Driver convenience - current owners clarify this?

[Boatguy]

I need a couple of clarifications on driver convenience items as I'm getting push back at home on the i3 I have on order.

1) As far as I can tell the seats have only manual adjustment, no option for electric adjustment?

2) According to the owner's manual, the the mirror settings are not stored in the driver profile - true?

The problem here is that our current city car, a Lexus CT200h, has electrically adjusted seats and windows and the settings are stored for each driver and associated with the key fob. So since we share the city car and both use it, sometimes several times in a day, it's very nice to have the settings restored as soon as we unlock the door, before we even sit down behind the wheel.

If I understand everything correctly, the seats and mirrors in the i3 will require manual adjustment every time we change drivers. It would be ok if it just wasn't tied to the fob (our MB E350 isn't either), but if it requires manual adjustment every time then this may be a deal breaker for my wife.

Any ray of sunlight here?

 

[drb]

The seats are manually adjusted, that is true. Their adjustment, however, is as easy as I could ever imagine. I am an older guy and my hands are not what they used to be. I gave up a Lexus LS460L for my i3. The Lexus had electric adjustments for everything. To tell you the truth, I do not miss them--thought I would--as the fun of driving the i3 overcomes most other considerations. But I should add that BMW has made adjusting the seats so very easy that I have not encountered any feeling of inconvenience or discomfort. Go to your nearest dealer and try the adjustment for yourself. Since we are both boaters, the adjustments of various and innumerable kinds on a boat makes the i3 a walk-in-the park.

 

[jadnashuanh]

The external mirror adjustment is motorized, and it MIGHT be stored in the fob...I do not remember reading that one way or the other. As said, the seats are not motorized to save weight and power, but are pretty easy to adjust. There are only three adjustments: front-back, height (whole seat), and seat back angle - lots fewer than the 15-or so things I can adjust on my other BMW, but I must say, on the shorter distances I do drive my i3, I have not had any issues with comfort.

 

[kevinb61]

The external mirror adjustment is motorized, and it MIGHT be stored in the fob...I do not remember reading that one way or the other. As said, the seats are not motorized to save weight and power, but are pretty easy to adjust. There are only three adjustments: front-back, height (whole seat), and seat back angle - lots fewer than the 15-or so things I can adjust on my other BMW, but I must say, on the shorter distances I do drive my i3, I have not had any issues with comfort.

For me the funny thing is, I actually find my i3 driver's seat a little more comfy than my 2011 Z4 sDrive 3.5i power sport seats......

 

[Surge]

Slightly off-topic, but I also have a Lexus CT200h, and the seats are MUCH more comfortable than the i3's. To me, there is just not enough side bolstering in the i3… the CT's seats are fantastic.

 

[tiburonh]

I need a couple of clarifications on driver convenience items as I'm getting push back at home on the i3 I have on order.

1) As far as I can tell the seats have only manual adjustment, no option for electric adjustment?

2) According to the owner's manual, the the mirror settings are not stored in the driver profile - true?

The problem here is that our current city car, a Lexus CT200h, has electrically adjusted seats and windows and the settings are stored for each driver and associated with the key fob. So since we share the city car and both use it, sometimes several times in a day, it's very nice to have the settings restored as soon as we unlock the door, before we even sit down behind the wheel.

If I understand everything correctly, the seats and mirrors in the i3 will require manual adjustment every time we change drivers. It would be ok if it just wasn't tied to the fob (our MB E350 isn't either), but if it requires manual adjustment every time then this may be a deal breaker for my wife.

Hi BoatGuy - After years of driving cars with dual memory settings for power adjustment of the position of the seats, the headrests, the mirrors, and even the steering wheel, I share your pain at the thought of having to readjust all these things manually each time we change drivers. That said, not having all the motors required to do this stuff plays a significant role in the i3's low weight and sporty acceleration.

If those creature comforts are really important, you might consider the Mercedes B ED, which prides itself in offering all this sort of stuff that is "normal" in a "normal" Mercedes. Of course the B weighs way more than the i3, accelerates way slower, and is way less energy efficient
Any ray of sunlight here?

Hi BoatGuy - After years of driving cars with dual memory settings for power adjustment of the position of the seats, the headrests, the mirrors, and even the steering wheel, I share your pain at the thought of having to readjust all these things manually each time we change drivers. That said, not having all the motors required to do this stuff plays a significant role in the i3's low weight and sporty acceleration.

If those creature comforts are really important, you might consider the Mercedes B ED, which prides itself in offering all this sort of stuff that is "normal" in a "normal" Mercedes. Of course the B weighs way more than the i3, accelerates way slower, and is way less energy efficient

 

[jadnashuanh]

And, the MB will only be available in very limited places until probably next year unless they've changed their plans recently. Fine if you happen to live in one of those areas, but the nearest to me is the next state over, so it wasn't in consideration.

 

[Boatguy]

If those creature comforts are really important, you might consider the Mercedes B ED, which prides itself in offering all this sort of stuff that is "normal" in a "normal" Mercedes. Of course the B weighs way more than the i3, accelerates way slower, and is way less energy efficient

I did test drive the B-class electric and investigated it as well. Oddly, it has the seat/mirror memory, but not the keyless doors/ignition! After several years of not using a key it felt very odd, especially in an electric car, to have to turn a key to "start" the engine. I like MB and 4 of my last 7 cars were MB, but overall the B class felt like a compliance car from MB.

My wife is more concerned about the convenience than I am, but it's weird that neither $50k car has the basic conveniences now available in cars costing half that much.

 

[ultraturtle]

1) As far as I can tell the seats have only manual adjustment, no option for electric adjustment?

True. Electrically adjustable seats add quite a bit of weight - not in line with the BMW i concept of efficiency.

2) According to the owner's manual, the the mirror settings are not stored in the driver profile - true?

True. No good reason why.