Dang, BMW i3s are getting cheap fast

nderwater wrote:

tuna55 wrote: I know WM will disagree, but the Leaf is a better car.

Agreed - Off-lease Leafs are half the price, seat five, have more interior and cargo space, have normal rear doors, have a normal instrument cluster, have lower ownership costs, etc. But despite its many quirks the i3 is a significantly faster car, is RWD, is more fun to drive, and has a range-extender option.

Yes, you guys know from having had a Leaf that it's a great car. I loved mine. The one advantage the i3 has is range, in the Rex version. My commute is 115 miles round trip. That's the one and only reason I don't drive a Leaf today. I'm waiting and waiting for EVs with that kind of range to drop into my price range.

I was doing some research on Leaf's just the other day (after seeing the insanely low prices they are going for, even as CPO) and it seemed that they were lacking in the 0-60 category compared to other electrics (Volt, i3, Focus).

Obviously most people don't buy an EV for speed/acceleration, but it is interesting that i3's are also popping up at such a low price point. While I probably wouldn't go Leaf for that reason, I might consider an i3 or something with a little more get up and go, assuming it wouldn't come at too much of a premium.

CobraSpdRH wrote: I was doing some research on Leaf's just the other day (after seeing the insanely low prices they are going for, even as CPO) and it seemed that they were lacking in the 0-60 category compared to other electrics (Volt, i3, Focus). Obviously most people don't buy an EV for speed/acceleration, but it is interesting that i3's are also popping up at such a low price point. While I probably wouldn't go Leaf for that reason, I *might* consider an i3 or something with a little more get up and go, assuming it wouldn't come at too much of a premium.

Drive one before you care about 0-60. The Leaf is unbeatable in the real world at 0-30. No throttle lag, no torque converter, no clutch slip, just mat it and it goes. It squirts. Yeah, 45-60 might take a few seconds but who really cares?

tuna55 wrote:

CobraSpdRH wrote: I was doing some research on Leaf's just the other day (after seeing the insanely low prices they are going for, even as CPO) and it seemed that they were lacking in the 0-60 category compared to other electrics (Volt, i3, Focus). Obviously most people don't buy an EV for speed/acceleration, but it is interesting that i3's are also popping up at such a low price point. While I probably wouldn't go Leaf for that reason, I *might* consider an i3 or something with a little more get up and go, assuming it wouldn't come at too much of a premium.

Drive one before you care about 0-60. The Leaf is unbeatable in the real world at 0-30. No throttle lag, no torque converter, no clutch slip, just mat it and it goes. It squirts. Yeah, 45-60 might take a few seconds but who really cares?

Yep. The Leaf will make you giggle from 0-30, it's just fun. Highway merging sucks, but the Leaf isn't really designed for a lot of highway use anyhow.

One that's more fun to drive than the Leaf or the i3 is the Spark EV. 350 lb ft of torque. I've driven all three while I owned the Volt. The i3 is the most practical, and longer range of the 3, but that Spark is just sooo much fun to punch the throttle on at any speed below about 60... Unfortunately only an 85 mile range on a good day. I've done highway merging in the Spark and i3 (spent 3 days with the i3 so I got a good deal of highway fun in) and they both have more than adequate power for that and even squirting around in traffic at 50-60 mph. Both top out about 80 so they aren't high speed cruisers (and range drops off real fast when going 80...) but for commuting in and errand running, I'd take either one.

Chris_V wrote: One that's more fun to drive than the Leaf or the i3 is the Spark EV. 350 lb ft of torque. I've driven all three while I owned the Volt. The i3 is the most practical, and longer range of the 3, but that Spark is just sooo much fun to punch the throttle on at any speed below about 60... Unfortunately only an 85 mile range on a good day. I've done highway merging in the Spark and i3 (spent 3 days with the i3 so I got a good deal of highway fun in) and they both have more than adequate power for that and even squirting around in traffic at 50-60 mph. Both top out about 80 so they aren't high speed cruisers (and range drops off real fast when going 80...) but for commuting in and errand running, I'd take either one.

