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Daleyplanit

Member
Joined
May 8, 2019
Messages
6
We just got our Black 2017 REx from a lease transfer and drove it home from Long Island to Albany, NY on Saturday. This gave me a full day to get acquainted with the car and it's idiosyncrasies. Here are a few thoughts.

Positives:
- We got as advertised range on the way home mixing EP+ on low speed/high traffic highways and EP on 87 on the way home. Made it 160 miles with a DC charge 1/2 way through and going 65mph for the last 1/2 of the trip
- The car was comfortable and predicable at highway speed, but the steering is super sensitive (which I really like)
- The four speaker stereo is abysmal. The worst sounding stereo I've had in memory. Absolute trash. In a $50k car it's an embarrassment.
- The user interface is not intuitive, but I suspect after some time Idrive will come to be a no brainer so can't complain
- Who put the stalks behind one another?!
- The wipers have two speeds. Really? In a car this pricey?
- The RE kicked on for a bit on a maintenance run (the car has been sitting) but it was inaudible. Could def feel it moving the car with more gusto.
- The nav system reminds me of how wonderful Apple Carplay was. There's no distance to next turn or estimated time of arrival. Did I miss a setting?
- Driving dynamics are amazing. Even in EP+
- Seats are great, but I miss lumbar adjustment. Still, I love the em.
- That flat area in front of the console is wasted space. I'd put things there but for fear of them moving into driver's foot well. Thus is space a subwoofer and storage could have filled
- Even on a trickle charge all night we seem to have enough juice for the average day, and more, so pleased with charging.
- I love the looks. It's funky, and small, and weird. But it's damn unique and fun and I love that it's different. The old car was a '16 Civic EX. Yawn. If I could combine that car's tech with this car we'd be so happy. Odd, I'm wishing the $50k BMW had the storage, console, stereo, tech and user interface of the $22k Honda.
- Despite the tires it handles superbly
- Back seats are great. I take no issue with the suicide doors. I'm reminded of my old Honda Element. So it takes an extra 30 seconds to get out. Who cares?! Why are people in such a hurry anyway?!
- I have not tried the park assist that came with the car but find it embarrassing for people that need it. The car is so nimble and so darn short! C'mon!
-I love the moonroof - it reminds me of a T top! - but it doesn't open all the way. What gives?

If I could do over, I'd get the same car but sub out the park assist for the tech package. I'd also go white with the wood and leather trim. The car we got feels rather spartan.
 
Daleyplanit said:
- The four speaker stereo is abysmal. The worst sounding stereo I've had in memory. Absolute trash. In a $50k car it's an embarrassment.
For those of us who rarely listen to music while driving, the base entertainment system is sufficient. For audiophiles, the optional Harman Kardon entertainment system would be much better. I'm happy that our i3's price wasn't higher because of a better entertainment system that we wouldn't appreciate.

Daleyplanit said:
- The wipers have two speeds. Really? In a car this pricey?
I always use the automatic windshield wiper setting (push the button at the end of the stalk) which varies the speed based on the car's speed and the precipitation intensity. Some have complained that automatic operation does not keep the windshield as dry as they'd like, but it works well enough for me.

Daleyplanit said:
- The RE kicked on for a bit on a maintenance run (the car has been sitting) but it was inaudible. Could def feel it moving the car with more gusto.
Ours is a BEV, so I have no REx experience. However, I'm surprised to read that a REx i3 feels more powerful when the generator is running because it only charges the Li-ion battery pack and provides no direct propulsion to the drive wheels.

Daleyplanit said:
- The nav system reminds me of how wonderful Apple Carplay was. There's no distance to next turn or estimated time of arrival. Did I miss a setting?
i3's with the Tech Package have a wider nav system screen that supports a split screen view. A detailed dynamic diagram and distance estimate to the next turn can be displayed in the split screen while the main screen displays the nav map. The split screen is an iDrive setting.

Daleyplanit said:
- That flat area in front of the console is wasted space. I'd put things there but for fear of them moving into driver's foot well. Thus is space a subwoofer and storage could have filled
The flat space makes exiting out the opposite door easy. Some i3 models have a net pocket in this area in which small things can be stored.

Daleyplanit said:
- I have not tried the park assist that came with the car but find it embarrassing for people that need it. The car is so nimble and so darn short! C'mon!
Many i3 drivers chose the Parking Assist Package because this was the only way to get a backup camera and parking sensors on the front bumper.

If you value your wheels, don't try the automatic parking feature because it has ground the wheels against curbs for some i3 drivers.

Daleyplanit said:
If I could do over, I'd get the same car but sub out the park assist for the tech package. I'd also go white with the wood and leather trim. The car we got feels rather spartan.
Your i3 must be a Mega or Deka World model. Giga and Tera World models do feel somewhat less spartan.
 
Daleyplanit said:
The nav system reminds me of how wonderful Apple Carplay was. There's no distance to next turn or estimated time of arrival. Did I miss a setting?

That info is available in the arrow view. Cycle through the view options using the left menu on the map screen.

In addition, you can turn on additional info overlays for all the map views that includes remaining distance and ETA. It’s under the large circular i icon at the bottom of the map menu.

The iDrive system definitely has its own logic but a wealth of customization is available, albeit several menus deep at times. I think it’s definitely worth the learning curve. Though note that almost all the preferences are stored in the driver profile, which is activated by the key fob used to open and start the vehicle. If you use one fob consistently, the car will always be set to your preferences. But If you switch off fobs, it will seem as if the car doesn’t retain your settings. Profiles can also be activated manually in iDrive if you have to use the alternate key for some reason. You also can backup your profile(s) to a USB drive. Handy if (when in my experience) they get erased during a software update.
 
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