Quote:
Originally Posted by jmg
My i3 is charmingly ugly IMHO but I'm in the minority. Most i3 drivers I know like owning it, including myself. They are great in the city and in traffic. That being said, it is overpriced compared to what you get in with the competition. At $50k you should at least get the range of a Volt with the quirkyness and design aspects of the i3. I love the suicide doors, I love the interior, the iDrive etc. The price not so much. That being said, no one is paying $50k and the lease I got was a steal. I would not pay full price for this vehicle.
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i actually don't mind the looks. i like the way it looks more than my smart car. i have really taken a liking to driving an electric car, and i really like it being in a small package like the smart car- so we are in the same boat on that one. fantastic usability around town.
a lease of an i3 simply didn't make sense for me. they wanted $2,500 down (the entire california electronic incentive) and it was still almost $300 a month, not including insurance.
i leased my smart for $1k down including all taxes/etc., and my payment is $86 a month. 10k mi/yr, 36 mo. with insurance and electricity costs, i'm in the car and driving it for about $220 a month (actual costs). plus, i got a check for $2,500 from the state. it was literally a free car to drive and put miles on- i would have been stupid not to sign the lease. what is even better, is i have really taken a liking to the weirdness of the smart. it has power windows, locks, and a radio. thats it. i would enjoy an i3, tesla, golf-e, focus electric, bolt, etc., more and have better luxury features, but i like saving money more.
the i3 just didn't bridge that financial gap for me, and probably not for a lot of people. i feel like the electric car segment is niche to people who can afford to have one as their second or third vehicle (the smart is my 3rd, 4th if you count my wife's car). an electric car that gets 130 miles of range that still costs $300+ a month isn't going to do well. i wouldn't be surprised if they killed the i3 and just started putting battery packs in the floors of the 3 series and calling that the e3 or something.
even bmw's plug in hybrids aren't on par with others... and they cost significantly more. i haven't ran the numbers, but it has to be an astronomical amount of miles you would have to put on the hybrid 3 series to justify the added cost over a regular gas car.