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Via IEVS:
UPDATE: BMW Cancels Range-Extender Option For i3 In Europe
https://insideevs.com/bmw-ditches-range-extender-rex-i3/

Presumably, bigger battery + shorter Euro driving ranges = no need for REx. U.S. still gets it. It'll be interesting to see if the bigger battery in the 2019s alters the mix of i3/i3 REx I see, as that usually runs about 3:1 in favor of the REx. EPA range of the new 42.2 kWh battery is expected to be around 150-155 miles.
 
I'm resurrecting this thread, I've put the 2016 i3 REX on my radar for a stop gap leaf replacement. The dealer near me has a couple of low mileage 2016 with REX in the $18k range. They'd have about 18mo and 25k miles or so left on the warranty.

Any thoughts? I know the 2014/15 had some issues but I've read that the newer ones have gotten pretty reliable. Anyone have one or have direct experience with them? I'd probably use it for a couple of years and then get a used model 3 or eplus it shouldn't depreciate much based on the fact that 2014 i3 still sell for $14-$15k.
 
cwerdna said:
BMW i3 To Die Off: Will Not Get A Successor
https://insideevs.com/news/371423/bmw-i3-dead/
Interesting, thanks for posting that.

With gradually increasing sales of the I3 I'm surprised at this news. Perhaps BMW realizes that they need a platform that can hold a bigger battery pack for a lot more range to be competitive. Or it may be that they plan to electrify a lot of their current line and the I3 platform is no longer necessary. Just speculating.
 
dgpcolorado said:
cwerdna said:
BMW i3 To Die Off: Will Not Get A Successor
https://insideevs.com/news/371423/bmw-i3-dead/
Interesting, thanks for posting that.

With gradually increasing sales of the I3 I'm surprised at this news. Perhaps BMW realizes that they need a platform that can hold a bigger battery pack for a lot more range to be competitive. Or it may be that they plan to electrify a lot of their current line and the I3 platform is no longer necessary. Just speculating.


To quote the article:
t seems that the new electrification strategy does not envision the extraordinary design and CFRP any more as we further read: "the firm would be looking to bring "electrification more to the mainstream."
:D
 
LTLFTcomposite said:
Good job:
http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2018/01/16/goldstein-investigation-10-million-lapd-electric-bmws-appear-unused-misused/
Los Angeles Police Department Is Selling Its Fleet Of BMW i3 Vehicles
https://insideevs.com/news/441238/los-angeles-police-fleet-bmw-i3-being-sold/
 
Say farewell to the BMW i3, the kooky electric hatchback that couldn’t quite make it
BMW’s first EV falls victim to US car buyers’ need for bigger vehicles
https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/28/22554419/bmw-i3-discontinued-us-electric-hatchback-sales
"BMW will stop selling the i3 electric hatchback in the US starting next month."
 
cwerdna said:
2019 i3 BEV range upped to 153 miles:
https://www.autoblog.com/2018/09/28/bmw-i3-ev-range-increase-for-2019/

Gone from the current BMW line-up but not forgotten ... adding to this thread as I needed to replace my wife's '18 smart ED (another orphaned car - see separate thread). At least BMW will be adding the i4 and other EV's in the near future and pretty much all BMW dealers within a few miles of me will service it -- next i3 service even recommended for it is not until next summer (was serviced before I picked it up) ! Talking to the last Mercedes 'smart' center in Chicago ... they HAVE to continue offering service but not at all convenient and their next EV (at least in the US market) will run a bit more than a smart (about $130K).

Anyway, just like the VW e-Golf I picked up as a 'while we wait' EV for the new Tesla Model 3 - we bought a '19 BMW i3 base (no, not a ReX as did not need or want that gas engine, adds another maintenance item and only added maybe 50 miles of range). This one had just a bit over 5K miles on it and wasn't the S model with bigger wheels/tires, was pretty much immaculate and sold for a bit over 1/2 price of when new 2 years ago at $49K, great deal in my mind. Why not a newer e-Golf or perhaps a newer Leaf or other EV. Well, 153 miles of range in 'comfort' mode translates to almost double the smarts limits using ECO mode, it has a higher seat/ride height like the smart did (wife loves this feature the most) and handles quite well, its longer than the smart with a lot more storage and 4 usable seats instead of 2 but still quite nimble for parking, etc. The car I bought came with the dual-shade moonroof (tilts to release the heat on hot days and you can use the roof shades at the same time), wireless phone charger and its in another dark shade of blue (a bit darker than the smart Brabus edition). Will post more as we recently picked it up - had to recently take in on a decent 80 mile R/T and handled the 95F+ outside high AC loads (don't try this with a smart -- almost as bad as cold winter months) and average 75 MPH speeds without any range anxiety (still had a decent 70 miles of range of range left when we arrived home) -- as this is mostly used for daily and weekend local runs (we have a Tesla M3 LR AWD for trips with 350mi range and Supercharger network) it should suit us quite well. The i3 has 3-driving modes that will vary the expected range quite a bit - at full charge Comfort showed 160 miles - ECO PRO - showed 190 miles and ECP PRO + showed 210 miles --- are these realistic, probably not and keep in mind that last one cuts off your HVAC so would never be used during extreme temps. We drive it in ECO PRO primarily and did notice some decent regen in stop and go traffic; will be curious how often we'll need to charge it but ballpark easily probably half as much.

