Really enjoy your reviews and insights, I bought an i3S earlier this year and concour with your points. I bought a rubberised mat with an upturned lip for the boot, can recommend. The S has a wider track and doesn’t suffer on the motorway. I’m still experimenting with the occasional longer journey and in a bid to maximise the stretch (when I took my wife and her parents to a wedding), I snuck behind a lorry at 60mph and could believe how the wind resistance dropped off. We live in Southampton, so I can pretty much drive 75 miles in any direction and return to plug back into a trickle charger like you, brilliant. After 5,000 miles, we’re averaging 4.4 miles per kWh so at 25p per kWh, we’re saving 75% on what we used to spend on fuel. I bought the car for my retirement but my wife uses it four days a week to commute to work. Just about to test the preconditioning given it’s cold. Still haven’t read the book and still have much to learn I’m sure! Cheers G
@thumper1747 I've also owned more BMWs than any other make, from an E30 M3 to a fully loaded 7 series. The little i3 is a superb car, and cost pennies to run. I'm not surprised your wife pinches yours! 😂
I’ve had my 2021 i3s for 6 months too, very happy with the car overall. I’ve had some niggles though, the sat nav screen crashes and there is a knocking through the steering that BMW will look at soon. Best car I have ever owned!
I have 120ah I3 as well as an 2015 tesla model s 85d, i much prefer driving the i3 over most conditions except to long trips on the motorway. Surprisingly the I3 is only about 10 to 15% slower over long distances than the Tesla due to the different charging curves. The max charging speed for the tesla is about 130kw, but that only lasts for a few seconds, then it drops rapidly meaning that i move on when i have about 15% estimated arrival at the next supercharger this often means leaving with less than 50% SOC, with the I3 i charge up to 85% when it is still charging at about 50kw, I then move on, meaning it can still get a decent range between charges even though it has a much smaller battery than the model S.
That's interesting, and I have also found that on my long(er) trip, it was always charging at the max it could. So a 10 minute toilet break was enough to add some decent miles.
I’ve got an i3S and it’s the 20th bmw I’ve owned over 45 years of Beemer ownership. Love the build quality and intelligent construction methods, reckon it’s a classic already. Low weight, modest battery size means 4.5 miles per kWh and as you say, it starts and stays at 45kw when charging right up to 80%! It’s my retirement car (I drive a Vivaro-e for work) so my wife uses it for her commute four days a week, so we trickle charge all night on Mondays and Fridays. We love the car ❤ 👍
Lovely car. I’ve has two both with the Lodge interior which I think is the definitive choice for the i3’s design but strangely not a very common option. I don’t have HK but again I have had ACC on both cars. I know the ACC is criticised and is not very sophisticated by today’s standards but with so many 20 mph speed zones it is very useful to limit your speed. I do however have a sunroof although the twin port apertures don’t give you much of an opening. They do though bright more sunlight into the interior. The rear camera is also useful. My second i3 is now 6 years old and been totally reliable - it has not even had any warranty work - and is wearing well. Irreplaceable, unique and my forever car.
I still have six months warranty on my car, as it's a used approved car. It'll be going back to BMW for a service before it expires, so they can plug it in and check for anything. The lodge is a lovely interior, by far may favourite. The HK was a must for me, as I do like my tunes. These cars really are a design classic, and never to be repeated.
Very nice. I loved the lodge interior in my previous i3. I have suite in the special edition in my current one but that was not a choice it was part of the edition. I like it but the lodge colour is just fantastic and so uplifting to the cockpit. Always made me feel great.
@@MrDesmonick I mostly noticed the hot black steering wheel. The light coloured one is great. If I hadn't gone for the special I'd have gone for galvanic with lodge... my fave combo - though I did love the blue ridge mountain as well.
Nice review there. 👍 My i3 is 8 years old now and I still can't see a car I'd replace it with. Regarding road tax, any i3 older than 2017 will be on £10 tax next year while newer i3's will be on the higher price you quoted. Another reason for me to stick with me car. I would like the newer version with larger battery as mine only gets about 70 miles in summer and 55 in winter now on the GOM. Watch out for the a/c units on these cars. I had to replace the compressor and condensor and lines when mine stopped working. Very serious as the a/c also cools the battery. Dealership said they didn't know what the cause was, so replaced components bit by bit until it worked. Just recently replaced the indicators in the wing mirrors as it started to dim. Did that myself for £40, as dealer wanted to replace entire unit instead of just the light.
