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BMW i3

E – Day, the end of ICE (for me)

I arrived and picked up my BMW i3 at the dealership in Hull, very nice experience. They even include a type 2 cable which was a saving.

Fully charged up we went though some of the basics to enable me to drive.

The GPS system was a great improvement of my previous Peugeot system which could never find my home address. 

The i3 isnt a touch screen, however my previous car was a touch screen and this was very distracting to touch, having the controller by your left hand is so easy. I tried a go at the voice activation and didn’t get what I wanted.

The car is eerily quiet to drive , the regenerative break powerful. If you drive carefully it seems as you can drive without drawing power from the battery.

A few roads on the way home were enough to show the level of acceleration which was very impressive.

All i3 models come with BMW’s iDrive infotainment interface. Apple CarPlay integration is standard with an alexa option also. 

It’s rear-wheel drive, which, when combined with instantly available 100% torque at virtually all times due to the electric motor, results in well-sorted handling and rapid acceleration.

The ride quality is also comfortable, which is important for a car that’s primarily designed for urban use. And of course the i3 is virtually silent and it has zero tailpipe emissions,  

It was a bit shocking when going towards a junction an older lady with a trolly was waiting to cross the road, it was quite clear she dint hear me coming along, something to note when driving around town.

The i3’s stop/start button and gear selector are on the right-hand side of the steering column. Once you’re in the habit of reaching here it’s fine, but even for people who regularly drive automatic conventional BMWs, you’ll find the gear selector is the opposite way round to a standard BMW: rather than pull the lever towards you to select Drive, in the i3 you push the lever away from you – and vice versa for Reverse.

One other key area in which the i3 differs from most cars is the level of brake regeneration. If you lift off the accelerator in the majority of vehicles then the car will coast. Not so in the i3 – there’s harsh regen – to the extent that the car slows down quickly and the brake lights will come on without you needing to touch the brakes. Of course, this is in the interests of efficiency, to ensure maximum energy is re-captured and fed back into the battery. Other electric cars have this characteristic – but it’s not usually so severe, and in many EVs, the driver can adjust the amount of regen. 

Other eco features are the speed limits in different drive modes. Once you’re out of Comfort, in Eco Pro you’re limited to 70mph, and if you select Eco Pro+, then you’re limited to 56mph.

One feature I use before every drive is to pre condition the car, the first week of ownership was very hot for the UK, it was very nice to step into a cool car.

I didn’t charge the i3 for a few days as it was very difficult to get it below 60%, I finally managed this and charged it up with my

EO mini charger, this was very easy to do and all controlled by an app on my phone. I woke up a few times during the night to see the app creeping up to 100%.

So far I am very pleased with my i3 and happy that I am being more green. My old dinosaur fulled car was sold a couple of days ago.

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