[popsmuf]

Hi everyone,

I've been absent from the BMW community for some time. In the past, I've had (2) e46M3s, (2) R53 Mini Cooper S, (1) R53 Cooper GP, (1) X3, (1) 335i, (1) 135i. Yes, I have a car problem. Point being, I'm a BMW fan as you can see.

I picked up a BMW i3 REX on July 1st. It's an electronaut edition. I was intrigued by the EV trend, and decided against Tesla in favor of my beloved BMW brand. I was super excited to pick up the car, and equally excited to put tons of miles on it gas-free. I was actually contemplating getting rid of my Panamera for the i3 and telling all my friends and family about it....After 15 days of ownership, I have to be honest and say I'm absolutely disappointed.

Let me start with the positives--
1) Interior dash/ controls. Simply beautiful. No EV on the market can compare. Not as nice as the Porsche dash/compartment, but really nice. Great job here

2) Styling. I like it. This is a subjective opinion. Sure, some think its butt-ugly, but I think its sharp

3) Weight. The car is really light. Makes the car handle and feel like a BMW.

4) Size. A bit smaller than I'd like, but love that its not the size of an aircraft carrier like a Tesla. Compared to my Panamera, so very refreshing to zip around in a smaller, more nimble car


The unfortunate negatives--
1) Skinny tires. Enough said.

2) CEL. Everyone knows this issue. I have it. The light has turned on and off then on, which scares me because it signals the car is not "stable". If there's a problem, just light it up and keep it lit! At least I know the car is consistently erroring

3) Windshield noise. This is a seriously let down. My old Merdedes G55 had better aerodynamics than the i3. Anything above 50mph, you hear the wind like crazy

4) Range. This is another let down. 80-100miles? Only if you drive with no fan, no AC, and under 55mph. I live in SoCal. Can't live without air, A/C, or drive 55mph. For those consider BEV vs REX, unless you can comfortably go the day with only 50miles, you better get the REX. The REX on the other hand is much more accurate. You don't lose 1-2miles every .5 travelled when using the gas generator. I feel it was deceptive to advertise these figures in an unrealistic setting... its like saying a V12 Ferrari gets 30MPG (all downhill).

5) Low-Cost charging function. This is my biggest gripe. Basically, this function does not work. I've been using the OEM factory provided 120V charger for the last 15 days and have never had this function work correctly. Doesnt work via the app, doesn't work via the vehicle settings menu. After sending pictures, videos, and emails to iConcierge, I finally got an answer to this problem today.... The answer is this function does not work with the factory supplied 120V charger.. uh, WTF? Why did you provide a charger with the car if the charger is not compatible with one of the most important functions of the car? Any EV owner knows, the key is to charge during the super-off peak time of 12am-6am (your local Electric company times may vary). So, let me repeat..... the charger from BMW, does not allow the Low-Cost timer to work. Really?


For me (speaking just for me), being a loyal BMW fan... I left the brand for about 6-7 years as I didn't like the recent M3 (e90?), M5 (e60?). I've been in Porsche Cayennes and Panameras for the past 6-7 yrs. Now, I understand one may argue that a Porsche and BMW are not in the same market segment. I was really excited to get back into a BMW with the interesting, cutting edge CF shell, EV, etc.... but if I'm honest, it's been a huge disappointment. Especially the way this charging fiasco has been handled. To hear that final answer/response from BMW... was a bit shocking. Every current i3 owner who uses the supplied 120V charger, has this problem. We are unable to use the charge timer. I expected a better answer... like "we will re-code the algorithm with there findings, thank you" or "we'll ship you a level2 charger, which solves the problem"...... but no.

So for me, its a disappointment that a $50K car has all of these issues. It's not like its a $15K Hyundai, because then, you got what you paid for... I expected more, and expected them to protect the brand better. Truthfully, I was so irritated that I wasn't getting an answer from BMW that I asked them to take the car back.... and now after getting this answer, it kind of makes me insist on giving the car back.

Anyway, I'm sure I will get flamed by all i3 fans here. I really wanted to get excited again about BMW, with this new platform and all. I'm just one guy, so I'm sure nobody cares.... but if you're an i3 owner, try plugging in the car tonight with you 120V charger and see if you experience the same error. If you do, ask yourself, is this what I paid for?