BMW i3 - Why this little EV has big potential

A review of one just delivered in NJ.

2014 BMW i3 REx: Range-Extended Electric Car Drive Report, By Very First Owner

 

I got WAY more of a kick out of the review folks over on the Tesla boards

Tesla Board Member Calls BMW’s Electric Car an ‘Odd Duck’ - Speakeasy - WSJ

Saying it's built for regulatory reasons is the fluffy way to say, "our CAFE is so way in the toilet - we need this vehicle to offset our other ride's less than stellar economy" imo, but heck - I still hope it sells, despite it's somewhat lofty price
.

 

At least it is being offered outside of Ca.

 

But BMW offer some of the most economical petrol and diesel engines going, well in this market at least.

If the i3 was just to comply, then why not import one of their smaller displacement, economical petrol or diesel engines for half the cost? That would drag their average down, they could sell it in low numbers and not have the additional hassle of the HV battery systems.

 

The smallest engine they offer here is a 2L turbo. Which doesn't do badly on the EPA. It may not be enough to balance out the V6s and SUVs they sell though.
Compare Side-by-Side

The regulation they are complaining about isn't CAFE, but ZEV. A manufacturer has to sell cars in California that get ZEV credits or buy them from someone that has extra to do business in the state. The only cars that get credits are battery electrics or fuel cells. Plug in hybrids get zero. The i3 with range extender has a tiny 3 gallon fuel tank and limitations on performance beyond what the car has in other markets to avoid being labaled a PHV in California.

It's the same complaint that Fiat's CEO had recently. But at least BMW is willing to sell the car outside Ca, unlike other compliance cars.

 

saw one at whole foods today. pip on the evse and i3 on the other side. i must say, i was drooling. nice looking car, gorgeous interior, and i'm not even a bmw guy.

 

The more I learn about the i3 the more I like it. True it has some faults but overall it seems like a fantastic offering for those who want a more upscale EV without the price tag or size of the Model S. If my pay grade were a bit higher I would have considered an i3 over the Volt.

The aggressive regen, sporty feel, brisk acceleration and luxury interiors make for a rather enjoyable drive, particularly around town. I used to feel these were important features to consider for vehicle ownership but I turned towards Max economy when I purchased the Prius. With the Volt I feel like I got some of those features back without compromising Max economy. The i3 further enhances that enjoyment and I think that is what a lot of drivers want. At least those interested in luxury cars anyway. I hope that Toyota will offer something similar in the future.

 

I test drove the I3 today, WOW is all I have to say. 0 to 60 in 7 Sec, it feels faster and when its silent it makes it all that faster feeling. The one I was in was fully loaded and priced at $56,000!

I like the look and feel of the interior. Very modern and sexy looking. Almost Volvo like in leathers and wood accents. The one thing I did not like is the paint colors and that you have to get two tone with only black on the hood and roof being offered. Not the best color choice for hot regions like California and only four colors to choose from for the rest of the car. Would I buy one? Yes but not at that price!!

 

US sales numbers aren't very high: Monthly Plug-In Sales Scorecard. The numbers are a bit of an enigma. Some are early adopters, BMW fanboys and some were ActiveE drivers who had to return their cars (ActiveE was lease only, no purchase option). Some folks are waiting for their cars while there are some sitting on the lot.

I think the horrendous lease prices and high price tag w/range no better than any of the other ~80-ish mile EPA range cars are a big turnoff. Same goes for the polarizing styling. I'm not sure if I posted someone else's observation: he mentioned that it seems like most Americans, when asked, hated its styling while most Europeans like it. I'm in the camp where I feel the exterior is pretty ugly and odd looking. Interior's fine.

From the looks of the BMW i3 Facebook group, reliability of the US models seems to be pretty poor so far w/some spending lots of time in the shop (some partly due to waiting for parts). Problems are all over the map ranging from (mostly?) spurious CELs (check engine light), AC failures (some are software problems, apparently), bad KLEs (German acronym for thei equivalent of on-board charger) that in some cases means charging at 208/240 volts are half speed or not at all, and so on. A few have had failures necessitating a tow.

Leaf reliability (even when it was in its first model year) looks stellar, in comparison.

 

Maybe people just can't get over the fact that the thing is fugly.

 

see, this is what worries me about german cars. i think i would stay with leaf until (and if) they get it figured out.

 

I'll guess that BMW is giving a hair cut to its fanbois and early adopters. The market price and availability in a year will tell the tale.

 

Well I once owned a Mini, so I know what problems are under the BMW wing!

 

Any long term reliability reports coming in yet for the i3's, BEV or REx? At least from Europe where they've been sold longer than in the States... I'm already hearing about the Tesla Model S's, with rising reports of drive unit failures. Apparently, they may not be able to handle the torque & weight of the vehicle. I like to see how the i3 is holding up in comparison.

 

No long-term reports on the i3 that I know of. So far, the reliability on US models of i3 seems quite poor. I get the impression that the KLE (weird German abbreviation but it's basically the on-board charger) in the US seems way less reliable than in Europe, for some reason. Who knows if it's something to do w/the EVSEs/charging stations here, power frequency or some part/design change?

As for Model S drive unit failures, well... if you follow teslamotorsclub.com, replacement of the drive unit is nothing new. Many dozens of folks have there have reported having their drive unit replaced at least once, sometimes multiple times. However, most aren't for outright failure. A few are for failure, the rest are for noise.

The Rav4 EV is in the same boat, but none (or almost none) so far have been failure. It's just noise.

 

I looked at the i3 after I testdrove a BMW straight-6 car (a beautiful machine, even though it ran on diesel). I was amazed to see the interior was made of fiberglass or something. Resembled black cardboard. The salesman immediately said, "This car is recycleable." Okay cool.

But if I'm going to buy a fiberglass/cardboard-looking car then I'm not paying $40,000 for it. I'd spend that money on the straight-6 diesel instead!

 

You would as would others. If I had $40,000 I'd buy an old Leaf and spend $10,000 on a hedonistic weekend in Vegas and $10,000 on my bail bond and flights home.

Some people buy the i3 because they like it, not because they could get more value elsewhere. And bigger isn't always better.

 

I agree. The door panels look like recycled plastic, not what one would expect with the wood and leather of the rest of the interior. Very different! It is cool to see the carbon fiber parts of the body.....

 

I think the next most affordable car using near the amount of carbon fiber as the i3 is the Alfa Romeo C4. That is only $68,400.
4C Alfa Romeo - Home

The Corvette uses some, and starts in the low $50,000s.

 

Maybe they should not have used carbon fiber, and sold the car for a reasonable $30,000..... like all the other eVs.