Doug DeMuro on the i3

n97 mini

I always enjoy this guy's car reviews. Recently he reviewed a 2014 i3. Would ya look at those front tyres! :eek: (around 6:18)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLfRPT5sEEI

Shefwedfan

The pram wheels.....hahahaha

Savage car, it's as if BMW specifically designed the i3 for Irish back roads, fun factor for me is 10, it's a brilliant car.

Don't let the skinny tyres fool ye it handles remarkably well , the S should be better again.

The i3 has tonnes more grip than the Leaf with it's ( much wider tyres lol ) or 40 Kwh Leaf especially which has laughably little grip in damp and wet conditions.

jhegarty

I find the I3 grips better then the 5 series despite the pram wheels.

FriendsEV

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Savage car, it's as if BMW specifically designed the i3 for Irish back roads, fun factor for me is 10, it's a brilliant car.

Don't let the skinny tyres fool ye it handles remarkably well , the S should be better again.

The i3 has tonnes more grip than the Leaf with it's ( much wider tyres lol ) or 40 Kwh Leaf especially which has laughably little grip in damp and wet conditions.

Haven't drove one yet, but you don't hear a bad word about the i3 performance wise

I would have next years one if price was competitive

https://insideevs.com/upcoming-bmw-i3-120ah-rumored-to-go-350-km-per-charge/

Soarer

It might've been designed for Irish back roads, but it certainly wasn't designed for families!

Those fukking doors!!!

FriendsEV

FriendsEV wrote: »

Haven't drove one yet, but you don't hear a bad word about the i3 performance wise

I would have next years one if price was competitive

https://insideevs.com/upcoming-bmw-i3-120ah-rumored-to-go-350-km-per-charge/

Yeah I just read today about the 43 kwh, still not enough really in my opinion, but I'd find it very hard to give up the i3 now, it really is so much fun. Everyone who drove it at work really loved it, and that's a lot more people that drove the leaf.

I've basing 43 Kwh on the nominal 360 volts as previous i3s. 360x120 Ah = 43 and probably 40 usable which should give it a real 250-285 kms.

I would hope it can charge at more than 50 kw on DC too , 100 + Kw and I could live with 40 Kwh.

Also, BMW need to increase power, the Leaf 60 Kwh will have 205 HP the i3 needs to do better, though, the i3 43 Kwh will be a lot lighter than the 60 Kwh leaf and also tonnes more grip if the 60 Kwh leaf still is FWD only.


Still, steering, handling and grip are where the i3 excels.

beauf

Evo on handling & steering and grip....http://www.evo.co.uk/bmw/i3/page/0/3

Soarer

Soarer wrote: »

It might've been designed for Irish back roads, but it certainly wasn't designed for families!

Those fukking doors!!!

I got two small children And manage fine.

beauf

beauf wrote: »

Evo on handling & steering and grip....http://www.evo.co.uk/bmw/i3/page/0/3

You wouldn’t want to pay too much attention to what you read in those articles , for instance , the steering has plenty of feel to make a leaf feel like a post man pat car in a supermarket for kids.

Ride is a bit tough in town on broken roads but once up to speed it’s brilliant especially on our back roads where it’s just addictive!

Also the RWD makes a tremendous difference from a FWD EV.

Patser

Soarer wrote: »

It might've been designed for Irish back roads, but it certainly wasn't designed for families!

Those fukking doors!!!

I've a kid and she loves it. That weird kink in the window design where the rear window drops, gives her a great view out onto the world, not to mention drink holders for her to stuff with crap (never her water bottle, just wrappers, small toys etc)

But back to that review - all I could hear was Sheldon Cooper talking

beauf

Not sure why you think a leaf is a handling benchmark.

Any time I've followed a hard driven I3, in my regular ICE car, it leaves me for dust in a straight line, but I catch up easily through any corners. Looks like fun though. no argument there.

