Advice on what options to purchase

[edynole]

Hi all,

My husband and I are excited to purchase our i3 as soon as possible. We've done a lot of research and have been working with different dealers in the Tampa Bay area for best options and prices. We have two options in front of us right now, and I was hoping some of you would care to weigh in on how we should go based on your experience with the i3.

One dealer is offering an i3 BEV (no range extender) with giga world and tech/driving assist package for about $45k. Another dealer is offering an i3 REx with mega world, with parking assist and fast DC charger for $47k. The latter is probably a better deal since the range extender is more expensive, but I'm really torn. I should note that my commute is very short (about 5 miles each way) so don't need extender, but it would be nice to have for trips to disney world or lego land (about 60 miles each way). At the same time, having those extra tech&drive assist features would be quite nice for daily commute! Thoughts?

Thanks much! Look forward to being part of the i3 community soon!

 

[stormsaw]

The Giga interior is awfully nice. Just sayin'...

(Picked up our Giga REx last Saturday. Already put 200 miles on it).

 

[nostatic]

We just picked up my wife's car today. Rex, Giga, Tech, 20" wheels, heated seats. That was about the spec we were looking for and they had one coming in so it was a good fit. Reasoning:

Rex - my wife's commute is 66 miles round trip. Within range of the BEV, but pushing it with side trips. No charger at her work, so Rex was a fairly easy choice.

Giga - our favorite interior. Mega doesn't have sat radio (though you can add it - we are addicted to it despite the lousy sonic quality)

Tech - gotta go with the bigger screen and the adaptive cruise control and other tech bits.

20" wheels - cosmetic thing. She really preferred the look of the rims over any of the others, with the 19" that come on the Tera being 2nd.

Heated seats - even in SoCal, they are winning.

No parking package - we haven't had cars with backup cameras, and it is a fairly small vehicle with a tight turning radius. Didn't want to spend the money.

No fast charge - with the Rex, that is your backup, and the infrastructure currently isn't there. Maybe in a few years. If we'd gone BEV then we would have gotten it, but we really needed the Rex.

No stereo upgrade - the stock BMW stereo sounds reasonable, both in my X1 and in this car.

Ymmv. Now the trick will be to see how it works out for us and if a second one will replace my X1...

 

[Pentacat]

I think the Giga Package is WELL worth the money over Mega. The contrast of materials of the Giga interior and the addition of the wood makes it a much nicer place to be although I wish that Giga had the blue trim on the steering wheel instead of silver.

The only option I considered absolutely necessary was the Professional Nav & Tech. The standard Navigation is a big step backward in terms of functionality and when you are range limited the best Navigation possible is pretty critical. Also, I really don't like the way the ugly thick bezel on the smaller screen looks...especially with the Giga interior. They really should have made the whole screen smaller not just added plastic "curtains" to the smaller screen.

What's the DC charging infrastructure like in your area? I skipped the option because there's only one DC fast charger within 100 miles of my home and I don't see this infrastructure growing much in my area. BTW, Disney just added some EV chargers to the Epcot Parking lot. There's only four of them so better get there early!

Parking assistant is cool but the car is so small and the turning radius is so tight that I just couldn't justify that cost. A separate backup camera only option would be nice.

Heated seats, I don't use them but they were a requirement for my wife.

I really wanted the HK stereo upgrade but unless I wanted to custom order something there was no way to get in without spending $3K more. Seems like HK is the last option box checked and you have to get a fully loaded car to get it off of a dealer's lot.

To REX or not to REX is the hardest question, I personally went for a BEV only. My average daily drive rarely exceeds 40 miles so the idea of hauling the unused REX around with me every day seemed kind of silly. My wife also has a less than 40 mile per day commute so we can always swap cars (she has an X3) if something comes up that requires me to go out of town.

 

[Dee123]

Hi there.

With a short daily driving range, the BEV should be fine and the Giga interior is lovely . Tech package is great particularly if you are doing city driving in rush hour. I personally don't see the need for parking assist as it's a small car. The DC option is something I think all BEVs should have, particularly for occasional longer trips. However, if your commutes are short and you can charge at home, it's not a deal breaker.

Do you have access to a second car that's ICE? If you do occasional long trips, you either need a second car or have to get a rental. A BEV with no DC is a drag to travel with as you will be stopping for hours to recharge

Summary: if you think you will be making occasional trips and do not have access to a second car or won't get a rental, a BEV without DC May not be the best choice. Otherwise. BEV Giga rocks :mrgreen:

 

[brosher]

The most important option on this car is the tech/driving asst package to me. The full screen looks much better than the standard one. The active cruise is amazing if you participate in rush hour. Entering a nav destination accurately adjusts the range meter based on road/elevation/speed limits. And it has pedestrian/impact warning and will brake in an emergency. Park assist is a gimmick, but you need it to get the rear view cam which is a nice safety feature.

