Battery size: 42kWh
Miles per kWh: 4.12
E-Rating™: B
Max charge rate: 50 kW
Range: 173-182 miles
Pricing
The poor i3 is priced with an entry price which is currently just above the government grant threshold of £32.000. The company might choose to realign it to take advantage of the grant while it lasts.
Compare this to a top version of the new Vauxhall Corsa-e at £30,000 or cars like the Kia Soul EV which are now £35,000. But, there is a big “but”. Besides having a relatively small battery (the power pack is the most expensive part of an electric car, so a smaller battery costs far less) the i3 will need a very expensive trip to the options list to give it the same equipment level as these rivals. Add a home charger, Type 2 cable to plug in when you’re away from home, paint in any colour except white, Apple CarPlay and the package of safety technology and you’ve added several thousand to the list price. For the i3S, that’s could be enough to the cost to overlap with a Tesla Model 3.
BMW will ease the pain slightly with finance of course. Budget around £350 per month with a £5,000 deposit – that’s £200 less than the current deal from Tesla for a Model 3.
Running costs
As the i3 is much lighter than most other electric cars, it uses less power while driving the same distance. As a result, a charge at home (costing about the same as a gallon of petrol) should be able to get you 160 miles. That’s about a quarter of the cost of an equivalent petrol car such as a MINI. Take into the account the zero-rate car tax and other incentives (free parking and no congestion charge in cities, for example) and the savings soon stack up.
Maintenance should work out cheaper, as there is less to change and tweak on an electric car. BMW offer a service plan at £15 month for an i3 – that’s £3 cheaper than a MINI and £5 less than a BMW 1-Series.
The biggest saving will be if you swap a petrol or diesel company car for an i3 though. New rules around Benefit-in-Kind taxation mean drivers who are lucky enough to be given an i3 (or any all-electric car) to use as part of their job will only have to pay 1% tax in the 2021-22 tax year and will pay a reduced rate in following years. That will result in most people saving thousands.
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