They are great cars 👍 Luckily, the later cars, post 2019 from memory, have a more reliable aircon compressor. I think I also read somewhere that they also have an inline filter to avoid debris contaminating the system if the compressor does fail?
@@MrDesmonick my wife has had her i3 since Jan 2017 and the only significant issue we have had is having to replace the AC compressor which cost £2940 from BMW. Hopefully the improvements made on the compressor on post 2019 cars will be included on the replacement part. It might even have the additional filter because I know they also replaced the main AC lines as part of the work. But aside from the above expense, our i3 has performed brilliantly and has been a financial success without a doubt when you account for the savings in petrol/diesel consumption and servicing costs. We charge our car at home almost always, and we use Intelligent Octopus Go to get a really cheap tariff (7p/kWh). My wife does a 52 mile round trip each day and uses around 12kWh of energy each day. That's around 1.6 pence per mile which is an order of magnitude cheaper than my BMW 535d which does 40MPG on diesel. I think the only other maintenance we have done is to replace the 4 brake discs and pads, and I replaced the front suspension top mounts and gaiters. We also replaced tyres a few times obviously, and windscreen wipers. I honestly think that is it. My wife absolutely loves her i3 and although our battery and drivetrain warranty is due to expire in January, we are intending to just keep running the car for as long as we can. The battery still seems to produce the same range as it did when new, and there are enough second hand spare parts in the market now to mitigate any major component failures. A truly great car!
@craigchamberlain absolutely! I went for a late car, 2021, to avoid any potential issues such as the AC issue. Likewise, I'm aware of top mounts, brake discs, and tyres. But all are just as easy to replace and no more expensive than the ICE cars my family own. I've done the top mounts on my daughter's Alfa Romeo at least twice, and tyres are half to a third less expensive than my last ICE car. It's a lovely thing, and so nice just to sit in that cabin!
Hard-core petrol heads, and we bought a very well-preserved 5-year-old i3 ... loving it, everyone wants to drive it ... charges in a few hours on the level 1 (I'm in Europe with 220V). Build quality is amazing, still looks and drives like new. BTW, what mobile app is being used for the performance metrics?
Nice spec. You definitely aren't missing much without the sunroof, it doesn't open very far and I have the blinds shut most of the time. Good to see the 3d printed phone holder, I've printed myself a very similar key holder and keep meaning to print the phone holder as well. Hard to see but it looks like you have some wear on the steering wheel already? Mine has lots of marks on it after only 25k miles. Have you seen the Amazon cool bag which fits perfectly in the frunk? Keeps everything dry.
The wheel is still lovely, it must just be the video? I have the Wokeby frunk cover, and charging covers, and aim to do a video on that later on 👍 Nice to know about the sunroof 👌
Traction control not needed on a warm dry day. Plenty of weight over the rear wheels. There isn't an air-cooled Boxster? Plus they are all cabriolets 😉
Really enjoy your reviews and insights, I bought an i3S earlier this year and concour with your points. I bought a rubberised mat with an upturned lip for the boot, can recommend. The S has a wider track and doesn’t suffer on the motorway. I’m still experimenting with the occasional longer journey and in a bid to maximise the stretch (when I took my wife and her parents to a wedding), I snuck behind a lorry at 60mph and could believe how the wind resistance dropped off. We live in Southampton, so I can pretty much drive 75 miles in any direction and return to plug back into a trickle charger like you, brilliant. After 5,000 miles, we’re averaging 4.4 miles per kWh so at 25p per kWh, we’re saving 75% on what we used to spend on fuel. I bought the car for my retirement but my wife uses it four days a week to commute to work. Just about to test the preconditioning given it’s cold. Still haven’t read the book and still have much to learn I’m sure! Cheers G
@thumper1747 I've also owned more BMWs than any other make, from an E30 M3 to a fully loaded 7 series. The little i3 is a superb car, and cost pennies to run. I'm not surprised your wife pinches yours! 😂
Nicest looking i3 I've seen.
