Why did you choose the BMW i3?
It’s the only hatchback that is quick with a flat loading area and costs £35k.
I wanted an EV with some history to ensure it was reliable.
Availability, price, ecologically-made and fully recyclable, comfortable, reasonable range and different.
Great battery management system.
Positives – List 3 or more reasons why you love this car?
- Great to drive
- Very economical to run
- No pollution
- Very safe
- Plenty of space inside
- Versatile
- Different and innovative design.
- Great acceleration
- No petrol to buy
- Different.
- Acceleration
- Range extender
- Looks inside and out
- Eco pro + mode really does give you extra range around town.
- New & green technology
- Aesthetics of interior and exterior
- Acceleration.
Negatives – List 3 or more things that you really don’t like about this car?
- Boot too small
- Range too small
- Only 4 seats
- Inability to use roof bars/bike racks
- Boot is small.
- Lack of range
- Not really big enough anymore
- Rear doors can be a pain.
Surprise us! Tell us something surprising about this car?
It’s partly made from recycled plastic bottles.
Bigger on the inside than you expect from the outside as there’s no engine at the front.
Incredibly agile considering the skinny tyres.
Higher ride height is great for an older owner like me.
Up to 30 mph it’ll embarrass pretty much any other BMW.
What home charging unit do you use? Would you recommend it to others and why?
Daily commute 50-60 miles per day, only ever needed a standard 3-pin plug charger.
OHME – Yes, would recommend. Very controllable from my phone and software upgrades keep it current (excuse the pun!).
What home electricity supplier & tariff do you use? Would you recommend it to others and why?
EDF Go Electric 35 – 4.5p/kW for five hours every night.
EDF normal tariff. Can’t really recommend them, they’ve been totally uninterested in moving us to an EV tariff despite us asking loads of times so we’ll probably change to a different supplier but have a problem because they all seem to need a smart meter which we can’t get (as we have no mobile signal here).
Octopus Go, would recommend as it lets me do pretty much all of my charging at a cheap overnight rate.
Bulb flexi. Good so far and now have EV tariff coming in.
What public charging networks do you use? Would you recommend them to others and why?
Instavolt – reliable, accessible and contactless payment.
Gridserve, awesome. Instavolt as well. Avoid BP Pulse, they charge you (twice) for delivering nothing!
IONITY is my preferred one. Always seems to work, fast and no messing with apps, etc.
Who do you insure your EV with? Would you recommend them to others and why?
Aviva – 5 star company, good prices.
Admiral – good value, big name.
