Keep going back to BMW i3
Discussion
I'm getting near to installation date of my EV charger. Currently the daily drive is a 16 year old Merc diesel which isn't ULEZ compliant and living very close to the outer edge of London will mean that driving will become a real pitta if Khan has his way.
So I have been looking at my options and I have to say that I don't have any apart from the BMW i3. Why?
(1) Need something with a decent range ~180 miles plus.
(2) The Merc diesel is well specced and so I don't want to lose that level of luxury.
(3) Lots of the current crop of EV's are massive weighing over 2 tonnes whilst I'm after a city car / Dads Taxi etc.
(4) Decided on a full BEV rather than a PHEV since I feel that they will be next in line for some additional revenue generation by TFL.
Anyone else bemoaning the choice available?
So I have been looking at my options and I have to say that I don't have any apart from the BMW i3. Why?
(1) Need something with a decent range ~180 miles plus.
(2) The Merc diesel is well specced and so I don't want to lose that level of luxury.
(3) Lots of the current crop of EV's are massive weighing over 2 tonnes whilst I'm after a city car / Dads Taxi etc.
(4) Decided on a full BEV rather than a PHEV since I feel that they will be next in line for some additional revenue generation by TFL.
Anyone else bemoaning the choice available?
Isn't it relatively easy to find the same level of luxury as a 16 year old Merc from most other 'lesser' brands now?
Or if it's really important, Merc EQA? You haven't said if what sort of age car you're looking for or budget. Or what size car even - I know you said city car, but people's definition of that varies..
Or if it's really important, Merc EQA? You haven't said if what sort of age car you're looking for or budget. Or what size car even - I know you said city car, but people's definition of that varies..
Just one qualification for the i3; you won't achieve 180 miles in winter, so if 180 miles plus is a requirement, the i3 ain't gonna cut it.
I've had mine a year, living in relatively mild SW and saw GOM range down to 130 miles January-February.
ETA. Great car though, fits my needs perfectly.
I've had mine a year, living in relatively mild SW and saw GOM range down to 130 miles January-February.
ETA. Great car though, fits my needs perfectly.
LordGrover said:
Just one qualification for the i3; you won't achieve 180 miles in winter, so if 180 miles plus is a requirement, the i3 ain't gonna cut it.
I've had mine a year, living in relatively mild SW and saw GOM range down to 130 miles January-February.
ETA. Great car though, fits my needs perfectly.
I'm with LG on this, they are fantastic but they are not plush and you won't get 180 or close in winter, we ran one for 3 years, take it anywhere near a motorway in winter and be lucky to see 100 at sensible speeds, even in summer 160 running zircon and mixed use is ambitious.I've had mine a year, living in relatively mild SW and saw GOM range down to 130 miles January-February.
ETA. Great car though, fits my needs perfectly.
General rule of thumb is for summer use take WLTP and deduct 20% and in winter c33% for real range.
For a genuine 180 mile range you need a c240 WLTP car so an ID3 or similar.
OutInTheShed said:
Then you need to allow for the range decreasing as a the car ages?
A few % per year or 10k miles?
From what I was able to identify, the i3 doesnt drop a significant amount of range over time. We recently sold ours due to a change of circumstances, but I did check the kappa value on the screen to make sure it was healthy. It was a 2017 model but according to the onboard systems, had lost less than 7% over its 5 years of use. From what I am aware of, this seems to be bang on the number with pretty much other owners and the drop is heaviest in the first year, evening out over time - and its worth noting that pretty much everyone gets close to the predicted range numbers on the GOM. Clearly this will be massively different depending on your circumstances and driving style, but feedback across the community shows that BMW did a really good job with the i3 - its a cracking little car.A few % per year or 10k miles?
Now I am going to have to take a look at a 120aH model now... damn it.
OutInTheShed said:
Then you need to allow for the range decreasing as a the car ages?
A few % per year or 10k miles?
Battery degradation is much overblown. Our i3 has done 10k and range identical to when it was new 2 years ago. And just read post from someone who has done 90k miles and still getting much the same range he did when new. A few % per year or 10k miles?
Discombobulate said:
SWoll said:
Yep. Had 12 months in an i3 120ah and 180 miles is very much top end range in perfect conditions.
