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[aaronjb]

I posted this elsewhere but I thought at least Guffer might get a kick out of the idea of me driving something powered by batteries..


There was a link at the bottom of a recent PH article on the i3 to request a test-drive and I thought "why not" and did just that.

So off I went to Cooper BMW Reading on a Saturday afternoon, fully prepared to be underwhelmed.

Firstly I must say that the new building they're in is very impressive indeed - three levels with cars on all three and escalators between them, it feels like you're in a shopping mall where the people have turned into cars. But, beyond that, the car itself.. on the first floor were two i3s and an i8, amongst other things (and an M5, which I had to keep myself away from) so while waiting for their 'iSpecialist' (no, really) I had a sit in the first i3 to try it for size.

It's a small car, there's no doubt about it, and it's a bit 'dumpy' as it's a high-aspect car but inside it actually feels very spacious. I think that's partly because there's no centre console to speak of, rather like the MR2 Roadster the centre tunnel stops short of the dashboard (although where a gear lever ought to be us just an iDrive control and electronic handbrake) and you could pretty easily 'step through' from one side of the car to the other if you needed to.

The seats look more like they belong in a Caterham than a family car - they seem sleek, minimalist and indeed that continues in to the rest of the interior; chopped-mat carbon fibre makes up the majority of the dashboard, door cards and so on and is unashamedly left raw instead of slapping a finish on it (although for an extra £2k you can have brown leather and real wood on some sections) and personally I quite liked that.

There's an enormous iDrive screen in the centre of the dash that seems to 'sprout' from the passenger side like some kind of glowing stalk and the instrument binnacle itself is another protruding screen on the drivers side.

There's no electric adjust on the seats but the are at least adjustable in all ways with the steering wheel being adjustable for rake but not reach; despite that it was easy to get into a comfortable driving position after just a couple of seconds and, for once, I could see the whole instrument cluster.


The salesman arrived and gave me all the blurb on the car - bonded aluminium chassis (just like an Elise) with bonded on one-piece carbon fibre unibody, plastic exterior panels, carbon fibre interior all contribute to the kerb weight of ~1200kg. Batteries are mounted in the floor in nine groups and are individually replaceable (unlike the i8). The range is roughly 100 miles or 180 miles with range extender but they have reports of people achieving >200 miles. Power is ~170hp & 184lb/ft with 60mph in around 7 seconds and a top speed of 95mph, although clearly this is not a car designed for blasting down the Autobahn at 140 (that's what the i8 is for, I imagine).

Once the sales pitch was over we went outside and hopped in the demonstrator for a drive.

My immediate impression (beside "How are we moving, there's no noise!") was that the car is quick - 184lb/ft is available from 0rpm upward so it really does get up and move fast and I would guess the 0-30mph time is better than the vast majority of cars on the road.

The steering is quick and precise and perfectly weighted - in fact, if I had to compare the steering feel and handling of this car to anything I've driven recently it would be the 2015 MX5.

In fact it feels a lot like the new MX5 - it's nimble, handles nicely without epic understeer you might expect, has a nice rear-drive push (because it is, indeed, rear wheel drive) and the brakes..

..well about those. The regenerative braking is so heavy that I only used them once when I came to a junction more quickly than expected. Really if you were just driving this as intended you would never use the brakes - BMW say something like 75% of all deceleration can be done by the regenerative braking (just lifting off the throttle) but on my test drive that was more like 98%! When I did use them they felt fine - not over assisted like an Audi and not wooden like some cars, just nicely progressive and with decent feel.


Honestly.. it was a fun little car. Right up there with the MX5, although you're not likely to wake up early in the morning and think "I'll take the i3 for a blat" like you would the MX5, it certainly wouldn't be a boring car on the commute and around town or even for longer journeys.


So, yeah, I really enjoyed it.

Am I about to spend £35k+ on one? God no.
Would I consider it if I wanted a runaround and had that kind of money spare? Absolutely.

[tunnie]

Often seen an i3 at office, near building I work in are electric bays. So see few Leafs and random plug in cars like the Renult Zoe 

It's quirky looking thing, would be investing to try one.

Wonder how second hand values will hold up 

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

Often seen an i3 at office, near building I work in are electric bays. So see few Leafs and random plug in cars like the Renult Zoe 

It's quirky looking thing, would be investing to try one.

Wonder how second hand values will hold up 

Freudian slip?......

[BazaJT]

Are they like the Leaf where you have the option to buy or rent the batteries?

[T.m.f]

Buy or rent batteries,thats a bit like buying a car and saying ,sorry sir/madame,would you like to buy or rent the engine 

[deviator]

Are they like the Leaf where you have the option to buy or rent the batteries?

If you rent the batteries, then are you much better off than buying petrol? Probably not.
If you buy the batteries, the resale value down the road will be minimal.

Take into account.....
Either way you are paying for the electric (and possibly a charging point)
The fact that these cars won't attract the road tax reductions they once did (government aren't making enough money)
The 10 years or so before the back street garages catch up (expensive service costs)

For those reasons and many more, I'm out.

[Nick W]

Are they like the Leaf where you have the option to buy or rent the batteries?

If you rent the batteries, then are you much better off than buying petrol? Probably not.
If you buy the batteries, the resale value down the road will be minimal.

Take into account.....
Either way you are paying for the electric (and possibly a charging point)
The fact that these cars won't attract the road tax reductions they once did (government aren't making enough money)
The 10 years or so before the back street garages catch up (expensive service costs)

For those reasons and many more, I'm out.

I'm not much of a fan, but in certain circumstances the Leaf does make a good case for itself.


The range is easily good enough to commute, especially in London where the congestion charge saving is really helpful.
Assuming you have a charge point at your destination, the electricity is cheap.


Renting or buying the batteries(which aren't in an easily replaceable block) is just a cost of owning the car, just like keeping a modern diesel running in such circumstances.


There's plenty of electricians/engineers who understand the 3phase power and motor, which is mature technology and both durable and reliable.


The rest of the car is basically Nissan Note, and is entirely conventional.


The road tax exemption isn't going away anytime soon; the government is too invested in the car's (largely imaginary) 'green' credentials.


The biggest problem is the upfront cost of it being twice as much as equivalent smallish hatchback - a Note would be the closest comparison!

[deviator]

I'm not much of a fan, but in certain circumstances the Leaf does make a good case for itself.
The range is easily good enough to commute, especially in London where the congestion charge saving is really helpful.
Assuming you have a charge point at your destination, the electricity is cheap.
Renting or buying the batteries(which aren't in an easily replaceable block) is just a cost of owning the car, just like keeping a modern diesel running in such circumstances.
There's plenty of electricians/engineers who understand the 3phase power and motor, which is mature technology and both durable and reliable.
The rest of the car is basically Nissan Note, and is entirely conventional.
The road tax exemption isn't going away anytime soon; the government is too invested in the car's (largely imaginary) 'green' credentials.
The biggest problem is the upfront cost of it being twice as much as equivalent smallish hatchback - a Note would be the closest comparison!

Road tax is changing https://www.carwow.co.uk/news/ved-road-tax-from-2017-0182-2060
What diesel costs nearly 5k to repair? http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/nissan/89694/nissan-leaf-battery-replacement-to-cost-4920

Do I need to address the other points? Or are they now moot?