[bovino]

I love the i3...wife not so sold...but what she really hates is my 10 year old Jeep. (Which obviously I love.). So the proposition is on the table to sell the Jeep and lease an i3. I rarely (6 times a year) take it off road and she can't ride in it...bad back. I mostly drive it to work and back home. My life is different than it was 10 years ago, and my likes/dislikes have shifted over time, as they tend to do when you get older.

Our dealer has several 2015 on the lot still...should be able to get a great deal.

Help me to understand how awesome the i3 is. Why should I get it over a Leaf, for instance? I'm looking for anecdotes, things I can't google. Real experiences. I live in Arizona where it is hot and her car is a 435i GC, so we are already BMW folks.

Lastly, my wife is concerned about the glut of them...any thought to if the i3 will be around after a 36mo. lease expires? She thinks production will halt due to low interest. Would hate to invest in the charger and have no new EV!

[arctic330i]

We love ours, I came from an X5 35i as my daily (still have it) and a 335is coupe. I find the performance to be great for a city car, and electric. Its no speed demon, especially on the interstate but its overall quicker than our Nissan Sentra we also have. Interior space is awesome, rear seats I always keep down and I can load so much in there with the square ish form. I would only get the range extender if I was you, I have one and it has saved my butt so many times. Just yesterday I went to another town for a meeting and made it back to the office with 10 miles left, I live 5 from my house. Traffic ended up being terrible and I used all electricity and had to use the range extender engine for probably 20 minutes in stop and go traffic. I feel like with the electric only BEV you would end up not driving it if it had less than like 20 miles of electric.

But really, its probably the most cool/fun car I have ever owned. Not sure what single thing it is about it, its special!

[-c-]

The car is underrated !

It will be around for many years to come as they will eventually redesign it and besides the EV market is still growing and they never meant for the i3 to sell like a 3 series.

Plus tell her it's like the top 3 selling EV's on the market so dont see it going away. It's a world car so it can be sold anywhere. The newer ones will have higher mileage and that will help sales.

One thought I have is the car seems to be crazy liked by the younger generation ! Thumbs up all the time from the kiddies...... I think the older generations don't care for it much plus it's not your typical BMW proportion, much like the hatred for the 3 and 5 series GT, so it's outcasted by some BMW lovers and fanboys. But the youngsters just can't afford it or they don't have anyway to charge it. Especially if they rent. Many city dwellers also have parking spaces but can't install a charger so the problem compounds itself. In the past 6 years I've had a smart car, z4, 135 is, and a new A6 and love this car the most. Looks will change but it's new and different and plus I like the fact that I don't see them everywhere, it keeps it fresh. When the market is over saturated with a particular model I think it gets watered down and boring.

But to each his own. Ask for an extended test drive if you can, it's what sold me. I was put off at first in its exterior looks and after driving it and having for a while I have a completely different appreciation for everything they have done. The details are everywhere. Sales will eventually rise and BMW won't kill it any time soon. Besides new and better models will be made and released as well as all future BMW models will have some EV support at some point so your EV charger investment won't go away. Plus if you ever sell your future home owner if they ever drive an EV or plan on one will appreciate your house being EV ready !!!!

[-c-]

Oops duplicate post sorry!

[bovino]

Thank you both very much. I'm pretty much sold other than trying to come to terms with losing my Jeep. I've had it for ten years and I really want to keep it, but we can't afford two cars. Trying to figure out if the financials make sense. If I get it, I'll pop back in

[Awkwardmoment]

bought mine (full electric, no rex) in October and loving it incredibly... well, we leased as with the current offers and how quickly things evolve with electric cars, I dont think its time to buy one yet...

We live in Vegas but havent seen summer yet with the car... perfect car for our winters though: all you need is the seat warmer, dont even need to turn on the heating system.

We are getting about 75-80 miles per charge running mostly eco pro+ so its definitely a city car made to commute, run errands and hang out in town... not made for someone on the road all day! but perfect as a 2nd car for a couple.

Super quick and it just feels like you are driving a car from the future

my 2 gripes:

- They used the most slippery fabric possible for the trunk so everything slides and bangs (sometimes so loud I though we had hit something). Until we bought a trunk organizer, you had to put your stuff in the backseat

- can be a bumpy ride over potholes and bad roads. This is my first BMW so kinda disappointed in german engineering on that point! I was expecting a smoother ride


Awesome car overall

[-c-]

Originally Posted by Awkwardmoment

bought mine (full electric, no rex) in October and loving it incredibly... well, we leased as with the current offers and how quickly things evolve with electric cars, I dont think its time to buy one yet...

