Thats not what Car & Driver says: http://blog.caranddriver.com/cadill...keep-demo-cars-nearly-two-year-supply-exists/
Says they have a 2 year supply and are having to bribe dealers to allocate one as a demo.
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BMW i3
- Thread starter gregincal
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Thats not what Car & Driver says: http://blog.caranddriver.com/cadill...keep-demo-cars-nearly-two-year-supply-exists/
Says they have a 2 year supply and are having to bribe dealers to allocate one as a demo.
Rifleman
Now owns 2 Model S's!!!
I stopped in at the local BMW dealer today to check out the i3 (they just received their first one) I did not get to drive it, as the only one they had was already sold. They are having a test drive event this saturday, and say they are getting several more in within the next few days.
My initial impressions :
1. The i3 is not as ugly in person as it is in pictures. Its still kind of funny looking, but it is not as bad as I thought it would be.
2. The front seat was comfortable, and fairly roomy.
3. The back seat was very difficult to get in and out of.
4. The back seat had about as much legroom as my volt (maybe a little less), and even less headroom than a Model S's rear seat. I dont think that there would be room for rear facing car seats if the front seat occupants are over 5-6 or so.
5. The trunk and frunk are both tiny.
6. The infotainment system has alot of functionality, but did not seem to be all that easy to use.
7. The fit and finish was excellent, both inside and outside of the vehicle.
At $20,000 less than a Model S, I thought I should at least check the car out to see if it would be a contender to replace my Volt, but overall, I feel that the i3 is simply not suited to my needs, and that the Model S is still my best choice.
My initial impressions :
1. The i3 is not as ugly in person as it is in pictures. Its still kind of funny looking, but it is not as bad as I thought it would be.
2. The front seat was comfortable, and fairly roomy.
3. The back seat was very difficult to get in and out of.
4. The back seat had about as much legroom as my volt (maybe a little less), and even less headroom than a Model S's rear seat. I dont think that there would be room for rear facing car seats if the front seat occupants are over 5-6 or so.
5. The trunk and frunk are both tiny.
6. The infotainment system has alot of functionality, but did not seem to be all that easy to use.
7. The fit and finish was excellent, both inside and outside of the vehicle.
At $20,000 less than a Model S, I thought I should at least check the car out to see if it would be a contender to replace my Volt, but overall, I feel that the i3 is simply not suited to my needs, and that the Model S is still my best choice.
I'm interested in seeing an i3 in person and driving one. My reaction to the exterior of the car in photos is rather negative. The interior looks nice and I don't care about the rear seats. Problem is the range is probably too short for me even as a second car. If they had only put a bigger battery in it. I would not buy it with the range extending engine, that is a bandaid for an inadequate battery. Put a 35kW battery in it BMW! I would pay $50K for that.
Tedkidd
Member
I signed up for an I3 test drive on June 4th in Humboldt. When I was trying to look at the specs on BMW's page I noticed that they are partnering w/ Solarcity for solar instals and give a 10% discount to I3 owners.
I test drove the i3 about 14 miles mostly highway. I did notice that 1) A slight intermittent squirrelishness of the front end while doing 60 MPH. 2) Had the A/C set at 72 was comfortable but after a while it started getting hot in the car. A/C was slowly giving up it felt like. 3) At 7/8 of a charge it told me I had 55 miles left. My math says full would be 63 miles. The salesman tried to tell me it had 200 mile range. 4) No power seats just manual adjustments and no front to back movement. Just knee support and recline angle. 5) Could drive it one pedal easily! Drive was a very busy highway requiring numerous slow down speed ups etc. normal car you needed brakes. I used the brakes maybe 3 times a normal car I would have used brakes at least 20 times. Salesman had no brochures, no cards, did not know where to write down the price so he will e-mail me still waiting. I will say $50,000 a Tesla is only $20,000 more for low price. Price is probably just lower than a 40KwH Tesla similarly equipped.
Research tells me that the i3 heat is optional?!
Research tells me that the i3 heat is optional?!
Rifleman
Now owns 2 Model S's!!!
I felts like it had a little less than the S without the pano. I am 6 feet tall, in an S without the pano, my hair brushes against the headliner, in the i3, my actual head was firmly touching the roof.
Tedkidd
Member
Hmmm, thanks. Guess that won't work for me.
I'm 6 but long torso, short limbs (31 inseam). Uncomfortable in back with pano, unbearable without pano.
One of the biggest limitations in the US version of the i3 is that the ReX engine only comes on automatically at around 6% SOC. A common trip from San Diego is to go to the desert which is 110 miles with mountain to climb over near the end. The i3 probably won't be able to make the trip. At all.
scottf200
Well-Known Member
We test drove the i3 today. Our second vehicle (the S is the first) is an aging Honda Odyssey and we are close to not needing a family truckster any longer. What we really want is a (Model S) * 0.8, but the Gen III is 4 years out and we don't want the van for that long. So the i3 would be a bridge vehicle. My sense is that of the non-Tesla electrics out there, this one is the best. My wife liked the small size, and the very good sensors/guides for parking. The single pedal drive is probably a bit more aggressive on the recharge than the S, but overall it handled very nicely on the highway and had plenty of zip. I personally found it to have quite a bit of headroom, and found the visibility in both the front and the back excellent. My wife liked how high up she was able to sit in it.
I found the controls quite clunky, and it feels like they should have been able to provide more storage space in the frunk and the trunk. But that said, if I'd never seen a Model S, and/or I wanted something smaller, this thing would be top of list.
I have no doubt that Tesla's Gen III will clean this things clock in a wide range of areas (controls, storage space, range) ...but...what are we supposed to do for the next 4 years?
Will anyone buy my used i3 in 4 years time so I can get the Gen III?
I found the controls quite clunky, and it feels like they should have been able to provide more storage space in the frunk and the trunk. But that said, if I'd never seen a Model S, and/or I wanted something smaller, this thing would be top of list.
I have no doubt that Tesla's Gen III will clean this things clock in a wide range of areas (controls, storage space, range) ...but...what are we supposed to do for the next 4 years?
Will anyone buy my used i3 in 4 years time so I can get the Gen III?
stopcrazypp
Well-Known Member
Exactly, we already knew going at steady speeds on the highway was not going to be the problem. However, when faced with an uphill grade and perhaps headwinds (like the Barstow to LA route where a journalist recently ran out of charge with the Model S) the story might be different. And it'll be interesting to see how acceleration is affected.
dennis
Model S Plaid
Since BMW did not get the White CA carpool sticker for the i3 as they had hoped, can't they just change the firmware now to allow the REx to be activated sooner like in Europe? Green carpool sticker cars like the Volt don't have this limitation.
stopcrazypp
Well-Known Member
This is something a lot of people get confused on (including the media who reports on this). The BEVx designation and the requirement that the REx not get turned on early has nothing to do with the carpool sticker (the only criteria to get a white sticker is to be a pure EV, a HFCV, or a CNGV and the i3 REx is none of these). BMW already publicly said early on that the i3 REx will get a green sticker:
http://green.autoblog.com/2014/01/16/bmw-i3-green-white-hov-sticker-california/
The REx activation requirement only applies to the new BEVx designation (proposed to CARB by BMW itself) which gives BMW 3 ZEV credits per i3 REx (the same amount as a Leaf). The Volt gets zero ZEV credits. That's what at stake. And given BMW needs those credits, it's unlikely they'll change the REx operation anytime soon.
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Why not ? The REX generates as much power as needed, it does not run on a constant speed. It is designed to give sufficient power without "using" the battery. Of course it will burn more fuel uphill.
scottf200
Well-Known Member
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