Trying to get more!
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@nextlevelautobrokers If you have some sort of wait list, I’d like to be on it. Looking to do utilize a build allocation.
I’ve been DDing an i3 Rex since last september when I picked up an amazingly cheap deal here in the PNW ($225 DAS and $225/month including tax - 24/10). Mine has Tech, Terra, and HK stereo plus the Turbocord thing, so fairly loaded - $55,745 MSRP.
I love this car way more than I expected. It is reasonably quick, but not fast, handles incredibly well thanks to being rear wheel drive, and is super efficient for the type of around town driving I do most of the time. I generally get about 120 miles out of a charge - maybe a bit more depending on the mix of city and highway that I do with it. Plus, thanks to the suicide doors, my son comfortably sits in the back in a forward facing car seat. Fit and finish is also very good - not a single rattle or anything out of place.
I’ll be sad to see this one go at the end of 24 months…
Hopefully we will be able to hunt down some good leasehacks on these next year. I am in the same boat as you and will be looking for another one next spring/early summer. Unfortunately, being in Florida, I have to get mine out of state in order to get an LH worthy deal.
My previous four of these were the REX version, I went straight BEV on this one and plan to do the same going forward. The all electric range is good enough now that I just don’t need the range extender. my range varies obviously depending on the type of driving, but is usually between 170 and 220 miles ). I’ve noticed the BEV feels a bit more nimble and slightly quicker than my REXs as well.
It depends on what you are looking for. Personally I didn’t really care about the tech pack, but others find it a must have.
My absolute ideal i3 would be a BEV in standard white with no options except the heat pump ($150). I could not find one of these at a reasonable price when I was looking for mine last year.
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Tech Package gives you a wider screen and adaptive cruise control. Wider screen is far better quality and adaptive cruise control works great in dense traffic.
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I think I would go BEV if I had the chance to do it over again - the range is more than adequate and all that the REX is used for in my case is the periodic maintenance cycles. Has literally never run once due to range reduction.
Re: Tech Package, the wider screen for me was a must-have.
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We’ve had three i3s in the family. Love them a lot.
2015 REx (80 miles on the battery)
2017 REx (120 miles on the battery)
2019 BEV (160 miles on the battery)
REx was important to have on the 2015 because the charging infrastructure wasn’t as good back in the day, and 80 miles isn’t a lot. On the 2017, the REx was hardly used, and we could have gotten by with just the BEV. I find the 2019 BEV more than enough for our needs, as long as you have a place to charge at home.
It’s the best city car I can think of. Airy, comfy interior with nice materials. Tiny turning radius (can do a three-point turn in a standard LA 20-foot wide alley). One pedal driving. Quick steering. Goes from drive to reverse quickly. I can parallel park it on a busy street in like five seconds. Due to the flat floor and foldable center armrest, the driver can exit the vehicle from the passenger door, which is also nice on a busy street.
Not the most stable car at speed, and it doesn’t like crosswinds. But for its intended purpose, a premium megacity vehicle, BMW did a great job.
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I’d say a lot of my positive experience was unique to the i3. As polarizing as its design is, I loved how cool and exotic (love or hate it) it looks on the road. The turning radius and handling are also great.
The i3 itself has a lot of unique quirks, positive and negative, that not even Tesla’s have. That being said, I wouldn’t love it even half as much if it wasn’t electric.
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You’ll be okay without the tech package if you’re fine with the smaller display. The active cruise control isn’t perfect.
I’ve owned 2 i3’s, both with Range Extender (a must IMO). Such a fun car to drive, does loose charge faster in cold weather (all EV’s do), but REX gives you peace of mind.
The build quality is great (our Tesla main battery died after 2 weeks). Downside is there are only four seats but never been an issue for me…
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You’re saying your Bev range is 170-200 miles? That’s well above the estimates, no?
With this car, and any other EV for that matter, the conditions in which is being operated dramatically affects range. In my case, most of my driving is between about 30 and 50 mph and it doesn’t get that cold here, so I almost always am above 200 miles of range.
Interesting - I didn’t realize that an EV could exceed its rated mileage capacity by that much (that’s 50 miles over!). I just assumed the range would only really go down in adverse conditions. Good to know. Would be curious what other owners have gotten, too.
Under absolutely perfect conditions of maybe 70 to 75° and driving it at ideal steady state speeds, I’ve actually seen projected range as high as 245 in eco+. I haven’t driven it continuously like that though to see if it actually panned out…Individual range is going to vary greatly by type of driver, average speed, outdoor temperature, etc.
A customer sent me this photo of a 2019 Hyundai Ioniq EV with an EPA-estimated range of 124 miles, and the appropriate driving style.
50% range increase on the ODO over the quoted estimate, in his case. I’ve noticed that several EV makes, and the EPA are conservative with the estimates when it comes to ideal conditions. (The 2020 Ioniq has a 170-mile EPA-estimated range and 38 kWh battery vs the 2019’s 28 kWh).
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Unless you are driving towards sun which blinds its camera. It was practically useless for my commute as I was going east in the morning and west in the evening.
The EPA rating is generally conservative compared to other testing methods (such as the WTLP cycle) to set a realistic expectation that takes into account an average of all driving conditions.