I see a couple of i3s in buy&sell sites in my city. They’re usually 2016-2018 models selling from $9k to $15k and mileage ranging from 40k to 80k. Some of them are pure EVs and others have the range extender (~80 miles of gas range). Some have upgraded infotainment that supports wireless Apple carplay, and some have only like 80 miles of range left.
Just from the visual POV, it looks like a fun little car to use for general city driving (work, groceries, errands, etc.). An EV for less than $15k that isn’t an older generation Nissan Leaf is pretty rare to find too. Are these models any good?
Good summary. Also, the “S” versions have a bigger battery. These were very advanced, basically a test bed for EV tech for BMW and they sold every one at a loss. The chassis is molded carbon fiber, unfortunately, if that gets damaged in an accident, it can’t be repaired.
I am a BMW tech, and always wanted one. Unfortunately they are only RWD, and thus would be far from ideal in my area that sees heavy snow/ice.
RWD doesn’t change braking (primary cause of understeer in winter, unless you enjoy accelerating in corners on ice) and actually lends you more control in oversteer scenarios. Correcting oversteer in an FWD car is harder.
You have to actively be trying to do something stupid if RWD gets you in trouble in a car with ESP and proper winter tires.
AWD that actually drives both axles all the time is even better, but it seems EVs often tend to switch one motor off when they can anyway.
Enjoy being the slowest car on the road in the winter I guess. I have a RWD car, and even with the best winter tires you can get it sucked ass in the snow. Tried it for one month, said fuck that, parked it for the winter and bought an AWD winter car.
Great for salted roads, I guess… As it delivers all it’s EV torque to the rear axle…
Carbon fiber to save weight? Batteries back then were even heavier than batteries now and this is a small car, they’re meant to be light.
Isn’t RWD less of a problem on an EV than with ICE vehicles? The vehicle’s mass is more evenly distributed across the vehicle instead of being concentrated under the hood, thus moving the vehicle’s center of mass closer to the driven axle.
You still have only two wheels for acceleration. Two extremely narrow wheels.
It’s not a dragster.