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Does unkel now want a plug in hybrid?

unkel

Before you ask, no, I did not hit my head nor did I consume any alcohol or drugs 😁

But I drove past this car for sale in Deansgrange yesterday and it re-ignited my love for these cars

Here is the ad, they have come down a good bit in value for a car that sold at €149k before any options, zero discounts, wait list. I can't stop thinking about them now and doing some frantic sums in my head. I want one!

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/bmw-i8-1-5i-2dr-auto/36238799

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unkel

That one never gets old @kanuseeme 😂

unkel

Took the i8 for a 3 hour test drive yesterday, will update with my review here hopefully later today

ELM327

If I wanted to spend 40k+ on an aged but cool car, I'd have a bentley continental or an e60/1 M5. Not a hope would I have a 3 cylinder. So much better out there for the money.

Fun fact: Did you know that, because of the design, on the prefacelift i8 (ie the 7kWh ones) it was not possible to run in 100% ZEV mode. Even running it in EV only uses a small amount of petrol, you can check this on the OBC.

[Deleted User]

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122244561#Comment_122244561

Well, people know what they want, what the need for 80-90% of the time is one thing but having to hang around at chargers is a pain in the hole especially at the cost they charge. Fine for 2nd car as a run-a-bout or for commutes. But suppose as a run-a-bout you can buy far cheaper better cars.

[Deleted User]

This

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122258118#Comment_122258118

This is Unkle we're talking about, 15 years ago he was calling for me to be banned from the motor section for talking about electric cars lol.

[Deleted User]

Worst t

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122258519#Comment_122258519

Hey, don't knock 3 pot motors, I get 50-62 mpg from mine lol

The 600cc Motorcycle engine in the i3 was a really great idea, they should have kept it and made something similar in a more normal car.

DrPhilG

There's an i8 regularly in the staff car park here, beautiful car. If I was a wealthy man I'd certainly be tempted to have one as a second car and let herself drive the ID3.

unkel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122258948#Comment_122258948

What is very attractive about the i8 now is that you do not need to be a wealthy man (or woman) to afford to own one. There is the purchase price of course, but that is less than a Skoda Octavia plug in, to put things into perspective. And the running and maintenance costs are very low.

unkel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122258880#Comment_122258880

I think you are twisting the truth a bit there pal 😉15 years ago I was one of the 2 main moderators of the motors section. Over the years you have been a major time sink for the moderators of boards.ie and you have been banned many times. I had and have a bit of a liking for you and your contributions and I don't recall ever banning you myself, in fact I argued against it on a few occasions. Nothing at all to do with your opinions BTW, be they on electric cars or other things.

GavMan

Is it just me or is this a shockingly piss poor ad when you're asking someone to part with 40k for a 10 year old car https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/bmw-i8-1-5i-2dr-auto/36238799

[Deleted User]

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122259162#Comment_122259162

Oh yes I remember you a mod now that I think of it……. I was nearly sure you were part of the lynch mob in the motors section but apologies if not it was a long time ago but hey, I'm still here talking shite ! 😃

Well you definitely were one of the better mods I have to say.

I was always a good Mad_Lad all the bans were completely unjustified ! 🤣

[Deleted User]

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122259603#Comment_122259603

Oh Lord, give me a bucket, talk about a load of sh1te, that would turn me off big time but it happens a lot more now.

I'm not interested in how long they were there and that they're a family run business, just let me know about the car.

The standard on done deal has fallen, the quality of the photos are absolute crap mostly now too, might not be a lot to do with donedeal but the user but most phones today are capable of taking far better quality pics than you see on a lot of donedeal adds these days + the size is far too small at least on a laptop they come up really small.

TitianGerm

https://twitter.com/GardaTraffic/status/1801964310303830446?t=n9CUgxV3Ryn2PU5GvTjFlA&s=19

Anyone hear from Unkel today 🤔

unkel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122263779#Comment_122263779

Was wondering why my 17 year old daughter insisted she needed the keys for a few minutes 😫

Gumbo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122263779#Comment_122263779

I came on to post the same thing. Unkle is tied up. He may post bail, or I mean may post on here tomorrow….

[Deleted User]

Seriously though, would you pay 40k for a high mileage i8 ?

I'll be getting something like this next, hopefully when herself is in Germany in a few weeks with the Boys.

