New Owner 60D all glass roof impressions coming from Leaf and BMW i3

[Krypto Kat]

Hope to post some observations and opinions that may be useful.

Nissan leaf - Loved the car and the cargo space loved the comfortable ride and seating position. Can't beat the price. Liked it so much I bought two. Comes standard with heated steering wheel. Ride quality better than the BMW i3. Not as fast or Zippy as the i3 but great cruiser and effortless EV acceleration.

BMW i3 (pure BEV not the range extended)- Would have bought the car (lease end) but the 60D sucked me in. Love the seating position (just like an SUV). Zippy car can get bouncy at times but the car is 99% perfect for city commute, with stop and go cruise control. Light zippy and downright comfy due to no center divider between front seats.(couldn't say that about any other BMW models). Missing a heated steering wheel made it unacceptable for me and torquey rear wheel drive made it scary in fresh snow and ice. Feels faster than my 60D but that's just because it's not as heavy as the Tesla.

Model S 60D AP2 All Glass roof. The car is quiet even with the all glass roof it is whisper quiet. Huge difference from the Pano (Friends 2014 Model S 85D) which felt like a window was slightly open. Substantial weight makes the car feel planted.
Surprisingly little effort needed to change lanes on highway. Stays flat and planted in corners, probably because it's so low to the ground. Really low car compared to the other two. All glass roof isn't just a gimmick. Sitting a a stop light it's nice to gaze up an see trees and nature (or this time of year the Christmas decorations on street lights).

Had Xpel applied to the front bumper, makes the pearl white paint pop. Wish I could do the whole car. On my Pearl white car the Xpel area looks like it's got a glossy shine like a freshly buffed wax coat. I would skip Opticoat and get the Xpel instead.

 

[croman]

I also have a leaf and am getting a 60D on Friday with all glass roof. I'm so pumped. I love my leaf and its all the car I really need but my wife's family is in upstate NY and so we wanted a car to travel long distance. The 60D should suffice nicely (especially now that Tesla is planning on a SC near Corning (which my wife and I both suggested to Tesla a couple months ago)). My neighbor has the i3 and loves it. I'm just happy someone has an EV in my neighborhood. My town has a Tesla store and there are hundreds of Teslas but none in my particular area. Someone has to be the first!

 

[gavine]

Feels faster than my 60D but that's just because it's not as heavy as the Tesla.

Hmm. I have an i3 BEV (not range extended) and it is indeed quick and zippy, but I had a classic RWD S60 and the i3 definitely doesn't feel faster to me than that was. Maybe the newer 60D is slower than the classic 60 due to the heavier (75) battery?

 

[Tomasz]

Having owned a Leaf and currently owning i3 Rex I can tell that MS is definitely quicker than the i3 (granted Rex subtracts about 1s). I'd say it's all in feel not in actual numbers. Interestingly the Leaf felt like the quickest off the line - it just kicks you in the back (and quickly "runs out of breath") while the other two are way more "refined" and smooth.

My i3 goes back as soon as the lease ends due to never ending litany of issues with Rex that the service is incapable of fixing.

 

[Peteybabes]

Model S 60D AP2 All Glass roof. The car is quiet even with the all glass roof it is whisper quiet. Huge difference from the Pano (Friends 2014 Model S 85D) which felt like a window was slightly open...

This is very good to know! i have a 60 all glass roof on order, and the pano 75 i drove was louder than my lexus, so happy for a quieter car!

 

[justg0]

I just got 75D with pano (I open/vent the roof in the short summer we get here in Seattle) and haven't found it to be loud at all. The car is so quiet at highway speeds. I haven't obviously opened the pano for long periods of time, but closed, I don't find it lout at all. Maybe that was an issue in older models.

 

[Mike K]

I like our i3 but wish we would have opted for the Harmon Kardon system or the tech package. Still though, we managed a 0 down $259 lease for a Teraworld and the interior is quite nice. It honestly puts my P85D to shame and that's saying a lot considering all the recycled panels in the Bimmer.

 

[ecarfan]

we managed a 0 down $259 lease for a Teraworld

Wow, BMW is really desperate to move their i3's out of dealers lots. That is an amazing price.

 

[Mike K]

It was a Memorial Day lease special in Irvine. I tried shopping it around locally in LA to see if anyone would match it so I wouldn't have to drive down to Irvine and nobody would. In fact, they all told me it was a dead deal. That maybe one car existed at that price to drive people into the dealer but that it would be taken instantly and they'd upsell everyone else that came in looking for it. Well, turns out I was the one guy that got it because it was real. On top of that they stretched it from 24 months to 36 and I got the $2500 California credit too. So basically an extra year for free.

It works too because my wife doesn't really care for it and even just 6 months into the lease we could buy the car out and sell it without losing anything.