I think a lot of people confuse grip and stiffness with handling. I blame Audi.

beauf

Patser wrote: »

I've a kid and she loves it. That weird kink in the window design where the rear window drops, gives her a great view out onto the world, not to mention drink holders for her to stuff with crap (never her water bottle, just wrappers, small toys etc)

But back to that review - all I could hear was Sheldon Cooper talking

His reviews can get a bit annoying.

I'm amazed at the poor eye line in many cars these days especially in the rear for kids.

Patser

beauf wrote: »

His reviews can get a bit annoying.

I'm amazed at the poor eye line in many cars these days especially in the rear for kids.

My wife recently got a CHR, Jaysus it's desperate in the back. All that fancy design work at the back, with the door handles high up, the inside is a dark place to be.

Dardania

beauf wrote: »

Patser wrote: »

I've a kid and she loves it. That weird kink in the window design where the rear window drops, gives her a great view out onto the world, not to mention drink holders for her to stuff with crap (never her water bottle, just wrappers, small toys etc)

But back to that review - all I could hear was Sheldon Cooper talking

His reviews can get a bit annoying.

I'm amazed at the poor eye line in many cars these days especially in the rear for kids.

I think he is sometimes deliberately dense to make a point, when he actually knows better.

The poor eye line I think is related to safety / more bodyworkup ugh etc makes it a stronger passenger cell. Maybe the i3 with different carbon fibre design can be different and still safe.

beauf

It's just he rants on about stupid stuff fairly often. He does pick interesting and rare cars to review generally. Which is why he can be interesting. His Doug score is often nonsense.

The poor eye line is a result of exterior styling not safety. Or it wouldn't be the back only. It's to give coupé like styling by dropping the roof line.

The waist line did move up for safety over the last couple of decades though. But that's different thing.

beauf

beauf wrote: »

Not sure why you think a leaf is a handling benchmark.

Any time I've followed a hard driven I3, in my regular ICE car, it leaves me for dust in a straight line, but I catch up easily through any corners. Looks like fun though. no argument there.

I think a lot of people confuse grip and stiffness with handling. I blame Audi.

That's a probably a lot more to do with the driver than the car in fairness. I3 has a lot of poke for coming out of bends so shouldn't be that easy at all to catch in the bends unless the driver is a chicken sh1t or can't drive a car hard in bends.

The i3 is not going to win any prizes for handling, there are better handling cars but the i3 is quite good in fairness because it's not a sports car.

The i3 S has a better suspension again which should make it even more fun and a bit more power at the mid and top end.

You should take one for a spin , arrange a day or two test drive and take it to the back roads !

Turn off traction control and see what happens !

People either like the i3 or hate it , I hated it at first until I took it to the back roads in Galway and fell in love with it because it was brilliant to drive.

Interior is really nice in high spec, Nav unit is brilliant, Iphone integration is good. Leather is nice really nice etc.

Like it or not the Rex version also has a major advantage here in Ireland with the poor recharging infrastructure we have. I've used it several times when chargers are in use or it's too inconvenient to charge.

I was looking at stupid useless reviews like the one posted here and also making my mind up without having ever driven it that it was a pointless EV etc but when I drove it, completely different story !

mordeith

Driving and i3 and a ten year old a4 when the wife takes the i3. I'd take the i3 first all the time. The high seating position is great and the space in the cab with not middle division is really nice.
Steering is so responsive that it took a while to get used to. Sometimes I find it is too much so and there is a bit too much body roll but overall a rally nice drive. The bitsy of acceleration going from 60kph zones to 100 is amazing. Have to check the speedo as suddenly you're like 'how the hell am I doing 125kph already!'

n97 mini

Deleted User wrote: »

I was looking at stupid useless reviews like the one posted here

I don't think you watched it all? He was generally complimentary about the i3, and would recommend except for the price... I think he has a point when he asked why would you pay $50,000 for an i3 when you can have a Model 3 for $35,000.