Old Skool, Carburettors, No fuel injection, no ECU, no digital screens, just Man and Machine, the way cars and bikes should be lol.

unkel

So I picked up the keys for the i8 for a test drive of a few hours. Thanks to the guys in Mooney’s who were very accommodating. Very little fuss, zero paperwork. My dream car and I was finally going to drive it. What a beauty the car is up close, still nearly as futuristic looking as when the concept was launched an incredible 13 years ago. I had done my research, watched lots of reviews. Got in the car in the universally recommended way - bum first, let gravity do the work and don't swing legs in until after landing - which was far easier than I thought it would. And I am well into middle age, a bit under 6'2 and not much change from 100kg. Getting out was even easier.

Car is spacious on the inside, first impressions were that it is very easy to drive, just like any other automatic BMW. Suspension is sporty but by no means hard. Seats are excellent, so is the driving position and the car comes with superb sound system and heads up display as standard. This really should be mandatory in all cars from a safety viewpoint alone. The controls were very easy to get used to as many were the same or very similar to my own i3 and so was the car key

In electric only mode (FWD) it is quiet as you'd expect and a bit slow but fine for keeping up with traffic. I did not get the chance to get any good impression of what pure electric range the car has (left). When new this was officially 35km. I did try charging it on my zappi and it was drawing about 3.4kW, meaning the 7.1kWh battery (a good bit less usable) would go from empty to full in about 2 hours. When you demand more power in electric only mode, the combustion engine (RWD) kicks in instantly. The engine and motor work superbly together. I have no idea how the engineers have done that, but it is marvelous. In sport mode the car comes alive and drives great (flappy paddles let you change gear and they are good fun), but if you are a hardcore driver who likes spending time on a track, this car is not for you - get a Porsche Cayman / 911 or a BMW M3/M4 instead. Although in a sprint, this car is quicker to 60 than the lot of them at just 3.7s (0to60times.com). I would imagine you could drive 1000km in this car at speed and come out fresh at your destination.

Of course, not all is good, I've said for years that plug in hybrid cars are the worst of both worlds. I would have preferred if the car was fully electric. Or at least have a bit more electric range. And the (near) zero regen braking is something I really dislike now in combustion cars. No reason why a PHEV shouldn't have this? The i3 of the same generation not only has strong regen, it even has one pedal driving - and had that years before any other manufacturer offered it

Several people were saying in reviews that even 2 adults could fit in the rear for short journeys. Well, not if the driver and front passenger are tall. My seat was nearly all the way back to the back seats. Fine for a child seat behind me, but not for a person. I guess if the driver is well under 6', you have a better chance. So even less practical than my limited expectations of practicality, but something I can live with. Even for my main car.

Spent the 2-3 hours happily driving around, my daughters were well impressed with it, my wife doesn't really like any sports cars, so wasn't even bothered to get in or drive it 😂 For the last few days I had been doing the sums in my head constantly, thinking of the market value of all my possession and how to quickly sell them to raise cash. At a push I could afford to own this car, the running costs are low, insurance (I checked) was low, tax is low and I would buy a reliable car, with no expensive known faults, with significant warranty from a reputable garage. How often does something like this happen? When you realise you could have what you really, really want? I don't know about you, but for me - not often. And please spare me the "why would you spend €40k on a 10 year old car". These cars were €150k new, only 20k of them were ever made and most of them are in China. There might be a few dozen in Ireland. This is an exotic / rare car. But if you don't get any of that, you don't get it.

Still buzzing with excitement when the time was more than up to bring the car back. Dropped the keys off and got back into the Tesla. Further planning to work the finances and convince the family that we (cough cough, I) really want this car. Still in hooligan driving mode, I floored it on every single occasion on the way home.

And then it dawned on me. There was no kick back in the seat in the i8 every time I stamped on the accelerator. It was fast, but not from the off. And that is where I prefer cars to have the most poke, the most torque. Instantly. The same reason that back 25 years ago when I had a bit of money to buy my first decent car, I was about to buy a Rover 620ti (turbo), but I was disappointed with the turbo lag and I bought a BMW 530 (V8) instead. Turbos have come a long way since then, but by design, can never make up for instant torque. A combustion engine will never again do for my main car. I am not buying a BMW i8...

[Deleted User]

"A combustion engine will never again do for my main car"

Never say never, Once upon a time the Mad_Lad said the same…….. but I stuck it out for 9 years all the same, that's a true pioneer for ye. endless hrs at chargers lol.