I wouldn't settle, there are plenty on dealer lots. Build one on bmwusa to your spec and then search autotrader for a matching MSRP.

I prefer the mega interior with the lighter colors because it has the subtle blue trim which matches the exterior blue trim. Giga definitely has more wow factor and adds sat radio and comfort access, goes well with solar orange. In the end I went with all the options, but skipped the upgraded trim and rex.

 

[Mike74jcw]

I just bought my REx about 3 weeks ago after waiting more than 6 months and love it. Solar Orange with Giga World, Tech/DA pkg, and heated seats. Only have <350 miles on it! Also have Nissan LEAF with almost 16,000 miles.

Other colors I like: Ionic Silver (2nd choice), Capparis White (3rd choice)

My driving will be 90% pure electric (16 mile R/T commute) but I want to be able to take the car on round trips to D.C., the Atlantic Ocean/beach, mountains, etc which are each ~60-100 miles away one way (like Disney World, etc in your case).

I did 75 miles a few weeks ago using 70% of battery without invoking REx and using mostly EcoPro and EcoPro+ with speeds between 0 and 60mph, no highway.

I wouldn't consider an i3 without the REx unless I had an ICE car as backup (traded for the i3 in my case) or knew for sure the fast charge infrastructure would be coming soon (who knows) or if I did very limited driving, plus I think one can maybe negotiate a little more on a REx as it probably has a higher margin.

No regrets on the options that I ordered EXCEPT for not getting the Parking Package - spoiled by the camera in my LEAF but don't truly need it.......however, the Feds are making the rear view camera mandatory in 2018 so I might as well have gotten it! Visibility is very good in the i3 except for the rear, lower lower portion...

Options:

- Giga World: Love it! Beautiful materials, brown and grey contrast and the whole package looks great with Solar Orange. Nice wheels, Sirius, silver rimmed steering wheel, etc included too.

- Heated seats: Must have here in VA, plus they use much less power than HVAC system

- DC fast charging: Passed due to unknown/unavailable infrastructure in my area, have REx for long-range needs

- Mega World: Passed, comfortable seats but too boring and kinda cheap looking compared with Giga!

- Tera World: Passed, too dark and all-leather not good on 100F and 20F days...

- Technology/Driving Assistant package: Pretty much a must-have in my book - fantastic screen size, ACC stop and Go, touch pad on iDrive controller, etc.

- 20" wheels: Gorgeous, but more expensive and rougher riding based on my test drives, tires more expensive and (possibly) prone to more damage, however, they are more performance oriented

- HK stereo: Very good, but I passed as I think the base stereo sounds fine

 

[stumbledotcom]

I think the BEV vs. REx question matters more than any assortment of options. Yes, the REx adds peace of mind but it also means added complexity, additional maintenance, weight and a performance penalty.

I drive around 10 miles a day myself. Only charge when the battery level drops to 50%. That's twice a week at most. Have no regrets about going with the BEV. Though we are a two car family so have an '09 E90 for road trips.

 

[nowtta60]

I'd question the need on REX and Fast DC. IF you can fill your gas tank in 2 minutes why would you wait 1/2 hour for electric top up? Even if it's free - which it won't be soon.

To be honest - I wouldn't want to use even the REX on really long range trips. You'll be stopping every 60-70 miles if doing a decent speed. Fuel can a necessity.

I'm about at the limit of what an REX is sensible for - I have a 150 mile journey to once a week, either coming home or away to work and stay away for 2 weeks at a time. In between its nearly all battery only. I would use my X-Trail if going on a long trip - as it's also got much bigger load capacity with option of the roof bars and tow bar.

LOL, saying all that I've actually specced the DC option. anyway, just in case. I can imagine in future there may be loads of Fast DC chargers and if you are doing a 60 mile journey to go shopping in a nearby city, and can have it full in 30 minutes ready for the return instead of 3 hours - it might handy. It's just that from what I've seen they are starting to move away from free charging and are going to charge almost gas prices for fast DC Charging.

The other scenario I can see.. on a long journey, you could pull over - fill up the gas from a can in the trunk, and stick in on a fast DC charger and then go to your favourite fast food restaurant. You come back to a car with 150 mile range. So it would require 2 stops a day to manage 450 miles. In the morning refill the can and the tank before setting off. Not bad. That's the most I ever do on my cross European adventures. I like to take the back roads and visit places along the way or I may as well just jump on a plane.

 

[mindmachine]

I went with the Terra Rex:

Options Everything except the the 20 inch wheels. I got the DC fast charge even though I have the REx. I believe as infrastructure is put in place it will be nice to both fill up your gas tank and battery pack at the same time and have the ability to go further if the need arises. I also believe as the years pass and you want to sell you i3 in say 3 or 4 years having the fast charge option will help resale values.

 

[dculber]

I also believe as the years pass and you want to sell you i3 in say 3 or 4 years having the fast charge option will help resale values.

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