Official BMW ActiveE thread

[ss0808]

The price is very competitive. Only leases are offered. Residual is 84% and money factor is .0024. Unlimited mileage. With no money down, a little more then 600/mos. This package is an incredible deal especially for a 60k car.

But ActiveE is an incredibly expensive car compared to Model S

Good point. From my understanding all the base model tesla s were sold out. I jumped on the active e b/c I need a car now. In two years, I think there will be more options.
By the way, do u know what the tesla will be leasing at? I looked at their website a while ago but no numbers printed.

 

[surfingslovak]

By the way, do u know what the tesla will be leasing at? I looked at their website a while ago but no numbers printed.

Tesla will reportedly not offer any leasing options, at least not initially. I'm wondering how you were able to get an ActiveE. I thought that they were not available to the public yet, only to former MINI E lessees?

 

[ss0808]

By the way, do u know what the tesla will be leasing at? I looked at their website a while ago but no numbers printed.

Tesla will reportedly not offer any leasing options, at least not initially. I'm wondering how you were able to get an ActiveE. I thought that they were not available to the public yet, only to former MINI E lessees?

Mini e owners were allowed to extend three friends and family offers. My car comes in February which is the same for public.

 

[Spies]

The Focus EV, the ActiveE, the Tesla Roadster and the Mitsubishi i are all more efficient than the Leaf (although only marginally). Hopefully this will change in 2013 with a possibly more efficient charger.

I am thinking its the result of a more efficient and/or higher capacity on board charger as well. I do wonder how the Leaf would do efficiency wise if the new Nissan CHAdeMO DC Quick charger were used instead of the onboard charger.

 

[Rusty]

By the way, do u know what the tesla will be leasing at?

Tesla will reportedly not offer any leasing options, at least not initially.

Are Tesla dealers constrained to not offer leases? If the dealer can set up an arraignment with a lease agent (bank, whatnot) is there anything to prevent a customer from leasing a Tesla? As far Tesla's concerned the car is still sold (just to the lease agent, not the driving customer), so what do they care?

 

[surfingslovak]

Are Tesla dealers constrained to not offer leases? If the dealer can set up an arraignment with a lease agent (bank, whatnot) is there anything to prevent a customer from leasing a Tesla? As far Tesla's concerned the car is still sold (just to the lease agent, not the driving customer), so what do they care?

Rusty, I think that you are correct, and Tesla won't care if you come up with your own leasing arrangement. What I've gathered on the Tesla board is that there won't be any standard or promotional lease deals for the time being.

 

[TomT]

As long as they are selling all that they can produce, there is really no incentive for them to deal with leasing...

Rusty, I think that you are correct, and Tesla won't care if you come up with your own leasing arrangement. What I've gathered on the Tesla board is that there won't be any standard or promotional lease deals for the time being.

 

[evnow]

Are Tesla dealers constrained to not offer leases? If the dealer can set up an arraignment with a lease agent (bank, whatnot) is there anything to prevent a customer from leasing a Tesla? As far Tesla's concerned the car is still sold (just to the lease agent, not the driving customer), so what do they care?

All Tesla "dealersships" are Tesla owned. So, no leasing until Tesla comes up with a plan.

The problem going with a 3rd party lease is that
- they won't know how to set the residual price
- they may not give you credit for $7.5k tax credit

So, EV leases have to be blessed by the OEM currently.

 

[KeiJidosha]

For those in San Diego;

EV Past, Present and Future - This is the third in a series of workshops that explore the wide range of plug-in electric vehicles (PEV) entering the market today. Come to the workshop and learn more about:
Electric vehicle 101: How do they work? How are they charged? How have EVs evolved over the past 20 years?
Taking advantage of state rebates and federal tax incentives for PEVs
BMW’s all new 100% electric ActiveE technology

The presentation will include an open discussion and time for questions. Attendees will have the opportunity to get up close and personal with the BMW ActiveE after the presentation.

http://energycenter.org/index.php?option=com_civicrm&task=civicrm/event/info&reset=1&id=737

 

[Devin]

I was at Miller Nissan getting my tires rotated and was very surprised to see an ActiveE sitting in front of Center BMW just down the street. I inquired about it and the dealer said it was a demo so I took it for a test drive. It's a nice enough car but I wouldn't choose it over a Leaf unless you really needed a little extra range - which it does seem like it would offer - and liked the 1 series styling (which I do not). I got in the car with about a 75% charge and drove it pretty hard for about 6-7 miles and when I got out it's miles-to-empty meter showed 73 miles remaining. It uses an analog fuel gauge so even more difficult than the Leaf to truly determine SOC.

First thing that struck me was the special ActiveE plastic inlays in the dashboard were super cheesy. Felt like low quality plastic and didn't have great fit and finish. I thought the ActiveE would be faster than the Leaf as it has a bigger motor, but the increased weight of the battery and general "BMW weight" seemed to make acceleration on par with the Leaf at best. In fact, my Leaf felt peppier after getting back into it. Handling and steering feel was better on the ActiveE, as to be expected, but overall the car didn't seem like it would be a particularly worthwhile upgrade to the Leaf. If it were priced the same as a Volt and could actually be purchased outright then I could see it making a lot of sense. The leasing situation makes it a no go (at least for me) right there although the dealer was really excited about the fact that it was unlimited miles.

