Sunroof Information

Here in the US, there's some uncertainty whether or not the Sunroof will be an available feature/option on the i3, at least initially. For anyone across the pond that has a sunroof, would it be possible to post some pictures of the sunroof and its operation and various operating positions? I'd like to know what I will be 1.) sacrificing if I place my order as soon as ordering is allowed, or 2.) delaying my order for, if the sunroof (which I typically use VERY often) is worth waiting for (assuming it will be available in the future).

Any information you could provide would be appreciated! If you're unsure how to post pictures to a reply, feel free to PM me and I'll give you my email address to send the pics to. Then I can post them for others to see.

Jkoeller said:

Here in the US, there's some uncertainty whether or not the Sunroof will be an available feature/option on the i3, at least initially. For anyone across the pond that has a sunroof, would it be possible to post some pictures of the sunroof and its operation and various operating positions? I'd like to know what I will be 1.) sacrificing if I place my order as soon as ordering is allowed, or 2.) if the sunroof (which I typically use VERY often) is worth waiting for, assuming it will be available

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This blog http://bmwi3.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/sunroofmoonroof-follow-up.html has a picture of the sunroof. It's an old picture, but the sunroof looks identical to the one I saw last week in the UK. It's really two sun-roofs: one for driver, one for passenger. Dealer told me it needed the structural support inbetween. Personally, it hardly seems worth it.

I asked this same question on the Plugshare website and this was Tom’s very clear answer.

The sunroof does slide back. There are two distinct openings from inside the car with a roof divider between them but the sunroof slides open as one piece. The driver or passenger can pull a roll out sun screen to shade their individual side from direct sunlight but the whole unit slides open as one. It kind of reminds me of a car with a T-Top from inside.

Here are some sunroof pictures that I took. You can see the two openings separated by a thick structural support in the center. The openings are not large and the glass only slides about halfway to the rear so I don't think you could even stick your head out if you wanted to unless you turned it sideways.

BMW isn't holding back info on the sunroof, they are still deciding if it's possible to offer it at the initial launch. I'll post information as soon as it is available:

Awesome, thanks for the information guys!

TomMoloughney said:

BMW isn't holding back info on the sunroof, they are still deciding if it's possible to offer it at the initial launch.

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I hadn't heard that this was a sure thing, and got the impression that it was an assumption. Thanks for the confirmation, Tom.

Jkoeller said:

TomMoloughney said:

BMW isn't holding back info on the sunroof, they are still deciding if it's possible to offer it at the initial launch.

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I hadn't heard that this was a sure thing, and got the impression that it was an assumption. Thanks for the confirmation, Tom.

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John - The sunroof will definitely be available, it's just a question of when. Personally I don't think it will be available at the initial US launch, but that is just me guess. I would be happy if I'm wrong!

For me it's not really an issue. I usually order a sunroof on my car and then I realize after owning it for a year or so I never even opened it. Plus the openings are very small on the i3 sunroof. Also, The seating position is high and there is a LOT of glass so the car already feels very open and spacious with a lot of light coming in. Still, it should be available because a lot of people like them.

For me, it's not a matter of light. I open the sunroof for fresh air. They're typically a lot quieter and have less wind buffeting than the side windows, and I have them open a lot when I drive.

It probably sounds crazy, but I could do without Bluetooth audio integration and navigation since I rarely use either, but the sunroof is something I miss every day in my Volt.

TomMoloughney said:

Jkoeller said:

TomMoloughney said:

BMW isn't holding back info on the sunroof, they are still deciding if it's possible to offer it at the initial launch.

Click to expand...

I hadn't heard that this was a sure thing, and got the impression that it was an assumption. Thanks for the confirmation, Tom.

Click to expand...

John - The sunroof will definitely be available, it's just a question of when. Personally I don't think it will be available at the initial US launch, but that is just me guess. I would be happy if I'm wrong!

For me it's not really an issue. I usually order a sunroof on my car and then I realize after owning it for a year or so I never even opened it. Plus the openings are very small on the i3 sunroof. Also, The seating position is high and there is a LOT of glass so the car already feels very open and spacious with a lot of light coming in. Still, it should be available because a lot
of people like them.

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Call me naive or stupid or both, but if the sunroof is already in production for cars being sold in Europe, why couldn't it be available on cars sold in the US?

Here's a video taken by a guy in NL that gives the best view of the sunroof I've seen so far.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soGOpUal58Q

Again, if the sunroof is on the cars being sold in Europe, why in the world would they not include it in the cars going to the US?

tiburonh said:

Again, if the sunroof is on the cars being sold in Europe, why in the world would they not include it in the cars going to the US?

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Good question. It was really disappointing when I heard about the missing sunroof in the US version. I was thinking I'd go ahead and get an i3 without it...but honestly if BMW can't even answer questions about why it's missing and when it will return, then maybe I shouldn't. I'd be kicking myself if they started offering it 6 months or even a year later.

During my test drive session this past weekend, I was eager to put the sunroof through its paces. The results:

Likes
Easy to operate
Provides some light and air :roll:
Separate shades are effective

Dislikes
Very small and largely blocked by the middle bar
Very loud when open at any speed (perhaps because the car is so quiet)

Bottom line: I won't be disappointed if it's not there and will seldom open it if it is.

I read this in a Swedish test "Klar på utrustningslistan finns ett soltak som i-utvecklarna avråder ifrån eftersom det lägger till ganska många kilon högst upp på en bil där man jobbat på att få tyngdpunkten låg. " which in English is something like "The equipment list includes a sunroof which the I3 developers however advise against because it adds quite a lot of weight on top of a car where you worked hard to get the center of gravity low.". Have anyone heard any concerns about the weight of the sunroof should impact on stability or driving experience?

...I have ordered one with sunroof (in Denmark, we can do that :shock: ) for delivery in September , but could perhaps still un-order the sunroof....though I like it....

tiburonh said:

Here's a video taken by a guy in NL that gives the best view of the sunroof I've seen so far.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soGOpUal58Q

Again, if the sunroof is on the cars being sold in Europe, why in the world would they not include it in the cars going to the US?

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He was doing fine until he highlighted the "design of the PANORAMIC sunroof"..... bifurcated, segmented, clunky, maybe even 63 Stingray Coupe, but not "panoramic."