He also did the Chevy Bolt. After watching it I'd still buy one without hesitation of it came in RHD.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2ogGZXmepY

50 K USD ? is that with grants etc ?

It's 37,500 Euro's here for the basis non S model after grants etc.

Granted, my spec was 55 odd K but if I were to buy it the list price was 37,500 Euros with 9,500 Kms, it was a right bargain and came just before the PCP on the 151 Leaf was up.

55K is a lot but you can spec up a 3 series to crazy money too and still have to pay for petrol and diesel and higher maintenance costs.

Hell, you can pay 50 K for a Golf TDI ffs !

The Carbon Fibre is expensive to make but from 2020-2021 the i3 production will be cancelled and it will become a ix3 which will be an amazing car but probably very expensive, different power options probably and maybe dual motors, rumours are that it will be front wheel drive in basic trim and it will be traditional chassis construction, no CF or maybe parts will have CF but the chassis will be steel.

Shame as the i3 is a great car and quite unique. A more powerful motor and faster charging, larger battery and possibly 4WD would make this a seriously amazing car. But I presume the CF construction will have to go which is a shame, pity they couldn't get the cost lower as I presume part of the joy of driving it is due to the lighter chassis.

I love driving the i3 so much that it's the benchmark for me now, I'll consider the model 3 if it's available by 2019, when my PCP is up on the i3 which is unlikely , but it must be as enjoyable to drive, straight live performance is fine but if it's not got the handling and steering feel or sharpness then it might not be something I would choose.

I also do not like touchscreens in cars, BMW's idrive is fantastic to use compared to touchscreen. I'm not a fan of the Tesla minimalist dash, no buttons etc, everything controlled from the display and I expect I won't be alone there. But I'd have to drive it to know for sure. Then the Glow of the screen at night might bug me a lot.

In the end I might go for the S version i3 with larger battery , I don't like the Niro or Kona but perhaps the Leaf 60 Kwh might be on the cards if it's available in RWD if not the no chance especially after the test drive in the 40 Kwh with 150 Hp the wheel spin in a 205 Hp car would make it extremely annoying to drive.

Hard to know what to do by the end of 2019 , I might be able to extend the PCP on the i3 another few months.

n97 mini

Deleted User wrote: »

50 K USD ? is that with grants etc ?

$48,300 for the Rex according to the BMW USA website. The one in the video is the Rex.
$35,000 for the standard range* (350km) Model 3.

Both eligible for a $7,500 tax rebate.

* Tesla aren't building the standard range Model 3 yet, only the long range.

unkel

i3 is USD44.5k RRP minus USD7.5k tax rebate, so USD37k

M3 is USD66.5k

Linky

So your man is talking bollocks.

I was thinking that, there's no way the i3 is more expensive than in rip off Europe ! Cheers , I hadn't the time to research myself.

FriendsEV

unkel wrote: »

i3 is USD44.5k RRP minus USD7.5k tax rebate, so USD37k

M3 is USD66.5k

Linky

So your man is talking bollocks.

If only they put the i3 tech in a 3 series, it would have been an increbile success, such a wasted opportunity for the mainstream market

Honestly it's almost the perfect car

Battery life is incredible ( over 3000 cycles), liquid cooling, 170bhp motor is plenty strong, rex generator is something I would love in an EV

unkel

Couldn't agree more. If there had been a 3-series EV out there for reasonable (but obviously premium) money. I would be driving one now.

I have happily owned many BMWs but when it was time in 2016 to replace my E60 5-series straight six cylinder petrol auto car, there were only diesels out there. Not a single decent petrol car even to be had. That's when I took it one step further and went for an EV (albeit a lowly Hyundai Ioniq )

n97 mini

unkel wrote: »

i3 is USD44.5k RRP minus USD7.5k tax rebate, so USD37k

M3 is USD66.5k

Linky

So your man is talking bollocks.

