2018 BMW i3 Sport production begins in November

http://www.bmwblog.com/2017/07/14/2018-bmw-i3-sport-production-begins-november/

10 extra HP BMW ? why not just make it 200 HP , that that would justify the "S"

It will be interesting to see if they shave a few K off the price and what new Tech they have. No larger battery seemingly.

It's a shame the Government charge so much VRT for the Rex, this is really ridiculous.

Thargor

They just dont look right, they'd be onto a winner if it looked more like a standard ICE BMW, or a more pedestrian i8, not that clown car.

Get in and drive it it's very far from a clown car.

ELM327

Thargor wrote: »

They just dont look right, they'd be onto a winner if it looked more like a standard ICE BMW, or a more pedestrian i8, not that clown car.

Deleted User wrote: »

Get in and drive it it's very far from a clown car.

I agree with both. It looks silly.
But on all accounts it is fun to to drive

If it looked less silly and was better priced vs the 2 series (probably its target market??) it would sell better. The REX as a product is ideal, really an EV with an ICE safety net until people realise they dont need the safety net

To be honest , it's not the looks going against the I3 it's the price, I'd actually prefer the look to the Leaf and inside is really nice and a huge step up fromt he Leaf, Zoe, Ioniq.

Question is the Rex, I drove 408 Kms with a 45 min charge 14-98% over lunch at the Galway CCS and then 8 mins in Kilbeggan but the last 10-12 mins in the I3 were slow due to being over 90%, to 98% takes a while.

New in Ireland is 51K for decent spec.

I think the test one I had was worth about 40K 161. So definitely the U.K is the place to go but I don't know yet if you can get the 33 Kwh version Rex at a decent price VRT is 3500 once it lands in Ireland.

Evd-Burner

Deleted User wrote:

To be honest , it's not the looks going against the I3 it's the price, I'd actually prefer the look to the Leaf and inside is really nice and a huge step up fromt he Leaf, Zoe, Ioniq.

The i3 looks the worst out of all of them. Wouldn't be my cup of tea at all, especially for a premium german branded car. If the car looked more like a normal BMW then you could justify the price. I can't comment on the inside as I've never seen the inside, but the leaf Zoe and Ioniq are much more normal cars on outside vs the i3. Especially the i3, it's a beautiful car.

Actually I've grown rather fond of it now that it's in my head, and to be honest it's so fantastic to drive the look of it would be the least thing on my mind.

I could easily end up with a 2nd hand I3 , new Ioniq or Leaf II, I'm not sure yet, the announcement of the facelift I3 has me curious.

KCross

Isn't the facelift almost the same car to look at? Just a few tweaks to the bumpers but nothing major... based on spy shots.

The real difference will be in the spec of the battery/charging.

As far as I'm aware there'll be no new battery for the 2018 model year. New tech will be the main thing perhaps. Who knows ? faster charging maybe though you'd imagine they would have allowed it to charge faster with the new 33 Kwh battery in the first place.

Matt Simis

ELM327 wrote: »

If it looked less silly and was better priced vs the 2 series (probably its target market??) it would sell better.

Hmm, sell better? Think you may be unaware of just how well it's now doing! Mother tried to buy one.. 19week backlog on new models, production is flat out. It's the best selling EV in Europe, which is great as it's a Euro brand and it's RWD, premium and fast. It's really shifting perceptions,
https://cleantechnica.com/2016/10/02/bmw-i3-rockets-1-europe-electric-car-sales-august-sales-report


Lookwise I get it, but I'd get over it myself. Looks kinda like a cartoon stormtrooper in white.

It does look like the 2 series, of the active tourer type. But better than the active tourer imo.

If they do have faster DC charging for the face lift which I doubt then you could very easily live with the up to 170-220 Km range. But the rex is still a super idea and the route Nissan really should have taken for the Leaf. U.k imports should do well here it's a really great car, as always no car is suitable for everyone but the test drive has completely changed my opinion of the I3.

