never had the same car twice before!