BMW i3 and Tesla S

[JeffRay]

Since no one posts appeared and it is a slow day at work, here goes.

I got intrigued by the press surrounding the Tesla and actually went into the NYC showroom to have a look for myself. Nice car that would have fit my family of four and had impressive range. When thinking about the price, I mentally calibrated for the lower cost/range model. Decided to wait to see what the BMW i3 looked like in order to compare. Never could schedule a test drive and in the interim, my MB salesperson said the B was coming.

In the end, the price point tilted in favor of the B. In second was the BMW i3 and last was the Tesla S. If Tesla had the Tesla X available, would have evaluated that as well.

P.S. Today I rolled into the dealer with 1 mile showing on the range meter. It is there charging. After I grabbed a donut, I got my free ride to work. Will try to get a free ride back to pick up later today. Hard to beat that. No charge for charging or donut or rides.

 

[Herbivor]

I've driven the Tesla and i3 before deciding on the B. Tesla was of course the best in every way but I didn't want to pay that much for a car. The i3 was more innovative than the B but the suicide doors are not practical for a family of 4 and I found the steering to be so sensitive on the highway that it felt dangerous. Overall we are very pleased with the BEV though Tesla I think is the car every car wants to be.

 

[tedkidd]

Idk, I like the Mercedes door mounted controls better. I like the ride height/visibility. And I like the back seats and rear headroom MUCH better.

And I like the Mercedes price. My next favorite is the VW. Mini B.

 

[JeffRay]

Interesting. Well, I can report that my wife appreciated the higher ride and the normal MB fit and features. The kids definitely wanted their own doors vs the roadster, the extra room, no car seats (still in wagon for road trips), and just discovered the fold down trays. I leased ours for 3 years hoping that down the road, the choices will be greater and the range longer.

 

[JupiterRed]

I drove the Tesla, the i3, and Leaf as well as the B. This is how I ranked them.

1. Tesla
2. B Class
3. i3
4. Leaf.

The Tesla is an amazing sports car and has amazing range but not practical for me in terms of pricing so the B was a perfect compromise that doesn't fell like a compromise. It's for my wife primarily and she likes it better then the Tesla. She's more practical and like the "mini-mini van" feel of the B (at least that's how she thinks of it). The Tesla was too much car for her.

I too leased hoping the tech gets better in 3 years.

Jeff, since you in NYC, if you ever get to Mt. Kisco, you can test drive the Tesla there. The roads are better then in NYC to really see what that car can do.

The future is bright for electric cars. The Tesla and the B prove that to me.

 

[JeffRay]

JR, I grew up in Irvington and one of my college chums grew up in Mt. Kisco. Just off the SMP. No question that driving any performance car in NYC is not indicative of anything except low mileage or low range. Have a couple of years to see what develops with Tesla X and new MB electrics.

Happy holidays all.

 

[tedkidd]

I drove the Tesla, the i3, and Leaf as well as the B. This is how I ranked them.

1. Tesla
2. B Class
3. i3
4. Leaf.

The future is bright for electric cars. The Tesla and the B prove that to me.

Here's my list:

1 Tesla

Gap due primarily to range, partly to touchscreen

2 b class
3 VW

Fair gap

4 smart
5 BMW
6 leaf

Full disclosure, I'm likely to lease a smart cab as upgrade to our Gem E2

 

[JeffRay]

Tesla announced their lower cost S that throttles mileage to 200 miles. Something to consider if I don't renew my lease in December 2017. Anyone know anything about extending an existing lease for say a year? I like my Be but only put 6000 miles on it in 18 months.

 

[wtzouris]

Talk to your dealer, I think you can continue your lease month by month for up to a year extra.

 

[JeffRay]

Driving home today, I was behind this "butt-ugly" black SUV. I looked more closely and saw that it was a Tesla X. Boy am I glad I did not plunk down a deposit for that car. Amazing how photographers can make anything look good. Who knew?

 

[oilerlord]

I'd rank the cars you've listed in the same order. My wife and I were visiting a friend in Carlsbad two months ago, and while we were there we got to drive several EV's In order, here's how I'd rank what we drove:

1.) Tesla Model S
2.) Mercedes B250e
3.) Kia Soul EV
4.) Ford Focus Electric
5.) Nissan Leaf

The Model S P90D we tested was far & away the most impressive but for the price (I think it was $115K), it should be. It's also a really big car; BMW 7-series big. We liked the Soul EV, but couldn't get past it's goofy shape and it was about the same price as the more luxurious B250e. We quickly eliminated the Focus and Leaf...the Ford had zero cargo space, and we think the Leaf looks even more goofy than the Soul.

I suppose I'd rate the BMW above the Kia but we only sat in one and didn't drive it. I get the zen with the recycled materials that went into the interior and give props to BMW for building a lightweight EV, but it screamed "science project" to us. Also, BMW's are big dough to import into Canada because local dealers charge a "Canadian Conversion" fee of between $3000-5000. That involves installing a metric / kph cluster and smiling while they take your money. They do this to discourage buyers from importing less expensive BMW's from the US.

The Mercedes was the best fit for us, with the most (affordable) luxury and gotta love that Tesla powertrain. Overall, it was the best package. We ended up buying a 2014 B with 6700 miles on it with premium & multimedia packages. It will be shipped this week, should have it soon. Can't wait.

 

[JeffRay]

Hertz offered me a Tesla to drive this week as part of their DreamLine. I had to provide 5 forms of ID and was given the intro to car by the manager. Probably good idea since I had never driven one before. That being said, the controls are very similar to our MBe but the instrumentation is all on the touch screen.

I drove last night and in short trips, it felt like our MBe but more stable platform. Lots of extras like opening the car when the key is near it, stepping on brake to start without pushing any button to start, seemed quiet too.

Today, will be driving on the highway to SF and back. Not sure I can go into HOV lane as car does not have any required stickers.

Car has 2800 miles on it and am afraid of scratching the unit so will be very careful.

Update: It was a lipstick red Tesla S90 named "Santa's Sleigh". I put 250+ miles on it in 4 days, some highway, some local. I would say quieter than our MBe and more drive power. I hit the accelerator hard at 60 and it jumped to 85 fast. It is if you have seen a sedan cloaked as a sporty car so adults sat comfortably in the back. In the Controls, noted that this unit had three heated seats in the rear. A little troubling that everything is on the panel and if you are not familiar, you will take your eyes off the road to find the radio. We looked for the autodrive but discovered that this car did not have it or it was disabled. Smart since this is a rental car.

The manager inspected the car and found a black mark on the front right lower bumper. Filled out the forms and he said not unusual for a low slung car and it would likely be rubbed out. Will see what I get hit for.

Did the week test ride convince me to get one, NO. I like my MBe but that said, driving 250+ miles without a charge is something we do dream about.

 

[hallcp]

I did a Chevy Bolt test drive and I have a Tesla Model X. Both the B and the Bolt will spin their wheels if you try to pull out too fast. The Tesla Model X cannot be made to spin it's wheels as near as I can tell. I guess partly due to the weight and that it's AWD (all S's and X's are now I think).

The seating position in the Model S and Model 3 is pretty low, too low for an old stiff guy like me. Same for the Chevy Volt hybrid. I'm really enjoying the B with it's high upright seating. Very much like the Model X, but the X is really huge. You notice it in parking or tight corners.

All eyes will be on the unveiling of the Tesla Model Y small SUV in March. That will be interesting. Mercedes is making new electric noises too, the GLB and GLC I think will have electric models.

But I must tell you, aside from the accidental wheel spinning the B compares very favorably to the Model X in front seat comfort and driver visibility is better, esp. to the rear.