So friends, I was the lucky winner of the "4-day free lease" (4 day extended test drive) of the BMW i3 EV that was at the Science City display on 9-13-14 (they purposely pulled my entry because I already own an EV - I verified that
).
Picked it up Saturday and here's my preliminary review. It's a very good little vehicle.
Very sharp looking and extremely peppy and responsive. Powerful regen/stops almost immediately without braking (maybe that's a safety problem - no brake lights warning followers, unless you press the brake unnecessarily). Strange dial on the right-side steering column behind the steering wheel for "gear" shifting (very foreign/abnormal-feeling to me). Some dashboard electronics and display controls in the console area (also odd-feeling). You get used to these things. Nice tight turning radius, 3 modes of drive (Comfort mode is still stiffer than my LEAF). The interior electronics/displays and exterior looks of the vehicle make it feel very sophisticated, but the trim level inside did not; it felt somewhat unfinished, although they tried using recycled/alternative materials. Interesting attempt...I think for the price, even most EV buyers will want a bit more finish (the dash and door panels don't look fully completed...my LEAF has a more completed looking interior). The size is really great, comparable to the LEAF, not too big, not too small, all-around visibility is great, fits real people in the back seat. Seats can rise up or down (manually, via a seat lever) for high/low positioning.
Cons: The whole body of this car is plastic. I didn't realize that until my brother-in-law, a Lexus salesman, was poking around all over it, knocking on panels. OK, I get it (it's about carbon fiber), but I'm not sure I trust plastic/carbon fiber panels to protect me from a side impact (to be fair, I haven't read up about this yet), especially without a side pillar and "suicide doors" on both sides of the car. I have questions about whether there's even a "safety cage."
I also discovered this is a rear-wheel drive car, something I don't have plans to go back to in this snowy, hilly part of the country (KCMO). I felt some comfort dropping back to a (familiar) front-wheel drive LEAF from a 4WD-on-the-fly Suzuki Grand Vitara LTD, but wouldn't have much confidence going to RWD in 14" of snow, like we had last year.
The vehicle charges fairly rapidly compared to my 3.3 LEAF (I believe it's a 7.1 OBC), which I'll say I could certainly get used to! Unfortunately, the charge port is on the passenger side rear quarter panel. Big thumbs down on that. My 15' EVSE cord won't reach, so have to back into the garage. I noticed all the i3s at Baron BMW were backed up to the EVSEs. I find that very inconvenient and actually annoying. If I were to own this vehicle, I'd have to have my EVSE relocated near the garage door to stretch around the rear of the vehicle to reach the port, so I could just pull in nose first like normal vehicles do. Why the designers of these cars think putting the port in the rear like gas cars (to be "normal") is a good idea, I'll never know (even Tesla!).
Last note: I had barely scanned the wiki on the i3 and didn't find that it had a DCQC port. This test vehicle didn't have one, either. I mentioned it and my Baron BMW rep said it's an option. OK, the test vehicle sticker price is over 47K - shouldn't that merit both ports? Big thumbs down there, too.
The dealership would not sign me up to use the iPhone app (only owners get that), so I can't tell you how well charging is done remotely or if timers, etc., can be set. I'll have to dig around manually inside the car electronics to see what's available there. It would be nice to get SOC on the phone. :|
Overall, I'm enjoying playing with this vehicle, although I haven't put much rubber to the road. I'll be giving it back on Wednesday evening. In summary, with the cons I mentioned, I'd recommend it as a daily driver, but I personally would want a FWD or 4WD back-up vehicle for cruddy weather and hilly areas around here. Comparatively, for drivers like me - I'm a single, one-vehicle owner (yes, I'm BEV brave) - my LEAF meets all my needs, no back-up required.
More later,
Kathy