So, I'm having a BMW i3 94ah ReX delivered Friday for an extended testdrive...will be interesting to see how I get on with it compared to my QQ
I'm currently leasing my QQ 1.5dci Tekna and it's a lovely thing to drive - very quiet and economical having averaged mid 50's mpg since new but I have just crossed over 45,000 miles in 28 months and I'm paying £318 a month (annoyingly, even though I told them I would be doing 20k pa they based the lease on 15k pa so will need to pay some penalty mileage when it goes back however however BMW have indicated they might take care of this or at least a large share of it in the settlement figure if we agree a deal before Xmas) - shows how keen they are to push their new technology.
BMW have offered me a 2 year lease based on 20,000 miles pa at 0% apr. The Government pay £4500 and BMW will pay a £3500 deposit contribution (I can extend the lease to 3 or 4 years if I want but then I pay interest at 2.9%). Anyhow, as it stands, if I put nothing into the deal (why would I, it's 0% credit!) the cost per month with Sports Pack, LED headlights, Harmon & Kardon speakers, Met Paint and Professional Sat Nav upgrade comes in at £630 pm....over 4 years it goes down to around £550 or somewhere but I'd be paying a bit of interest. A dillema is do I risk the government pulling the grant scheme before I come to change in 2 years time as £4,500 is quite a good chunk off the list price and BMW won't always be putting in £3.5k deposits!
So, the man maths here for those who just had a sharp intake of breath at the lease per month cost - I'm currently sticking on average £300 a month of fuel into my QQ, so add that to my lease cost of £318 and I'm pretty much equal to the monthly cost of the i3 ReX plus all the toys. I get back on average £500 - £600 a month in mileage expenses from my employer, so assuming I will cover 80% of all my journeys on EV alone I should be £200-£300 a month better off - we have free charging at work and I will use as many of the free fast charge points as I can as I travel about on business and ReX for the rest.
Cannot wait to get in it and have a play - I really hope I like it as much as I have my QQ as on paper I'm sold already and from what I've read, it's great fun to drive and very refined.
I'll let you know how I get on!
i3 ReX
So, I've had the i3 on test since last Friday - it's a complete hoot to drive, way quicker than you'd expect and I'm totally smitten - frankly, it makes all other cars, including our tech-laden QQ's feel antiquated by comparison.
I drove from home (Ross on Wye) to the office (in Minstead) and back yesterday and got down there on a full charge with about 20 miles in reserve. I engaged ReX only when I was going along the A417 to Swindon to maintain the charge level while at about 75mph and went back to EV for the back road stint to the New Forest. The handling is fantastic, even in the horrid weather we had it feels sure-footed given it has comically skinny tyres.
I have free charging at work (although this turned out to only be at 5kw and I had the wrong plug fitting so will need to get an adaptor - my boss has a Tesla) so added only 40 miles or so via the 3pin charger before heading home. I used the ReX to get me back from around Swindon but even then it had effectively cost me less than £10 to go more than 220 miles (so 125mpg or so combined) and I wasn't hanging about...the range was impacted quite a bit by the rain (more rolling resistance under the tyres) and cold temps, plus I had lights, wipers, AC, heated seats on, so in the future I should be able to do this trip for the cost of a single charge to me (£2.80 ish). I love the complete silence and instant torque - very addictive!
I'll be sorry to give it back and have already told the dealership to get the order form ready....
I drove from home (Ross on Wye) to the office (in Minstead) and back yesterday and got down there on a full charge with about 20 miles in reserve. I engaged ReX only when I was going along the A417 to Swindon to maintain the charge level while at about 75mph and went back to EV for the back road stint to the New Forest. The handling is fantastic, even in the horrid weather we had it feels sure-footed given it has comically skinny tyres.
I have free charging at work (although this turned out to only be at 5kw and I had the wrong plug fitting so will need to get an adaptor - my boss has a Tesla) so added only 40 miles or so via the 3pin charger before heading home. I used the ReX to get me back from around Swindon but even then it had effectively cost me less than £10 to go more than 220 miles (so 125mpg or so combined) and I wasn't hanging about...the range was impacted quite a bit by the rain (more rolling resistance under the tyres) and cold temps, plus I had lights, wipers, AC, heated seats on, so in the future I should be able to do this trip for the cost of a single charge to me (£2.80 ish). I love the complete silence and instant torque - very addictive!
I'll be sorry to give it back and have already told the dealership to get the order form ready....
