Used BMW i3 2013-2022 Review (Autocar)

[agzand]

Autocar has a new comprehensive review of the used BMW i3:

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/bmw/i3-2013-2022

 

[Dutchi3]

Nice read! Yes, the i3 still turns heads where I live, as if they see a ufo passing by. Not many i3's here, once in a while you see one. Most EV's here are Tesla model 3 or model Y.

 

[eNate]

Wow this "review" is a hot mess.

The i3 is BMW's first attempt at an EV? Say what?



They really could be more specific about the early model years being the predominant issues with the air conditioning, battery, and motor mount issues. This is ostensibly a buyers guide. Also very quick to recommend the REX for commutes but zero nuance in that recommendation with respect to total range by year, or added weight / maintenance / reliability concerns -- I'd suggest the REX is more important to the driver who needs to take this car out on longer ventures and doesn't have access to (or doesn't want to wait for) charging stations. Typical commuters ought to be fine with the BEV, especially if this is serving as a second car.

Pros? How about...
+ Easy to park due to short length and incredible turning circle.
+ A 3-Series cabin space despite its external compactness.
+ .Ridiculous efficiency, especially given its age.

Cons? Let's see...
- Tires! Fast wear and lack of choice.
- Fat A-pillar that is great at blocking the driver's view on curved residential streets.
- Maybe complain about the 50kW max charging speed, but I've never found that much of a detractor given the modest battery size.
¿ But rear-hinged carriage doors? That's a feature, not a detractor. Can you imagine how dramatically different this car would be with conventional rear doors? Or as a 2-door coupe ala the Mini?
¿ Boot "not that big"? If you need Rav4 space, buy an ID.4. The i3 is super-spacious given its overall footprint. Shoot, may as well complain about the rear seat legroom.

I mean, honestly, if BMW had designed the i3 more in the shadow of the X1 (small SUV), I think half of this review's critiques would be struck. And that's the point -- it's not a cookie cutter small SUV/CUV like what practically everybody else is offering today. It's intended to be a compact whip. And thankfully they didn't make it lame with FWD.

 

[Dutchi3]

The i3 is BMW's first attempt at an EV? Say what?

I guess the writer meant the first commercial attempt at an EV. But that should have been made more clear, indeed. And I agree the article is far from accurate and sometimes wrong.

 

[johcagaorl]

Nice read! Yes, the i3 still turns heads where I live, as if they see a ufo passing by. Not many i3's here, once in a while you see one. Most EV's here are Tesla model 3 or model everyone who's seen it has thought I bought a 2024 car they've never heard of.

 

[eNate]

Nice read! Yes, the i3 still turns heads where I live, as if they see a ufo passing by. Not many i3's here, once in a while you see one. Most EV's here are Tesla model 3 or model Y.

About 45,000 i3s have been sold in the United States, but current California registration data indicates 1/3 of them are in this state.

California is huge, but EVs are concentrated in the Los Angeles and San Francisco regions. My county is showing just shy of 900, and greater than 3000 total in the counties immediately bordering mine.

At one point after I bought mine in 2019, I counted roughly 20 in driveways within approximately a 1/2 mile circle from my house, which I found pretty impressive considering this car really hadn't been on my radar up until I owned it. But with the rise of 250 mile EVs in 2021, those i3s gradually disappeared off my map, replaced by ID.4s and Teslas and Ioniqs and such. I guess most i3s were leases. I spot a new one pop up in front of somebody's home every now and then, so there seems to be a reshuffling as these cars are finding their 2nd and 3rd owners. But our streets are still populated with them, and it's rare I don't come across one when I'm out and about.

 

[Mustrum Ridcully]

Over the last ten years, I have seen only two other 3i BMWs in Maine, and the only BMW dealer in the state informed me that they could not sell or lease even one of them. ( they were less than helpful when I called asking about the winter wheel and tyre package that BMW once offered for the i3s with its 20" wheels [we have only a summer 'performance tyre available in the US]) The one other person I know has a Deka 2015 vintage in Panda B&W) states that it would be useless in the winter without the REX. He told me I was asking for trouble getting my 2021 i3S BEV., and unless I solve my winter wheel and tyre problem, he might be right if we have a hard winter.

