Looking for peer approval: BMW i3

Mike K

TCG Elite Member
Apr 11, 2008
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Here's a fun fact. The build quality on the i3 blows the Tesla out of the water. I remember the only complaint I had about the interior of my 535 was that it was somewhat industrial looking but it was built so incredibly well that you didn't care. It was just such a solid car. And then when I got the 535d that was like another world. It was BMW build quality with Audi level luxury. It was, dare I say: perfect.

The Model S, not so much. Don't get me wrong; it's not a rolling heap of shit. It's quite good but pales in comparison to any of the German offerings. It's just comical to get into this tiny box of a car who's interior is mostly comprised of what is basically clearly recycled plastic and it feels so much better built than the Tesla inside.

As for that recycled plastic, yes really:

2014-bmw-i3-test-drive-by-car-and-driver-photo-gallery_1.jpg


As for the Tesla, I still heart it very much. Don't cry for me.
 

Gone_2022

TCG Elite Member
Sep 4, 2013
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But my god does the i3 look terrible on the outside./..... it literally looks like all the attempts at an alternative vehicle from the past.

As far as interior quality what are you looking for? From what I have heard the newer Model S's are a major improvement over the earlier VIN's. (No surprise here). Also the Model S has what 2 giant screens and 2 actual buttons in the interior? The rest is dashboard and trim. What did you like better on the BMW than on the Tesla that made you feel it was made so much better?
 

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Jan 20, 2008
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Big wood cock
Question. Does this vehicle work like a volt where let's say I deplete the 80 miles of battery range and then use the engine until like 150miles, can I just too off the gas and be on my way? Or does it need another charge and the gas engine isn't really good to actually drive around. Thinking about what I'm gonna get after the volt and obviously a new volt and a bolt are on the list of cars to check out and I have a level 2 charger at home but the in laws in Iowa don't, so if I can't drive without a full charge it'll be a problem as 110v will take over 24 hours on a car like that
 

Mike K

TCG Elite Member
Apr 11, 2008
13,214
2,586
But my god does the i3 look terrible on the outside./..... it literally looks like all the attempts at an alternative vehicle from the past.

It's definitely a love/ hate thing. I happen to really like it. Nobody's looking at you like you're driving a super car but I don't think it's ugly. The odd proportions give it a lot of utility too.

As far as interior quality what are you looking for? From what I have heard the newer Model S's are a major improvement over the earlier VIN's. (No surprise here). Also the Model S has what 2 giant screens and 2 actual buttons in the interior? The rest is dashboard and trim. What did you like better on the BMW than on the Tesla that made you feel it was made so much better?

First off, the new Teslas are not built better than the old. This drives me mad when I see people on the forums say that. "Oh, I just traded my P85 in for a P90D and I can't believe how much better the new cars are". It's a load of crap. I sat in a new car just two days ago. It's the same stuff. What has changed is the seats which are much nicer now and they've finally added a real center console.

As far as what I'm expecting from the Tesla, it's not that it's bad. It really isn't. It's just not as good as any of the German offerings. Go sit in a 3 series. Even a bare bones 3 series with hard plastic surfaces feels like it's very well built. The Tesla does not give you that impression.

Question. Does this vehicle work like a volt where let's say I deplete the 80 miles of battery range and then use the engine until like 150miles, can I just too off the gas and be on my way? Or does it need another charge and the gas engine isn't really good to actually drive around. Thinking about what I'm gonna get after the volt and obviously a new volt and a bolt are on the list of cars to check out and I have a level 2 charger at home but the in laws in Iowa don't, so if I can't drive without a full charge it'll be a problem as 110v will take over 24 hours on a car like that

The 2 cylinder engine is a generator. In the US it's only function is to come on when you hit 6% state of charge and maintain that state. Around the city this works seamlessly and you won't notice it's on but if you're rolling out on the expressway at 75mph on a regular basis than no, not a good fit. From what I've read, the car is limited to about 70mph - 75mph with the extender on.

The good news is the entire reason the car works like this is so BMW could get carbon credits and a ZEV rating from California. So with $100 you can code the range extender to come on at any time under 75% state of charge which means it will keep the battery at it's current state and you'll never be limited on power. The other good news is that BMW software limits the amount of fuel you can use to 1.9 gallons in the US. And again they do this to appease California where if your vehicle has gas range equivalent or more than it's electric range it's not considered a zero emissions vehicle. And again, you can code that out and get that full 2.4 gallons for longer range.

So those two changes really offer drastic improvements if you plan on using the car in range extender mode for any reasonable amount of time.
 

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Jan 20, 2008
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Big wood cock
Not really. Let's put it this way, in my volt in 2 years I've done just over 1200 miles on gasoline, the rest is all electric and that's with an EPA 36 mile range. I'd imagine with an 80 mile range it'd be even less. My only concern is that about 2 or 3 times a year I go to the in-laws in Dubuque which is exactly 150mi away. No big deal if I can just feed it some gas and go on my way, but if I need to recharge it'd take days with their 110 outlet.
 

Mike K

TCG Elite Member
Apr 11, 2008
13,214
2,586
Not really. Let's put it this way, in my volt in 2 years I've done just over 1200 miles on gasoline, the rest is all electric and that's with an EPA 36 mile range. I'd imagine with an 80 mile range it'd be even less. My only concern is that about 2 or 3 times a year I go to the in-laws in Dubuque which is exactly 150mi away. No big deal if I can just feed it some gas and go on my way, but if I need to recharge it'd take days with their 110 outlet.

I don't think you'd be too bad. It adds about 4 miles per hour through 110. So that's 20 hours assuming you pull in on no charge. But you can't treat it like a gas car like you can with the Volt. This is really a short range electric car with a backup plan.
 

Gone_2022

TCG Elite Member
Sep 4, 2013
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Yea the only problem is they limit you to 2 gallons of gas, while the volt has around 10 gallons. So on a trip your stopping every 75 miles or so for fuel? That blows big time. I feel that was a huge mistake. Not only does this car cost more than the other hybrid volt type vehicles, it's an inconvenience when you need to use the range extender
 
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