Thinking about leasing an i3 and took my wife over for her first test drive this morning. They had a REX waiting for us - the wife drove for about an hour with me riding shotgun, as I'd driven one about a week ago.
The car performed well and she enjoyed driving. The "one pedal" technique took a few miles to master. Starting out, we either ended up with way too much space between us and the car in front of us at stoplights or she had to use the brake. That was pretty much cured by the end of the drive.
She did some aggressive cornering, as she is wont to do when test driving, and the car did fairly well, but not as good as her current Mini Clubman. Easy to spot that the i3 is much taller and the tires are skinny. However, when driven in our normal day-to-day style, the cornering is quite nice and the i3's suspension is much more accommodating of the rough sections of pavement that are all too common these days.
She was also surprised at the interior roominess, it compares well to the Mini when the seats are down in both. She does a lot of gardening and I don't think the rear seats in the Mini have been up more than once during the past year, so no loss there.
We used about 25 miles of the range for a roughly 15 or 20 mile drive, but then she was pushing it pretty hard. Though not triggered by a low battery, we actually got to hear the REX engine for the last mile or two of the drive -- it kicked on for a "maintenance cycle". Sounded kinda like having a Vespa scooter right behind you in the next lane. We could only hear it when stopped at a light or at very low speed on a smooth paved surface. It was nice to check off that experience without having to drive the battery to near empty.
The only negative was the "whoop whoop" sound the tires made. The smoother the road, the louder it seemed. This car had 20" wheels and in reading elsewhere on this forum, it seems to be a common problem. Not sure if this is tied to tire pressure settings, but have to say that it is an annoying sound. We mentioned it to the salesman who seemed unfamiliar with the issue. His only solution was to offer a different car, but everything they have in stock (three i3s) has 20" wheels.
Would appreciate any comments others have concerning this noise and whether it is fixable as it could be a deal breaker.
The car performed well and she enjoyed driving. The "one pedal" technique took a few miles to master. Starting out, we either ended up with way too much space between us and the car in front of us at stoplights or she had to use the brake. That was pretty much cured by the end of the drive.
She did some aggressive cornering, as she is wont to do when test driving, and the car did fairly well, but not as good as her current Mini Clubman. Easy to spot that the i3 is much taller and the tires are skinny. However, when driven in our normal day-to-day style, the cornering is quite nice and the i3's suspension is much more accommodating of the rough sections of pavement that are all too common these days.
She was also surprised at the interior roominess, it compares well to the Mini when the seats are down in both. She does a lot of gardening and I don't think the rear seats in the Mini have been up more than once during the past year, so no loss there.
We used about 25 miles of the range for a roughly 15 or 20 mile drive, but then she was pushing it pretty hard. Though not triggered by a low battery, we actually got to hear the REX engine for the last mile or two of the drive -- it kicked on for a "maintenance cycle". Sounded kinda like having a Vespa scooter right behind you in the next lane. We could only hear it when stopped at a light or at very low speed on a smooth paved surface. It was nice to check off that experience without having to drive the battery to near empty.
The only negative was the "whoop whoop" sound the tires made. The smoother the road, the louder it seemed. This car had 20" wheels and in reading elsewhere on this forum, it seems to be a common problem. Not sure if this is tied to tire pressure settings, but have to say that it is an annoying sound. We mentioned it to the salesman who seemed unfamiliar with the issue. His only solution was to offer a different car, but everything they have in stock (three i3s) has 20" wheels.
Would appreciate any comments others have concerning this noise and whether it is fixable as it could be a deal breaker.