 

[Boomer23]

I thought the ActiveE would be faster than the Leaf as it has a bigger motor, but the increased weight of the battery and general "BMW weight" seemed to make acceleration on par with the Leaf at best. In fact, my Leaf felt peppier after getting back into it. Handling and steering feel was better on the ActiveE, as to be expected, but overall the car didn't seem like it would be a particularly worthwhile upgrade to the Leaf.

Nice comparison impresssion, Devin, thanks!

 

[ss0808]

For anyone interested, the online reservation started today.

 

[TomT]

From a MT road test: "The ActiveE is seven-tenths of a second quicker to 60 mph than the somewhat comparable Nissan Leaf or Toyota Prius."

I thought the ActiveE would be faster than the Leaf as it has a bigger motor, but the increased weight of the battery and general "BMW weight" seemed to make acceleration on par with the Leaf at best. In fact, my Leaf felt peppier after getting back into it.

 

[Devin]

From a MT road test: "The ActiveE is seven-tenths of a second quicker to 60 mph than the somewhat comparable Nissan Leaf or Toyota Prius."

I thought the ActiveE would be faster than the Leaf as it has a bigger motor, but the increased weight of the battery and general "BMW weight" seemed to make acceleration on par with the Leaf at best. In fact, my Leaf felt peppier after getting back into it.

7/10ths of a second for an extra $24,000 and less useful passenger/cargo capacity. Sounds like a great tradeoff! :lol:

 

[TomT]

For some, the greater range, much better build quality, dramatically better handling, and higher level of appointments and features (including real carpeting and paint) will be worth it... As a lease, it is not really that much more expensive than the Leaf due to BMW's aggressive lease terms...

7/10ths of a second for an extra $24,000 and less useful passenger/cargo capacity. Sounds like a great tradeoff! :lol:

 

[Spies]

7/10ths of a second for an extra $24,000 and less useful passenger/cargo capacity. Sounds like a great tradeoff! :lol:

Just because the $499 lease is based on a price $60,375.00 does not really mean anything as to what the price of this vehicle would be if it was sold to the public if ever. The price does set insurance and licenses fees however. The same thing was done for my Honda EV Plus except the lease payment of $455 included insurance and was priced at $53,900 and we all know how well that all turned out.

When the vehicle is actually available for purchase is when I will judge what is the best value for my needs and for now its still the Leaf.

 

[Randy]

Photo of an ActiveE window sticker, taken today at the dealer when taking a test drive by a work colleague...

Basic pricing information is lease only, $2,500 down, $550 per month after tax, for two years...All vehicles are white and the interior is black and white...

 

[Devin]

For some, the greater range, much better build quality, dramatically better handling, and higher level of appointments and features (including real carpeting and paint) will be worth it... As a lease, it is not really that much more expensive than the Leaf due to BMW's aggressive lease terms...

7/10ths of a second for an extra $24,000 and less useful passenger/cargo capacity. Sounds like a great tradeoff! :lol:

It's true that the BMW lease terms are aggressive in this instance but that's because it's an experimental Beta vehicle, and that's an important thing to remember about the ActiveE. It's not a "finished product" in the way that the Leaf is. I was using the cost as a simpler point of comparison than the lease but I think it's still valid as I would expect the i3 to be in that price range - which would put it up against the Tesla Model S (probably a more fair comparison anyways).

I would argue against the ActiveE having better build quality than the Leaf - as I mentioned the interior fit and finish just did not seem up to par with even a regular 1 series due to the special "ActiveE" inlays and such. Handling is better - heavier and sportier which I prefer - so the ActiveE wins on that front. Higher level of features including real carpeting? Is that to say that the Leaf has fake carpet? Paint is irrelevant since half the car is covered in questionable non-removable ActiveE graphics. Otherwise the BMW doesn't have an edge in features other than the hard drive based audio system - maybe.

At the end of the day there is really only one reason to choose an ActiveE over a Leaf and that's range.

 

[ss0808]

I haven't driven the active e yet, but I did order one. I think these cars are different. They are being compared so closely just because they are both electric. I was negotiating with Fontana Nissan when all of a sudden I had the opportunity to get into the active e. The range is better then the leaf and the price is very competitive. My last four cars were bmw's, so it was a no brainer for me. For the same price point, I would jump the bmw loyalty and go to the higher range tesla S if it was available right now.

 

[TomT]

Yes, I'd say that it is very close to fake as it appears to be little more than sprayed on! Take a close look at it...

But I - and my wife even more so - despise white cars so that alone would rule out the BMW E for us... Too bad as the two best cars I have ever owned were BMWs (a 328i and a M3) and I have always held a special place for them... Both we picked up in Europe at the factory on the EDP, gave us well in to 6 figures of completely trouble free motoring, and had a very high fun and smile quotient.

Higher level of features including real carpeting? Is that to say that the Leaf has fake carpet?