BMW i3 ownership feedback or insight

[Sweepinghand]

I’m quite taken by the idea but see it’s only got a 80 mile radius?
Any owners?
Best way to charge etc?

They seem reasonable priced used

[neillp]

I looked at these before realising it would just be too small for my needs.

They do them with a range extender which is effectively a small petrol generator that charges the battery, this would go some way to overcome the fear of running out of juice but I don't think you would be able to do a really long journey using them.

I guess it comes down to your main reason for getting one - saving money or saving the planet. If saving money is the one, I am not convinced but that was looking at buying new.

FYI - I went with the Passat GTE - mainly to save money but that was via BIK rather than actual running costs. They are worth a look if you do lots of short journeys but still need a car for the occasional long trip.

I know there is a lot of talk about all cars moving to electricity but I am not convinced, can the national grid handle it??? The supply to my house needs upgrading if I want a charger larger than 3KWH.

[Tooks]

I’m quite taken by the idea but see it’s only got a 80 mile radius?
Any owners?
Best way to charge etc?

They seem reasonable priced used

80 mile range you mean?

There are different versions of the i3, with or without a range extending generator in the 60Ah and 94Ah versions, and the latest 120Ah version without range extender (in the U.K. at least).

I owned the 60Ah Rex version, good for about 60-75 miles year round electric only range or unlimited as long as you’re happy to keep filling up the 7.5 litre petrol tank. Of course, more realistically, you’d rapid charge for 30 mins to top up the battery back to 80%.

The 94Ah and 120Ah versions have proportionately longer ranges.

There was a big thread on here somewhere about what it’s like to live with one day to day, but if you’re regular commutes are inside the electric range and you’ve got somewhere to charge it overnight, then it should work pretty well.

They’re 4 seat vehicles, and the rear doors take some getting used to, but ultimately the fact that I couldn’t fit a roof rack and or tow bar (not legally anyway) for my bikes and I was frequently driving further than the electric only range drove me towards a PHEV until some longer range conventional BEVs were available.

[Tooks]

I know there is a lot of talk about all cars moving to electricity but I am not convinced, can the national grid handle it??? The supply to my house needs upgrading if I want a charger larger than 3KWH.

I don’t see why the grid couldn’t cope with a very large swing towards electric cars, we currently have surplus capacity for large parts of the day/night.

It’s more likely your house wiring that needs an upgrade for more than a 3kW charger, the feed to your house should be more than capable unless it’s a very old and/or remote property.

[Kingstepper]

An immersion heater is usually 3 kW.

[neillp]

I don’t see why the grid couldn’t cope with a very large swing towards electric cars, we currently have surplus capacity for large parts of the day/night.

It’s more likely your house wiring that needs an upgrade for more than a 3kW charger, the feed to your house should be more than capable unless it’s a very old and/or remote property.

Nope it is the supply, when they installed the charger I was informed I needed a 100amp supply coming into the house to fit a 7kwh charger and I only had 60amp. Apparently this is in the regulation for installing chargers.

To be fair my supply may have coped but they couldn’t install due to the regs.

[Tooks]

Nope it is the supply, when they installed the charger I was informed I needed a 100amp supply coming into the house to fit a 7kwh charger and I only had 60amp. Apparently this is in the regulation for installing chargers.

To be fair my supply may have coped but they couldn’t install due to the regs.

Sounds like you have a 60A fuse on the supply cable?

Speak to your electricity company, it could be as simple as them upgrading the fuse to 100A, or if they really need to upgrade the cable they’ll often do that too.

Some guys on the Zoe forum have had that done free of charge.

[neillp]

Sounds like you have a 60A fuse on the supply cable?

Speak to your electricity company, it could be as simple as them upgrading the fuse to 100A, or if they really need to upgrade the cable they’ll often do that too.

Some guys on the Zoe forum have had that done free of charge.

I think that is exactly what is needed, I was told there would be a charge but to be honest I haven't bothered looking into it any further, a 3kw charger for the Passat is fine as it only takes 3.5 hours to charge of that.

[Tooks]

I think that is exactly what is needed, I was told there would be a charge but to be honest I haven't bothered looking into it any further, a 3kw charger for the Passat is fine as it only takes 3.5 hours to charge of that.

I’ve got a Golf GTE, I charge mine using an outdoor 13Amp socket and the ‘granny’ charger. I have the car set to only draw 10A though. Charges overnight fine.

I had a 7kw charger at my old house when I owned the i3, but didn’t bother having another fitted when I moved as I had the Golf by then.

You can charge a pretty big battery overnight even on a 3kw charger though, so for most people it still shouldn’t be an issue.

[paulpsz008]

80 mile range you mean?

There are different versions of the i3, with or without a range extending generator in the 60Ah and 94Ah versions, and the latest 120Ah version without range extender (in the U.K. at least).

I owned the 60Ah Rex version, good for about 60-75 miles year round electric only range or unlimited as long as you’re happy to keep filling up the 7.5 litre petrol tank. Of course, more realistically, you’d rapid charge for 30 mins to top up the battery back to 80%.

