i3 (I01) [Official] The BMW i3 Official Thread

[EnI]

But it doesn't stop BMW from banging on about how they're sold out for a year of this and the i8, when the production numbers are so small they're BOUND to be sold out.

PR.

Btw ... Snow? No problem at all!

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I got some experience with the car now in winter condition. The preheating system operated from the i-app works good, the car is warm and no ice at the windows at start up.

Traction is no problem, with the "traction" function activated the traction is similar to a front wheel drive car, the rear is pretty heavy (around 55% of the weight), and with the thin wheels the grip is good. Range is about 120 km. The heater is like a "normal" car.

With the standard wheels no snow is sticking to the wheel. Easy to clean, and the wheels dont get off balance due to ice and snow sticking between the spikes.

Source: "the forbidden forum"

 

[klier]

And I test drove an M135i in Valencia Orange yesterday. If I order one to my spec, pretty much fully loaded, xenons, sat nav, 8-speed auto, M adaptive suspension, it comes to 52,500 Euro. I know which I'll be ordering.

Yes the M135i is the bargain of the decade among BMWs. No doubt about it. Congrats btw.

 

[Betty Swollocks]

Yes the M135i is the bargain of the decade among BMWs. No doubt about it. Congrats btw.

Thanks. But I haven't ordered it yet. I'm going to decide over the next week, but I think I'm going to get a face lifted one, which I expect will be launched around Paris in September/October.

 

[EnI]

The future vs. the past:

 

[TheNewBATMAN]

The future vs. the past:

In that order.

 

[TheNewBATMAN]

One day, BMW will see the light and will go back to their root : lightweight, no bullshit RWD ALL sedan lineup so agile giving Porsche sportscars a run for their money.

Of course by then we buy i3s only to power up our houses.

 

[klier]

I want to have both!! E30 3er coupe truly is a work of art.

 

[dalab]

Compared whith the e30 the i3 is very very BIG !

 

[Sunny]

The future vs. the past:

I like the i3, I like it a lot in fact for what it is. I would in fact even seriously consider it for our commuter car. Both me and my wife have sub 5 mile commutes each way. I use my M3 for the commute, the engine doesn't even warm up properly and I am sure it is not doing it any good. So a spiffy electric car would be perfect for the role. No gas stops, no oil change, no coolant flush, just plug it in at night and get in and drive in the morning. But we also frequent San Francisco quite often which is ~40 miles each way. Unfortunately i3's ~80 mile range makes it too close a shave. And no, Rex is not an option. IMO it takes away the biggest advantage of an electric car - it's simplicity. You now have to do both charge and gas up and deal with all the maintenance headaches of ICE - oil change, coolant flush, loose belts..blah, blah.

I doubt we are alone in this predicament. Most big cosmopolitan cities have a thriving suburbs spreading 50-60 miles around it. BMW can claim this is a city car and meant for people in the city but that is severely limiting the target audience. Most people I know who live and work in the city don't own a car. They use public transportation/bicycles/walking. And on the rear occasion they do need a car, they use some car rental service like Zip car. My other friends who live in the city and do own a car do the reverse commute - they work in the suburbs and for them range is again an issue. Another thing to consider, most people who live in the city don't have a garage where they can plug the car in at night to charge it. So skipping the suburban crowd by limiting the range was a big oversight on the part of BMW IMO. If they want to fix it, offer an extended battery pack like Tesla does.

 

[klier]

Compared whith the e30 the i3 is very very BIG !

Yes, but next to the E30, even a 2er COUPE looks huge and fat

 

[Betty Swollocks]

I like the i3, I like it a lot in fact for what it is. I would in fact even seriously consider it for our commuter car. Both me and my wife have sub 5 mile commutes each way. I use my M3 for the commute, the engine doesn't even warm up properly and I am sure it is not doing it any good. So a spiffy electric car would be perfect for the role.

That seems a good application for an electric car. BUT, do you not think the i3 is far too luxurious and therefore expensive for such a short journey?

 

[TheNewBATMAN]

That seems a good application for an electric car. BUT, do you not think the i3 is far too luxurious and therefore expensive for such a short journey?

An BMW ActiveHybrid will do the job as well. And you can have a proper sedan with it.