Of course everyone's budget is different for an EV but opting for a '19 or newer model does moves you from 107 to 153 miles of range as well as longer time left on the warranty, etc. The i3 was quite popular in CA and turns out my car was registered in San Francisco so added bonus of no Midwest salt exposure. Took me a while to find this one -- was worth the wait.
 
Did you fly/drive out to get it or have it shipped? My daughter and I recently drove out to CO to pickup her Ionic PHEV as they are CARB states only and CO was the closest to us at 900 miles, the next closest would have been the East coast at hundreds of miles further. Carvana wouldn't ship it but the dealer would have for $1k so we drove on a weekend.
Years back I half-heartedly looked at the Smart EV but as it wasn't cheap and I didn't really want a car as small as it, we ruled it out. I also looked at the i3 but was turned off by it's size. clamshell rear door and minuscule gas tank/ICE range. If it had had say a 250+ mile ICE range I might have been interested but like you thought it would be a lot more maintenance/upkeep for very little return. It was really just an emergency range extender IMO, not really something you'd want to use on a regular basis.
 
jjeff said:
Did you fly/drive out to get it or have it shipped? My daughter and I recently drove out to CO to pickup her Ionic PHEV as they are CARB states only and CO was the closest to us at 900 miles, the next closest would have been the East coast at hundreds of miles further. Carvana wouldn't ship it but the dealer would have for $1k so we drove on a weekend.
Years back I half-heartedly looked at the Smart EV but as it wasn't cheap and I didn't really want a car as small as it, we ruled it out. I also looked at the i3 but was turned off by it's size. clamshell rear door and minuscule gas tank/ICE range. If it had had say a 250+ mile ICE range I might have been interested but like you thought it would be a lot more maintenance/upkeep for very little return. It was really just an emergency range extender IMO, not really something you'd want to use on a regular basis.

I was lucky with this one bought from BG Motors in Naperville, IL. The owner has a strong connection with BMW from where he worked before so gets first crack at exec driven cars, etc. they actually procure cars from around the world, so this car was already in IL for sale/pick-up, I'm sure freight costs were built-in. When I did get it they had mentioned a Land Rover they got from Pakistan for instance -- didn't ask how much that cost to ship! His BMW affiliation also helped get the original Monroney sticker, service records, and confidence that the car photos and pedigree were all legit. As far as the styling, etc. of the BMW, yes its not to everyone's taste but its fit and finish, decent handling, very smooth ride despite the small size and narrow tires and it has at least attracted enough buyers to sell 200K worldwide by 2020. For this one, unlike the Tesla, they are fairly rare (especially in the Midwest) and the wife likes quirky cars that are easy to find in a parking so it fit the bill!
 
redLEAF said:
yes its not to everyone's taste but its fit and finish, decent handling, very smooth ride despite the small size and narrow tires and it has at least attracted enough buyers to sell 200K worldwide by 2020. For this one, unlike the Tesla, they are fairly rare (especially in the Midwest) and the wife likes quirky cars that are easy to find in a parking so it fit the bill!
Yes the BMW name would have been a strong selling point for me and I also kinda liked the quirky styling but not enough to get past the couple issues I mentioned earlier, good luck to you though, it sounds like you got an almost new vehicle for a very good price,
I guess I didn't mention it before but my daughter got a Hyundai Ionic PHEV and it's rareness was a strong selling point for her, we occasionally see the regular Ionic hybrid but I've never seen a PHEV in my state. I kinda wanted her to get a Prius Prime which has several features not found on the Ionic, most notable heat while in EV mode but in the end the commonness of the Prius and the fact that her parents(my wife and I) own a Prius('07) made her not interested in the least :lol: Not that I really see any Primes in my state either, I think maybe I've seen 2, but at least one can purchase one here, unlike the Ionic PHEV. The fact that they are forbidden fruit in my state probably also held some interest for her ;)
 
So have had this '19 BMW i3 for about a month - put on about 1K miles as much more utility than the smart was - the regen difference is really significant. Had to make a number of round trips from NW 'burbs to downtown Chicago (about 70 mi round trip) and the car loves the heavy traffic and even at highway speeds paces itself well, nice effective and efficient AC, never felt challenged to lower it in heavy stop and go due to that great regen. Would be a challenge most days with the smart. Will be most curious once BMW gets their sedan and SUV versions out there what they've learned from these i3's. I did read through a few YouTube points and learned the body panels are like the smart - not metal so in theory may be a bit more dent resistant and the whole exterior panel area of the hatch is actually glass which incorporates the tail lights. Plus didn't notice the little hook to hang the connector from the charge port cover so it doesn't dangle -- not all that sturdy looking but it works!

As you would expect when you start looking out for them - have seen a fair amount out and about around Chicagoland - mostly ReX gas extender versions but on the earlier ones that was probably a must for total range.

Love the use of recycled materials throughout -- nice textures versus smooth plastic and of course its body is carbon fiber (like it's much more expensive brother the i8).

So far, so good -- if you're looking at these, highly recommend to get the biggest battery versions ('19 and forward) - they have the best range and 4G and of course most of the new car warranty left.
 
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