 

[robthebold]

Over the last ten years, I have seen only two other 3i BMWs in Maine, and the only BMW dealer in the state informed me that they could not sell or lease even one of them. ( they were less than helpful when I called asking about the winter wheel and tyre package that BMW once offered for the i3s with its 20" wheels [we have only a summer 'performance tyre available in the US]) The one other person I know has a Deka 2015 vintage in Panda B&W) states that it would be useless in the winter without the REX. He told me I was asking for trouble getting my 2021 i3S BEV., and unless I solve my winter wheel and tyre problem, he might be right if we have a hard winter.

You don't even need a bad winter the way summer tire rubber starts to get hard and slippery below 40F or so. Do 19" wheels not fit on an i3s as a winter option?

 

[Mustrum Ridcully]

That was the kit that BMW once sold: a set of 19" wheels in black with Bridgestone Winter tyres mounted ready to go.

The person I spoke to at the only BMW dealer in the state had never heardge. He offered to special order me four 19" diamond cut" i3 wheels individually priced but did not tell me how much extra the mounted and balanced snow tyres would cost.
I have used this procedure on my MINI Cooper S for 20 years: 17" performance summer tyres and a set of 16" wheels with full winter snow tyres.
I guess I need to hit up eBay on a weekly basis to see if I can score a mounted set of 19" snows. or 4 plain black 19" i3 wheels

 

[eNate]

Try car-part.com. It's a wrecking yard aggregator. I've found a couple of "loose" wheels + tires there, good condition for a great price.

 

[alohart]

That was the kit that BMW once sold: a set of 19" wheels in black with Bridgestone Winter tyres mounted ready to go.

I believe it was a set of 19"x5" Rial X10 wheels that were sold in the past for winter tires. These wheels are almost certainly less expensive than BMW wheels. However, I don't know whether these Rial wheels are available in the U.S. at this point.

 

[robthebold]

I believe it was a set of 19"x5" Rial X10 wheels that were sold in the past for winter tires. These wheels are almost certainly less expensive than BMW wheels. However, I don't know whether these Rial wheels are available in the U.S. at this point.

Looks like tirerack.com has the 19x5 Rial X10-I in bright silver and black, and since their parent company owns about all the big tire places in the US now, they shouldn't be hard to source -- YMMV

 

[Mustrum Ridcully]

thanks They provide a link for why the older versions are cheaper but then don't answer it
listed below are the different versions of the Bridgestone Blizzak LM-500. Why are there different versions?


$68.60 per tire
2021 Production, Star BMW

$82.74 per tire
Star BMW

$205.92 per tire
Star BMW

 

[SSi3]

"BMW initially installed a 60kWh battery pack from launch"

bit of an error... it was a 60Ah battery pack...

 

[robthebold]

thanks They provide a link for why the older versions are cheaper but then don't answer it
listed below are the different versions of the Bridgestone Blizzak LM-500. Why are there different versions?


$68.60 per tire
2021 Production, Star BMW

$82.74 per tire
Star BMW

$205.92 per tire
Star BMW

 

[robthebold]

The only difference I can see between the two that have the same load rating is that the cheaper tires are maybe NOS and not recent production since they mention a date. But we all know assumptions . . . I'm curious if they have any more explanation when they get back to you.

 

[Mustrum Ridcully]

That was my guess, but they have not yet responded. As far as I can see, they all look to have the same specs.

My 2021 i3S has 20" summer performance rubber dated 2021, and given its low miles, that makes sense.
My guesstimate looking at their wear is that they look about 1/2 worn at the rear and perhaps somewhat less on the front

 

[JamesInLondon]

I read it as a very positive review, yes there are some minor quibbles, but remember that pretty much everyone on this board knows considerably more about the i3 than any motoring journalist.

 

[regieh]

I love this car. Reviews sometimes is a matter of perspective.

 

[eNate]

Perhaps.

But to review this 10 year old platform and fail to mention the tires is a major oversight for any reader gathering info to base a purchase decision off of.