I like to daydream about the second car, i.e. my fiancee's future car. It will likely be a hybrid of some sort, which doesn't bother me. The i3 is perhaps one of the dorkiest cars on the market: Weird quasi-futuristic styling. Wagon wheel tires. Tron kidney grill. Love it.
Despite having a new price tag of near-$50k, they're also available with the range extenders for less than $20k. Does anyone have any experience with them?
wearymicrobe had one. He seemed to have really liked it, but it was troublesome
Leases are the way to go on I3s. I have seen deals for under $200 per month. I took a serious look at one a year or two ago. At the time I had one commute day a week that was 70 miles long and I couldn't quite make it work.
The range extender isn't perfect. It is just a generator for the electrical system. I believe the ~2 gallon tank gets you maybe 100 miles between fillups. It doesn't quite keep up with the electrical needs of the car on the highway, with the AC on, and no regenerative braking. The car will suddenly go into "reduced power mode" which has about 25hp while you are traveling at 75 mph down an interstate. Might be worth a google search before you make a decision.
mad_machine said:wearymicrobe had one. He seemed to have really liked it, but it was troublesome
I did and it as a really good car. Turns out mine was one of like the first 500 to come off the truck in the first year so I had some teething issues.
You can do better then 20K on price on a iRex. Out here in San Diego I did not ever really need to use the heater that is what kills the battery faster then anything. The generator could keep up in normal driving and you would see no real issues. If you drained the battery completely and then drove up a major hill with the HEat or AC on then it would limit itself to about 60mph.
Seems like to be feasible, it needs to be treated like an electric car with a generator backup rather than a plug-in hybrid that prioritizes battery power. Good to know - especially since Seattle and its surrounding areas has "a few" hills to contend with, and the heat will definitely be utilized part of the year.
I test drove an i3 for the second time this week and it remains on my list of contenders for when my current lease is up. But of all the cars I've ever considered buying, the i3 causes the most polarizing feelings I've ever experienced.
I'm already an EV owner and fan, and the i3's acceleration and handling is far superior to my current car. On the other hand the i3 is a very compromised vehicle--the cargo hatch is tiny, it only seats 4, the suicide doors make rear-seat access awkward (I have kids in carseats), the 'instrument cluster' is the size of a mobile phone held at arms length, starting and changing gear is totally unintuitive, the interior materials are bizarre, and the gas tank only holds 1.8 gallons (thanks California!). It's essentially like BMW made a daily driver out of a concept car.
Mitchell said:Seems like to be feasible, it needs to be treated like an electric car with a generator backup rather than a plug-in hybrid that prioritizes battery power. Good to know - especially since Seattle and its surrounding areas has "a few" hills to contend with, and the heat will definitely be utilized part of the year.
And as a former Seattle area resident, the defrost function will likely be used to keep the windows clear even more of the year!
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