[Leytonaustin]

Hello.

I'm contemplating an i3, more for town driving as the Mrs will hopefully be on the road soon. I'm just wondering what they are like owning one? I've drove one before and was impressed, just not sure on practicality of them really. I know the boot is tiny. What about common issues with them? Are there any?

[Myi3reXhandy]

Originally Posted by Leytonaustin

Hello.

I'm contemplating an i3, more for town driving as the Mrs will hopefully be on the road soon. I'm just wondering what they are like owning one? I've drove one before and was impressed, just not sure on practicality of them really. I know the boot is tiny. What about common issues with them? Are there any?

I just got one pre-own 2015 Rex low mileage, for work and long distances commute no the best move but I'm learning to like it, plus just got an email from my accountant and I could have a break on my taxes of $7500 so that's a big plus!!! My concerns so far is the tires been two different sizes and there's no spare but if you could manage that then you'll be good, is a really fun car to drive plus looks really good

[PBNB]

We have had our 2015 Rex since July and it has been quite a learning curve.

We had to get the connected drive subscription transferred and that took some time because the car was imported in Canada and BMW seems to have different companies operating in each country.

Getting a home charging solution took some work as our house is a bit older and we were looking at a bunch of upgrades. Fortunately we made it work with the existing power setup. Having a level 2 charger makes the most sense and actually takes away a lot of issues about charging and finding a charging station. We have only used a charger outside of our own once. The Rex has a lot to do with that.

We use our i3 for work and with the rear seats down, there is quite a bit of room for tools and materials.

We had the rear windows and hatch glass tinted so we could hide our tools as well.

The tires/wheels are a bit of a concern. There are only a few choices mainly from Bridgestone. If you have the 20" wheels, you can't run snow tires because there are none made for those wheels. You will need the 19" wheels and then you can get snow tires. We just bought a new set of winter wheels from BMW. They were pricey but our business can take care of that cost. You can find some used ones in Craigslist or on some of these forums.

The Rex is handy and really helps when the batteries get low. You can continue for as long as there is fuel and go further if you can find more fuel assuming you can't get a charge. If you go with the BEV platform you will need to make sure of the charging stations around you and plan accordingly.

The Rex also brings more maintenance to the car. Oil changes, filters etc... related to an internal combustion engine. In my case the Rex has been used about 3-5% of the time so the usage is quite low to make this less of a concern. In 3 1/2 years the Rex was used for about 1,000 kms while the total kms are 22,000.

Some owners have had issues with the Rex not running correctly or not starting. If you are getting a Rex, try it out to see if it runs without issues.

The BEV model has much less to go wrong.

The rear doors are a bit to get used to as the front seat belts are attached to the doors so you need to undo the front seatbelt to open the rear door.

As far as the finishing, the car is quite unique with the wood dash and recycled materials.

The engine is very peppy and fun to drive. One pedal driving is easy to get used to but beware if you get into another car without. Takes a bit to switch between the two.

The technology is great even thought the car is 3 to 4 years old.

Go through the "World" packages for these cars to see what options you want. We have all the options in our i3 so I am not too sure what I would miss if it wasn't there!

[clubsport]

I don't know if Costco is in the UK but they have to have some kind of "Warehouse" type store. I take mine to our Costco and fill it up. It has never failed me once. Obviously not trying to stuff a huge Television in but it's extremely user friendly.

[afadeev]

Originally Posted by Leytonaustin

I'm just wondering what they are like owning one? I've drove one before and was impressed, just not sure on practicality of them really. I know the boot is tiny. What about common issues with them? Are there any?

As a 2nd or 3rd car, they are great!
A nearly perfect replacement for a daily commuter / grocery run-around vehicle.

As the one and only car for the family, I would say i3's are far too small and restrictive in multiple categories.
Then again, I don't know where you live and how you intend to use the car, or what your baseline expectations might be. If you are upgrading form a Smart - i3 might be luxuriously big and fast. If you are downgrading from a Hummer, just the opposite.

Good luck with your purchase!

a

[rolltidef32]

Originally Posted by Leytonaustin

Hello.

I'm contemplating an i3, more for town driving as the Mrs will hopefully be on the road soon. I'm just wondering what they are like owning one? I've drove one before and was impressed, just not sure on practicality of them really. I know the boot is tiny. What about common issues with them? Are there any?

Depends on a few points that you haven't mentioned, but others have already pointed out a few considerations.

I have the BEV and use the i3s as a city car. Took a couple of road trips to Nashville and Asheville, NC due to charging infrastructure just for the fun of it.

In a major metro area, the car is pretty neat, and I rarely need to use Public charging, but can easily.

Install a level 2 at home and as long as your round trip commute is less than, say 60 miles per day, any i3 will seem like a great move. Errands are a breeze also.

I love mine. It is a 2nd car option for us.

[MickeytheT]

I think the practicality depends on your driving habits. I just leased our second i3 and it's our main car--we have an ICE vehicle (Mini Cooper) as a back-up and we drove it less than 1,000 miles last year. For us, the previous range of 80-ish miles was fine for 95% of our driving and the the 115 mile range on our 2018 will probably be fine for 99% of our driving.

Putting aside its quirky looks and sub-par back doors, it's a great city car and that's where we do our driving.

[jmg]

Originally Posted by afadeev

As a 2nd or 3rd car, they are great!
A nearly perfect replacement for a daily commuter / grocery run-around vehicle.

As the one and only car for the family, I would say i3's are far too small and restrictive in multiple categories.

Ditto. The i3 is our third car and fits that role nicely. We have an SUV for hauling, passengers and travel, a fun car for me, and the i3 commuter or quick around town car.