BMW i3: A 10-Year Retrospective on a Game-Changing EV

Several members of the Munro team band together to examine the BMW i3 during the 10-year anniversary of our teardown, examining ways in which it was far ahead of its time... or perhaps doomed from the start.

0:00 Owner's Perspective
11:12 Body
20:17 Battery
28:52 Wheels & Tires
33:21 Motor
40:51 How to Buy the Report

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[johnrussell]

I have had the 2019 i3 from new. No REx. As a BEV it's wonderful and now has a cult following. We all wave at each other. Great turning circle, very quick off the mark and leaves most traffic behind up to 60mph. I've averaged 4.2 miles per kWh over the 4 years. No problems at all. Needed very little maintenance. Love the regen. Love the styling. Will keep this car a long time.

[venti]

The best small daily driver I ever had.

[c-fb]

Of all the cars I have owned, i loved my i3s the most! The seats were amazing, and honestly, i got less tired sitting in them than in my €160+k Range Rover Sport. Mind blowing how something that thin and light can be so comfortable! Drove over 70k km, did more than a few times over 14h trips. Imagine what a car it would be with today’s battery and motor technology from BMW…I’d get a new one in a heartbeat!!

[tonrotterdam]

Driving the i3 since 2019 and I wouldn't know a replacement vehicle, I'll see myself driving it for another 10 years.

[CarlosChaconCR]

I do believe the exterior is what makes this car unique. The materials, the design inside makes it special. In 2024 you can get one of this for bargain. Just buy it! You won't regret. 😎

[Derpy]

I bought the teardown report for this car for $10 from M&A.

[tiptoe]

Completely disagree, the styling is exceptional. It’s still one of the best looking compact cars electric or combustion. And btw, ive had the i3, bought brand new 2017, and the battery has not degraded at all. Amazing city car.

[jeremycarr]

I had the i3s as a daily driver for 4 years doing an 80 mile round trip commute. I would generally never need to touch the brake pedal on the run as the regen was so strong- agree you need to adapt how you drive - but always very effective and very easy to feather. My wife however had to remind me to brake when I drover her Countryman! Styling- this will still look modern in 20 years so hats off to BMW for the balls to do something so advanced. Great little car.

[matthewbellamy]

Loved the video - thanks to all for doing it. I’ve got one in the uk. A 120Ah pure bev. Superb as a 2nd car for city work - the turning circle is incredibly tight and it’s very quick. Only 10k miles in it but yesterday the range was showing 206 miles at 93% charge which is just incredible. I’ve had fast ICE cars etc but I truly love driving this because it’s quirky. The styling? I love it - especially the rear doors. Costs me £2.80 to fill from empty (so, perhaps $3.50) on my driveway. BMW should never have stopped making them, though I suspect they made a huge loss on each one. A future classic which is still ahead of its time.

[losergamer]

I have really appreciated this channel over the years. I have learned so much. I look forward to even more years

[AlbertLamarque]

The rear doors are bonus doors on a three door hatchback/ microbus. They sold over 250k units and I had 3 in total and currently own 2. Never with the horrible range extender.

My daily is an i3S with wool blend seats, real wood inserts, and switched to i8 wheels (215/40/20 all around )which improves handling and tire wear a fair bit. I dont understand US tire pricing, in Europe those tires are 150, - each.

You can hardly believe how fun this is on narrow b roads.

A fun compact hauler with insanely low running cost. Get one, they are awesome :) shout out to my fellow i3 fans here!

[loonymoon]

I'm a nerd and bought the full teardown report.. ;-) I love my 2022 i3S special edition. I think it's quite good looking .. better looking than the standard i3 tbh. I plan to keep it as long as I can. Future classic for sure! Brilliant little car.. but most of the brillance is largely invisible.. some can become obvious while driving - it drives a lot better than most would think.

[secondsrule]

I think it looks amazing and still looks futuristic.

[bluesmartroadster]

116000 miles in mine, love it. Put Eibach springs and spacers on which has helped the stability at speed. Struggling to know what to replace it with.

[tonrotterdam]

The i team was not fired, they quit in disgust after they were tasked with the new 7 series back then. They quit as they didn’t want to work on historical vehicles after they invented the future…

They went to China btw.

[nikelliot]

And you need to mention the flat charge curve! While not particularly fast it holds nearly 50kW well past 80%👍

[christopherovard]

I think the seats are extremely comfortable. We have the leather option on the Rex. 2014 model with almost 70, 000 miles on it. On the fourth or fifth set of tires. In the corners in back roads, it hangs on like it is on rails. It has been a good car.

[gepetotube]

Another great video. After watching other "car channels" just pointing to the infotainment screen it's always refreshing to come back to Munro Live and watch the real car stuff.

[donswier]

Sandy's 2014 i3 teardown is why we have a REx in our garage with 110k miles.
The car's looks are pure function > form, from the low-drag, low RR wheels, to the 911-ish Center of Gravity despite command seating position, to the kid-friendly lower windows for the back seat.
The lack of tire options is the #1 gripe, but I struggle to think of another car that could fits our needs so well.

[diydrivenGA]

This is a great find on the used market for a daily commuter and errand car.

Good city ev