Official BMW i3 thread

[evnow]

If BMW sells 500 in the first month, I bet 100 of them will be in South Orange County. Tesla outsells Leaf two to one around here. I will keep you posted.

500 is my guess once the initial demand is satisfied. Not first month (which might be lower because of supply constraints, anyway).

 

[Boomer23]

BMW is making a very compelling EV. The best thing the i3 has going for it is the lightweight structure. Full CFRP is pretty darn cool but then again I really appreciate that sort of stuff. Is it worth $50K? Well, everyone certainly is going to find out! Prestige brands have no shortage of people happy to line up and throw money at them for the latest and greatest. Going by the large number of Model S around me, I expect we will be swimming in i3's this summer. But like Nissan, after the sizzle fades, it will be time to adjust i3 prices and features for a more real world appeal. The second wave of i3 buyers will not be showing up with blank checks.

TRONZ, have you driven the i3 yet? Judging by your long term comments about wanting a small, fun sports EV, you'll probably enjoy the driving experience. IMHO this one comes closest of any of the choices now or soon to come to market, even in EV Paradise California, with its relatively large number of choices. I find the driving experience to be the most fun of any that I've tried since the MiniE, and it doesn't suffer from the tiny size of the Fiat or the Spark. I find it to be a good compromise between sportiness, small size, with reasonable interior space and access.

Not necessarily addressed to TRONZ>>
I don't disagree with those who disparage the value disparity compared with LEAF, and BMW's pricing policies, but a base i3 is actually fairly well equipped, equivalent to a LEAF SV in my opinion. They are different cars, with the i3 standing out in sportiness and quickness, as well as coolness, the LEAF excelling in roominess and value. Whether it's worth the price difference is a question of personal perception, but it's not unlike the question of whether a BMW 320i or a Mercedes CLA is worth the price difference compared with a Mazda 6. Every purchase decision doesn't necessarily come down to EV range and which car is less expensive to operate.

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

...with the i3 standing out in sportiness and quickness, as well as coolness

Not seein it

 

[Valdemar]

Did any additional real-life details about the US rex variant surface recently?

 

[Boomer23]

...with the i3 standing out in sportiness and quickness, as well as coolness

Not seein it

It's an acquired taste. It grows on you with repeated exposure, especially test drives. At least it grew on me.

 

[evnow]

...with the i3 standing out in sportiness and quickness, as well as coolness

Not seein it

Yes - the problem with i3 is the styling is controversial. So, I think only this "cool" about it is the carbon fiber - which needs an explanation rather than being self-explanatory (which is what "status" conscious people look for).

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

Yes - the problem with i3 is the styling is controversial. So, I think only this "cool" about it is the carbon fiber - which needs an explanation rather than being self-explanatory (which is what "status" conscious people look for).

Exactly. The only thing more uncool than driving a car that is not obviously cool to the casual observer is being the nerd who goes around trying to explain to everyone else why they should think it's cool.

 

[Boomer23]

Yes - the problem with i3 is the styling is controversial. So, I think only this "cool" about it is the carbon fiber - which needs an explanation rather than being self-explanatory (which is what "status" conscious people look for).

Exactly. The only thing more uncool than driving a car that is not obviously cool to the casual observer is being the nerd who goes around trying to explain to everyone else why they should think it's cool.

LOL, pile on, guys. So far we have "status conscious nerd"

 

[JeremyW]

I sum up the looks in one sentence: It drives as good as it is ugly.

I'm going to be going to the Alhambra BMW i3 event on April 6th. I actually do like the interior... and agree the base is like an SV on the leaf. Who knows, if they can chop the price down enough, it might be a contender when my lease is up in 2015 if I'm still living in LA. In that time I think they'll learn some Nissan-like lessons about EV's and their drivers though. Some they should have learned with the Active E...

 

[aqn]

I won't comment on the i3's looks because a newborn is always ugly but not to its parents. And beauty is in the eye blah blah blah.
I don't care too much whether the i3 is cool. Sure it'd be great if it's "cool" like a Tesla S might be, but it's not high on my list. (I do think CFRP is cool, but I don't care if the average person does.)
I don't care about the one-pedal driving. I got used to it within a mile.
I do care that it's multiple hundred thousands zillions pounds lighter than the LEAF.
I do care that it can do 0-60 in about 7 seconds and change according to my stopwatch. I do care that in traffic it's even more entertaining than the LEAF if I want it to be, given the much lighter weight.

Unfortunately, I also do care that it's gonna cost me as much as the LEAF, which I paid cash for. My LEAF costs me $437 a month so far (what I paid, less current kbb.com private party value, divided by 36 months). There is no way the i3 is gonna cheaper.

