Are you considering buying/leasing BMW i3 ?

[leafedbehind]

I'm curious about the i3, but I'm unlikely to bite. Early reports is that the i3 does not "drive like a BMW", so what's the point? I'd probably rather hold on to my Fit EV, if Honda lets me, past the 3-year lease. We bought our LEAF, and given how the resale has taken a beating, we will probably hold onto that car. Problems I see with the i3 that makes me think it will be uncompetitive and unlikely to do well:

1) Range no better (probably slightly worse on the freeway) than the LEAF.
2) Much more expensive than LEAF.
3) Doesn't hold the promise of "BMW driving dynammics" (TBD)
4) Suicide doors. I hate those. I have a kid. This would be a major pain in the butt. I have a friend with that Honda SUV with those rear doors. Just plain stupid and annoying.
5) No Chademo.

They'll sell a few, since some folks must have the BMW badge, and the Tesla gen III is still a few years out.

I don't understand why the press thinks the i3 is competition for Tesla. Will they update the i3 to compete with Tesla gen III in time?

 

[Bicster]

The sad thing is, I would have jumped on the chance to lease an ActiveE. You know, a real car. Forget this urban vehicle concept garbage. Every automaker knows what kinds of cars sell. Why do they think the formula is suddenly different if you replace the ICE with an electric motor? Does anyone expect for even a minute that Tesla's Gen 3 will look substantially different from a midsize or compact semi-luxury ICE sedan?

 

[KeiJidosha]

I'm considering the i3 as a replacement...

Very similar situation and reasoning. Was hoping Tesla Gen III would be tangible by the time Fit EV lease is up in 2015. If Gen III is a sedan, I’ll pass. Right now, my fallback plan would be a 6.6kW Spark EV, as no Fit EV successor. So the closer the i3 is to driving the MINI E, the more likely I’d be to buy one.

 

[leafedbehind]

I'm considering the i3 as a replacement...

Very similar situation and reasoning. Was hoping Tesla Gen III would be tangible by the time Fit EV lease is up in 2015. If Gen III is a sedan, I’ll pass. Right now, my fallback plan would be a 6.6kW Spark EV, as no Fit EV successor. So the closer the i3 is to driving the MINI E, the more likely I’d be to buy one.

I am holding out hope that Honda will let me continue to pay my monthly lease fee on my Fit EV after the 3 years is up, at least until late 2017 when the last Fit EVs manufactured will have their 3-year leases ending. Then I can jump directly to a Tesla gen III -- the mysterious perfect mid-sized performance EV!

 

[evnow]

I am holding out hope that Honda will let me continue to pay my monthly lease fee on my Fit EV after the 3 years is up, at least until late 2017 when the last Fit EVs manufactured will have their 3-year leases ending. Then I can jump directly to a Tesla gen III -- the mysterious perfect mid-sized performance EV!

What will Honda do instead of Fit EV ? They would still need the credits. Infact, quite a bit more.

 

[TonyWilliams]

What will Honda do instead of Fit EV ? They would still need the credits. Infact, quite a bit more.

They can keep paying Tesla for CARB-ZEV credits, but they plan a hydrogen car (as will Toyota) for 2015.

 

[KeiJidosha]

I'm considering the i3 as a replacement...

Very similar situation and reasoning. Was hoping Tesla Gen III would be tangible by the time Fit EV lease is up in 2015. If Gen III is a sedan, I’ll pass. Right now, my fallback plan would be a 6.6kW Spark EV, as no Fit EV successor. So the closer the i3 is to driving the MINI E, the more likely I’d be to buy one.

I am holding out hope that Honda will let me continue to pay my monthly lease fee on my Fit EV after the 3 years is up, at least until late 2017 when the last Fit EVs manufactured will have their 3-year leases ending. Then I can jump directly to a Tesla gen III -- the mysterious perfect mid-sized performance EV!

A good plan IF Honda cooperates. What is their incentive to do so?