@@edwardjohnson7059 cheers! It was the colour and spec I wanted 👍
I’ve had my 2021 i3s for 6 months too, very happy with the car overall. I’ve had some niggles though, the sat nav screen crashes and there is a knocking through the steering that BMW will look at soon. Best car I have ever owned!
Top mounts seem to be the cause of front end knocks, but I'm sure you'll find out soon 👍 Thanks for watching and commenting 😁
That rubberised boot liner i mentioned in my comment was made by Nomad and I got from Amazon
Cheers for the tip, I'll have a look 👍
I have 120ah I3 as well as an 2015 tesla model s 85d, i much prefer driving the i3 over most conditions except to long trips on the motorway. Surprisingly the I3 is only about 10 to 15% slower over long distances than the Tesla due to the different charging curves. The max charging speed for the tesla is about 130kw, but that only lasts for a few seconds, then it drops rapidly meaning that i move on when i have about 15% estimated arrival at the next supercharger this often means leaving with less than 50% SOC, with the I3 i charge up to 85% when it is still charging at about 50kw, I then move on, meaning it can still get a decent range between charges even though it has a much smaller battery than the model S.
That's interesting, and I have also found that on my long(er) trip, it was always charging at the max it could. So a 10 minute toilet break was enough to add some decent miles.
I’ve got an i3S and it’s the 20th bmw I’ve owned over 45 years of Beemer ownership. Love the build quality and intelligent construction methods, reckon it’s a classic already. Low weight, modest battery size means 4.5 miles per kWh and as you say, it starts and stays at 45kw when charging right up to 80%! It’s my retirement car (I drive a Vivaro-e for work) so my wife uses it for her commute four days a week, so we trickle charge all night on Mondays and Fridays. We love the car ❤ 👍
Lovely car. I’ve has two both with the Lodge interior which I think is the definitive choice for the i3’s design but strangely not a very common option. I don’t have HK but again I have had ACC on both cars. I know the ACC is criticised and is not very sophisticated by today’s standards but with so many 20 mph speed zones it is very useful to limit your speed. I do however have a sunroof although the twin port apertures don’t give you much of an opening. They do though bright more sunlight into the interior. The rear camera is also useful. My second i3 is now 6 years old and been totally reliable - it has not even had any warranty work - and is wearing well. Irreplaceable, unique and my forever car.
I still have six months warranty on my car, as it's a used approved car. It'll be going back to BMW for a service before it expires, so they can plug it in and check for anything. The lodge is a lovely interior, by far may favourite. The HK was a must for me, as I do like my tunes. These cars really are a design classic, and never to be repeated.
Very nice. I loved the lodge interior in my previous i3. I have suite in the special edition in my current one but that was not a choice it was part of the edition. I like it but the lodge colour is just fantastic and so uplifting to the cockpit. Always made me feel great.
Cheers, and yes, the Lodge interior makes it feel bigger inside, and are certainly cooler in the summer than the leather.
@@MrDesmonick I mostly noticed the hot black steering wheel. The light coloured one is great. If I hadn't gone for the special I'd have gone for galvanic with lodge... my fave combo - though I did love the blue ridge mountain as well.
Best six months review I’ve ever seen. 👍 I desperately need this car. 😱
That's very kind of you! Cheers 👍😁
Nice review there. 👍
My i3 is 8 years old now and I still can't see a car I'd replace it with.
Regarding road tax, any i3 older than 2017 will be on £10 tax next year while newer i3's will be on the higher price you quoted. Another reason for me to stick with me car.
I would like the newer version with larger battery as mine only gets about 70 miles in summer and 55 in winter now on the GOM.
Watch out for the a/c units on these cars. I had to replace the compressor and condensor and lines when mine stopped working. Very serious as the a/c also cools the battery. Dealership said they didn't know what the cause was, so replaced components bit by bit until it worked.
Just recently replaced the indicators in the wing mirrors as it started to dim. Did that myself for £40, as dealer wanted to replace entire unit instead of just the light.