I think I'm done with EVs. I can't afford being on the cutting edge! I'm hoping a plug-in hybrid (Toy Prius, Ford Fusion or Focus, soon Audi A3 Sportback e-tron and VW GTE, etc.) will hold its value better.

 

[pkulak]

Who knows, if they can chop the price down enough, it might be a contender when my lease is up in 2015

My lease is up late 2015 as well, and if Nissan has a 40+ kWh Leaf out by then, I'd take that over an i3 any day. Even at the same price. In the EV world, range is king, even though I don't really _need_ it.

 

[pbennett]

When Tesla comes out with their cheaper sedan I think it'll be a new market entirely. I love my '13 Leaf but would definitely like a bit more range so when my lease runs out it'll be interesting to see what's available at that point. The i3 is a complete non-starter - if I were to pay that much for a lease I'd just spend a little more and get a Tesla. While I love that BMW is entering the space, I can't imagine the i3 doing well in sales.

 

[spike09]

First saw the i3, two of them parked side by side actually, at ArtBasel earlier this year. I will be test driving the car at a dealer event on Wednesday. I wonder when the car will be available in South Florida, a major BMW market, considering the first 28K i3's are already reserved?

 

[scottf200]

BMW ///M i3: It's Coming - Soon!

http://bmwi3.blogspot.com/2014/04/bmw-m-i3-its-coming-soon.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Now for the most intriguing part of this. The i3 has been designed around the philosophy of weight savings whenever possible. Many of these features will add weight which reduces efficiency. Plus, the more powerful drivetrain will likely use more energy than the stock set-up does. If someone were to drive the car hard (like it should be driven) then the range may only be 40 or 50 miles, and that's just not enough. So I asked if the ///M i3 would be available with the range extender, and was told definitely not; it will only be available in BEV form. Pressing further about the likely limited range of what will be a very expensive 40 mile electric car he replied, "The ///M i3 will have a greater electric range then the standard i3. It will also charge faster and offer technology unavailable in any other electric vehicle on the market." Now this is indeed getting interesting. There are really only two possibilities here that make any sense. It either has a larger battery pack, perhaps utilizing the space where the range extender goes, or BMW is using the higher density batteries that they have been testing in MINI-E mules for a couple years now. These cells are reported to have about a 30% greater energy density than the stock i3 batteries that come from Samsung have, so that would seem to work here.

 

[aqn]

BMW ///M i3: It's Coming - Soon!

http://bmwi3.blogspot.com/2014/04/bmw-m-i3-its-coming-soon.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Now for the most intriguing part of this. The i3 has been designed around the philosophy of weight savings whenever possible.

Very interesting news! The article is next to useless, though, with statements such as "...and i3 owners will want to autocross their cars just like 3-Series owners do" (I guess dude's never been to an auto-x 'cause any stock 3 series is a dog in their respective class, and even M3's are not weapons of choice) and "The suspension will obviously be improved for performance..." (well, thanks, Captain Obvious! I would have never guessed that an M variant would have improved suspension! ).

Also "Pressing further about [...] car he replied...": the only other names mentioned in the article, AFAICT, was "Eric Loveday of InsideEVs.com" and Mayor de Blasio. I'm pretty sure neither of them speaks for BMW.

 

[kmp647]

Tom is a great source of info for the I3 and BMW's electric program. Generally if its on Tom's site you can believe it.

 

[evnow]

I think I'm done with EVs. I can't afford being on the cutting edge! I'm hoping a plug-in hybrid (Toy Prius, Ford Fusion or Focus, soon Audi A3 Sportback e-tron and VW GTE, etc.) will hold its value better.

That is the reason for leasing.

 

[Boomer23]

Tom is a great source of info for the I3 and BMW's electric program. Generally if its on Tom's site you can believe it.

Unless the date is April 1. :lol: :lol: :lol: :twisted:

 

[TomMoloughney]

Tom is a great source of info for the I3 and BMW's electric program. Generally if its on Tom's site you can believe it.

Thank you! I do try to get it right before posting. Although Boomer makes a very good point also!

 

[aqn]

Tom is a great source of info for the I3 and BMW's electric program. Generally if its on Tom's site you can believe it.

Unless the date is April 1. :lol: :lol: :lol: :twisted:

Haha, very good point! Supposedly insideevs.com was in on it as well. A bunch of sites ran with it or real:

This one started with "Despite today’s date..."
http://ecomento.com/2014/04/01/electric-bmw-i3-to-get-m-power-treatment-m-i3-to-be-revealed-later-this-month/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.bmwblog.com/2014/04/01/bmw-i3m-tested-spy-photo/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.autoevolution.com/news/bmw-i3-m-rendering-66931.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;