 

[marley71]

I doubt we are alone in this predicament. Most big cosmopolitan cities have a thriving suburbs spreading 50-60 miles around it. BMW can claim this is a city car and meant for people in the city but that is severely limiting the target audience. Most people I know who live and work in the city don't own a car. They use public transportation/bicycles/walking. And on the rear occasion they do need a car, they use some car rental service like Zip car. My other friends who live in the city and do own a car do the reverse commute - they work in the suburbs and for them range is again an issue. Another thing to consider, most people who live in the city don't have a garage where they can plug the car in at night to charge it. So skipping the suburban crowd by limiting the range was a big oversight on the part of BMW IMO. If they want to fix it, offer an extended battery pack like Tesla does.

It's not really a city car, despite BMW's protestations, certainly not for the US. Who lives in the city and has a garage to house a charger? People in the city I live in fight for parking most of the time. I think it's more for suburbanites who commute into the city, for them it's perfect. Charge it at home in garage, drive into the city and never go to a gas station again.

 

[Sunny]

That seems a good application for an electric car. BUT, do you not think the i3 is far too luxurious and therefore expensive for such a short journey?

An i3 after the tax incentives will cost around 32k here in CA. A normal new commuter car say a Golf TDI (provided we don't go for used car - which of course is the financially sensible thing to do) would probably be in the 24k range. I would be willing to stomach that difference for the advantages of a non-ICE commuter car - provided it had enough range to also do our occasional weekend/evening trips. Of course if there was a cheaper electric car that would be nice, but the only option here is Leaf which looks (IMO) and probably drives much worse than i3. I also think there is an electric smart, but both my sense of pride and self preservation prevents me from getting inside a Smart of any sort.

An BMW ActiveHybrid will do the job as well. And you can have a proper sedan with it.

I would rather get a diesel. I absolutely don't see the point for these active hybrids. It is like worst of both worlds - weight of the batteries and maintenance and complexity of an ICE.

ps. My prime reason to prefer an electric car (for commuting) is it's simplicity, not the fuel efficiency or lack of emission (though all those are also nice too). I had to see the underpinnings of a bare Tesla S, to be stuck how elegant of a solution it is compared to an ICE powered car.

 

[Cashmere]

Tweeted by Chris Harris yesterday.

 

[Mr Robert]

By that logic, a lot of cars are shams...

 

[martinbo]

Well, his tweet is ambiguous. What is a total sham? The BMW i3 or the Car of the Year competition in which a non-descript Peugeot won?

 

[Kilcrohane]

No, of course he, Chris Harris, is right, the 2014 European CoTY is a joke - a blind man could tell you that.

Let's be honest, the Germans are dominating the auto industry, industry generally and hence of course Europe's finances. This award, voted by auto journos across Europe is a gift-wrapped opportunity for non-Germanic Europe and the periphery of Europe especially to get a tiny bit of their own back, by voting a mediocre no-mark car above the glaringly obvious standout products - i3, S-Class etc. - from the Germans.

Success always breeds envy and jealousy. The continued success of the Germans, even through the post-2008 crisis, and the corresponding increasing fall into bankruptcy of Greece, Portugal, Ireland, Spain, Italy, and even France, and the now patently emerging strategic German alliance with Russia, and its 3-country 'Customs Union', plus APEC and ASEAN, in order to secure both Germany's energy supply needs on the one hand, and new markets in Russia and Asia on the other, as the old West, including the UK and the US, decline into inevitable debt default and third world-like economic and social makeup, means the resentment against the German auto makers, German economic power and the Germans generally will only ramp up further in the years to come. Thing is though, they deserve it - they work hard, value the right things and hang on to their traditions. Good luck to them.

 

[Mr Robert]

Well, his tweet is ambiguous. What is a total sham? The BMW i3 or the Car of the Year competition in which a non-descript Peugeot won?

Yes, I agree, and it makes a lot more sense to call the CotY a sham than the i3.

 

[martinbo]

A Peugeot being Car of the Year in the same period as the ground-breaking CF i3 or the unimpeachable S-Klasse... ja right. I stand more of a chance of getting lucky with Jennifer Lawrence at the Oscars after party.