The 94Ah and 120Ah versions have proportionately longer ranges.

There was a big thread on here somewhere about what it’s like to live with one day to day, but if you’re regular commutes are inside the electric range and you’ve got somewhere to charge it overnight, then it should work pretty well.

They’re 4 seat vehicles, and the rear doors take some getting used to, but ultimately the fact that I couldn’t fit a roof rack and or tow bar (not legally anyway) for my bikes and I was frequently driving further than the electric only range drove me towards a PHEV until some longer range conventional BEVs were available.

Thanks for this, I've looked at these too mostly because I like the approach they've used to "next gen" cars.
However, my daily commute is over 30miles each way, before I do any extra personal miles, so I'm not sure its a good fit.

[yumma]

Sadly I didn't see it all but I noticed 'Classic Wheels or Modern Steals' was on last night, the old car options were a Mk2 Golf GTi and a E28 5 Series (please correct me if I'm wrong on the model series), the modern cars were a Mini Countryman Cooper S and a BMW i3. She had up to £30k for something economical, distinctive and fun.

It was pretty obvious she was never going for the classics, she was pleasantly surprised by the i3's turn of speed, but ultimately and predictably went for the Mini; which would likely be my choice too. But if you are doing less than 80 miles per day the i3 could make a reasonable car. I'd probably go Hybrid personally to take away range anxiety and as others have said I still doubt the electric infrastructure is in place yet for full electric cars.

[IAmATeaf]

Wouldn’t it be more economic sense to look at the Zoe or the Leaf over the i3? I’ve no idea about the Zoe and know that the battery management of the Leaf isn’t that great but I spoke to a first gen Leaf owner who after a few years of use still gets around 60 mile range.

[TheFlyingBanana]

Question - I have three phase supply to my house (put in to run a swimming pool). Does this make it easier to install a high capacity / fast charger?

[Gyp]

Was tempted (with a range extender) as they are rather quick and fun to drive, but the inability to fit a tow bar to allow me to carry my BMW e-bike put me off

[Tooks]

Question - I have three phase supply to my house (put in to run a swimming pool). Does this make it easier to install a high capacity / fast charger?

Not necessarily any easier (or harder!), but 3 phase would mean you could fit an 11/22kw EVSE assuming the supply was still up to it after whatever the swimming pool is using.

That said, hardly any EVs can utilise 3 phase power, I think only the Zoe and Tesla can charge at 11/22kw, and possibly the later i3. Not sure about the iPace.

On electric cars, the ‘charger’ is actually on board the car, what everybody calls the charger you plug into is actually the Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment, which is really just a fancy socket.

Your car negotiates with the EVSE and they agree the power level the car will charge at. So, if I plugged my GTE via its type 2 cable to a 3 phase supply, it would still only charge at 3.6kw, as it’s a single phase charger on the car.

Worth fitting a 3 phase EVSE then if your car can use it.

And apologies if any of that was egg sucking!

[Pitfitter]

I’m told the new e Niro (KIA) needs a 3 phase supply for the rapid charger, the car is supposed to have a range of 300 k approx per full charge, my mate is seriously interested and this is what I’ve picked up, I left KIA before I knew too much.

[Caruso]

I've had my 2014 i3 for about a month. I'm really loving it having come from an E39 540 Touring. The thing that sets it apart from most other EVs is that it is more fun and involving to drive with a really premium feeling interior design. It is only supermini size though. I've only used the range extender twice, the first time driving it home from where I purchased it, and another time when I wanted to run up the Rex engine. As far as the range goes, it really comes down to how often you are likely to exceed the electric range. If you were to be doing it daily then it would be a pain to keep topping up with petrol. I only have the 13 amp charger which is fine for overnight charging. I do have a fast charge cable for use with public charging networks, although I've not had to use it yet. I've joined ecotricity which is free until you charge your car. They have the charger network at motorway services. There seems to be 1 other network (Polar) with about 50% of the rest of charging points, with the remaining ones split among smaller networks.

[TheFlyingBanana]

Not necessarily any easier (or harder!), but 3 phase would mean you could fit an 11/22kw EVSE assuming the supply was still up to it after whatever the swimming pool is using.

That said, hardly any EVs can utilise 3 phase power, I think only the Zoe and Tesla can charge at 11/22kw, and possibly the later i3. Not sure about the iPace.

On electric cars, the ‘charger’ is actually on board the car, what everybody calls the charger you plug into is actually the Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment, which is really just a fancy socket.

Your car negotiates with the EVSE and they agree the power level the car will charge at. So, if I plugged my GTE via its type 2 cable to a 3 phase supply, it would still only charge at 3.6kw, as it’s a single phase charger on the car.

Worth fitting a 3 phase EVSE then if your car can use it.

And apologies if any of that was egg sucking!

No eggs being sucked here!

That was extremely useful - thank you very much for taking the time to answer me so well and authoratively.

Much appreciated.