MarkCup's BMW i3S

[MarkCup]

It's finally EV time. Is this the future? I'm not convinced there won't eventually be something better but to be honest I'm really not that bothered, the ONLY reason I have this thing is because FREE CAR!

Well, not entirely free, through a salary sacrifice scheme I lose £195 of net pay per month to lease the car for 3 years and 30,000 miles total. However, I also don't have to insure it, maintain it (not that there's much to do on EVs anyway), pay for consumables, and most importantly, pay to charge it (I recently had 3x 22kW EV chargers installed at work). I do have additional BIK tax of £24 per month to pay though.

So by running this thing at a total cost to me of £219 per month, I no longer have to spend £175 per month fuelling the Cayman just for the commute...so I'm still £45 per month down...but, I also don't have 6k of miles of boring commuting wear and tear per year going on the Cayman. I see that as breakeven.

Enough sums, what's it like? What's it like to drive?

Well it arrived with 13 miles on the clock, a fully charged battery, and so far I've done 45 miles being the drive home, one swimming lesson drop-off, and a lengthy cross country outing just to leather and play with it. In no particular order;

1. It feels like a BMW. I can't state that any more simply.
2. It feels so obviously rear-wheel-drive. Really rear-wheel-drive.
3. Range will be good enough, plenty for commuting, errands, and free LOLs.
4. Coming from my Cayman the steering is really quick!
5. Even with the wider 'S' tyres, the turning circle is comical.
6. Initial pull-off, say 2-4 metres is a bit soft/disappointing.
7. Once rolling it just f***s off. 80-120 kmh in 4.3 seconds. LOL
8. The Bridgestone Ecopia tyres are very noisy but surprisingly grippy.
9. TC-off is hidden, but a dash shortcut means it's now only 2 clicks away.
10. Bringing the throttle in mid roundabout is like nothing I've ever driven.
11. Sport mode really hardens the throttle, Comfort is very soft by comparison.
12. The seats have zero bolstering, and I don't mean barely any, I mean none.
13. Steering has a hint of feel, enough to know when the fronts are about to start howling.
14. The HK audio after my woeful Porsche crap is wonderful.
15. Getting in the Cayman after the i3 feels like actually sitting on the floor.
16. It has the footprint of my mk7 Fiesta ST, but (for the front seats) more cabin space than my C-Max.
17. Pushing/bending all the plastic body panels is fun.
18. Windows down, walls either side, floor it, and I think it sounds like a spaceship.
19. My daughter thinks it sounds like a Tube train.
20. The visible open weave of the unpainted carbon fibre polymer roof has been mentally banked for later.

I think we're going to get along.

 

[Cub.]

Very keen to see how you get on with this, as I may consider one as a town hack.

Can you pm the costs / monthlies please.

 

[The Chubby Pirate]

Suicide rear doors, dawn the life jacket, you’re about to be drowning in vagina my friend.

 

[MarkCup]

Very keen to see how you get on with this, as I may consider one as a town hack.

Can you pm the costs / monthlies please.

I'm happy to share here Ollie, the company is paying the going rate for a business lease as shown on Leaseloco;

With VAT as a consumer you'd be paying £580 per month for what I have. The fact that I'm only paying £195 from may pay packet is mostly down to Boris, and also a £150 employer contribution I forgot to add in my OP.

The company shown at the bottom there are the ones who I used.

 

[Christopher]

I actually quite like them for a commuter. Better than a lot of the cheap EVs.

 

[Rojer]

I really like the Honda E, but probably doesn't have enough range for you.

 

[Crayola]

You didn't mention that the designers made it look like a hearing aid on wheels🤣

 

[Daniel]

I absolutely love these, I think they’re brilliant.

Good work sir. The perfect commuter car imo.

 

[Thrust-Rated]

Love this!

Can't wait to watch some vids!

Will it see goodwood track? 👀

 

[Stay Puft]

I love driving these at work. Bargain at £200 per month.

 

[MarkCup]

I really like the Honda E, but probably doesn't have enough range for you.

I could manage with he original 22kWh battery version of this with just a 70 mile range. It would effectively start every day with a range of 70 miles.

When I decided the Mini was not happening I did consider everything including the E, but too heavy, none in stock, and versus the i3 no real value on the lease deals.

Love this!

Can't wait to watch some vids!

Will it see goodwood track? 👀

I'd love to but I can't, lease conditions preclude it. Besides, I see/read about them withholding power once the battery's bit a bit warm so I'd likely only manage one lap before it halves the power.