A 2015 I3 can be got from the U.K for 19,400 , 22,000 Miles .

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-search?sort=price-asc&radius=1500&postcode=bt364pe&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&onesearchad=New&make=BMW&model=I3&year-from=2015&year-to=2016

unkel

Would you not be far better off financially getting that rather than leasing one twice the value?

unkel

@Matt Simis - those figures are outdated. Renault Zoe is by far the best selling EV in the EU now.

ELM327

Matt Simis wrote: »

Hmm, sell better? Think you may be unaware of just how well it's now doing! Mother tried to buy one.. 19week backlog on new models, production is flat out. It's the best selling EV in Europe, which is great as it's a Euro brand and it's RWD, premium and fast. It's really shifting perceptions,
https://cleantechnica.com/2016/10/02/bmw-i3-rockets-1-europe-electric-car-sales-august-sales-report


Lookwise I get it, but I'd get over it myself. Looks kinda like a cartoon stormtrooper in white.

It does look like the 2 series, of the active tourer type. But better than the active tourer imo.

I've only ever seen one on the roads, and I drive a lot. Leafs are becoming ubiquitous frankly, and there are more Ioniqs/Zoe etc than there are I3. Anecdotal completely of course but that's my opinion. The i3 rex should have been much more popular, it has the range of an EV but the rex as a failsafe. I dont understand why they are not as popular as a 320d for instance.

I'm very surprised to see the link you provided showing it is the best seller in August 2016. I would hazard a guess that it is not the best seller now.

unkel wrote: »

Would you not be far better off financially getting that rather than leasing one twice the value?

No doubt, but you would be far better off financially again by buying a gen1 leaf. There's a balance between cost and benefit. If I was buying an i3 it would be a new 33kWh one, or an older rex.

unkel

unkel wrote: »

Would you not be far better off financially getting that rather than leasing one twice the value?

Depends, it has the same range as the Leaf and no Rex , I could live with it a lot More with the Rex.

ELM327

unkel wrote: »

@Matt Simis - those figures are outdated. Renault Zoe is by far the best selling EV in the EU now.

And if they catch up on building Ioniqs that will be the top seller!

unkel

You're probably right. It's the only EV that's about the same price to buy as a similar size, similar spec ICE car with our generous subsidies. Doesn't look like Hyundai are catching up at all though. Some UK dealers have stopped taking orders because if you order one today, delivery might not be until next year :eek:

Matt Simis

ELM327 wrote: »

I've only ever seen one on the roads, and I drive a lot. Leafs are becoming ubiquitous frankly, and there are more Ioniqs/Zoe etc than there are I3. Anecdotal completely of course but that's my opinion. The i3 rex should have been much more popular, it has the range of an EV but the rex as a failsafe. I dont understand why they are not as popular as a 320d for instance.

I'm very surprised to see the link you provided showing it is the best seller in August 2016. I would hazard a guess that it is not the best seller now.

True, didnt really click with me that was 2016 link. Here is 2017, May, as you can see its still the 3rd best seller, which is impressive given they are backordered by 6mths! If they had the production numbers of Toyota, it could only be more popular. I still disagree the stylying is holding it back, that would be the next factor if they could actually produce enough of them to get to buyers with the styling concern.



It is outselling the Leaf anyhow (in Europe, Ive never taken much interest in our race to the bottom- cheapest car with the newest regplate in Ireland, we are the anomaly) and if you take out the SUV hybrid Outlander, its the #2 best selling EV in Europe for the last year.

Orebro

I think the Leaf numbers are also skewed since there is a new model imment and also I believe Nissan are limiting production to move old stock.

goz83

Orebro wrote: »

I think the Leaf numbers are also skewed since there is a new model imment and also I believe Nissan are limiting production to move old stock.

This.

Anyone buying a new Leaf now is nuts...unless they are getting a serious haircut off the price. The Zoe sales are higher because of the new model.