View Single Post
      05-04-2014, 10:40 AM   #21
boulderado
Private First Class
17
Rep
176
Posts

Drives: 428i xDrive
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Boulder, CO

iTrader: (0)

Did my second test drive yesterday.

Pros:

- I like the cabin, front seats have SUV feel. You sit up high and the head/shoulder room is great. Very airy feel with great front visibility. Backseat and trunk (especially when seats folded down) is very useful for the size of the car. Lack of B pillar means using a childseat should be super easy.

- Car feels sports coupe quick. Very easy to get up to highway speeds and great traction off the line despite the thin all-season tires.

- Steering has a very quick ratio and it is lighter than my F32. Body roll was less than I expected.

- With 19 inch rims the ride is perfectly fine. Not harsh like lots of reviewers claimed it to be.

- Got used to the one pedal driving pretty quickly and I liked it very much. I also think it would help driving in snow a great deal. With all season tires and aggressive regen dialed in the car should lose speed beautifully in snow. Also the Rex model with the added weight on rear axle should have good traction in snow.

- The exterior design has grown on me very quickly.

Cons:

- Thin front tires mean the car has zero front end bite. I floored it to make it to a green light on a relatively tight left turn. The car understeered pretty badly and I could feel it wasn't the nose being heavy but it was just the tires not having grip. I read similar complaints about i8's front tires and the engineers are still working on a better compound. I really hope that they would find a better compound for i3's tires too. I am wondering if the optional 20 inch wheels with performance tires have better grip and less understeer...

- I don't know if it is the boxy design or lack of engine noise but the wind noise was definitely more pronounced than my F32. Tick the Harman Kordon option box and the noise shouldn't be an issue

Overall:

In Colorado where we get a total of $13,500 tax credit this car is the most fun to drive economy car.

Last edited by boulderado; 05-04-2014 at 11:49 AM..
Appreciate 0