[Schwaben]

The wife and I were out enjoying a beautiful Autumn day in Colorado and decided to see how our new i3 would do up Pikes Peak. The Pikes Peak highway starts at 7,400 feet and runs 19 miles to the top of the mountain at 14,115 feet.

We went through the visitors gateway at 90% battery and made it to the parking lot at the peak with 36.5% remaining. After a walk around and some pictures we started back down. The regenerative braking is so good that I was able to feather the throttle and keep it rolling but well into the charge zone. At the middle check point on the way down there is a mandatory "brake check" where they measure your rotor temps to see if you have been roasting them on the way down. If your brakes are too hot they require you to pull over and wait for them to cool. The guy looked confused when our rotors read 65 fahrenheit.

We made it back down to the gate with 59% battery so all told a cost of 31% for the entire 38 mile round trip. Total trip for the day was 72 miles and we pulled in the garage with 43% left over. This really is an awesome little car when you accept it for what it is made to do and treat it as such.

[arctic330i]

Thats awesome! I have the same model and color. I remember the night I got it, it was in another city 95 miles away and I only used 55 miles of electric "power" to get back partly due to that regenerative braking.

[BrooklynG87]

Great write-up! Such a cool impressive car! Very nice.

[gehmjc21]

Funny timing, last night I was looking at pictures from our trip to CO five years ago and we drove Pike's Peak. I would have much preferred the i3 over a rental car!!

[BMW M Power Mexico]

I had an i3 Rex a couple of weeks ago for a day and a half. I loved the driving experience of it. The price here is too high (no subsidies at all here), if it was somewhat more affordable I'd seriously consider one.

[Redsoxx1918]

Where I am, they can't give them away. There are a bunch left over at the local dealerships and they are offering $139 a month lease deals.

[Redsoxx1918]

I just checked....$139 lease deals are gone but they are offering a $269 lease deal. Not too shabby.

[-c-]

Originally Posted by Redsoxx1918

Where I am, they can't give them away. There are a bunch left over at the local dealerships and they are offering $139 a month lease deals.

Man that's awesome! I'm paying 630 a month ! But I'm buying mine.

But it's worth it for me as I got to configure it just how I wanted it.

And it's cheaper than my 1 series was so its all good!

I wonder what the asking price will be after the leases are turned in.

Hmmmmm

[X3paul]

Originally Posted by Schwaben

The wife and I were out enjoying a beautiful Autumn day in Colorado and decided to see how our new i3 would do up Pikes Peak. The Pikes Peak highway starts at 7,400 feet and runs 19 miles to the top of the mountain at 14,115 feet.

We went through the visitors gateway at 90% battery and made it to the parking lot at the peak with 36.5% remaining. After a walk around and some pictures we started back down. The regenerative braking is so good that I was able to feather the throttle and keep it rolling but well into the charge zone. At the middle check point on the way down there is a mandatory "brake check" where they measure your rotor temps to see if you have been roasting them on the way down. If your brakes are too hot they require you to pull over and wait for them to cool. The guy looked confused when our rotors read 65 fahrenheit.

We made it back down to the gate with 59% battery so all told a cost of 31% for the entire 38 mile round trip. Total trip for the day was 72 miles and we pulled in the garage with 43% left over. This really is an awesome little car when you accept it for what it is made to do and treat it as such.


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I have said it before and I will say it again. Best car bmw makes today. Getting one in 12m time

[ORIGIN M.]

Great BEV.

A Bit Overpriced - Needs A Larger Battery !

Word has it a better battery is coming for 16MY so x3Paul you are in luck.

Minimal Charge structure because BMW picked the lowest denominator of the plug standards.

[raysspl]

Amazing feedback on the i3. It's still fairly ugly though & is mainly a utilitarian's car, which isn't to say a bad thing.

[C5 FOR]

Not for me right now. This tech is early days in terms of development. Give it 10 years and it will be so much better. But not nevertheless something I would want.

Does anyone remember petrol v diesel 30 yrs ago?

[DS_BMW]

Originally Posted by Redsoxx1918

I just checked....$139 lease deals are gone but they are offering a $269 lease deal. Not too shabby.

Yeah with 4500 down..

[ORIGIN M.]

Originally Posted by DS_BMW

Yeah with 4500 down..

Thats a lot of doe.

[.BMW.]

Great write up and a beautiful view!

[afadeev]

Originally Posted by Redsoxx1918

Where I am, they can't give them away. There are a bunch left over at the local dealerships and they are offering $139 a month lease deals.
[...]
... they are offering a $269 lease deal. Not too shabby.

That "deal" is misleading as advertised monthly payment is based on $4.425K down payment (plus fees).

With zero down, that should have been $196/month offer (or lower, depending on current extra incentives).

So, where you are from, they are making at least $1.7K profit on each and every i3s they sell.
Either there is WAY more demand than you thought, or your homies can't do math

a

[Tomahawk]

you also forgot to mention the free home charger. and that is a typical 10% down payment to compare to everyone else's lease ads. and why shouldn't they make a 2% profit on a phenomenal car? and your math is off

[3s-a-charm]

I test drove one in Vancouver - I was impressed. Certainly they rethought how to make a car from the ground-up. Didn't feel like a BMW really. I'm such a fan of BMW that I probably wouldn't have liked it much at all if it had a different badge on it. They don't sell them in our province as they don't have trained service techs so they can't service them here - I would have to drive 12+ hours for service which wouldn't make sense.

Thanks for sharing about your story and drive - I love regen braking!

[afadeev]

Originally Posted by Tomahawk

you also forgot to mention the free home charger.

L2 home charger is not free, but can be had for ~$500 (with DIY installation). You can also include the cost of BMW L2 charger into your lease payment.
L1 charger is included in the purchase, but is impractical for everyday use.

Originally Posted by Tomahawk

and that is a typical 10% down payment to compare to everyone else's lease ads.

There is nothing "typical" in car business.
Always normalize quotes when working with different sales quotes and deals.
Money factor, available corporate discounts/promotions/campaigns, down payment amounts - all vary and subject to strategic omission or mark-up by crafty sales people.

Most people put $0.00 down on leases for a number of very compelling reasons. Do some research if you are not familiar with the reasons.

Originally Posted by Tomahawk

and why shouldn't they make a 2% profit on a phenomenal car?

Because "they" are the dealership sales people who are contribution ZERO to car development and your driving enjoyment.
No reason to leave money on the table why buying a new car, especially if i3's can be had for $500 over invoice vs. $1.7+K !

Originally Posted by Tomahawk

and your math is off

I don't think so.
Be specific!

MSRP = 51,045
Purchase price (Invoice + $500 net of known discounts) ~= 39,940
APR = 1.9% (better than earlier in the year, I previously assumed 1.99%) --> MF = 0.00079
Residual = 0.63
Down-payment = $4,425

--> Monthly lease payment = $193.44 ($195.97 with APR of 1.99%).

a