i3 commuter specialist

[Breaker 980]

So after dailying the V8 and the V12, sanity of some form had to eventually occur.
This has taken the form of a Rex i3, whether that’s sane or not, time will tell.

130ks between charge with the on board generator in case I have to run off somewhere. Was looking at everything from diesel to hybrid and at the end of the day decided to go full BEV. As I’ve got the 750 and 740 and the boss has a E550, this was always going to be a 50 - 90k a day city car so BEV ended up the best choice for us.

I grin wildly gunning it so not sure I’ll get anywhere near 130ks ?

The thing is like a premium go cart, can’t wait to get some ks under the belt and how this BEV journey goes.

[Young Thrash Driver 1020]

It's brilliant. Such skinny wheels and uglier than any other BMW to date, also featuring odd coloured body panels...  Good choice I reckon ? it's one of those cars that makes me laugh whenever I see one, like a Multipla or Vel Satis.

[Breaker 980]

Definitely a Marmite car, but like Marmite if you love it you love it.

its quite a bizarre mix of car really, stylish Imo and all green inside, high like a SUV, full of tech, barn doors, wagon wheels. God it’s mad and it’s about as different as the E38 you can get

[KwS 2429]

I cant get over that horrible kink in the window line at the rear door. Having one in your hands, can you tell if there is a reasonable reason for it? 

Would be interested to know what your long term opinion of the car is. I like the premise behind them (BEV with extender, in small body with decent handling), but they're quite a way out of my price range atm.

[NZ BMW 368]

I like these cars, I think they’re cool and futuristic. 
 

what’s it like to drive? How’s the road noise when running?

[balancerider 778]

keep us posted on this one, looking at the 94aH REX atm - probably in dark grey or black though

[aja540i 1906]

Give it a year and your old cars will feel loud, slow, clunky, and annoying and you'll only drive them to get a fix of engine noise!!

[Breaker 980]

22 hours ago, KwS said:

I cant get over that horrible kink in the window line at the rear door. Having one in your hands, can you tell if there is a reasonable reason for it? 

Rear windows don’t lower and if the window ran fully along I think it might feel a bit closed in in the back, with it dropped I’ve seen lots of vids of kids loving the look out the window because it’s low enough, but it’s probably ‘styling’ as the original concept had that lowered almost to the floor line and looked horrid 

[Breaker 980]

14 hours ago, balancerider said:

keep us posted on this one, looking at the 94aH REX atm - probably in dark grey or black though

Would have been nice but to far up the pricing for us ATM. 120ks is plenty for me also

[Breaker 980]

22 hours ago, NZ BMW said:

I like these cars, I think they’re cool and futuristic. 
 

what’s it like to drive? How’s the road noise when running?

Fantastic to drive, I giggle like a kid ATM, which is kinda embarrassing ?‍♂️
 

road noise is very low, a bit at 100 but still way less then even my double glazed 750, although the tire size probably has most to do with any residual noise.

Handling is good as COG is so low. Suspension can be a bit crashy over uneven surfaces but nothing I have a problem with.

Super responsive steering makes it a little over responsive at highway speeds initially but I feel I’m getting more used to it and adapting already. 
Overall super fun.

[Breaker 980]

3 hours ago, aja540i said:

Give it a year and your old cars will feel loud, slow, clunky, and annoying and you'll only drive them to get a fix of engine noise!!

Yip I can see that coming. Andrew you got me looking at EVs after your own experience!
Once driven it will hard to look back, the EV potential if car makers actually let themselves lose will be epic when they are common new car status in 5 - 10 yrs.

[Statek 87]

I kind of like this one I see everyday in Parnell - makes me think I could actually consider owning one. 

[Breaker 980]

Energy body kit is interesting ??not sure my cuppa but still. Having great fun in it so far.

[KwS 2429]

Jesus that kitted one is ugly.

[Eagle 1679]

Love childen of Transformers and Fast and Furious franchises 

[Breaker 980]

One month update. Just on 1000ks and around 120kw power use @ 30 cents kw equates to $36. 
Yes very, very happy with that. So far so good.
This month need to go in and get connected drive sorted, want to look at putting Apple car play in updating the NBT.

Using adaptive cruise a lot in heavy traffic, just makes life too easy. Only ever charged at home and just run the Rex to try it, finding 120ks is more then enough daily and waking up knowing I have a full charge every day elevates almost all range anxiety.

Best feature: pre conditioning, set aux air to come on and pre condition the car so it’s up to temp for when you get in in the morning and have the Ac running for when you leave work at night, no more hot car to get into. I know plenty of BMs have these but battery concerns in the past meant I’ve never used it like I now can. Brilliant 

 

[Olaf 3341]

I wonder what the economics are to installing solar atop your garage, to a storage charger setup... plug in and charge off-grid in the evenings.

[Olaf 3341]

.... you can sacrifice Nissan Leafs (Leaves?) to liberate their battery packs for solar storage ?

[Breaker 980]

Andrew was saying in the weekend he just put 5-6kw unit on the roof for 14k, that pretty much would run the house and give enough power to charge the car, sacrifice his leaf for the batteries would be next step ?

[aja540i 1906]

At the moment it would be cheaper to buy a Leaf and pull the battery out for storage than to buy a dedicated battery of similar capacity.  Don't think I haven't considered it!!

[aja540i 1906]

4 hours ago, Olaf said:

.... you can sacrifice Nissan Leafs (Leaves?) to liberate their battery packs for solar storage ?

Or i3s with minor structural damage that are being written of because carbon fibre body = $$$$$$$

[Breaker 980]

10 hours ago, aja540i said:

Or i3s with minor structural damage that are being written of because carbon fibre body = $$$$$$$

That could be end game option ?

[M3AN 4016]

So I drove one on Sunday (thank you) at the Akl coffee casual and paint me impressed. I'm not sure I like the look but I found little to dislike about the experience. It's not a race car but it wears that on its sleeve, that's not what it's for.

It's quite quick, feels ultra modern and is almost silent. It's not as flash as a modern Tesla (by a bit to be honest) but as a point-to-point commuter it would do just fine. And I have free charging at work, bonus.

Regenerative braking takes some getting used to, I stopped short without even touching the middle pedal. ?

But only at 30% of the new cost, because 90k is (was?) ridiculous. Oh, and crash it and it will be a write-off. ?

[aja540i 1906]

7 hours ago, M3AN said:

. 

But only at 30% of the new cost, because 90k is (was?) ridiculous. Oh, and crash it and it will be a write-off. ?

When these were released in NZ a new Leaf was $79k, so that was actually very reasonable!!

[Breaker 980]

Next to its new big bro, gave it a good clean and popped a coat of Menzerna Power Lock sealer, all nice and slick and looking great again.

Upto 68ks on the clock, done about 4.5k in four months used a tank of gas in the range extender last month just to keep the fuel fresh and ensure it got a run.

Otherwise charging costs are around $35 month, about 30c per kw and avg 7.5ks per kw so zero complaints and I’m constantly getting 120ks with a pretty heavy AC use over summer.