The Autosolos though......

 

[MarkCup]

I love driving these at work. Bargain at £200 per month.

5-0 roll in these? Serious? Marked or unmarked?

 

[MatthewR]

5-0 roll in these? Serious? Marked or unmarked?

Quite a few ambulance versions of these, you know the rapid response types have them round here. Quite cool seeing them race around!

 

[Sunglasses_Ron]

5-0 roll in these? Serious? Marked or unmarked?

The Met have loads of these. Had them for about 4 years or so. All marked response cars.

 

[NorthloopCup]

I am also a big fan of these! However, mineral grey and gloss black is THE best colour for these.

 

[Stay Puft]

5-0 roll in these? Serious? Marked or unmarked?

Ours are for investigators to do errands etc.. but we borrow them every now and then. Great fun

 

[MarkCup]

I am also a big fan of these! However, mineral grey and gloss black is THE best colour for these.

My original choice until I saw that the one at the end of my road I kept hearing was that exact colour.

Also not a huge fan of the blue highlights but not enough to say no.

 

[Rojer]

My original choice until I saw that the one at the end of my road I kept hearing was that exact colour.

Also not a huge fan of the blue highlights but not enough to say no.

Blue is much nicer! So many grey BMWs about.

 

[MarkCup]

Blue is much nicer! So many grey BMWs about.

Yer but I now have a light blue Cayman, a medium blue C-Max, a dark blue i3, and a black 107.

If they had one in stock and available, I'd have had a red one, no question.

 

[The Chubby Pirate]

How many wheels are driven Mark? Are all EV’s driving the four corners?

 

[Clart]

I like it.

our EV scheme will be miles more than that though, probably in the region of £500 a month I reckon

 

[Marc.]

How many wheels are driven Mark? Are all EV’s driving the four corners?

No, most of them are 2wd aren’t they?

Good purchase Mark, these have grown on me over the years. Can’t argue with the costs either. I’m excited to get hold of my Solterra!

 

[massiveCoRbyn]

Will be interesting to see how you get on with this. Look forward to the YT videos, as no doubt you'll go more in-depth than anyone else.

Don't think I could ever get past the looks though.

 

[Al_G]

I like this...The thinking mans Fake Taxi.

 

[Daniel]

I'm happy to share here Ollie, the company is paying the going rate for a business lease as shown on Leaseloco;
View attachment 1599879

With VAT as a consumer you'd be paying £580 per month for what I have. The fact that I'm only paying £195 from may pay packet is mostly down to Boris, and also a £150 employer contribution I forgot to add in my OP.

The company shown at the bottom there are the ones who I used.

That is f**king insane money.

I appreciate that your situation means it doesn’t cost you that much, but this is precisely the reason EV’s are going to take a while to get popular.

My £3k car that does 22mpg looks cheap as chips now.

 

[MarkCup]

How many wheels are driven Mark? Are all EV’s driving the four corners?

Just the two at the rear. The pokey versions of EVs tend to have the additional motors. Annoyingly it's pi**ing down today but I'm working from home...I'll find a reason to get out at lunch though to see how it behaves.

I like it.

our EV scheme will be miles more than that though, probably in the region of £500 a month I reckon

Yeah because this is a scheme I constructed, ALL the savings benefit the employee...and there's no middle-man 3rd party company taking a piece. Through the likes of Tusker it would be a whole lot more.

Will be interesting to see how you get on with this. Look forward to the YT videos, as no doubt you'll go more in-depth than anyone else.

Don't think I could ever get past the looks though.

Agreed, looks are complete Marmite. It's growing on me though, rapidly. If looks could talk, I think it's saying "I just don't give AF".

That is f**king insane money.

I appreciate that your situation means it doesn’t cost you that much, but this is precisely the reason EV’s are going to take a while to get popular.

My £3k car that does 22mpg looks cheap as chips now.

Agreed 100%. Without any scheme at all, and before I got my boss to agree to everything, a VW e-Up! paid for at retail prices just about made similar sense. They were about £230 per month all in, but then I'd also have to pay for charging, maintenance, consumables so the costs were far greater, and the car far lesser.

Renault have said they'll make an EV for £6k less than anyone else can, so maybe they're on to something

 

[Sir Nancy Flowers]

Very excited to see this (and feel it!) next time I see you!

Dont suppose you need another bed do you Mark?

 

[Cookson]

Yeah because this is a scheme I constructed, ALL the savings benefit the employee...and there's no middle-man 3rd party company taking a piece. Through the likes of Tusker it would be a whole lot more.

