what EVs lead the pack as replacements/alternatives to the i3?

[marstan]

Curious as to what electric vehicles i3 owners are gravitating towards as potential future replacements or alternatives to the i3. There are so few EVs available in the U.S. that have the compact size of the i3. The Volvo EX30 seemed like a likely successor, but its dashboard design is beyond minimalist and just looks cheap and not particularly driver-friendly in advance photos. Any other thoughts/suggestions?

 

[eNate]

The Volvo was my first thought too, but also the Mini Electric, leftover Chevy Bolts, and perhaps the upcoming Kia EV3 that'll be announced in two weeks.

 

[alohart]

I replaced our 2014 i3 with a 2019 i3 because no other EV that met our requirements was available. I am casually looking for a 2021 i3 to replace our 2019 i3 because there is still no EV that meets our requirements. I, too, thought that the Volvo EX30 might be it, but I haven't been thrilled with the reviews plus its heavy with too much Google technology (don't need our car tracking us as well). I might consider the Kia EV3 but I don't want a FWD or AWD EV.

Fortunately, our i3's have been totally reliable without a single problem requiring a repair, so we could probably keep driving and being happy with our 2019 i3 for many years.

 

[eNate]

Despite my list, I have to agree with Art. I was quite satisfied with my inexpensive, fun to drive, reliable 2017 so I sold it and replaced it with a 2021, having seen nothing else in the US market that was comparable. That was 2½ years ago and the compact landscape hasn't changed much.

I also have a VW ID.4 that carries much of the i3's design language, but it's definitely a larger vehicle. If VW saw fit to bring the ID.3 to the US, that would definitely make my list.

 

[JohnKelly]

The Aptera will be my next EV if they are able to make it to production.

 

[Simoni3]

just because the repair costs more than the car is 'worth' may still be cheaper and better to fix it than buy another car that is less suitable

i intend to have mine fixed rather than junk it

 

[JamesInLondon]

I can't think of anything which comes near the usability that the i3 currently provides.

I plan to keep mine until my annual costs are more than 25% of the car's value; at which point I will trade it in for the youngest, lowest mileage i3 that I can then find.

 

[larrykalenda]

I pre-ordered an Aptera already....

 

[JohnKelly]

I pre-ordered an Aptera already....

Me too. In a perfect world, mine will be ready at the exact same moment I get some outrageous repair quote from BMW. In the meantime, still going strong at 103,000 miles. I like the expanded right to repair concept Aptera is adopting.

 

[rostym]

I went from a 2017 REX to a low mileage 2021 s BEV. I could see nothing that I would like as much or was as practical as the i3. We didn't have any issues ever with the 2017, but we wanted to be driving an i3 for as long as we could, thus getting a newer lower mileage car.

 

[amalcolmm]

I'm on the Aptera list, too. Around #900, the last time I looked. I feel no pressure to change as the i3 REX is a good fit for my needs, so the Aptera can come when it comes. I'm not quite at eNate's level for transporting stuff (that's a great thread, BTW!), but my car needs to hold a regular road bicycle. This rules out most sedans.

And then there's the look. A few days ago, I was in traffic looking at a Tesla 3 in front and another to the left, a Y to the right. W-A-Y too common these days to interest me, and the styling is minimalist (OK, it's boring). I like how Doug Demuro described the facelifted model - The Greatest Appliance Ever Made.

Even if I get a replacement, I'll probably give the i3 to my son-in-law to keep it in the family - he's still running my old '06 Civic with ~150k on the clock, and it's getting tired. He takes personal pride in not running anything younger than 10 years old, so my '14 is just coming into his "acceptable" range!

 

[agzand]

I think the EX30 or upcoming 2026 Mini Countryman or Aceman will be the closest options. Personally however, if I had to replace my i3, I would get a RWD Tesla Model 3 and put up with not being a hatchback and minimalist design. It is a better car than those upcoming models. Every single EV other than Tesla and i3 is unreasonably heavy.

 

[alohart]

I think the EX30 or upcoming 2026 Mini Countryman or Aceman will be the closest options.

I read a report today that the Biden administration is considering increasing the tariff on Chinese-made EV's from 25% to 100% to combat alleged dumping of EV's at unreasonably low prices due to overproduction. If this happens, the EX30 and other EV's manufactured in China by joint ventures with Western auto manufacturers would no longer be attractive.

 

[JohnKelly]

The lightest Tesla Models 3 is about 3,500-3,850 lbs depending on what source you use. The Aptera will be about 2,200 lbs and have an even better coefficient of drag than the current leader in that category... the Model 3. Nothing will come even close to the efficiency of an Aptera... when and if they get them on the road.

 

[ksnax]

The Ioniq 5N is the only EV I am interested in replacing my i3 with. If my bank account ever catches up to that desire is the only question.

 

[Ruffner]

I found a low mileage (13,500) 2020 Rex, Tera Dark Blue that replaced 2015 Rex. The 2015 was still doing great, about 70 miles on a full battery and no problems, but since I really liked the car I chose to move to the higher capacity battery. A full charge is consistently showing 170 plus miles so I’m satisfied with that. So far no problems other than replacing the 12v on both.

 

[clasqm]

I read a report today that the Biden administration is considering increasing the tariff on Chinese-made EV's from 25% to 100% to combat alleged dumping of EV's at unreasonably low prices due to overproduction. If this happens, the EX30 and other EV's manufactured in China by joint ventures with Western auto manufacturers would no longer be attractive.

Volvo is currently exempt from that tax because they export other US-made models to China. Of course, things can change.

 

[johnd01]

I gave up on the I3 and got a Model Y hatchback last December. I am getting about 4 miles/kWH, which costs me 2.5 cents/mile at home and 10 cents on road trips. I have three extended road trips with a total of 11,000 miles. The shortest one was 900 round trip miles to Carlsbad, CA; we were home late that night. The V12.3.6 full self-driving has made long trips a lot easier. It works well in town, too. I tried to hand drive the car out of LA on our way to Sacramento. I gave up and told the car to take us home. We had just charged in LA, and the car had us charge again at Harris Ranch and was going to get us home, but 80 MPH north on Interstate 5 took more energy than the car had figured on, so it took us to Stockton for a few minutes to get us home. I have learned to run off the bottom part of the battery; it charges 1024 MPH for the first 20%. We try not to charge for more than 20-25 minutes a stop and stop a little more often. I had charged 90% twice when the next charger was more than 250 miles away.
I got the towing package to put my recumbent on a bike rack.
Life would have been a lot different if I would have selected an I3.