While the torque is nice in pure EV they have no life, no soul and no character and are far too heavy and most of them look Crap inside, too futuristic to be like Tesla though that goes for many combustion cars too

I disagree with you on one pedal driving, I detested it in the i3, but was happy it was optional in the id3. Things like that and heads up displays should be optional, let people decide what they want.

But nice to read your experience with the i8, thanks for sharing, at least you got to drive it, closest I got to an i8 was Conor Mcgregors in Frank Kean the day before he was due to pick it up when I collected my i3 Rex. Lovely looking car, his was in the "special" room inside, I had to go outside like the rest of the peasants to collect my car.

User1998

There is always this big debate that EV’s have no soul, no character, they can’t corner fast, they are heavy, not a drivers car, all they have is instant torque etc etc

I think I’ve come to realise that I much rather the straight line speed and torque of an EV over all those other things. I really don’t care if they can’t corner fast.

Gumbo

…..

[Deleted User]

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122265139#Comment_122265139

It's not about cornering fast, there's a big difference in my 1200 kg cee'd in the bends vs the 2 tonne id3, on roundabouts etc, I no longer feel I'm driving a hatch that handles like an SUV + the suspension comfort is far better and not trashy over broken town roads, even going around roundabouts is far more comfortable.

Straight line acceleration with no sound gets boring after a while, but electrics are fine for long boring commutes where an appliance like experience is more acceptable, now the touchscreen becomes the most exciting thing in the car to many people now.

Gumbo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122265352#Comment_122265352

You can’t lump every EV into the same group as a mundane underpowered, bad software ID3 😂

In the same way your new obsession, motorcycles are not always the fresh air, open highway drive you expect. Wait until your up at 7.30am on a cold, wet, windy Tuesday morning and your praying the battery Kano to start the bike, you spend the minutes putting on all the gear and even with gloves and Oxford heated grips, you still can’t feel your fingers.

I’m driving bikes before I could drive a car, fields, motocross, scramblers and road bikes. That bike life you obsess about now will become boring and robotic.

[Deleted User]

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122265436#Comment_122265436

I won't be using the bike for commuting, I'll be going out on it mostly in fine weather or shorter rides in Winter, It will do most of my local pottering about when I don't have to carry the Boys around and it's much better for me on my local back roads not having to stop to let cars pass, it's just something I always wanted to do but the Emotional blackmail from the Women guilted me into not doing it, I enjoy the Tmax, it's a whole new level of fun to be honest never thought I'd enjoy it so much. I just wish now I had started on a manual bike but anyway I know what I want and the Tmax has given me very valuable experience, the difference in confidence now compared to a few months ago is huge.

I love the Royal Enfields, the Shadows and the Virago style bikes, my interest isn't speed.

I got first instructor lesson Tuesday at 5pm lol A compatible bike too so a lot more power than I'm used to so be interesting to see how that goes and being a manual bike.

Anyway, every EV is the same, no noise too heavy, all screens, just some are faster than others but we got speed limits and talks of them coming down even more so not bothered, I'd rather drive a slower manual petrol hard than a fast EV or any car slow ev or not.

The id3 didn't turn me off screens and electrics to be honest, I'm just not into it as I used to be, I think having Children and restricting tech and screens has detoxified me somewhat and I feel the better of it and I prefer cars to be as tech free now as possible.

unkel

I knew I was going to forget something! I forgot to mention the sound. The fake / enhanced engine sound. I expected to hate it or at least dislike it, like in the Porsche Taycan and BMW i4 M50 where it is completely made up. But I didn't hate it. I didn't mind it. Still would prefer if you could switch the fake stuff off though.

unkel

Would have made a nice pair

[Deleted User]

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122265555#Comment_122265555

I'm sure you can switch it off via the app and OBDII dongle, I could switch of the dings and dongs on the i3.

Bimmercode I think the app was.

[Deleted User]

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122265566#Comment_122265566

It's nice to dream but at least you got to drive it !

Who knows, you might pick one up in another 5 years quite cheap ?

unkel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122266764#Comment_122266764

I don't think they'll ever be cheap. If anything, they will plateau or even go up in value once the bottom is reached. These cars are rare and a guaranteed future classic.

unkel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122266735#Comment_122266735

Yes I have bimmercode and have made several changes to the i3 setup

[Deleted User]

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122267316#Comment_122267316

You never know, could depend on things such as reliability, parts availability, cost to fix, mechanics willing to work on it etc.