I see a couple of i3s in buy&sell sites in my city. They're usually 2016-2018 models selling from $9k to $15k and mileage ranging from 40k to 80k. Some of them are pure EVs and others have the range extender (~80 miles of gas range). Some have upgraded infotainment that supports wireless Apple carplay, and some have only like 80 miles of range left.

Just from the visual POV, it looks like a fun little car to use for general city driving (work, groceries, errands, etc.). An EV for less than $15k that isn't an older generation Nissan Leaf is pretty rare to find too. Are these models any good?

I'd go for the range extender option if you can. 2016 and older didn't have the longest lasting batteries.

Be prepared to pay luxury car maintenance prices, it's a bmw

I seriously considered one but I was just coming off of owning a car with low production numbers and the tires alone told me I was in the wrong spot. They’re staggered (so can’t be rotated) and there’s one summer and one winter model available in that size. For tires. So there’s a lot of dealer-only parts and getting people to work on it might be a challenge.

That aside, it seems form reviews that they’re pretty good cars in a lot of ways and some of the quirks can be adjusted in software with a phone app and dongle.

It's cheap because it's total junk

Source: bmw nerd for over 2 decades. Bmw has great petrol options but wouldn't touch their EVs yet.

Good summary. Also, the “S” versions have a bigger battery. These were very advanced, basically a test bed for EV tech for BMW and they sold every one at a loss. The chassis is molded carbon fiber, unfortunately, if that gets damaged in an accident, it can’t be repaired.

I am a BMW tech, and always wanted one. Unfortunately they are only RWD, and thus would be far from ideal in my area that sees heavy snow/ice.

Some are staggered, but most are not. Depends how it was ordered. The factory winter set is not staggered.

They're awful.

Isn't RWD less of a problem on an EV than with ICE vehicles? The vehicle's mass is more evenly distributed across the vehicle instead of being concentrated under the hood, thus moving the vehicle's center of mass closer to the driven axle.

Hm til. The tires are, still, unicorn levels of rarity so it’s a potential issue.

Be prepared to pay luxury car maintenance prices, it’s a bmw

BMW is only luxury in north american markets. In europe most of them are economy cars, which mostly aren't sold over here.

i3 is definitely not a luxury car.

The chassis is molded carbon fiber

Great for salted roads, I guess... As it delivers all it's EV torque to the rear axle...

Technically, anything that isn't the latest year is an older gen Leaf. They just got a refresh.

I got a 2021 Kona Electric for $16.5k before any taxes and fees and it was not the cheapest you could get. If you're looking for $15k out the door cost though you'd probably have to get an older year.

To be fair, I said the maintenance charges would be luxury, not that bmw or the i3 were luxury.

I don't think the i3 has worse maintenance costs over other EVs. Depends on your shop rate.

The luxury tax of the i3 though is those weird ass tires that are hard to source

You still have only two wheels for acceleration. Two extremely narrow wheels.

With any EV that old you'll need to check the battery state of health. Batteries degrade from charging, from sitting at very low or high charges (the nmc cells at least) and time. Take the range left, divide it by half and if that still fits your needs, you should be good to go over next few years. Be sure to be able to charge at home or at work as those commuters with their smaller batteries usually won't have the range to get you through the week without recharging.

That's all pretty central EV advice and applies to the i3 just as it would apply to an older leaf, e-up or zoe. Other than that, what I've heard about the i3 was exclusively good and I don't see how it wouldn't be a great commuter. Haven't driven one yet though.

The iX, i4, and i5 are reliable with minimal battery degradation. I drove the two latter for a year each.

I had a 2017 i3 for about 5 years. LOVED it. I recommend avoiding the range extender, just get the full electric, 2017 or newer with more range (and a heat pump!).

Super lightweight, rear wheel drive, actually exhilarating 0-30 (mph) and more than enough power for freeway driving.

If you can charge at work or at home and the range is sufficient, they are lovely and fun things.

my 5 years with a 2017 i3 strongly disagrees with you.

RWD doesn't change braking (primary cause of understeer in winter, unless you enjoy accelerating in corners on ice) and actually lends you more control in oversteer scenarios. Correcting oversteer in an FWD car is harder.

You have to actively be trying to do something stupid if RWD gets you in trouble in a car with ESP and proper winter tires.

AWD that actually drives both axles all the time is even better, but it seems EVs often tend to switch one motor off when they can anyway.

Carbon fiber to save weight? Batteries back then were even heavier than batteries now and this is a small car, they're meant to be light.

Anything stopping you from running a more common tire size that's not officially correct for it?

for a year each

OK. Now report back when you've driven one for 10 or ideally 20 years so we'll know about actual durability and reliability.

Enjoy being the slowest car on the road in the winter I guess. I have a RWD car, and even with the best winter tires you can get it sucked ass in the snow. Tried it for one month, said fuck that, parked it for the winter and bought an AWD winter car.

It's not a dragster.

Any car is great for a year.

Because it’s a fraction of the weight. The main chassis only weighs 150 kg.

That's no different than a FWD vehicle. The grip difference between the front and real axles (assuming you don't have staggered or different wheel sizes) is primarily going to be a function of of the weight distribution.

… ok. But they’re talking about in snow/ice. Have you ever driven a rwd car on ice up a hill? It’s not fun. You need all the grip you can get.

A FWD car is going to understeer, a RWD car is going to oversteer. As I mentioned in the other comment if you need to climb an icy hill in a rwd car it’s a nightmare. EVs make it better, but that doesn’t solve the problem.

Most people in northern Europe know how to drive with 2wd (being able to drive in slippery conditions is a prerequisite for getting a license in the first place), so honestly that's more of an American issue than RWD issue.

And do you honestly expect a tiny economy car to have dual motor AWD? I thought you were advocating for FWD for some reason, not a much heavier and more expensive car. Just get a wagon or sedan if you want AWD. Tons of options out there and even more if you want an SUV.

Never said I couldn’t do just fine with RWD in the winter. I am a licenced race car driver, including doing ice racing. There is a reason why we have different classes for AWD and RWD because there is such a big performance gap. I want the best performing car for the winter as well as the summer. I would rather take the bus than drive an SUV.

So you plan to race your EV? Why does a commuter need "performance".
4WD vehicles have 4 contact patches and 4 brakes like every other vehicle.

Sure buddy.

Because RWD ICE cars have poor weight distribution and most morons don't fit winter tires.

I've been driving 2WD vehicles in CDN winters for decades. The tires are 100x more important than the drive wheels.

And it can't be repaired in a minor collision. Those integrated rear wings are poor design for crashes. See insurance premiums.

I would avoid any BMW built after 2005.

I've had my 2011 335i for 11 years now, it's an excellent car