No hint about prices, or when we can expect delivery.
US Reservations Open 9/29/26 6:01 PM EST
- Thread starter insightman
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No hint about prices, or when we can expect delivery.
Months ago, I filled out the form on BMW's i3 page to get on the list for notifications. Yesterday, right after posting the email invite (InsideEVs always comes first), I printed it out and ("Dear, I'm going to the grocery store") hightailed it to my local BMW dealer.
In the dealer's lot, I was peering into a just-off-the-truck, not-yet-prepped, BMW iX3 when a nice "Client Advisor" walked out and clicked the key fob to open the door for me. He told me to hop in. I was happy to experience the BMW Panoramic Vision display that takes the place of the traditional dashboard instrumentation. I thought it worked well and the rhomboid center screen didn't bother me. However, I hate the standard Neue Klasse steering wheel with its 2 vertical bars. I'll pony up as much as necessary for the optional M steering wheel.
My Client Advisor drives a BMW i4 and shares my preference for sedans over SUVs, so we're now connected. He told me he's received a few inquiries about the i3, but I could probably get the first one.
Then I went into my traditional spiel about waiting a year for the first Honda Insight in the midwest, waiting a year for the first Honda Clarity PHEV in town, and waiting a year for the first MINI Cooper SE in town (the last car delivered by MINI of Ann Arbor before they went out of business). I joked that it wouldn't seem right to order a car and not wait a year for it, but WHEN WILL THE FIRST i3 ARRIVE?
My Client Adviser said he heard the i3 may show up as early as February.
Then, being smart, I went to the grocery store to get the replacement water filters and Kleenex my wife requested.
How can I be so excited by a car when I'm 76 years old? I don't even believe the BMW i3, though much quicker, will be as much fun to drive as my smaller and much lighter MINI Cooper SE, but the i3's EPA range is 4 times that of the MINI. I do believe the i3 will be much more fun to drive than our long-neglected 2018 Clarity PHEV (only 25K miles, thanks to the funner MINI always being the first pick).
I then sat down at my laptop brought up the well-worn BMW i3 page and...WHAT? There were 9 colors before, now there are just 8!
AFAIK, BMW's most popular color is the unexciting Brooklyn Grey. That was the color I knew would be my wife's choice, so I've been showing her photos of the i3 in that color as part of my propaganda campaign before I reveal this car will cost more than double what we paid for either the MINI or the Clarity.
Yep, Brooklyn Grey is no longer on the list of available colors. Just a bunch of dark colors, silver, and white. Buying a new car is never easy, but it will be very difficult to keep myself away from the reservation website on September 29th at 6:01 PM EST. I don't have to have the first one. I don't have to have the first one. I don't have to have the first one...
Jkoya
Well-Known Member
Was it the look of the vertical bars you didn't like or something else ?
Just the look. BMW's justification for that standard steering wheel seems backwards to me: the steering wheel with the vertical bars doesn't block the view of the Panoramic Vision instrumentation, so dig it. Are they saying they developed the Panoramic Vision display just so they could finally use that steering wheel design?
I wonder how many would switch to the vertical-bars steering wheel if it was the optional one?
I am happy the more traditional M steering wheel is a no-cost option if the M Sport package is chosen, but I'd pay $150 to get rid of the standard steering wheel. As a driver, it's easy to ignore any exterior features you don't like, but the steering wheel is always in your face.
And to be even more old-fashioned, I wish BMW would make steering wheels that were round. I like letting the wheel sllde through my fingers as I come out of a tight turn in a parking lot.
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I copied the Adrian van Hooydonk quote from Motor Trend below illustrations of the flattening of the Neue Klasse steering wheels.
The spokes don't bother me. The wobbly shape when letting the steering wheel glide back to straight from cornering does/would. I had an old car, i can't remember what one it was, that had an oblong-ish shapped wheel, and of course, a very loose rack, so it was a good 3 rotations to take a 90 degree turn. what should be ------------------ return slide was more like _______----------_______--------________------- as your hand bobs up ad down with the shape of the wheel.
This round, remanufactured, carbon-fiber, BMW steering wheel (without airbag) on eBay ($5,500 or $5,475 with coupon) would certainly not be compatible with the i3, but one could wish. One could also wish for a craftsman with magic hydraulic tools who could turn a flattened i3 steering wheel into a round i3 steering wheel. Such a service shouldn't cost more than $5,475, with coupon.
Jkoya
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the info !! The BMW dealership closest to me has two iX3s in stock. I'm planning to at least sit inside and see the new Neue Klasse interior before I order the i3.
I'm so anti-SUV that I haven't asked for an iX3 test drive, even though I'd love to feel the way it comes to such a gentle stop that passengers with their eyes closed can't tell it's stopped. Here's a BMW video I've queued to the experience of that phenomenon.
I steeled myself and overcame my SUV aversion so I could sit in the iX3 to check out the Panoramic Vision display. I liked it very much and think it's so good I wouldn't miss the so-called 3D HUD if I didn't have it (see below). The primitive HUD in my Iconic MINI Cooper SE shows me everything I want (except for battery level), and the Panoramic Vision's band of data is like the next level of that.
However, I'm concerned the height of the Panoramic Vision display and the i3's hood height might make it difficult for my wife to get a good view of the road. So we're looking forward to checking out the seat adjustments and test driving the i3 maybe 5 or 6 months from now.