[lorinzo]

i3 featured.

Thoughts?

[Verdi]

They are just having a laugh. It's nothing serious. They bring up the usual stuff. Lack of range and stuff.

I'm going to order one soon I think. It's brilliant in the city and shorter trips.

[VacMan1]

They set it up to fail, as you'd expect knowing Clarkson. That said, giving it that much screen time at all legitimizes it to some extent. Truth is, with the Euro rex and hold mode he could have driven it in one stop if he'd started full without all the faux range anxiety.

Out here where you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a Level 3 charger (80 miles of range in 30 minutes) so range anxiety is non-existent. I haven't needed my REX at all yet. I've done over 1200 miles now without a single drop of fuel and not a single penny to charge it thanks to the free 2 year Chargepoint card for EVGO that comes with the car.

[lorinzo]

Certainly was a knock on Britain's charging stations.

I have not experienced the limit they described. On a recent trip, I had to run the REX on two stops for fill up. At no time did the car limit my ability to drive at speed, etc.

[TimeFor]

Originally Posted by VacMan1

Out here where you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a Level 3 charger (80 miles of range in 30 minutes) so range anxiety is non-existent.

I just tried using the brand new level 3 chargers out near you in Menifee, CA two weeks ago. Seriously the shopping center is like a month old and they don't even have the chargers listed on a lot of apps yet. But... both Level 3 chargers were broken. One wouldn't sync and the other had a broken lock tab and thus couldn't lock. Was on the phone with tech support for 30 minutes. Nothing. There were also two level 2 chargers but they wanted $10 for the "session". I only had an hour to spare so got charged $10 using level 2 for that time just to get me to another charger. Totally blew and tech support didn't offer me another option. This is one part of the GT episode I feel they got right

[VacMan1]

Originally Posted by TimeFor

I just tried using the brand new level 3 chargers out near you in Menifee, CA two weeks ago. Seriously the shopping center is like a month old and they don't even have the chargers listed on a lot of apps yet. But... both Level 3 chargers were broken. One wouldn't sync and the other had a broken lock tab and thus couldn't lock. Was on the phone with tech support for 30 minutes. Nothing. There were also two level 2 chargers but they wanted $10 for the "session". I only had an hour to spare so got charged $10 using level 2 for that time just to get me to another charger. Totally blew and tech support didn't offer me another option. This is one part of the GT episode I feel they got right

I go to Wally World on the 15 and murrieta hot springs. Never had an issue.

[afadeev]

Originally Posted by VacMan1

They set it up to fail, as you'd expect knowing Clarkson.

True, it was all tongue in cheek, but they do have a valid point - an i3, or any EV, is not one-for-one replacement for ICE cars.

For better of worse, that is the truth.

EVs around town - yes.
EVs for work commuting (within reasonable range) - yes.
EVs in 'da City - no - there are far too few places to charge them. If I still lived in an apartment, it would be a 100% no-go (have L2 charger at home and at work).
EVs for 200+ mile road trips relying on intermediate charging stations - not so much with an i3, yes with a Model S. It is doable in an i3, but with complications.

I have personally done multiple 220+ mile drives from NYC to Boston and back, relying on one (1) fuel stop in New Haven. The only way that could be done is in Eco+ mode (no AC, no heating), and having coded "Hold Charge" feature to use-up the fuel tank before batteries, then refuel, and run on REX again until i get to my hotel with ~15 miles of EV range to spare.

Not exactly a pure EV trip. In fact, the majority of the miles were driven in REX mode.

There are no readily available L2 or L3 charging stations along the way (short of stopping by at VW/Nissan/BMW dealerships for ~2-3 hours), so running on REX was a prerequisite. And even then I only dared to attempt this drive after I found a conveniently located hotel in Boston that had an L2 charger on premises.

Originally Posted by TimeFor

I just tried using the brand new level 3 chargers out near you in Menifee, CA two weeks ago. Seriously the shopping center is like a month old and they don't even have the chargers listed on a lot of apps yet. But... both Level 3 chargers were broken. One wouldn't sync and the other had a broken lock tab and thus couldn't lock. Was on the phone with tech support for 30 minutes. Nothing. There were also two level 2 chargers but they wanted $10 for the "session". I only had an hour to spare so got charged $10 using level 2 for that time just to get me to another charger. Totally blew and tech support didn't offer me another option. This is one part of the GT episode I feel they got right

In my experience, i3s are not highway / road-trip worthy cars.
One can make a go of it, but with too many compromises. And after everything is said and done, i3's handling on the highway is still @#$% compared to proper GT cars (e.g.: an M3).

Therefore, my next i3 is a BEV, and I have no intention of taking it on a highway for a road trips.
It will be an relatively in-expensive yet fashionable grocery getter / winter beater / kid hauler / commuter car.


a

[VacMan1]

I bet the vast majority of i3 owners outside of city centers has another ICE vehicle available for doing longer trips.

[Kiwi]

After watching 4 episodes of Grand Tour its not worth the time to watch.