 

[evnow]

They can keep paying Tesla for CARB-ZEV credits, but they plan a hydrogen car (as will Toyota) for 2015.

If CARB removes the "quick charge" incentive as reported, H2 cars will be very expensive for OEMs - to get the same credits as they would get from EVs. I won't be surprised if all these OEMs continue to sell compliance EVs - even if they do introduce H2 (which always comes in the next 5/10 years).

 

[cwerdna]

I'm considering the i3 as a replacement for my 2013 LEAF when its lease expires in June of 2015. By that time, we'll be about a year on from the US release of the i3 and we'll know a lot more about the car's driving dynamics, range and quality of construction. I got lucky as an early adopter of the Gen 1 LEAF, but I'm not as optimistic about the i3's initial quality, given its radical new design, so I'm taking no chances. If the i3 turns out to be "less than stellar", so to speak, there are certainly other choices, especially in California. I could even decide to pick up a two year lease on a new 2015 LEAF.
...

The i3 will have the drive train from the ActiveE...

Hopefully BMW figured out and resolved all the issues learned from the ActiveE. If not... I wouldn't be surprised if they get hit w/a lot of bad press. Surfingslovak has posted numerous times about the amount of time his ActiveE has been out of service and the amount of parts that have been replaced. Judging by the ActiveE Facebook page, he's not alone in terms of severity of problems.

 

[sparky]

I definitely want to wait for a test drive. I'm considering the i3 as a replacement for my 2011 LEAF which will be paid off in another couple of months. So, before January, I need to decide if I want to keep the LEAF for another year (or 5) and compete with a large number of 3 yr LEAF leases ending or, sell it while it still has 12 bars (fingers crossed) and jump to either a 2014 LEAF or other EV like a Fiat 500e or Rav4EV. I'm really hoping the i3 is something great. But, I'm concerned with the press so far.
Right now, it's my wife's daily driver and she does not want to part with it (but she didn't want it when I bought it). No matter what, whatever I buy next, it will have a plug.

 

[Boomer23]

I'm considering the i3 as a replacement for my 2013 LEAF when its lease expires in June of 2015. By that time, we'll be about a year on from the US release of the i3 and we'll know a lot more about the car's driving dynamics, range and quality of construction. I got lucky as an early adopter of the Gen 1 LEAF, but I'm not as optimistic about the i3's initial quality, given its radical new design, so I'm taking no chances. If the i3 turns out to be "less than stellar", so to speak, there are certainly other choices, especially in California. I could even decide to pick up a two year lease on a new 2015 LEAF.
...

The i3 will have the drive train from the ActiveE...

Hopefully BMW figured out and resolved all the issues learned from the ActiveE. If not... I wouldn't be surprised if they get hit w/a lot of bad press. Surfingslovak has posted numerous times about the amount of time his ActiveE has been out of service and the amount of parts that have been replaced. Judging by the ActiveE Facebook page, he's not alone in terms of severity of problems.

I'm well aware. Hence my decision to wait until a year after first US release of the car to get an idea of the early track record. In addition to the ActiveE drivers' experiences, the i3 chassis, CFRP body structures, instruments, seats and much more are brand new and lack any track record in the real world at all.

 

[surfingslovak]

Hopefully BMW figured out and resolved all the issues learned from the ActiveE.

Thanks, Andrew. I believe that the persistent problem with the onboard charger has been finally resolved. This is something I spent quite a bit of time and energy on.

The other serious problem was related to the motor shaft splines. There was a recall on that, and a low-tech mechanical solution. I can't say how effective it is, since I don't have that much insight into it, but I always wondered if the weight of the vehicle (over 4,000 lbs) and the insane level or regen has exacerbated the problem. The i3 will weigh a lot less, depending on the trim, it will be well over 1,000 lbs leighter. As an amusing aside, I had a glimpse at what type of information BMW collected from all vehicles after dealer visits, which were quite frequent even without any problems or breakdowns. I think that it would provide good material for a spy novel.

