Memory Power Seats and Mirrors

[user 368]

This ought to be available in any car in this price range, at least as an option.

It's not just a luxury. In a two car family, when one car has a limitation like electric range, drivers need to be able to swap cars. With multiple adjustments needed for left and right mirrors and the seat height, distance and back position, switching drivers is a real annoyance.

 

[Jkoeller]

Amen, bilofski. The probable lack of a sunroof here in the US, no memory power seats, no heated steering wheel, and no plans for DCQC at the dealerships... I can't help but feel that my first purchase of a premium vehicle seems to be lacking a lot of the usual 'premium' stuff (CFRP and BMW badge aside). A 20-mile range 'premium' over the Leaf would have been nice as well, but the REx will make up for that.

 

[user 368]

I can't help but feel that my first purchase of a premium vehicle seems to be lacking a lot of the usual 'premium' stuff (CFRP and BMW badge aside).

I think that's true of more EVs than just the i3.

I passed on the Tesla because I was hoping for a $70,000 luxury car but saw a $40,000 car with $30,000 worth of batteries.

If my WAG at the ratio is right, then the i3 is a $32k car with $10k worth of batteries.

By that metric, IMHO it gives a lot more for $32k than the Tesla for $40k, and more than my Plug-in Prius for $35k (plus $4k of batteries). It's also a lot more configurable than either of those.

But not with memory seats, dammit.

 

[oldbillygoat]

I agree that my first purchase of a high end vehicle without some of the standard features of similarly priced cars is more than just a disappointment. The chemo treatment that I am going through makes my hands super sensitive to the cold and more than that; heated seats and steering wheel would cut back on the cabin heater’s use. Why heat up all that air when just keeping your body warm would be more economical electricity-wise.

We also are a 2 driver family and mirror and seat memory would sure be nice. I may be waiting for the 2015 model to see if some of our suggestions will be followed up on.

 

[user 368]

Heated front seats are a $350 option on the North America Pricing Guide. Heat pump is standard.

 

[TomMoloughney]

I agree that my first purchase of a high end vehicle without some of the standard features of similarly priced cars is more than just a disappointment. The chemo treatment that I am going through makes my hands super sensitive to the cold and more than that; heated seats and steering wheel would cut back on the cabin heater’s use. Why heat up all that air when just keeping your body warm would be more economical electricity-wise.

We also are a 2 driver family and mirror and seat memory would sure be nice. I may be waiting for the 2015 model to see if some of our suggestions will be followed up on.

I would be very surprised if power seats are ever offered on the i3. I have talked with many of the BMW engineers and program managers about this. Everything on the i3 was designed with weight savings and the power seats add a considerable amount of weight for the return of added convenience. You lug the extra weight around all the time even though you use it for a few seconds once in a while, and rarely ever if you don't switch drivers like you mentioned you do above.

 

[woof]

[the power seats add a considerable amount of weight for the return of added convenience. You lug the extra weight around all the time

The same could be said of my passengers! :lol:

But seriously, how much extra weight are we talking about for just the driver's seat? What effect on range (in %) will that really have for every extra pound of weight carried?

What is the "expected" weight load of the car? A driver that weighs 300 lbs may also want to know this. What about the driver who is always carrying 150 pounds of children + car seats?

Sorry, not buying their extra weight argument. Why have the extra weight of power mirrors then? Let me remove the back seats if I don't need them why lug them around all the time for 0 utility, that'll save even more weight. The sun roof takes up extra weight...I'd trade that for power seats any day.

My guess is its more about the super thin seats being unable to accommodate the motors than it is weight.

--Woof!

 

[user 368]

[the power seats add a considerable amount of weight for the return of added convenience. You lug the extra weight around all the time

Maybe true.

But why does BMW make that decision for us instead of providing the option and letting us choose between efficiency and convenience?

(Reminds me of the time we looked at a Mercedes. My wife found the seat uncomfortable and asked why there wasn't a lumbar support adjustment. The saleswoman explained that Mercedes had calculated the optimum seat so there was no need for an adjustment.)

My guess is its more about the super thin seats being unable to accommodate the motors than it is weight.

Now that's more plausible.

 

[roger997]

Come on guys!

You don't see the new essence of the i3
It is a fantastic car with limitations but realy fun to own and to drive

(in Europe a Golf or 1 serie has also no memory seats...)

 

[Jkoeller]

You don't see the new essence of the i3
It is a fantastic car with limitations but realy fun to own and to drive

For myself, I've been driving an electric car for over 2 years already, so I was sold on (and have been selling) the "really fun to own and drive" for a long time now. It's just that with my next EV (especially from a premium brand), I was hoping to get back some of the niceties that I sacrificed in the first one.

 

[Boatguy]

This ought to be available in any car in this price range, at least as an option.

