2015 - i3 Owner Review

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vanzan
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Real Name: Nick
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2015 - i3 Owner Review

Post by vanzan »

Hi All,

I picked up the i3 31/03/2015 had it for a few days. Here are my initial thoughts.

To understand how I compare my previous cars (all brand new) were Mitsubishi Lancer -> MY00 WRX -> 2005 VW DSG GTI -> 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee -> BMW i3

It took about 30mins to get used to the throttle response, on the Jeep when I push down it takes time for the car to respond. I found that unknowingly that became habit.

Steering was much more responsive than the WRX or GTI, perhaps a bit too light but I have never had a RWD car so perhaps that's just normal. No torque steer is a very nice feeling in a small car.

When I went to show the car to a few interested friends they first comments were, "its a lot bigger than I thought". Everyone seems to think it is the size of a smart car

Beware the cyclists, driving in a suburb neighborhood there was a group of bikes in the middle of the road, normally you expect them to move over. So I drove up behind them and they didn't move. I thought, man what a rude bunch of people and kept following slowly. Then one looked behind and almost fell of his bike when he say the car and they all scrambled. Had a chat to them they said they use noise instead of vision as first indication most of the time with no rear view.

The REX sounds like a motorbike, I tested it out and a instinctively was looking for the bike near the car a few times. I hope not to use it much.

Im a techy guy both work and home and I dont think I have ever spend as much time sitting in the car in the garage trying to get my head around everything. BMWs connected drive is interesting, I asked when I need to come in for service, they said they will tell me. The car and all its service related information is monitored. You can also enable the built in sim to tell you the cars position at all times. Apple Siri works from the multi-function steering wheel.

This is the quickest and most fun car I have ever driven WITHIN the speed limits. You are really able to zip in and out of traffic, accelerate or decelerate very quickly with minimal effort. It is not something I can describe if you are used to high performance ICE cars, in fact you might dismiss what I am saying right away. You really have to experience it.

My previous cars were all very quick to get that quick you had to rev high or play above the speed limit. Then there was gears. I didn't buy this car because I wanted a hot hatch but its a fun side effect don't get me wrong.

I'll add to this as I get more experience with it good and bad.
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Johny
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2015 - i3 Owner Review

Post by Johny »

Good write up Nick. Thanks.
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g4qber
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2015 - i3 Owner Review

Post by g4qber »

Time has to be set and reset manually
Volt seems to use RDS signal
Imiev uses gps signal.

Mirko says that. European model uses dab for time synch
2021 Model 3 PW MIC RWD FSD - Mon 28 Jun ‘21 -
k kms 17x
2009 Tango - http://www.evalbum.com/211
Aptera
Cybertruck
On order

Past EVs
2011 i-MiEV
2012 Volt
2014 i3 REx
2014 Model S
2020 FRERWD
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g4qber
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2015 - i3 Owner Review

Post by g4qber »

I'm disappointed with dab+ radio
Seems the same across the bmw range
Signal can cut out at times
More so than fm n am
And i3 has no am band
2021 Model 3 PW MIC RWD FSD - Mon 28 Jun ‘21 -
k kms 17x
2009 Tango - http://www.evalbum.com/211
Aptera
Cybertruck
On order

Past EVs
2011 i-MiEV
2012 Volt
2014 i3 REx
2014 Model S
2020 FRERWD
vanzan
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Joined: Sun, 22 Feb 2015, 19:16
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2015 - i3 Owner Review

Post by vanzan »

g4qber wrote: And i3 has no am band


I believe they turned this off because of the possibility electric interference if you really want to there is an option to turn it back on via coding.
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g4qber
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2015 - i3 Owner Review

Post by g4qber »

Can't pair Sony ultra z Xperia to i3
2021 Model 3 PW MIC RWD FSD - Mon 28 Jun ‘21 -
k kms 17x
2009 Tango - http://www.evalbum.com/211
Aptera
Cybertruck
On order

Past EVs
2011 i-MiEV
2012 Volt
2014 i3 REx
2014 Model S
2020 FRERWD
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g4qber
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Joined: Sat, 31 Jul 2010, 06:27
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2015 - i3 Owner Review

Post by g4qber »

http://bmwi3.blogspot.com.au/2014/06/af ... likes.html

agree with:
dashboard reflection
no regen when going round corners
no am radio
charge port flaps
drivetrain errors
adaptive cruise control, turning off
Last edited by g4qber on Sat, 10 Oct 2015, 11:31, edited 1 time in total.
2021 Model 3 PW MIC RWD FSD - Mon 28 Jun ‘21 -
k kms 17x
2009 Tango - http://www.evalbum.com/211
Aptera
Cybertruck
On order

Past EVs
2011 i-MiEV
2012 Volt
2014 i3 REx
2014 Model S
2020 FRERWD
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