Most liked posts in thread: Drove an i3 Today

Good questions...

The salesman I went with was woefully unprepared, but I think he said they will be available with larger capacity batteries - ala Tesla(at extra cost of course) as well as with the range extending 660cc motor.

At a starting cost of mid-$40K, I seriously doubt I'll ever own one, but there were lots of things about it that I thought were cool....

 

They weren't rushing me out, but I did not get to play with any of the electronics....the car I drove had automatic climate control and as it was cold out, it seemed to do a good job of making the car comfortable, I did not see if this one had heated seats tho...I would think high energy usage electrical items like that would not feature on the car, in fact I'm inpressed that they even offer the car in our climate, other mfrs (FIAT 500E, Tesla) don't.

I also didn't play with the big screen in the middle of the dash connected to the iDrive to see what all it would do, I figure once they have inventory I can get one overnight and play with it.

As to that weird side glass in the C pillar, you don't seem to notice it when driving the car - although I think it looks weird, like it really has no function except as a styling gimmick. The boot is a lot like the Clubby, except it doesn't have the under floor compartments as those a re filled with battery and motor and such.
The dash had a weird looking wooden component - maybe bamboo? Very odd looking although it did break up the monochrome looks of the interior, and if it is bamboo, it ties in with the recycleable nature of the rest of the car.



Like a lot of modern cars, the keys only have to be in the car, they don't dock like the MINI keys do. You engage drive my moving a small lever on the top right near the wheel, to put it in park you push the button marked "P". Once in gear, or "on", it's just a matter of giving it a nudge with the go pedal. There are three drive modes, Comfort, Eco and Eco Pro, each providing less performance and more economy. We drove in Eco, I didn't get to experience the difference to see if it's markedly better or worse...but in Eco it went like a scalded cat, and I did not floor it. The throttle was very easy to modulate, but you do get a significant amount of speed reduction when you let off, in fact the only time I used the brakes was to keep from rolling backward at a stop on a hill! (no hill holder I guess). Once used to it you can be very smooth by simply not letting off the throttle all the way, but the car never seems to coast, it's either on the power or in regen. As for handling, again, our route was very short, but the driving dynamics felt very much like a MINI Countryman with runflats (which it has too), turn in was crisp, the ride was firm but smooth and extremely quiet. I did not hear any whine from the motor, but again - very short drive....more time with it will tell but first impression is very good. I could see this car as a real hit with urban cool people, it's useful, fun to drive and easy to live with in a tight city environment. From the driver's seat the view forward is expansive, but there was no sunroof (fine with me - I don't have one in my Clubby either) and the salesman did not know if one would be offered - I'm betting they will but the area of the roof that it would fit is very small.

I'm looking forward to a more extensive drive and examination of the car when it hits the dealership next month, but the one real drawback - certainly for me - will be the cost. $40-$50K just won't fly for me.