BMW i3 - 94 Ah | Fully Charged

The all new (well, an important bit is new) BMW i3 fitted with a larger capacity 94 amp hour, (or 33 kilowatt hour) battery is a major step in the right direction. I love this car.

[InternetDude]

I like that you spent more time looking where you were driving rather than at the camera. Some people don't understand that concept.

[mockngbrdy]

I've driven over 50 BMWs and the i3 was one of the memorable ones. Really loved it.

[TheBamFisk]

I absolutely LOVE my i3 REX. One of the best cars I’ve ever had.

[jonnyroon]

Thank you for all the great videos, Robert!
I too love the i3. In fact I drove one for about 9 month, but sold it last month.
When I wanted to upgrade the 22kWh battery to the newer 33kWh battery BMW told me that the upgrade would cost slightly under 10, 000Euro (and they will keep my old 22kWh battery). They than went on to try to talk me into selling my "old" i3 and just get a completely new one. Well, I sold the car - and I'm driving a Model S 60D now.

My impression while I was driving the i3 was that they do not care as much about it as they are advertising.
There seem to be only a few people at BMW who actually know about the BMWi cars (I went to the BMW representation in Hamburg and there's only 1 person who is actually trained to support BMWi customers).

They do have a very good helpline, though. When my occasional use charger broke and I needed replacement, they even offered to send someone out to where I was and deliver it to me within one hour (though they could not tell me wether or not I would have to pay for it…).

Overall: Fantastic car with not quite so fantastic service.

[ProjectHabakkuk]

I test drove an ioniq and an i3 and the BMW definitely had the better range for me. The i3 lasts two days of commuting (130 miles) but the ioniq was well below 50% after one day. Hyundai is bigger and more practical though.

Got an i3 now and it's fantastic. Not just good for an electric car, but the best car in its class regardless of fuel type.

[julianklune]

I really appreciate your positive view on the BMW i3. I have driven it once in direct comparison to almost all electric competitors and it was a blast. The acceleration, the handling and the overall feel of the interior was amazing. So thank you for not only comparing the facts like battery capacity and range but pointing out that the i3 is an astonishing car.

[videogalore]

We got our i3 in October and the first trip I did was 132 miles. When I got home I had 6 miles of range left so I was pretty happy with the 140 guide! :) As you say over the winter it's been pretty constantly 120, but never below. We went for the range extender model as it's our only car and we have a toddler - so we had to be confident that we wouldn't be stuck at any point. We've not used it yet (other than to test that it works) so we haven't bought fuel now for more than three months!
We test drove the big battery leaf and then this and the i3 won hands down as it's just so fun to drive!
I agree with your thoughts about the ownership model and I do think people need to change their mindset about owning a car now. If nothing else these are so hugely complicated that the likely costs of repair are probably still largely unknown!
In terms of costs - when you compare the top end Leaf with the i3 on a lease it doesn't make a huge difference (around £800/year increase on the leaf in our case). If you were to buy the comparable models they are almost double the cost so again it doesn't make financial sense if you were to buy one.
Waffly last point to say that the app for the car is that I too haven't yet got bored of leaving people at the lights! :D

[Trades]

A brilliant little car that may look odd but a blast to drive and even better to be stuck in traffic with. Never before had I been so happy sitting in gridlock in complete silence outside of the radio with full heating (stop-start cars can't maintain it) and have it so easy with one pedal driving.

[stephenjwprior]

I just brought this BMW i3 2 weeks ago and fell love it 👍 - Got rid of my Fiat 500 Abarth 💥

[dr-k]

Thanks for the update on this car. I also appreciate the improved production values in the videos. You have a good team helping you, and it shows.

[ThePretentious]

Appreciate what you're saying about dealers not being on board with helping with EVs. When I went to a Renault dealer in Bristol to test a ZOE they were very helpful and were just what I would expect, so much so I got my ZOE from them.

But when my parents went to a VW dealer to look at the E Golf the dealer were totally disinterested, telling them "you don't want an EV, no-one buys them", ironically then tried to promote a diesel (post-scandal) to them instead.

[rmackay]

The camera work of the videos has really improved from the early days. The fancy little graphics like when your foot is highlighted as part of the demonstration of regenerative breaking. Nicely done!

[nowageopolityka]

Just got it a week ago and absolutely love it! 130mile range with Range Extender. On top of that I have free charging at work. Brilliant!

[jongarside]

So an Englishman living in San Jose, CA. I just bought the 94A BEV as soon as I could. That combined with the DC charging system we have in the area makes it a perfect day vehicle. Sure we keep the volvo for long distance, but as an everyday family and commute vehicle, it does everything with style and not a little bit of BMW speed and grace. Access to the HOV lane of course is a real time saver

[ftby]

The production value and info on this channel is so impressive. This might be the first channel that I might contribute to. 👏🏼

[mahina]

I personally love this car, and as I am a member of BMW's DriveNow car sharing service in Berlin, they have this (and the whole slew of BMW and Mini) car in it's fleet! So much fun to drive!

[joebuckton]

My local BMW dealership (Hull) didn't really want to know. Couldn't answer any questions and I'm still awaiting a call for a test drive.

Hyundai didn't have one, didn't know when they was going to get one and didn't know which dealer did have one.

Renault couldn't give me a test drive in one as they didn't have one in, 4 months later they still couldn't give me a test drive.

VW didn't do the eGolf and told me they had stopped making them.

Bought another leaf instead.

Dealerships need a kick up the arse, Nissan has been the only one I've visited who wanted to sell electric.

[FudgeMonkeySmurf]

There is an interesting contrast between your lovely positive review of the i3 as compared to the one on the latest Clarkson, May & Hamster program, "Grand Tour" the other night which, I have to say was rather misleading given James May was driving a 2014 i3 model and Clarkson was in a 2015 Golf GTi and for program released in Feb 2017 you'd think they'd have been a bit more up to date and switched on if you excuse the pun.
I have gone from a Supercharged V8 Jag to a BMW Z4 and now a BMW i3 94Ah (33kwh) Range Extender in 3 maneuvers, and the reason for this is that it makes total financial sense and will allow me to complete my 90 mile round trip commute with room to spare and I won;t be spending £300+ a month on petrol anymore.
Crack on Kryten, "Fully Charged" is an excellent program.

[MegaGasek]

Excellent episode! You always come up with info that the other reviewers don't provide.

[JamesWoodTN]

I'm enjoying your videos and I noticed the nice graphics and camera work in this.