They are great cars 👍 Luckily, the later cars, post 2019 from memory, have a more reliable aircon compressor. I think I also read somewhere that they also have an inline filter to avoid debris contaminating the system if the compressor does fail?
@@MrDesmonick my wife has had her i3 since Jan 2017 and the only significant issue we have had is having to replace the AC compressor which cost £2940 from BMW. Hopefully the improvements made on the compressor on post 2019 cars will be included on the replacement part. It might even have the additional filter because I know they also replaced the main AC lines as part of the work.
But aside from the above expense, our i3 has performed brilliantly and has been a financial success without a doubt when you account for the savings in petrol/diesel consumption and servicing costs. We charge our car at home almost always, and we use Intelligent Octopus Go to get a really cheap tariff (7p/kWh). My wife does a 52 mile round trip each day and uses around 12kWh of energy each day. That's around 1.6 pence per mile which is an order of magnitude cheaper than my BMW 535d which does 40MPG on diesel.
I think the only other maintenance we have done is to replace the 4 brake discs and pads, and I replaced the front suspension top mounts and gaiters. We also replaced tyres a few times obviously, and windscreen wipers. I honestly think that is it.
My wife absolutely loves her i3 and although our battery and drivetrain warranty is due to expire in January, we are intending to just keep running the car for as long as we can. The battery still seems to produce the same range as it did when new, and there are enough second hand spare parts in the market now to mitigate any major component failures.
A truly great car!
@craigchamberlain absolutely! I went for a late car, 2021, to avoid any potential issues such as the AC issue. Likewise, I'm aware of top mounts, brake discs, and tyres. But all are just as easy to replace and no more expensive than the ICE cars my family own. I've done the top mounts on my daughter's Alfa Romeo at least twice, and tyres are half to a third less expensive than my last ICE car. It's a lovely thing, and so nice just to sit in that cabin!
I’m glad your enjoying your car
Cheers, still loving it! Odd for a petrolhead, but it just shows a good car is a good car.
Front seats have handle on back of headrest to recline forward.
Yes they do, but I don't need it to climb in 👍
Hard-core petrol heads, and we bought a very well-preserved 5-year-old i3 ... loving it, everyone wants to drive it ... charges in a few hours on the level 1 (I'm in Europe with 220V). Build quality is amazing, still looks and drives like new. BTW, what mobile app is being used for the performance metrics?
It's a great little car! I deleted the app so I can't remember, but I just searched for 0-60 timer and picked one. Thanks for watching 👍
@@MrDesmonick Thank you and happy motoring!
Cheers 😁👍
Simply put, we love our i3's. Hands down the funniest car we ever owned. Thanks for sharing this video!
You're welcome!
Nice spec. You definitely aren't missing much without the sunroof, it doesn't open very far and I have the blinds shut most of the time. Good to see the 3d printed phone holder, I've printed myself a very similar key holder and keep meaning to print the phone holder as well. Hard to see but it looks like you have some wear on the steering wheel already? Mine has lots of marks on it after only 25k miles. Have you seen the Amazon cool bag which fits perfectly in the frunk? Keeps everything dry.
The wheel is still lovely, it must just be the video? I have the Wokeby frunk cover, and charging covers, and aim to do a video on that later on 👍 Nice to know about the sunroof 👌
@@MrDesmonick the Wokeby cover is definitely a classier solution! Glad you're happy with the car.
Nice video! How did you get the apple car?
I used the Premium Retrofit MMI kit. It works perfectly, and you can switch between BMW and Android Auto in seconds.
You look a bit like Sean Bean. Is that a Fry's Peppermint cream bar wrapper?
@@entropy5431 🤣🤣🤣 Probably some Polos 😁👍
Just put in a seat belt extender and it thinks its always pluged in...
To stop the beeping? I always wear a seat belt, so it's not an issue for me in the real world.
0-60 with traction control
? and with 70% plus .. from the line an aircooled boxter cabrio lost ...
Traction control not needed on a warm dry day. Plenty of weight over the rear wheels. There isn't an air-cooled Boxster? Plus they are all cabriolets 😉
@@MrDesmonick :D okay :D