44.5k for the non-Rex. Once again, it's the Rex in the video. This is the cheapest Rex on the BMW USA site.



Federal tax credit is complicated, as the BMW USA website acknowledges. It's not a grant. So buyers will receive a tax credit of somewhere between $0 and $7500, depending on their individual circumstances.

unkel

n97 mini wrote: »

44.5k for the non-Rex.

Who in their right mind would by a PHEV when you can get a full EV for thousands less :pac:

liamog

unkel wrote: »

Who in their right mind would by a PHEV when you can get a full EV for thousands less :pac:

You'd have to be Mad

Haha, say that when you're stuck at chargers ....... it's a pleasure passing 2 cars in a queue and one charging, the Rex is a joy with Ireland's horrid charging network !

See how you would wish you had a Rex when q Leaf 40 Kwh is charging at 22 Kw and another Leaf 40 kwh is waiting, you'd be glad of a Rex then let me tell you , and depending on the Charging Network in 2019/20 it could be Rex again though a 43 Kwh might just temps me away from the Rex but it's inevitable that regardless of how many Kwh at some point I'll need to use public chargers when away from home and queuing at chargers waiting for 60 odd Kwh cars to charge at 45-50 Kw just won't cut it for me.

liamog

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Haha, say that when you're stuck at chargers ....... it's a pleasure passing 2 cars in a queue and one charging, the Rex is a joy with Ireland's horrid charging network !

See how you would wish you had a Rex when q Leaf 40 Kwh is charging at 22 Kw and another Leaf 40 kwh is waiting, you'd be glad of a Rex then let me tell you , and depending on the Charging Network in 2019/20 it could be Rex again though a 43 Kwh might just temps me away from the Rex but it's inevitable that regardless of how many Kwh at some point I'll need to use public chargers when away from home and queuing at chargers waiting for 60 odd Kwh cars to charge at 45-50 Kw just won't cut it for me.

It's ok we understand that you don't like commitment, the pool has a shallow end for a reason!

In seriousness the REX was a good idea and there should of been many cars with a plug and generator on board. The 60kWh cars means its not required, but we do need the rapid network to catch up.

Having your own petrol powered charger that you car around with you is very handy given the current state.

liamog

liamog wrote: »

It's ok we understand that you don't like commitment, the pool has a shallow end for a reason!

I don't like queuing especially with 2 tired cranky Small Children in the back, no absolutely not, I did it long enough and there was 0 improvement in the charging network in the 3 years I had the Leaf.

liamog wrote: »

In seriousness the REX was a good idea and there should of been many cars with a plug and generator on board. The 60kWh cars means its not required, but we do need the rapid network to catch up.

It was and still is a fantastic idea, I don't need the DC network much and would need it a lot less than a 60 Kwh but, this is the issue, I'd still need it on holidays when I want to go to Galway, kerry etc or when I'm running low on power because I had more driving to do than anticipated then you really see the appalling state of the Network, My closest CCS is Naas about 50 Kms away.

There are 7 DC chargers broken on the Island, so if I need juice and pull up to one without the Rex I'm screwed or have a long wait at AC but with 11 Kw AC on board I'd have a lot less wait than a lot of folk lol.

but even with 60 Kwh I'd still most likely have to queue or put up with 50 Kw chargers but if I could at least get one without having to queue then I would say ok fair enough.

The situation is going to get much worse before it gets better and I hope that by the end of 2019 or early 2020 the network is a lot better than it is today.

As it stands right now at this point in time, the Rex ( for me ) was essential, after driving 85,000 pure EV Kms and the hassles of the charging network and not being able to take it on long trips with the family I am quiet happy to have the Rex to take me anywhere at any time.

It's funny that those who run the rex down are those who do not have it but yet those who have it love it !

liamog wrote: »

Having your own petrol powered charger that you car around with you is very handy given the current state.

It's an absolute Godsend !