My 2014 BMW i3.
Original Date of this page = 03/21/15, updated 6/2/15
My first electric car was when I was about 4 years old. It was metal, I sat on top of it and the battery took hours to charge for about 20 minutes of use.
My first Hybrid was in 2010 I got a 2010 Prius (model Level V). It was a nice car and did everything well. I generally got about 45 mpg, although the car displayed I was getting 48 mpg. The Navigation system was fairly good. The tires were ridiculously expensive, the handling wasn't that good, and it was fairly noisy inside. The car felt light almost tinny, and the interior materials were not very inviting, especially the leather seats (not quite sure what material they were). It did have a smooth ride and I had no problems with it. It looked more like an appliance than a car to most people, but I liked it.
My next car was a 2012 Chevrolet Volt, a car that easily went 45 miles on battery power, it had superior handling over the Prius, was very quiet and felt like a much more substantial car. The interior materials seemed better than the Prius, certainly the leather was maybe perhaps real, displays were nicer, the sound system was much better and it was faster than the Prius. The center stack had touch sensitive surfaces that worked well, but must have been laid out by committee because it was a mass of confusion. It was pleasing to the eyes (for the most part). I hardly ever used gas, but every 1250 miles it would force me to let the gasoline engine run for about 3 minutes or so. At the one year mark it ran the gasoline engine whenever I was going somewhere until all the gas had been used. It was a very heavy car and at times you could sense the heft. It was at that time the best car I ever had, prior to the Volt my 1990 Protege had that honor. Chevrolet had done an exceptional job with the design and execution of the Volt, but the pricing was steep and the advertising was so bad it was criminal. Sales were poor and General Motors didn't seem to know why.
The new 2016 Volt looks nice, possibly gets a few more miles on electric but still has a gasoline engine just like the 2012 Volt. Once I saw and read about the 2016 I knew one would not be in my future, so I looked elsewhere. The Kia Soul EV caught my eye, a 100 miles of range on pure electric, good looking and priced right. The only problem is they only sell it in California and a few other select markets, Florida is not one of them. I tried to see If I could get one, but no deal.
I looked at the Nissan Leaf, but it didn't have all the amenities I was lokking for. It had a fairly nice interior, but the handling and acceleration are not so great. It does have the charge port in front (like the Kia Soul EV) where they all should be. Both the Volkswagen and Ford Focus electric are kind of bland but nice, they have Analog-looking gauges, especially the speedometer. I only get cars with Digital speedometers period.
This brought me to the BMW i3. A little bit more expensive car than the others, but worth it since BMW did it right. Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic, aluminum, lightweight materials with the end result being a car that weighs 1000 pounds less than the Volt, and will go nearly twice the distance on pure electric. The Display screens are fantastic, the BMW iDrive is perfect. My eyes never leave the road and my right hand that is so comfortable using a computer mouse falls right into place with the iDrive. The leather is real and the interior has some really nice touches to it. The i3 accelerates and handles better than the Volt, has more comfortable seating and is 20 inches shorter. It looks way better in person than it does in pictures. I got the BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle), so there is no gasoline to ever use or buy (Yeah!).
Normally I get between 4 – 5 miles on a kWh of power. On a recent drive I was getting 6.1 miles per kWh. The i3 has a 22 kWh battery of which 19 kWh are actually available for use. If I could have kept driving at the same speed under the same conditions it is possible I could have driven 115.9 miles on a single charge! In reality I get closer to 85-95 miles on a single charge, which easily meets my needs.
The BMW i3 will do 0-60 around 7 seconds, the only other electric car that’s faster is a Tesla. I seldom have to use the brakes as the regenerative ‘braking’ will bring the car to a complete stop just by letting up on the accelerator pedal. The visibility is outstanding, the seat height and position are excellent, and because of the high roofline it feels like a much larger vehicle inside.
This car, the BMW i3, has me thinking that all the other cars I’ve had might have had too many compromises in their design and build. This car is about the same length as a 2012 Mazda Miata, weighs less than 200 lbs. more , seats 4, has way better cargo capacity, has a tighter turning radius, is more aerodynamic and will probably beat it 0-60 mph. The Miata is a sports car, and a great one at that!
The BMW i3 looks different than almost anything else out there, and I like it. Too many cars today suffer from looking the same both inside and out, use the same type of materials and controls. I’m sure to many people that is a good thing as there is no thinking involved when they get a new car or another car. Why must they be so similar?
Remember what a TV set looked like 30 years ago? It was a big box, with two large dials and several smaller ones, it was heavy, created a lot of heat, attracted dust had one speaker and at best had a 32 inch screen, but most people had 25-27 inch screens. Remember the home phone from 30 years ago? Most were connected by a wire, had a dial or push buttons and one ring-tone. Remember a portable music player from 30 years ago (before the iPod), either a Sony Disc Man or a Walkman. Remember any car from 30 years ago? Go look at your present car and you’ll see more similarities than differences. There may be more options or amenities in the newer car, but the design and materials are very much the same.
Look at the BMW i3, it definitely does not look like anything from 30 years ago, and because of that many people think it looks odd, or ugly or just strange. I think it looks different to be sure and it might just be a small view of perhaps what a car should look like.
One of the ‘arguments’ I always hear against the BMW i3 and other electric cars claiming Zero emissions is “Where does the electricity come from? Coal?” Most likely yes, but please understand gasoline comes from oil which is refined using what? Electricity, yes, the same ‘dirty’ electricity that electric cars use. Let’s not forget that to put that refined oil known as gasoline into a car requires what? That’s right more electricity, to pump it into the tankers and then to pump it into the car. Remember what’s coming out the tail-pipe? Oh and let us not forget that Internal Combustion Engine cars (ICE) require way more maintenance in the way of fluid changes, engine oil, transmission and differential oils. To do this requires them to be put on a lift, which uses what? That’s right electricity, and the shop uses lights, and the mechanic has to use a ‘drop light’ to see under the car when its’ on the lift. So yes, an electric car uses electricity, and to keep an ICE car running requires using the same ‘dirty’ electricity.
Speaking of maintenance my BMW i3 first scheduled maintenance is July 2016, that would put it somewhere close to 18k miles. The maintenance is just a systems check and brake fluid check and probably a change.
I got my 2017 BMW i3 in Protonic Blue from Ferman BMW in Palm Harbor. Amanda O. Ordered the exact exact model I was looking for and she was able to work magic to do a deal that worked for me. I keep my car looking showroom fresh (actually much better than showroom) by using Surf City Garage polishes and protectants.
If you have any questions, send me an email at nelson@nelsonpaiva.com