Want the Spark EV so bad, but it'e one of those compliance cars which isn't available in all states

In reply to tuna55:

yeah, it's only available in a few. MD being one of them, so I have them all over here.

In reply to tuna55:

You can buy a Spark EV for under $10k from Carmax. Transfer might be $1k, but they do make it super easy.

In reply to Ojala:

I've thought about that a lot but it ended up being too much of a gamble that the local dealerships could work on it at all.

Can anyone comment on the recharge time of an i3 overnight? Thinking about getting one, but only have 110v to charge it with currently.

I've always thought that one could be setup to make a heck of an autocross car with coilovers, wheels with a crazy offset to go wide and purple crack.

In reply to dyintorace:

Recharge time is in the 14-18 hour range if you let it go all of the way to empty. It's actually really good if you do have 220V. It drops it a lot.

bmw88rider wrote: In reply to dyintorace: Recharge time is in the 14-18 hour range if you let it go all of the way to empty. It's actually really good if you do have 220V. It drops it a lot.

We have 220 nearby for the dryer. Knowing nothing about electricity, could I have a charger installed off that existing line?

My local dealer has a used low mileage one for under 15k. Tempting.

The 500e off lease are dirt cheap, and basically will end up paying for themselves if you have the proper commute.

dyintorace wrote: We have 220 nearby for the dryer. Knowing nothing about electricity, could I have a charger installed off that existing line?

A 220/240 line for an EVSE should really be on a dedicated circuit.

This chart says that the i3 should reach a full charge in 3 hours on a Level 2 charger.

dyintorace wrote:

bmw88rider wrote: In reply to dyintorace: Recharge time is in the 14-18 hour range if you let it go all of the way to empty. It's actually really good if you do have 220V. It drops it a lot.

We have 220 nearby for the dryer. Knowing nothing about electricity, could I have a charger installed off that existing line?

Where is your breaker box?

These EV threads have me thinking. I would be the perfect EV owner. I only live 3 miles from work so I wouldn't go over 100 miles a week even with throwing in a few side trips. I could easily top off every night. I have another vehicle for longer trips, weekends, hauling etc. so no problem there either. I have wanted one for a while with my only concern being acceleration/performance. Doesn't need to be crazy, just not slow. Everyone here basically saying that they are OK in that department too. Hmmmmmmmmm, interesting.

There was a nice 500e in good colors in my state for 5k and change that REALLY made me think. I've driven a Leaf and like them generally. Also driven i-miev and ok with them too at a cheap enough price point. I think the 500e puts just enough extra on top being cute and in better colors and ostensibly Italian that it had a lot more appeal to me at the same price. Maybe it's a good thing it was too far away for a casual test drive.. or maybe not?

But the Leaf.. i think the biggest selling point i could put on it vs the others is that i know for a fact I can be in South Texas in August.. and turn on its AC from inside the house using my smartphone.

The oddball tire sizing is the main thing giving me pause about the i3. Last time I looked, they had three different tires: winter, summer and all season.

Everything about the i3 is oddball. Really, you should all go drive one and see.

We (wife and me) stopped by Carmax today and drove an i3 and then a Leaf. No real comparison between the two, other than they share the same method of propulsion. The i3 felt like it would be a nice place to spend time. The Leaf felt like an econobox. Not sure either one makes sense for us right now, but it was interesting to drive them both, and back to back.

One important question is A/C. It was ~93 today and felt hot as hell. In the i3, we had to keep it in comfort mode for the A/C to have even a fighting chance at cooling the cabin down. It appeared that doing so drastically impacted range. Is that accurate? We've got to have good A/C down here.

The onboard range estimates (Guess-o-meters) are pretty conservative. Running the A/C and heater do sap range, but I've found that driving style makes a much bigger impact on efficiency and range.