Used BMW i3 experiences

MM3 · 28-01-2019 9:28am

On the subject of 60ah vs 94ah pure BEV, Looking at 2 16 reg cars , one a well specd 60ah vs a fairly basic 94ah (upgraded alloys). Would range trump spec? We’d typically do around 50km per day in the car so I’m tempted to go with the 60ah, 94ah is approx €1000 more.

Thoughts?

[Deleted User] · 28-01-2019 9:37am

MM3 wrote: »

On the subject of 60ah vs 94ah pure BEV, Looking at 2 16 reg cars , one a well specd 60ah vs a fairly basic 94ah (upgraded alloys). Would range trump spec? We’d typically do around 50km per day in the car so I’m tempted to go with the 60ah, 94ah is approx €1000 more.

Thoughts?

Is this BEV or Rex ?

More range is always better, i3 is a great car to drive so I'd over look some gadgets for rang especially if BEV.

The 94 ah also charges faster at the fast charger as in it allows the battery charge at a higher rate of power for a lot longer so you get more range than the 64 ah for the same time on the charger, definitely worth that alone.

Remember when the battery is cold, below 20 Deg C it does not charge at full power the same as with all EV's.

i3 has a battery heater that works when plugged in and a depart timer set 4 hrs prior to depart time, it heats to 10 Deg C and by the time you have driven to need a charge it should be plenty warm, that's my experience anyway in cold weather.

That 1000 would be far better spend on range and faster fast charging than gadgets in my opinion.

zoom_cool · 28-01-2019 9:43am

If it was me I would get the 94ah the bigger battery the better, plus the benefit as Mad_lad said of faster charging which is also a big thing especially if it non Rex version. I got mine in the UK from BMW garage in Lancaster and drove it same day to Hollyhead no problem with the REX.

[Deleted User] · 28-01-2019 9:51am

+ I think the 94 ah battery is a better battery anyway, more time needed of course to establish this but the specs on the cells in the i3 94 ah are amazing if true.

MM3 · 28-01-2019 10:19am

Thanks for the replies, it’s a BEV not a REX, we have an ICE so the I3 will only be used for local trips. I’ll have to have a think about it, that €1000 is €1000 over budget so that has to be considered as well. However I’d imagine it would hold its value better over time which would make justifying the additional spend easier.

M

[Deleted User] · 28-01-2019 10:36am

MM3 wrote: »

Thanks for the replies, it’s a BEV not a REX, we have an ICE so the I3 will only be used for local trips. I’ll have to have a think about it, that €1000 is €1000 over budget so that has to be considered as well. However I’d imagine it would hold its value better over time which would make justifying the additional spend easier.

M

The 1000 is a good investment but hold off until you find the right spec you want, the 94 ah also has a really good 11 Kw 3 phase charger but you'll need to buy a 32 amp 3 phase charge lead.

We have a lot of 22 Kw AC points so this makes longer distance travel a lot easier as it eliminates the need to hang around at fast chargers or greatly reduced the need for them.

So definitely if it's BEV only the 94 Ah does have 2 very good advantages, you will probably find yourself wanting to drive the i3 a lot more then the ICE car.
But, as I said earlier as with all electric cars if the battery is cold charging will be a lot slower, say at 10 deg C you could be charging at 35 Kw v 55 Kw according to the charger power meter. The battery heater does help in very cold weather when setting off from 100% charge with preheat selected and plugged in 4 hrs in advance.

On 11 Kw ac the i3 94 Ah can get from 10-90% in a little over 2 hrs.

Patser · 28-01-2019 10:58am

MM3 - just to answer all your questions from above, since you seem to be going through identical decisions I made last year:

I bought my car 'blind' from a registered BMW dealer in the UK from an ad on motors.co.uk. I had a years BMW warranty that would travel, so figured I was safe enough

Last year NVD had a deal (I actually spotted it thanks to Bargain Alerts here) in February to collect any car in UK for €250 - so I had them collect car. Slight issue with delivery, but that was entirely due to Beast from the East hitting that week and everything coming to a standstill.

