BMW I01

[LordGrover]

Not very PH, and I suspect there will be little to report - but here's my chosen method of conveyance for the daily hack:

BMW i3 120 Ah (I01)











120 Ah = 42.2 kWh (37.9 useable)
Power: 125 kW (168 BHP)
Torque: 250 Nm (184 lb-ft)

0-62: 7.3 sec
Vmax: 93 mph
Range: 170 mi (191 mi WLTP)
Consumption: 4.5 mi/kWh ~ 222 Wh/mi

Len: 4011 mm
Wid: 1775 mm
Hgt: 1598 mm
Wheelbase: 2570 mm
Curb Wgt: 1270 kg

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Almost embarrassed to admit how much I love this, so far. Clearly still in the honeymoon period, but the serenity this bestows on any trip is a revelation; pretty much silent running, smooth and composed, and pretty comfortable. I'm sure plenty of other modern cars can 'precondition for departure', but it's new to me and I love it. The instant shove when needed is satisfying, and regen when lifting off is so intuitive - and smooths out the ride beautifully.
According to the app, it costs me about 80p for the twenty mile round trip to & from work. That's charging on normal Economy 7 tariff overnight - I'll be switching tariff to a more EV friendly one once I get myself sorted with a proper home charger.

I'll miss the Porsche, sure - but not the running costs.

Edited by LordGrover on Thursday 17th June 12:25

[RC1807]

Ooh, that's an interesting choice. I like the i3.

[Greendubber]

I think these are fantastic, looking forward to seeing how you get on with it.

[biggles330d]

I've had a 120 Ah i3s now for 2.5 years, which followed 2 years in an early i3. Awesome little car. Fun in a point a squirt fashion, surprisingly punchy out of corners and with the back seat folded down it make a very practical van for stuff to the tip. Plus in all the time I've had it I've never had any issue with range. I'll qualify by saying I have a Discovery 4 for those periodic 500 mile trips between Scotland and the South East. In reality the i3s gets used 95% of the times I go out and the Disco can sit for months without being used.
The looks are a bit marmite (I love it), but as an engineering-led product it's way way more interesting than many newer EVs. I certainly wouldn't change it for any of BMW's newer EV's which are just boring and un-inspriational by comparison.
Enjoy it. Great cars and definitely qualifies as a PH car in my view!

[harrykul]

I second the above entirely: had mine for 18 months/18k miles and love it. Also makes me enjoy using my ICE cars more- seems more of an occasion.

[anonymous-user]

What's "Not very PH" about a lightweight, carbon tub'd, rwd car? One of the best cars ever made imo, the engineering in this thing is frankly, brilliant, and certanly far more interesting to drive than any golf or 120d equivalent :-)

[Court_S]

I really like the i3.

They get a lot of flack from sone, but I like the design and they’re fun to drive. A colleague has one and uses it loads. He rarely seems to be out and about in his M140i.

[anonymous-user]

Max_Torque said:

What's "Not very PH" about a lightweight, carbon tub'd, rwd car? One of the best cars ever made imo, the engineering in this thing is frankly, brilliant, and certanly far more interesting to drive than any golf or 120d equivalent :-)

What sort of real world range do you get from yours? I'm looking for something that can go about 150 miles in a single trip, 95% motorway, without biting my nails for the last 20 miles!

[Challo]

Looks very nice OP. My colleague at work has a second hand one and loves it. Went from a Merc AMG and doesn't regret it.

[gregs656]

I drove an early i3 and thought it was fantastic. They were way ahead of their time IMO.

[samoht]

The i3 increasingly reminds me of the Audi A2. Upright yet narrow and aerodynamic body, cutting-edge lightweight construction, replaced in the market by heavier, more conventional cars. Arguably a commercial failure for BMW, but an engineering success and much-loved by many owners.

[MrC986]

The I3S I have reminds me of my Mini Cooper S (R56) but without the noise handling-wise. I'm fortunate I've a 21 yr old 911 & agree with others that it heightens the driving experience of the ICE cars.

[anonymous-user]

stickleback123 said:

Max_Torque said:

What's "Not very PH" about a lightweight, carbon tub'd, rwd car? One of the best cars ever made imo, the engineering in this thing is frankly, brilliant, and certanly far more interesting to drive than any golf or 120d equivalent :-)

What sort of real world range do you get from yours? I'm looking for something that can go about 150 miles in a single trip, 95% motorway, without biting my nails for the last 20 miles!

