Gig worker looking for his futuristic hatchback

Hello folks! I’m looking to buy an i3 and not sure which to get. The REX or the BEV. Def want the 120ah. Seen videos about the pros and cons about the two on YouTube. Still not enough to answer my questions. I average 130 miles a day and the most I’ve driven was 160 which is super rare but it can happen. I love hatchbacks and my present car is a ‘17 Honda Fit. I do Instacart full time and I think the trunk and back seat combined will do about the same cargo space. What are the common maintenance one does for each version. With my Fit I do oil changes every two months. As I average 3k miles a month. Is it even a good idea to get an i3? So far, it’s the best looking EV hatch available in the US. I love Bimmers! I owned a ‘07 coupe 328i and passed it down to my nephew as I grew tired of driving manual. Any info will help! Thank you all for reading this.

Hey there.

In my opinion, given the miles you drive, I'd get a REx. I prefer the BEV because it's a more pure driving experience but it definitely is on the edge of range ability for your particular needs.

That said, this car doesn't have much in the way of maintenance.

- regular oil changes obviously
- regular engine maintenance on the REx
- brake fluid every two years if you want to stick to that schedule
- AC issues on earlier models with the compressor
- some seat heater issues
- tires wear out relatively quickly on these cars and are not cheap
- some common rattles and squeaks

That's about it really.

For the model year you are considering, most issues have been solved. That said, I've had 5 of these cars...all of them being "S" models except for one. If I were you, and you plan to keep this for a while, I'd get the S version regardless of whether you end up with a BEV or REx.

where are you planning on charging it?

The 120 Ah goes 153 miles on average. If you live in a cold climate, I'd get a REx.

I'd strongly consider a BEV if:
- you live in a moderate climate, where the temperature rarely falls below freezing.
- your route is near DC fast charging.
- you're OK driving no faster than 65-70 mph on the highway.

Range anxiety is a misnomer; it's charging anxiety. And the fast-charging infrastructure will only improve.

I plan on charging it at home. I read it takes about 12 hours at most with your typical 120v. My area doesn’t have cold winters that have freezing temperatures.

Instacar7er said:

I plan on charging it at home. I read it takes about 12 hours at most with your typical 120v.

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uh, no. I have a 2017 BEV with the 33kWh/94ah battery and it takes 28 HOURS to charge from 0 on 120v. If you get a 120ah (2019+ model years), then you are looking at 35 Hours to recharge from 0 on 120v.

So what are my options for charging it faster?

Instacar7er said:

So what are my options for charging it faster?

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Install a 240 V 40 A circuit and an AC Level 2 EVSE (charging station) where you park at home. The maximum AC charging current for an i3 is 30 A, so the maximum charging power would be 240 V x 30 A = 7.2 kW. A 120 Ah battery pack has a usable capacity of ~39 kWh. If there were no charging losses and maximum charging power were maintained, the time to charge from empty to full would be 39 kWh / 7.2 kW = 5.4 hours. However, charging losses are slightly less than 10%, and the charging power decreases as a full charge it being reached, so figure ~6 hours, or easily completed overnight.

I have a 2019 i3 BEV that has an actual range of over 210 miles per charge. However, I live in Honolulu with no temperature extremes, so no cabin heating and no A/C for about half of each year. I also increase the inflation pressure of my tires by ~7 psi to reduce rolling resistance and increase range slightly. Most importantly, the maximum speed limit on the roads where I usually drive is 50 mph. Aerodynamic drag is a significant range killer, so if I drove 70 mph, my range would be reduced considerably.

I would strongly recommend a BEV over a REx unless you absolutely could not live with the range of the BEV. A BEV requires significantly less maintenance (brake fluid change every 2 years). Many of the i3 problems involve the REx engine. The REx system adds ~10% to the weight of an i3 which affects its handling and acceleration.

If insufficient range might occasionally be a concern, locate DC fast chargers along your usual route. Stopping to charge for only 10 minutes could be all that would be needed to add enough range to make it home with a comfortable cushion. The maximum DC fast charging power is almost 50 kW, or 7 times faster than a 240 V AC charging station, so a lot of range could be added in a short period of time.