Great car, but agree with this. 180 is the max you will see. More commonly 140-160.Also worth considering just how often you need to do 180 miles and where those 180 miles are too and from. An i3 with the 42kWh battery remember probably only needs something like 20min charging on a 50kW DC fast charger to complete that journey ime. Drive carefully and 160 miles is on the cards, so the extra 20 is not much of a top up, even to include a bit of a buffer for the un-expected. And whilst the i3 only charges at 50kW max, because of that low power it easily hits this rate across most the SoC window and because its pretty efficient, 50kW is a charge rate of around 200 miles per hour.
If your 180 miles is not that often or if there are some "good" Fast chargers on route, i'd say it is the perfect city car and you'll really enjoy driving it and owning it :-)
thanks for all the replies.
yep should have given a range window of 120-180 miles which with my current usage will be every 2-3 days. I did have a look at the merc eqa and the volvo xc40 recharge but again they felt bigger than i needed.
as said in my original post this will be my daily town / school run car and i do have another petrol car if non London motorway journeys are required.
yep should have given a range window of 120-180 miles which with my current usage will be every 2-3 days. I did have a look at the merc eqa and the volvo xc40 recharge but again they felt bigger than i needed.
as said in my original post this will be my daily town / school run car and i do have another petrol car if non London motorway journeys are required.
Greenmantle said:
thanks for all the replies.
yep should have given a range window of 120-180 miles which with my current usage will be every 2-3 days. I did have a look at the merc eqa and the volvo xc40 recharge but again they felt bigger than i needed.
as said in my original post this will be my daily town / school run car and i do have another petrol car if non London motorway journeys are required.
Budget?yep should have given a range window of 120-180 miles which with my current usage will be every 2-3 days. I did have a look at the merc eqa and the volvo xc40 recharge but again they felt bigger than i needed.
as said in my original post this will be my daily town / school run car and i do have another petrol car if non London motorway journeys are required.
Greenmantle said:
thanks for all the replies.
yep should have given a range window of 120-180 miles which with my current usage will be every 2-3 days. I did have a look at the merc eqa and the volvo xc40 recharge but again they felt bigger than i needed.
as said in my original post this will be my daily town / school run car and i do have another petrol car if non London motorway journeys are required.
They make a cracking city/town car. Only challenge with school run might be if you have kids in the back, its surprisingly roomy back there but the suicide doors can challenge your origami skills at times in tight spaces. yep should have given a range window of 120-180 miles which with my current usage will be every 2-3 days. I did have a look at the merc eqa and the volvo xc40 recharge but again they felt bigger than i needed.
as said in my original post this will be my daily town / school run car and i do have another petrol car if non London motorway journeys are required.
LordGrover said:
Just one qualification for the i3; you won't achieve 180 miles in winter, so if 180 miles plus is a requirement, the i3 ain't gonna cut it.
I've had mine a year, living in relatively mild SW and saw GOM range down to 130 miles January-February.
ETA. Great car though, fits my needs perfectly.
How are the seats? Driving position? Comfortable? I've had mine a year, living in relatively mild SW and saw GOM range down to 130 miles January-February.
ETA. Great car though, fits my needs perfectly.
the-photographer said:
I have another question, what's this like on B roads? I understand the Mini EV uses the i3s setup with a smaller battery. The reviews say its not very good on B roads compared to conventional EVs especially the Mini.
I like it, but normal version is better than S which is a tad too firm for me on B roads (but better at speed on motorways).Discombobulate said:
I like it, but normal version is better than S which is a tad too firm for me on B roads (but better at speed on motorways).
Thanks, this one mentions the hard suspension and A-pillar noisehttps://totallyev.net/bmw-i3s-120ah-electric-city-...
https://www.carmagazine.co.uk/car-reviews/bmw/bmw-...
This one is more critical
As for corners – it’s better, but it still doesn’t feel hugely at home on the handling front. It’s still a very tall car with a relatively short wheelbase, and while its limits are higher than the regular car, it’s still best to drive it with some decorum.
CAR’s long-term i3 could feel quite sketchy on slimy winter roads, and driving on fast B-roads had to be conducted with care. I’d feel more comfortable in the i3 S, but it’s still a car that’s most at home at lower speeds in the city – which is exactly the purpose it was designed for.
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