[Verdi]

Originally Posted by VacMan1

I bet the vast majority of i3 owners outside of city centers has another ICE vehicle available for doing longer trips.

Yeah, the i3 wouldn't do so well as our only car. But as a second car I think it's just perfect.

What do you think of this mix?

BMW M550d Touring + BMW M2 + BMW i3?

Diesel + petrol + electricity.
Station wagon + sports car + city car.
Automatic + manual + single gear.

Great diversity in everything but the brand.

Right now we have the M550d and a Volvo XC70. Both station wagons, both diesel, both automatic transmission... No diversity.

[afadeev]

Originally Posted by Verdi

Yeah, the i3 wouldn't do so well as our only car. But as a second car I think it's just perfect.

Agreed.

Originally Posted by Verdi

What do you think of this mix?

BMW M550d Touring + BMW M2 + BMW i3?

Mine is very close:
I need 4 doors for kids, so for me it's Odyssey + M3 + i3.

Interestingly, last year, we had put the most miles on the i3 of all the cars (~14K), despite major road trips in the other cars.

Originally Posted by Verdi

Diesel + petrol + electricity.
Station wagon + sports car + city car.
Automatic + manual + single gear.

[...]Right now we have the M550d and a Volvo XC70. Both station wagons, both diesel, both automatic transmission... No diversity.

I don't get the fascination with diesel (yeah, I know, it's taxed lower, and therefore is cheaper in EU than regular gasoline). That's not the case in the US, so diesel cars are more expensive upfront (+$3-5K), plus diesel is more expensive at the pump. I ran the numbers once, and it would have required 100+K miles to break even on diesel vs. gasoline engines.

The next change in my garage will be the choice of the EV.
I'm locked into an i3 for another 2 years, but after than, Model 3 looks very tempting. Proper 4 doors, plus 4WD (2 electric motors) with ludicrous mode will challenge M3 for performance.

I will have to drive it first to make up my mind, but it is conceivable that Model 3 will kick out both BMWs from my garage, not just the i3.

a

[lorinzo]

Originally Posted by lorinzo

Certainly was a knock on Britain's charging stations.

I have not experienced the limit they described. On a recent trip, I had to run the REX on two stops for fill up. At no time did the car limit my ability to drive at speed, etc.

Update: recent trip I did experience limited speed while on the highway. Time to make an appointment for coding!!! Went out to Palm Springs/Indio . . . . limited charging options.

[Verdi]

Originally Posted by afadeev

Agreed.

Mine is very close:
I need 4 doors for kids, so for me it's Odyssey + M3 + i3.

Interestingly, last year, we had put the most miles on the i3 of all the cars (~14K), despite major road trips in the other cars.

I don't get the fascination with diesel (yeah, I know, it's taxed lower, and therefore is cheaper in EU than regular gasoline). That's not the case in the US, so diesel cars are more expensive upfront (+$3-5K), plus diesel is more expensive at the pump. I ran the numbers once, and it would have required 100+K miles to break even on diesel vs. gasoline engines.

The next change in my garage will be the choice of the EV.
I'm locked into an i3 for another 2 years, but after than, Model 3 looks very tempting. Proper 4 doors, plus 4WD (2 electric motors) with ludicrous mode will challenge M3 for performance.

I will have to drive it first to make up my mind, but it is conceivable that Model 3 will kick out both BMWs from my garage, not just the i3.

a

Diesel? Well. It's about the same as petrol. At $53 a gallon for both.

The main thing about diesel is that you get more miles per gallon. My M550d with 381 PS (375 bhp) will do almost 30 mpg while a similar petrol version would do perhaps 20 mpg.

Other than that you get the power in low revs and that makes the car feel very powerful during everyday driving. Although it's quite dull when being more aggressive on the throttle. I like my M550d because it's quick without making a fuss about it.

If you have your M3 only for the 0-62 thing then yeah, swap it for a Model 3. But the Tesla won't be close to the M3 for anything else than that.

[NorCali8]

B250e + Odyssey for the Mrs. i3 + i8 for me. We use ~6000kW/h a year to drive 20k miles a year all electric. The i3 is a Rex I commute 65 miles a day. The extender was used once just to have it turn on and prove it works. Never any range anxiety. With the weather warming up 200+ mile range no problem. The i3 kills the b250e it's half as efficient......then there's the i8.....it has been stretched to 19 miles full edrive but the fun is all sports mode. I still average 600 miles on 10 gallons (with recharging). BMWi makes great cars.

[copmagnet82]

Originally Posted by afadeev

The next change in my garage will be the choice of the EV.
I'm locked into an i3 for another 2 years, but after than, Model 3 looks very tempting. Proper 4 doors, plus 4WD (2 electric motors) with ludicrous mode will challenge M3 for performance.

I will have to drive it first to make up my mind, but it is conceivable that Model 3 will kick out both BMWs from my garage, not just the i3.

a

I don't know if Model 3 has the performance of the M3. In Model 3 you can have fun for "15 seconds every 15 minutes"; with M3 you can have fun until you run out of gas.