As for 60 vs 93 vs Rex - it's a personal decision. I couldn't really stretch to 93ah last year, and when debating Rex over goodies, I went with goodies. I've a long car history of convertibles, and when family needs overrode that I compromised with large glass roofs, or sunroofs. So for me that was important. Right car at right price came up, within the budget I was sticking to, so I went for it. But I knew I was well withing daily range for travel, have chargers including a CCS on regular route in case of emergencies, so my need for Rex would be limited. It's still a great feature to have, and I'd probably had used it once or twice over last year - but I've survived easily without it. That's just me though, and more range is always, always better if you can afford it.

Also as I always like to point out, due to less dense battery and lack of weight from Rex, the 60ah is the fastest accelerating i3 except for the new i3s - which it almost matches.

https://www.zeroto60times.com/vehicle-make/bmw-0-60-mph-times/

slave1 · 28-01-2019 1:00pm

MM3 wrote: »

Thanks for the replies, it’s a BEV not a REX, we have an ICE so the I3 will only be used for local trips. I’ll have to have a think about it, that €1000 is €1000 over budget so that has to be considered as well. However I’d imagine it would hold its value better over time which would make justifying the additional spend easier.

M

If the i3 is local trips only would you not consider a Leaf30, it's a proper 5 seater, no doors issue and much cheaper

unkel · 28-01-2019 1:33pm

Patser wrote: »

Also as I always like to point out, due to less dense battery and lack of weight from Rex, the 60ah is the fastest accelerating i3 except for the new i3s - which it almost matches.

https://www.zeroto60times.com/vehicle-make/bmw-0-60-mph-times/

Haven't seen that argument used before. Makes a lot of sense, thanks for sharing + proof with your link

0-60 60Ah 6.4s
0-60 60Ah REx 7.6s

That's a massive difference in my book, the BEV is almost on a par with my Porsche

MM3 · 28-01-2019 3:26pm

slave1 wrote: »

If the i3 is local trips only would you not consider a Leaf30, it's a proper 5 seater, no doors issue and much cheaper

tbh we’ve driven BMWs for a long time and I’m not sure I could live with the interior of the Leaf - nothing wrong with the car just a personal preference.

unkel · 28-01-2019 3:33pm

The interior step down is nothing of course compared to the way a RWD BMW drives vs a FWD Japanese econobox. Haven't owned a BMW myself in over 2 years and I miss them. It's time I'd take an i3 for a test drive

[Deleted User] · 28-01-2019 4:07pm

unkel wrote: »

Haven't seen that argument used before. Makes a lot of sense, thanks for sharing + proof with your link

0-60 60Ah 6.4s
0-60 60Ah REx 7.6s

That's a massive difference in my book, the BEV is almost on a par with my Porsche

There u go more of an incentive then to get the 60 ah you were thinking about lol.

[Deleted User] · 28-01-2019 4:11pm

The i3 is due an upgrade I'd say, they're a bit behind because they were to discontinue it in 2020 but they are continuing production but they got to give the i3 a proper update. 300 HP 4wd !

I'd have that more than all the gadgets in the world none of that autopilot/ propilot sh1t lol !

Even the 94AH Rex is a lot of fun but BMW really need to give the i3 a proper power boost.

The S is supposed to be even more fun.

MM3 · 28-01-2019 7:17pm

Think I’m going to go for the 94ah , has 65k km on it (it’s a late 2016) , any concerns re mileage?

[Deleted User] · 28-01-2019 8:16pm

MM3 wrote: »

Think I’m going to go for the 94ah , has 65k km on it (it’s a late 2016) , any concerns re mileage?

Yep, you will not regret that decision and you can take it on a lot further trips and charge faster and save some petrol and got 11 Kw AC charger for the AC points once you buy a 3 phase charge lead.

A good decision.

Mileage concerns ? I have not heard of anything.

Patser · 28-01-2019 8:27pm

MM3 wrote: »

Think I’m going to go for the 94ah , has 65k km on it (it’s a late 2016) , any concerns re mileage?

But what colour is the main issue!??

MM3 · 28-01-2019 9:09pm

Patser wrote: »

But what colour is the main issue!??

