Hengus said:
I am visiting a BMW 'I' dealer on Friday to test drive a REx. I would be grateful for thoughts on which of the options are really necessary. I have an F11 and, if I was changing like-for-like, I wouldn't go for Professional Nav. DC charging is on my short list which some forums suggest may soon be a standard option. This would be a private purchase with a long period of ownership in mind. I love the F11 but it is not getting the sensible use that it deserves.
Hengus
The heated seats are a must, but I believe will now be standard in UK spec for 2015 (part of the winter pack)
I have the park assist because my wife wanted the front sensor and the camera. It s a gimmick in my opinion because it takes too long and does not park as well as I can! The camera also gets dirty very easily. If you are confident with your parking it is not a worthwhile extra, but simply a cynical ploy by BMW to get you to pay for the whole package just to get the front sensor.
I did not go for the adaptive Cruise and from what I read I am glad, although like the idea of it stopping/starting in traffic. It seems it is just not reliable enough.
The HK is not perfect but in my opinion is worth he extra over the standard system, which is adequate but a little lacking in base for my liking, and I am no audiophile.
The Pro Nav is good and gives you a lot of extra features, as well as the larger screen. The real time traffic info is particularly good.
The DC charging structure in the UK is nowhere near as good as our American cousins assume and is very much a turn up and see if it is working on that particular day and that particular time, but with the Rex you have that covered and I think is something I would always want. Even a Tesla cannot charge if the charger is already in use or out of order. 19/20" wheels - it depends how they affect the ride I guess. I liked the 428's and so went for them.
I also went for the sunroof on the basis that if I am sitting in the car whilst charging or stuck in a motorway queue I will have ventilation on a hot day without using excessive air-con. I have found it very useful and use it a lot at slower speeds (i.e. below 50mph) without any noticeable range penalties. I know it adds weight but then, so do three passengers, and most of the time I am only me or one passenger. It can still be everything at the lights if I am in that kind of mood.
I guess the rest is down to preference. I went for the basic interior because I liked it and did not like the others. I thought about leather but did not like it enough to spend £2k on, and it is dark brown, which I was not keen on. In hindsight I might have gone for the LED headlights. I thought I was getting them anyway, but without the adaptive bit, but actually the standard ones are halogen. They are acceptable but my 330Ci has Xenons and so I find them a little dim. Not sure how good the LED's are in this regard. I also passed on the tints on the basis hat the front and front side windows are still clear. It does get hot in there and the tints would help people travelling in the back but I suspect it will still get hot even with the tints.
One thing you will probably find after the F11 is that it has a fairly restricted load capacity. The external dimensions are similar to our Golf GTi but that will swallow a whole lot more. It is of course designed as a city car but it cannot even take a roof rack or bike carrier. It is fine as long as you are aware of the restrictions though.
Driving it is different to an ICE vehicle. The regen means that you rarely need the brakes, as log as you have good anticipation. If you have ever ridden two cylinder motorcycles you will be half way there in getting used to it. Therefore, whilst the £375 for 5 years servicing is a must, I do not think the £1100 for the full service package is a good deal. From what I can tell it only really adds brakes and wiper blades!
We have had ours since September and most trips have been local, except a 260 mile trip to Plymouth. In 2700 miles we have only done about 200 on petrol (mostly on the way back from Plymouth). We are really loving it and it has saved us a fortune already, even with petrol approaching the £1 per gallon mark (and I bet that doesn't last long). I have calculated it is costing us about 5p per mile.
Hope that gives some food for thought.