There Should Be a Door Grab Here, Part II - 2014 BMW i3 Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.com

There Should Be a Door Grab Here, Part II - 2014 BMW i3 Long-Term Road Test

Every time I get in our long-term 2014 BMW i3, I'm reminded of a poor design choice that was made on the door panel. Turns out, it's not our only long-termer with this problem.

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Debunker

I don't care how well the damned car handles or accelerates if I also have to live with something so stupid as a door with no simple means of closing it.

vvk

It is not bad, you just have to get used to it.

I have always preferred door handles that you can grab without twisting your arm. Like the one Riswick criticizes in the 2-series.

markinnaples_

Just put a handle in the middle or more towards the rear of the door and call it a day. Even just an indention in the arm rest that you can use as a handle for closing the door works better than no handle or one towards the front. This is a failure of interior engineering and they should have determined that this door handle configuration was inadequate through normal use testing, IMHO.

bnovida

Pull on on the door cubby instead.

uncanny_man

What a hideous looking door! I've only ever seen that fuzzy plastic used on unfinished surfaces of cheap durable items, and that juxtaposition of angles makes it look like something went horribly wrong on assembly.

bnovida

Did an extended test drive of the i3 over the weekend again. The maximum miles I can get out of the electric charge using comfort mode is about 65 miles. Driving from LB to Alta Dena and back, we ran out of EV miles and the range extender kicked in. From the inside it sounded like a distant lawn mower. When we rolled down the windows, I can definitely hear loud lawn mower sound. At stop lights when the extender is running drivers from other cars where looking at us like WTH is that noise? Also we had to top off the 2 liter gas tank so we can make it home. It was ridiculously small.

stillageek

I've had an I3 REX (Range Extender) for over a year. I've never once had a vehicle or person give me an odd look when the range extender was running. You must have extremely sensitive ears. The gas tank is 2 gallons, not 2 liters. The car isn't meant to drive cross country. I've used 10 gallons of gas in 12,000 miles. I've had max 72 miles on battery here in Texas. The majority of the 72 miles was on the highway at 60-70 MPH.