I, too, am a compact hatchback lover. There is no compact hatchback EV that's better than an i3. There are few compact hatchback EV options in the U.S. now and even in the next few years. Being rear wheel drive, its front wheels can turn more sharply than a front wheel drive vehicle with constant velocity joints that limit the turning angle. This makes the i3's turning circle very small, so it's incredibly maneuverable.

Wow I wonder how much a charging station is going to cost me or can I do it myself? I’m an electrician and I know I can add a new circuit breaker. Def gonna YouTube the large component to see how that is installed.

I just looked it up on YouTube. Nothing complex I can easily do it myself.

Since we got into the subject of using larger voltage of power. Can anyone give me a rough estimate of the difference one would have to spend with their power bill after they got an EV? I understand certain regions are different, but percentage wise. What’s the percentage difference?

Why don’t you mention where you are and what your electric rate is? Your electric bill goes up by how much you use, it is not a flat amount.

You drive 8X the number of miles per month that I do, so for me to tell you what I pay would be highly misleading.

Also- based on the miles per day you say you drive, be prepared to go through 2 sets of tires every year at $1200 a set.

Instacar7er said:

Wow I wonder how much a charging station is going to cost me or can I do it myself? I’m an electrician and I know I can add a new circuit breaker. Def gonna YouTube the large component to see how that is installed.

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You could install a 240 V 40 (hardwired) or 50 A (NEMA 14-10R) circuit for the electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE). However, you'd need to buy an EVSE which is a smart switch that protects its user from electrocution and communicates with the EV's on-board charger to supply the requested current. If you avoid bells and whistles like WiFi connectivity, smartphone app integration, etc., a basic AC Level 2 EVSE can be purchased for as little as $300. The EVSE included with every i3 is an AC Level 1 EVSE (120 V 10 A) (a few i3's have optional dual-voltage EVSE's).

Instacar7er said:

Can anyone give me a rough estimate of the difference one would have to spend with their power bill after they got an EV? I understand certain regions are different, but percentage wise. What’s the percentage difference?

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Assume that your i3 would average 4 miles/kWh. Our i3 has averaged 5.2 mi/kWh, but as I wrote earlier, our i3's environment and use is ideal for an EV. If you drive 130 miles/day, that would be 130 miles/day / 4 miles/kWh = 32.5 kWh/day. You know your electricity rate, so you could estimate the cost to power an i3. While your electricity bill would certainly increase, your gasoline bill would decrease to 0, and you'd save considerable money compared with driving the same distance even in a very efficient ICE vehicle.

EvanstonI3 said:

Also- based on the miles per day you say you drive, be prepared to go through 2 sets of tires every year at $1200 a set.

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If you truly drive 130 miles/day * 365 days/year = 47k miles/year, you'd wear out 2 or more sets of tires every year depending on how aggressively you drive. The all-season tires on 19" wheels cost a bit less and wear a bit longer than summer tires on 20" wheels. 19" tires also provide a less harsh ride, so look for an i3 with any standard 19" wheel (there have been 3 different designs, although only 2 in recent models). 20" wheels are optional on an i3 and standard on an i3S which you should probably avoid if you want the maximum range.

If you have a Costco close by, the standard price for a set of 19" all-season tires including mounting, balancing, old tire disposal, and new tire pressure monitoring sensors is ~$1060. However, Costco offers a 25% discount a couple of times each year when they put Bridgestone tires on sale, so that would be the time to buy them.

based on your stated milage/usage, if you charged in my garage at 18¢/kW, you would pay about $117/month for the electricity. That's assuming 5 days a week of driving. If you drive every day, then $175/month would be more likely. But that is only for my rate. Yours may differ depending on where you are.

I am in Central, California

Right now with my Honda fit, I spent about almost 450 a month on gas as I fill up every third day

As for tires, being 1k twice a year, that’s not as bad. I spend about almost 2k a year.

Instacar7er said:

I am in Central, California

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Central CA has a lot of ups and downs. It'll eat up your battery in certain locations. Without you being more specific, it's hard to give additional advice frankly. I prefer the BEV but in your case, I'd get a REx.