It's not just a luxury. In a two car family, when one car has a limitation like electric range, drivers need to be able to swap cars. With multiple adjustments needed for left and right mirrors and the seat height, distance and back position, switching drivers is a real annoyance.

Absolutely! My wife is very upset that the new $50K car has less features than the $35K car it's replacing!

 

[Boatguy]

According to the list of i3 standard features, it does have memory of the mirror settings:

http://www.bmwusa.com/Standard/Content/Vehicles/2014/i3/BMWi3/Features_and_Specs/Default.aspx

"Advanced Vehicle & Key Memory includes climate-control temperature and air-distribution settings, exterior mirror and power seat settings, audio tone settings and radio presets, central-locking preferences, and lighting preferences."

Kind of odd since they don't offer power seats...

 

[stumbledotcom]

I initially thought the lack of power seats would be an issue since all our previous vehicles had them. It's not though. I saw an interview with a designer who cited power seats not being included due to weight as an example of how every aspect of the design was re-examined.

I wouldn't look at the i3 as having fewer features but different ones. The car it's replacing probably doesn't have aluminum and carbon fiber construction, plastic body panels that absorb minor dents, and doesn't get 124 eMPG. It's all a matter of trade offs.

 

[BMW4Me]

After owning more than a half dozen BMWs over the years, many of them that included premium comfort seats, I actually find it refreshing to sit in the i3 with a seat that's both comfortable, supportive, and easy to adjust. I found that on previous cars, those seats added considerable weight and in time I would use the controls less and less.

If I was going to add additional weight to the car, my choice would be to add additional batteries for greater range.

 

[dculber]

After owning more than a half dozen BMWs over the years, many of them that included premium comfort seats, I actually find it refreshing to sit in the i3 with a seat that's both comfortable, supportive, and easy to adjust. I found that on previous cars, those seats added considerable weight and in time I would use the controls less and less.

If I was going to add additional weight to the car, my choice would be to add additional batteries for greater range.

This is very true, and YES modern seats weigh a ton due to all the crap they put in. You would be be shocked to lift one up, I am guessing the i3 sheets are probably 30+lbs less each side compared to todays modern seats.

 

[mindmachine]

Of course a big factor is the energy used, not used often, but a big draw is required when moving a 200 lb man sitting on the seat.

 

[WoodlandHills]

So for the weight of a couple of small dogs we each have to manually adjust the seat and mirrors two or even three times a day since we share the i3? Of all the stupid trade off made in search of the elusive 100 mile range, this is the worst. You are able to spec a 200 lb range extender, but even one memory seat is too heavy? If that is the case, why did they put electric motors in the doors for the power windows? Surely they must weigh more than a hand crank...... And we know that they use power compared to manual windows. Something does not make sense.

 

[i3an]

Skipping on power seats is a perfectly rational trade-off; when engineers look at weighty bells & whistles for triage, power seating is near the top of the list, along with a spare tire (or tyre). At the turn of the century I bought a Honda Insight (no power seating) and my wife a BMW 325i, and now her driver's seat is broken in the highest position so my head is jammed against the roof, whilst the Honda has nothing to break. Motors for windows and mirrors are lightweights, and a whole sight cheaper to replace.
Now a sunroof, that is where I would willingly pay a weight penalty.

 

[WoodlandHills]

That's the part I do not understand. BMW justify not having memory features as weight saving and thus range extending measures, yet they offer a sunroof option that surely weighs more than the seats would. Ditto the energy consumption for the sunroof motors as opposed to power seats. Is there any other car made by BMW that does not have power seats available as an option? This is a $55k car made by a luxury goods manufacturer with seats as cheap and cheesy as my $18k smart. They look great but try living with them for a while and and the constant need to make multiple adjustments several times a day gets old very fast.

Regarding the reliability of powered components on cars, I fix things when they break and I have never in over 40 years had to fix a power seat. Nor a power window, but I have cut my hands and wrists trying to repair manual window regulators several times over the years.

Sometimes the engineers need to come out of their labs and observe how real customers use their products in the real world as opposed to trying to make those with the money accept their decisions from on high. If you don't meet customer expectations you don't make money, irregardless of the engineering necessity.

 

[stumbledotcom]

If that is the case, why did they put electric motors in the doors for the power windows? Surely they must weigh more than a hand crank.

Actually they're probably the same or slightly lighter. There's popular wisdom in automotive circles that the power mechanisms counterintuitively turn out to be lighter. Seems to have started with Colin Chapman of Lotus. Someone at Honda added credibility by saying the original NSX came only with power windows because they would be lighter than a manual design. We'll never have a definitive answer for the i3 because a manual window wasn't designed or built.

BMW has called out the i3's thin, manual seats as a weight-saving solution. It's probably shockingly naive on my part but I see no reason to question the conclusion of the BMW designers and engineers.

You obviously disagree.