Mineral grey

Btw does anyone know if the aa or rac do a pre purchase inspections on electric cars? I’d like to get one done for peace of mind as I’ll probably get the car transported here

zoom_cool · 28-01-2019 11:29pm

You are making right decision the 94Ah is the way to go will hold it's value better and 3 phase charging also.

[Deleted User] · 29-01-2019 9:30am

3 phase AC "only" with separately purchased 32 amp 3 phase lead, for anyone who does not know.

unkel · 29-01-2019 10:24am

Or at a tethered triple head fast AC charger of course!

[Deleted User] · 29-01-2019 12:02pm

unkel wrote: »

Or at a tethered triple head fast AC charger of course!

Indeed, if the DC side of the charger is in use the AC can be used @ 11 Kw.

Gumbo · 29-01-2019 12:24pm

I'm seriously considering an i3 at the moment.
I'm looking at one that the ad says xenon headlights, but look like halogen housing. Did the 2016 i3 have LED headlights?

http://deerparkmotors.com/vehicle/170-bhp-range-extender/

unkel · 29-01-2019 12:31pm

That looks sweet. Similar range as your Leaf, but of course you get the REx on top of that.

[Deleted User] · 29-01-2019 12:52pm

kceire wrote: »

I'm seriously considering an i3 at the moment.
I'm looking at one that the ad says xenon headlights, but look like halogen housing. Did the 2016 i3 have LED headlights?

http://deerparkmotors.com/vehicle/170-bhp-range-extender/

Only LED/Halogen lights, option only.

But they seem to be quite dazzling to oncoming drivers , I get flashed a lot and can see people in front in slow traffic dipping their rear view mirrors so I need to get it checked out, probably doesn't help the i3 is a pretty tall car either and the lights are up high.

Gumbo · 29-01-2019 12:55pm

unkel wrote: »

That looks sweet. Similar range as your Leaf, but of course you get the REx on top of that.

I'd even say the EV range would be more in the i3?

Deleted User wrote: »

Only LED/Halogen lights, option only.

Cheers, id find it hard going back to halogens. Our E60 had Xenon, our F10 has Xenons and my Leaf has the LED.

unkel · 29-01-2019 12:58pm

kceire wrote: »

I'd even say the EV range would be more in the i3?

Yeah, you're probably right there. I3 is 22kWh and Leaf is 24kWh, but Leaf is inefficient and i3 is the second most efficient vehicle ever tested after Ioniq. Have you driven an i3 yet? If not, I'd love to hear your experience when you do.

zoom_cool · 29-01-2019 1:33pm

kceire wrote: »

I'm seriously considering an i3 at the moment.
I'm looking at one that the ad says xenon headlights, but look like halogen housing. Did the 2016 i3 have LED headlights?

http://deerparkmotors.com/vehicle/170-bhp-range-extender/

Mine has the LED lights they are brilliant but I think are a expensive option.

Gumbo · 29-01-2019 1:37pm

unkel wrote: »

Yeah, you're probably right there. I3 is 22kWh and Leaf is 24kWh, but Leaf is inefficient and i3 is the second most efficient vehicle ever tested after Ioniq. Have you driven an i3 yet? If not, I'd love to hear your experience when you do.

No, never drove one. Was a passenger in one.
But I did travel to Scotland to buy my Leaf without ever driving one before

zoom_cool wrote: »

Mine has the LED lights they are brilliant but I think are a expensive option.

Same as my Leaf, couldn't go back to Halogen!

[Deleted User] · 29-01-2019 1:38pm

kceire wrote: »

Cheers, id find it hard going back to halogens. Our E60 had Xenon, our F10 has Xenons and my Leaf has the LED.

LED'sc can cause a lot of glare they were fine in the Leaf but they weren't nearly as bright as on the i3.

mordeith · 29-01-2019 2:19pm

kceire wrote: »

I'm seriously considering an i3 at the moment.
I'm looking at one that the ad says xenon headlights, but look like halogen housing. Did the 2016 i3 have LED headlights?

http://deerparkmotors.com/vehicle/170-bhp-range-extender/

Don't think mine does. All I can tell you is that the is a blue tint to the light that's emitted from them. At least white signs show a hint of blue in the reflection

Used BMW i3 experiences

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