BMW brought the i3 and i8 to market in 2014 and squandered their lead in EVs for the next decade. They’re crying now because they didn’t follow through then.
As an i3 owner it’s simply wild to me how BMW has squandered their massive lead in EV design. It’s still a better car than most new EV’s out there in many ways (it only weighs about 1.3 tons for example!). And every BMW EV since then has been a massive step back, although the newer generations coming next year might finally be a step in the right direction.
Amazing driving machines. One of the most fun EVs today, guaranteed to make you smile.
I had some memorable moments when it was launched. I believe they sold with very little profit. They were not sold through dealers, but from BMW directly. As with any non-metal shell, repairs are hard to come by because of missing expertise. The i3 was also quite expensive for a visually tiny city car. At the time BMW perceived as a somewhat pretentious brand which made the small car feel tiny and untrue with it’s narrow tires which gave off a strange impression to buyers. The steering sticks near centre which can be strange. It was also expensive to buy and people assumed maintenance would be expensive too, as was perceived of other special cars from the brand. We test-drove it (60Ah) and it was a blast to drive, the Model S (85kWh) of the time offered far more range, faster charging, and felt substantially more practical at the time if you had some space to park. The Tesla brand was also on a mission to sustainable driving at the time.
Flash forward to today and the i3 is what people here are asking for. It’s light with an analogue feel, an absolute joy to drive, it’s frugal on electricity, the battery kept up well because of a great design, and there’s no rust I know of. Sure, it charges slowly, but it quickly ramps up to it’s 50kW max charging speed and doesn’t consume much so it’s great for anything but long-distance travel. The car is connected to the internet (I think always?) but the firmware has been unlocked so we can service it as needed. All buttons operate as you want it and are BMW quality, nice to touch and they’re clear to use.
You drive one of the most fun affordable and practical EVs you can buy today. Big thumbs up!
BMW brought the i3 and i8 to market in 2014 and squandered their lead in EVs for the next decade. They’re crying now because they didn’t follow through then.
As an i3 owner it’s simply wild to me how BMW has squandered their massive lead in EV design. It’s still a better car than most new EV’s out there in many ways (it only weighs about 1.3 tons for example!). And every BMW EV since then has been a massive step back, although the newer generations coming next year might finally be a step in the right direction.
Amazing driving machines. One of the most fun EVs today, guaranteed to make you smile.
I had some memorable moments when it was launched. I believe they sold with very little profit. They were not sold through dealers, but from BMW directly. As with any non-metal shell, repairs are hard to come by because of missing expertise. The i3 was also quite expensive for a visually tiny city car. At the time BMW perceived as a somewhat pretentious brand which made the small car feel tiny and untrue with it’s narrow tires which gave off a strange impression to buyers. The steering sticks near centre which can be strange. It was also expensive to buy and people assumed maintenance would be expensive too, as was perceived of other special cars from the brand. We test-drove it (60Ah) and it was a blast to drive, the Model S (85kWh) of the time offered far more range, faster charging, and felt substantially more practical at the time if you had some space to park. The Tesla brand was also on a mission to sustainable driving at the time.
Flash forward to today and the i3 is what people here are asking for. It’s light with an analogue feel, an absolute joy to drive, it’s frugal on electricity, the battery kept up well because of a great design, and there’s no rust I know of. Sure, it charges slowly, but it quickly ramps up to it’s 50kW max charging speed and doesn’t consume much so it’s great for anything but long-distance travel. The car is connected to the internet (I think always?) but the firmware has been unlocked so we can service it as needed. All buttons operate as you want it and are BMW quality, nice to touch and they’re clear to use.
You drive one of the most fun affordable and practical EVs you can buy today. Big thumbs up!
As an owner myself I can only agree.