2014 BMW i3 Long-Term Road Test - Wrap-Up

Edmunds.com

2014 BMW i3 Long-Term Road Test - Wrap-Up

Our long-term test of the 2014 BMW i3 with range extender is complete. One year and 10,400 miles taught us some lessons on the true cost to own a plug-in hybrid.

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jrobusc

Respectfully, with electric cars you have to take into account the money you got back when you bought them. When a $30k Nissan Leaf gets $10k back in tax credits for the original buyer only, that effectively makes the actual purchase price $20k, and the resale value is going to be based on that, not the $30k figure. In this case your $49999 purchase was really $39999, and you got $26k for it wholesale. That's 65% of what you originally paid, which isn't great, but is much more reasonable.

morey000

Firstly- this is a perfect car to lease for a short period. 30 or 36mo. You get to write off the tax refund up front- so it makes the car relatively inexpensive. Secondly- we have one. It's a fun, cute, neat little vehicle with excellent pickup and decent handling. Wife loves it. But, then again, she liked her Mini as well. But- for all that money, you get no feeling of luxury. Neither in interior design/feel, nor ride. Every bump resonates through the stiff carbon structure. Electronics and technology, however, are pretty good- easy to use. Great Nav. Great city car. Every time my wife wants to go somewhere or needs space tho', she needs to borrow my car. Heat and A/C work pretty well. We get about 70mi/charge. It's good for what it is, but still a compromise.

greg128

This thing makes the Pontiac Aztek look handsome.

kryptokat

".....in the city, over speed bumps, potholes, construction grates and intersection gutters, the i3 bounced quite a bit ...."
This is my only complaint, on an otherwise perfect commuter.

herrstreet

Would $4000 more battery not have been a better solution than the gas engine? It would have probably extended the range by as much I would think. Do you think there is a compelling reason to buy this instead of a Bolt, since it is about $10k-$15k more expensive.

carreragt3

How the hell can you run on gasoline 54 miles? The range extender is just a battery charger. It doesn't drive the car. The range extender on the 2016 i3 will finally provide MORE charge than is needed to drive the car. But you're still misrepresenting what the range extended's role is--JUST TO CHARGE.

And in answer to herrstreet: the Volt doesn't have iDrive, or decent leather, or a decent stereo, or incessant software upgrades to improve range, it deosn't handle, it's not as safe as a full carbon shell, and it's seats are a terribly uncomfortable. Not to mention it takes forever to charge.That does't even touch on GM reliability. Do you seriously want to roll the dice and drive through somewhere remote in a high-tech GM? And then when you DNF, and do use OnStar, it won't connect as you are out of range (it uses cell towers) not satellite.