[CattyT0mboy]

Hey guys, I am currently driving a Tesla Roadster and want to upgrade my ride, here is my options, Tesla Model X P90D with Ludicrous which cost around 200k or use the same amount of money to buy an i8 and an i3 (Or Cooper JCW). I usually do very long trips and drives around 7000 miles per month. I am planning to use i8 as my daily driver (even in winter) and i3/Cooper as my camping/hiking/picnic/kayak/outdoor activity/you name it vehicle. With Model X I am able to have all of these in one vehicle. The problems is I lived in Alberta Canada so it will reach lower than -25F outside so Range decrease will be really an issue for running a Tesla, even worse we dont have enough supercharger. With Roadster I only get 65km per charge in some situation so I have to drive my pickup truck to work. I wonder if i8 will do better and have better range (Ground Clearance for my DD doesnt really matter because tried 911 4S and never scrape on the ground) but for outdoor activities vehicle I do need a bit ground clearence, that doesnt matter even add some cash I can do X5 40e.

Now I have serveral issue to concern:
1. how well i8 did on 100% freeway condition without charge?
2. Is that necessary for me to get laser headlight?
3. How much the maintaince cost on a i8 (for 80k)?
4. Any owners try to open your doors in a shopping mall parking lot?
5. i8 looks cooler than MODEL x?
I am persoanlly perfer 2 vehicle than Model X, any suggestion you guys can give me? Thanks

[MalibuBimmer]

1. i8 is great on the freeway. And in sport at less than 135 mph it charges the battery.

2. Probably not. Nice option if you can afford it.

3. No cost for first 3 years, 50K miles in USA. Isn't it the same in Canada? (Convert to kms.)

4. Nope. If you get too close to another car opening the driver's door could be problematic. Unless you can open it pretty much all the way you can't get in. But that is probably a very rare problem.

5. Pretty much personal preference, but to me the Tesla S looks like a Buick whose distinctive body styling was smoothed out and made as bland as possible by a committee. (The Model X looks like someone started to make it bigger and then quit halfway through.) The i8 looks like a super car.

I think it's a pretty easy decision. If you're asking on a BMW board you're going to get BMW-centric decisions. You should also ask on the Tesla board. They hate the i8.

As for range, the Tesla's will sink like a rock in cold weather. And without superchargers at your beck and call you're stranded.

[phoenixbmwlife]

Range will be a problem with such cold weather so the i8 is a better choice because of the petrol engine. But if you get the i8 and the i3/cooper, now you have two insurance payments to make. But if that's okay with you then it's a no brainer. Get the i8 and either the i3 or the mini. That's my eventual plan with my wife anyway. She will get the i3 and me the i8. Good Luck with your decision.

[Nivarox]

I think I can provide some answers being an i8 Owner and Tesla hater. Well,I promise I will be objective
1 - You can drive it up to 37 kilometers but mostly 25 kilometers. You can charge it as well while driving in various modes as �� plugging it in. Even when braking the charges up the batteries
2 - I don't have lasers, they are good for staggering 600 meters but they can be used only in high beams. No short beams in laser in other words
3 - I have not serviced it yet but must be cheaper than 7 Series
4 - Aye, I can providing the car juxtaposed to me must be within lines, if they parked in awry way and not folding their mirrors these could be problem. You can check it out just sticking out your head and lean upwards while holding the door with one hand
5 - BMW i8 is a real head turner,almost everyone is asking about and taking photos of the car. It is a versatile vehicle too. There is winter tires available for it too.
You can check Ausfahrt42 YouTube Channel for i8 videos

https://www.youtube.com/user/ausfahrttv/videos

[Aye-eight]

Originally Posted by CattyT0mboy

Now I have serveral issue to concern:
1. how well i8 did on 100% freeway condition without charge?
2. Is that necessary for me to get laser headlight?
3. How much the maintaince cost on a i8 (for 80k)?
4. Any owners try to open your doors in a shopping mall parking lot?
5. i8 looks cooler than MODEL x?
I am persoanlly perfer 2 vehicle than Model X, any suggestion you guys can give me? Thanks

Alright, my two cents' worth:

0. I think it's cool that you're asking for input. In my view, the Tesla and the i8 are completely different animals. The i8 doesn't offer very much in terms of trunk space, but it's fine in daily driving, not much different from other serious sports cars. In the climate you're in, I personally wouldn't risk it with an all-battery vehicle. I don't know what the charging infrastructure is there. But I'd always live in fear that just when you need it, the charger is occupied. And BTW, in an all-electric vehicle, no battery charge, no heat! And if you do have a full battery, the heater / defroster will eat into your range like there's no tomorrow.

1. It's not a slow car, even without the e support, although it is of course slowER. And even if you don't have much of a charge left, there is so much coasting and braking on highways, that you will almost always have a bit of juice in there, should you need it for a sprint.

2. I haven't seen them in action, so can't comment. I'd like to have them myself, but when I got my i8, that option was even more ridiculously priced - something like USD 14'000.

3. So far, nothing. It's different country by country, but my service doesn't cost me anything for a number of years.

4. I've been parked in before. Our parking spots here in Europe are quite small sometimes, esp. in old towns or older parking structures. I've never been so stuck that I couldn't drive off. Once, I had to go in through the passenger door. Once I squeezed in from underneath a partially opened driver's door. Looked ridiculous, I'm sure, but I've also had to do the splits before trying to squeeze into my Porsche, with the door going so far back.

5. The i8 looks cooler than pretty much everything else - except maybe the 918...

[skinrock]

I didn't get the lasers specifically because the US model requires the stupid yellow warning triangle that you see for all lasers. I normally go for all options, but I can't justify 6 grand and having an (imo) ugly sticker.

[Aye-eight]

Originally Posted by skinrock

I didn't get the lasers specifically because the US model requires the stupid yellow warning triangle that you see for all lasers. I normally go for all options, but I can't justify 6 grand and having an (imo) ugly sticker.

The sticker makes the car more spaceship-ish, though. Doesn't it? . All you need is NCC-1701 as a license plate. (Now, let's see who gets this one...)