We live in Vegas but havent seen summer yet with the car... perfect car for our winters though: all you need is the seat warmer, dont even need to turn on the heating system.

We are getting about 75-80 miles per charge running mostly eco pro+ so its definitely a city car made to commute, run errands and hang out in town... not made for someone on the road all day! but perfect as a 2nd car for a couple.

Super quick and it just feels like you are driving a car from the future

my 2 gripes:

- They used the most slippery fabric possible for the trunk so everything slides and bangs (sometimes so loud I though we had hit something). Until we bought a trunk organizer, you had to put your stuff in the backseat

- can be a bumpy ride over potholes and bad roads. This is my first BMW so kinda disappointed in german engineering on that point! I was expecting a smoother ride


Awesome car overall

Well the sporty and or nimble handling comes at a cost. It's hard to have a smooth ride and get super cushy suspension and have a car act with very accurate feedback.

For the most part bmw is leaning toward a sports car and all their cars for the most part have a sporty nature to them so all their suspensions tend to be a little more firm than most. At least from what I've noticed.

I prefer firmer ride though, I hate bad roads also but I live in an area where the taxes are high and at least the roads are smooth so the suspension is a joy!

My parents Buick however is like driving a waterbed and I want to stab myself every time I drive it!

[afadeev]

Originally Posted by bovino

I love the i3...wife not so sold...but what she really hates is my 10 year old Jeep. (Which obviously I love.). So the proposition is on the table to sell the Jeep and lease an i3. I rarely (6 times a year) take it off road and she can't ride in it...bad back.

This hate/hate upgrade has disaster all over it.
I would stop and understand why your wife dislikes the i3. If it has anything to do with physical constraints (driver/passenger seat aggravating sore back, access to the back seat, etc), no amount of eloquence will over-come her objections. And here is the rub - she will likely be right!

If it's something else that leads her to dislike the i3, understand what it is, and see if her objections can be overcome, or if she has valid points and you need to look at a different car.

Originally Posted by bovino

Help me to understand how awesome the i3 is. Why should I get it over a Leaf, for instance? I'm looking for anecdotes, things I can't google. Real experiences. I live in Arizona where it is hot and her car is a 435i GC, so we are already BMW folks.

Sorry, but i3 is not awesome.
If you are BMW folks, you will be underwhelmed by i3's handling and performance. It's not horrible, but definitely VERY far from awesome.

Where i3 makes up for its performance and handling limitations is in technological coolness, practicality, and super-low ownership cost.

Nothing wrong with Leaf and other EVs, especially Tesla S.
Go test drive them, and see how you like them.
I would rather you and your wife bought an EV you were both thrilled with, than twist your arm towards an i3 you will later regret.

Originally Posted by bovino

Lastly, my wife is concerned about the glut of them...any thought to if the i3 will be around after a 36mo. lease expires? She thinks production will halt due to low interest. Would hate to invest in the charger and have no new EV!

BMW i3 sales are slowly, but steadily, increasing from ~750/month last year to ~1k/month in 2015:
http://insideevs.com/monthly-plug-in-sales-scorecard/

There will be a new i3 next year (MY'17) with an even greater range, so the product pipeline is set for the next 3-6 years.

The charger should cost you $400-500 (Google!).
A bigger concern would be not i3 production line ending, but a new charging technology/standard rolling out that will render existing 240V L2 chargers obsolete. That is definitely a possibility, and a risk you should be comfortable taking.

If you are leasing, compare the terms for 24 vs. 36 month lease offers.
When I looked last year, the 24 month lease was more heavily subsidized by BMW NA (via a super-high residual), and thus more attractive (and less risk from EV experiment perspective).

a

[bovino]

Originally Posted by afadeev

This hate/hate upgrade has disaster all over it.
I would stop and understand why your wife dislikes the i3. If it has anything to do with physical constraints (driver/passenger seat aggravating sore back, access to the back seat, etc), no amount of eloquence will over-come her objections. And here is the rub - she will likely be right!

If it's something else that leads her to dislike the i3, understand what it is, and see if her objections can be overcome, or if she has valid points and you need to look at a different car.




Sorry, but i3 is not awesome.
If you are BMW folks, you will be underwhelmed by i3's handling and performance. It's not horrible, but definitely VERY far from awesome.

Where i3 makes up for its performance and handling limitations is in technological coolness, practicality, and super-low ownership cost.