The other problem (or problems) appear to be related to the battery sensors, and if what Tom told us is true, this will be different in the production car. The entire pack, including the cell size was redesigned going from the ActiveE to the i3. That said, I too was surprised by the trials and tribulation of this program. Although I might be an extreme case, an outlier, if this was a production car, it would be totally unacceptable. I'm cautiously optimistic here, and would consider reliability to be a make-or-break issue for the i3.

Everything else looks good. There also appears to be plenty of interest. I think the brand will lure a lot of people out of their ICE cars to come and take a look. Some of them might decide that perhaps the LEAF or the Volt worked better for their situation. That said, I’m convinced that a rising tide will lift all boats. It’s awesome to see iconic brands get involved. To me, that’s the final confirmation for any new technology. Sort of like when IBM decided to build PCs after they saw the Apple II. It certainly looks better than if only startups were building commercial EVs.

 

[leafedbehind]

I am holding out hope that Honda will let me continue to pay my monthly lease fee on my Fit EV after the 3 years is up, at least until late 2017 when the last Fit EVs manufactured will have their 3-year leases ending. Then I can jump directly to a Tesla gen III -- the mysterious perfect mid-sized performance EV!

A good plan IF Honda cooperates. What is their incentive to do so?

More revenue, customer relations, and holding on to me as a customer in case they have a production Fit EV or other BEV to sell me by 2017 (no indication from them that anything is brewing that would be available in 2015).

 

[Bicster]

I’m convinced that a rising tide will lift all boats. It’s awesome to see iconic brands get involved. To me, that’s the final confirmation for any new technology. Sort of like when IBM decided to build PCs after they saw the Apple II. It certainly looks better than if only startups were building commercial EVs.

Yes! I could not agree more.

 

[cyellen]

I think the i3 is attractive! Certainly no less attractive than the bug-eyed LEAF (which I love, don't get me wrong!). Someone posted it earlier, but the only way it works for me is if the announced pricing is accurate - they notoriously package cars with no creature comforts and by the time you get one well-equipped the price goes way up. If the price starts to approach Tesla-ville, then I'll just bite the bullet. But I'm relatively sure that the i3 is my LEAF replacement.

 

[dm33]

But I'm relatively sure that the i3 is my LEAF replacement.

Why? What do you find appealing over the Leaf?

 

[TomT]

I'm not saying that the i3 is on my shopping radar as it is not currently but, that said, I'd expect the i3 to have much more refined handling, higher quality and more upscale accommodations and interior, and no battery heat issues. Those would all be big selling points for me. However, as was stated earlier by others, I expect that once you option it as you'd like, it will be too expensive for what it is...

But I'm relatively sure that the i3 is my LEAF replacement.

Why? What do you find appealing over the Leaf?

 

[surfingslovak]

However, as was stated earlier by others, I expect that once you option it as you'd like, it will be too expensive for what it is...

Option pricing has not been announced for the US yet. I'm waiting for that too. That said, there is some indication that the base model won't be as barebones as one would expect. The US base MSRP is much higher relative to the LEAF and the Volt than it is in Europe. This could be indicative of different optioning. We already know that LED headlights will come standard in the US, but not in Europe. I would hope that this won't be the only difference.

 

[TomT]

Perhaps, but I still think it is too expensive for the battery capacity and range... And I think the limited Rex is simply silly on many fronts...

Option pricing has not been announced for the US yet. I'm waiting for that too. That said, there is some indication that the base model won't be as barebones as one would expect. The US base MSRP is much higher relative to the LEAF and the Volt than it is in Europe. This could be indicative of different optioning. We already know that LED headlights will come standard in the US, but not in Europe. I would hope that this won't be the only difference.

 

[evnow]

Perhaps, but I still think it is too expensive for the range...

Exactly.

I started a thread sometime back on this (with no traction).

I think in the mind of customers now, apart from what we understand as premium from the ICEage,

Premium = Longer Range

BMW will have a tough time convincing people i3 deserves 50% more money for the same range as Leaf.