Like all Cars, ICE or EV, your range simply depends on how fast you drive, and what the environmental conditions are. However, because EVs don't waste over 75% of the energy put into them all the time, they do appear to be more reactive to these factors than a traditional ICE (which is so enourmously wasteful the ENTIRE time, how you drive it makes a smaller overall difference)

My i3s, with around 39kWh useable, looks to give a pretty much guaranteed real world range of 130 miles, with a good amount of hooning in any weather(3.3 ml/kWh). Slow (and calm down) a bit, and 160 miles (4.1 ml/kWh) is achievable in good weather without going excessively "driving miss daisy"

But the thing is, slow down to say 60, and you can easily get up to 4.5ml/kWh (180 ml).

My best ever rating on my old 2015 non "s" i3 is 6.3 ml/kWh, which shows just how low consumption you can get if you try (120 ml range from 19kWh useable)

I tend to drive around like i stole it, then eek out the final miles by driving more sensibly. Also, now the charging network is significantly better and improving all the time, a 12min "splash and dash" on a 50kW fast charger really is pretty easy, putting in a safety buffer of say an extra 40 miles, meaning you can go back to driving like a tit :-)

[Yadizzle1]

One of my favourite EV's even today. I was fortunate to have one through work for a few months and it was just absolutely spot on for the city type driving I was doing at the time. Still felt like a proper BMW.

[Mr Tidy]

Yadizzle1 said:

One of my favourite EV's even today. I was fortunate to have one through work for a few months and it was just absolutely spot on for the city type driving I was doing at the time. Still felt like a proper BMW.

It doesn't exactly look like a proper BMW though! rolleyes:

My local BMW Indy had an i3 a few years ago as a daily and said it had been a complete PITA!

[LordGrover]

Pleasantly surprised by the positivity.

Good to see some early adopters rate them over time too. Reassuring. I’m getting used to having a ‘limited’ range; my boxster used to warn of low fuel with 50 miles remaining. I’d then have to visit the local-ish Shell garage to pump another £70.
Waking up to a full ‘tank’ every morning costing less than a pound is pleasing.

[SiH]

The biggest issue with i3s (and with any EV for that fact) is that the charging infrastructure in the UK is woefully inadequate with not enough chargers, those that are present often being broken or put in car-park spaces that are often blocked by non-EV cars.

[LordGrover]

I'd prefer not to argue or evangelise here, there are plenty of topics already doing so - but I'll quickly respond to these two and then hold my peace.

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Mr Tidy said:

It doesn't exactly look like a proper BMW though! rolleyes:

My local BMW Indy had an i3 a few years ago as a daily and said it had been a complete PITA!

Sounds like a few years ago your 'Indy' bought the wrong car for his use/purposes.

They are good, perhaps even excellent at what they are designed for, and their intended use. As a small, city car they excel; as a long range five seat GT they are a poor choice. Not what I'd buy as a 'family' car either, neither would I buy a mini or fiesta.

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SiH said:

The biggest issue with i3s (and with any EV for that fact) is that the charging infrastructure in the UK is woefully inadequate with not enough chargers, those that are present often being broken or put in car-park spaces that are often blocked by non-EV cars.

I live in the suburbs, with my own drive and a 10 miles each way daily commute. If I felt the need, I could charge it just once a week or less and still have plenty to spare; as it is, I charge it every night so every morning I have a 'full tank' and c. 180 miles of range.
Clearly, if I frequently needed to travel >150 miles a day or didn't have access to a home charger it would be a poor choice. Neither is true so I'm very happy with it.

Just because it doesn't suit your specific needs, or imagined/percieved scenarios, doesn't make EVs bad, it makes them unsuitable for you (and many others).

[LordGrover]

I just can't get a decent photo of my interior, but this is pretty much identical, minus adaptive cruise.



It's all very familiar, yet still seems modern and futuristic despite the design being almost ten years old.

[ECG1000]

I few years ago a mate of mine was excitedly waiting to take delivery of one of these. He's an accountant so I took a lot of pleasure in mocking him for what to me looked like another one of his penny-pinching decisions.
I even Whatsapp'd dozens of videos I had recorded of i3's out and about, accompanied by my own two worded commentary.
If anyone recognises this screenshot, you'll know what those two words were:



Fast forward to now: I'm dailying an M2 Comp which consists of a mostly motorway 40 mile commute with a couple of interesting roundabouts... if they're clear.
So here am I with the ever-creeping urge to follow my penny-pinching friend's suit. It just makes perfect sense given my my daily use.
I can't help but think an i3 is the way to take that boring, wasted mileage off the M2, thus savouring it for the weekends/track-days/adventures/etc/etc.

I also like the look of the Honda E, however that ridiculous multi-screened interior just seems so unnecessary; more of a gimmick than anything else...