Nothing wrong with Leaf and other EVs, especially Tesla S.
Go test drive them, and see how you like them.
I would rather you and your wife bought an EV you were both thrilled with, than twist your arm towards an i3 you will later

So she dislikes the look...but she likes it a lot more than my jacked up 10 year old jeep. We did test drive it and both liked the drive. We have very different expectations of the vehicle than our 435.


We shall see. We are looking to see how low they will go to get one off the lot.

[-c-]

Originally Posted by afadeev

Sorry, but i3 is not awesome.
If you are BMW folks, you will be underwhelmed by i3's handling and performance. It's not horrible, but definitely VERY far from awesome.

Where i3 makes up for its performance and handling limitations is in technological coolness, practicality, and super-low ownership cost.

Oh come on man! No need to be so down on it!

I came from a 135is and a Z4 and had two mini coopers before them and absolutely love it !

I think it's awesome ! Otherwise I wouldn't have bought the thing! Not into buying cars if I don't love em!

But seriously around town id say it would handle just as good as the jeep ! .

And it's probably quicker than the jeep. But hey it's all relative to what your expecting I guess.

If your expecting a sports car "M" your just silly but it's still fun to drive and hangs with the hot hatches in track times or at least close with them from the few track vids I've seen.

Now I do have the sport tires so I'm sure that helps. Lowering it may even help more.

[bovino]

Originally Posted by -c-

Oh come on man! No need to be so down on it!

I came from a 135is and a Z4 and had two mini coopers before them and absolutely love it !

I think it's awesome ! Otherwise I wouldn't have bought the thing! Not into buying cars if I don't love em!

But seriously around town id say it would handle just as good as the jeep ! .

And it's probably quicker than the jeep. But hey it's all relative to what your expecting I guess.

If your expecting a sports car "M" your just silly but it's still fun to drive and hangs with the hot hatches in track times or at least close with them from the few track vids I've seen.

Now I do have the sport tires so I'm sure that helps. Lowering it may even help more.

We have the sporty car, this would be the nerdy car.

[-c-]

Originally Posted by bovino

We have the sporty car, this would be the nerdy car.

. Tech nerds!

[afadeev]

Originally Posted by -c-

Oh come on man! No need to be so down on it!

I came from a 135is and a Z4 and had two mini coopers before them and absolutely love it !

Yeah, I was a bit too harsh on i3.
Figured a bucket of ice cold water might be worth it for someone who is coming from a 435i.

Funny thing: I also had an MCS, and the i3 replaced it in my garage (after a blown N14).

a

[-c-]

Originally Posted by afadeev

Yeah, I was a bit too harsh on i3.
Figured a bucket of ice cold water might be worth it for someone who is coming from a 435i.

Funny thing: I also had an MCS, and the i3 replaced it in my garage (after a blown N14).

a

Lol I hear ya. Theirs pluses and negatives to each, yea the n14 wasn't the best.

Mine had the triteck engine, R53 days

Over 200k miles and still taking it . Crazy !

At least the new ones have a BMW engine vs the outsourced ones ....just can't accept the new design that looks like that of the clown mouth!

[m5sdse63]

My 2 cents on our i3.

We leased ours for 24mo as I wasn't certain on how this car will take off and its popularity. If you have any apprehension, leasing is a better option in my opinion.

Technology and battery capacity ever changing who knows if the current roughly 70mi electric range only will be a laughing matter in a few years. Apparently BMW is working on increasing the battery capacity in i3 to 120mi while keeping it the same size since the battery can be packaged more densely.

The i3 is cool and unique and not depending on gasoline is liberating. Ours is gas extender option so range anxiety is not a problem. You'd be surprised how easy it is to deplete electric charge. I'd only recommend Rex instead of BEV. Dealers have a harder time selling BEV.

I like the duality of the powertrain of i3 Rex and neither Leaf, nor Tesla have this option. Therefore i wouldn't consider them. Looks wise Leaf doesn't come close to i3. Tesla does look pretty nice but is also a lot more $.

As far as how it drives, I am a wrong person to ask as my DD is M6 GC competition package and before that I had an M4. Switching between the two of course you need to lower your expectations, which is fine because i3 provides for a totally different driving experience, the one which doesn't provoke you driving like a maniac. One pedal driving experience of i3 is quite doable and you rarely have to rely on the brake pedal. Brakes on i3 aren't great by the way.

All in all i3 is a great car for the purpose it aspires to portray. It won't tick every box but the boxes that it ticks it does so well. My wife drives the i3 and loves it, but does miss some utility and size of the X5M (and speed, and handling, and brakes ).

I hope this helps in your decision. Good luck!