Interesting. I'd love to get my boss to agree something like this on salary sacrifice rather than a payrise. With car sharing with the bitches, it would cut the carbon footprint too.

I do roughly 150miles commute on the weeks I drive (one week every 3) so my maths calculates around 3000miles a year.

 

[MarkCup]

Very excited to see this (and feel it!) next time I see you!

Dont suppose you need another bed do you Mark?

There may well be a master bedroom mattress requirement before the summer's out. Depends on the wife's willingness to yield.

Interesting. I'd love to get my boss to agree something like this on salary sacrifice rather than a payrise. With car sharing with the bitches, it would cut the carbon footprint too.

I do roughly 150miles commute on the weeks I drive (one week every 3) so my maths calculates around 3000miles a year.

At that level of mileage you'd be at the lower end of what's available to make it work. For the 7 people I have salary sacrificing, the further they live from work, the more expensive their EV. Their fuel savings are far greater so they can fund a much more expensive lease and still stay cost neutral.

One who's daily round trip was 100 miles has a £76k Jag i-Pace. Another who lives 5 miles away has a £32k Vauxhall Mokka-e.

 

[Cookson]

I was just looking and the electric mini shows delivery less than 4months and £400 a month before any sacrifice etc. I may have to see if our accounts dept wants to delve into this

 

[Daniel]

I was just looking and the electric mini shows delivery less than 4months and £400 a month before any sacrifice etc. I may have to see if our accounts dept wants to delve into this

Delivery in 4 months is a lie. Unless the cars are in stock and physical, they have no idea how long they will take, they’re lying.

My best mate works for Mini and he might have to leave because they cannot get cars. 6 week wait has turned to 6 months. 6 months is now 15 months. A car dealership that can’t provide cars isn’t a fun place to work. 😂

 

[Cookson]

Delivery in 4 months is a lie. Unless the cars are in stock and physical, they have no idea how long they will take, they’re lying.

My best mate works for Mini and he might have to leave because they cannot get cars. 6 week wait has turned to 6 months. 6 months is now 15 months. A car dealership that can’t provide cars isn’t a fun place to work. 😂

I'd be more than happy with the i3 tbh, it was just a little more expensive than the mini. I wonder what else would be available for circa £200 a month

 

[Daniel]

I'd be more than happy with the i3 tbh, it was just a little more expensive than the mini. I wonder what else would be available for circa £200 a month

I really like the Fiat 500 E’s. They look really cool.

Can you wait for the Renault 5? That’s supposed to be cheap.

 

[jenic]

I really like the Fiat 500 E’s. They look really cool.

Can you wait for the Renault 5? That’s supposed to be cheap.

I think the problem with waiting is the low BIK is only 'guaranteed' until April 2025, so you don't want a lease going much beyond that. You need to jump on these schemes now to take full advantage, that's my understanding anyway.

 

[leedsboy]

It's a no brainer at that kind of money per month!

I've been looking at our salary sacrifice recently which is the same company/system that the NHS use. I don't 100% understand it in all honesty, and there doesn't seem to be anything as cheap as this, unless you want a Renault Zoe for £244 a month, however they did have a deal on an Audi E-Tron a few weeks ago. Just over £400 a month with everything paid for, tax, insurance for 4 people, fully maintained etc. 10k miles a year as well.

Even at that price, if you live slightly further from work, have been paying a fair wack for fuel every week and have access to free/cheap charging, it's not a bad deal at all for a brand new, £65k car.

 

[Greeny.]

Lets hope your work chargers dont get to busy?

Whats the plans for trackdays going forward? Clio 172?

 

[MarkCup]

Lets hope your work chargers dont get to busy?

Whats the plans for trackdays going forward? Clio 172?

Work chargers aren't an issue, even if we ALL topped up to full each day on arrival, apart from the hassle of having to play musical charging leads throughout the day, our 66kWh capacity over 12 hours is plenty. It helps that I'm the charge point admin/controller too

As for trackdays, the Cayman is going nowhere!

 

[MarkCup]

Delivery in 4 months is a lie. Unless the cars are in stock and physical, they have no idea how long they will take, they’re lying.

My best mate works for Mini and he might have to leave because they cannot get cars. 6 week wait has turned to 6 months. 6 months is now 15 months. A car dealership that can’t provide cars isn’t a fun place to work. 😂

This is my exact experience as a buyer...and why I cancelled the order and went with what I could get right now.

I'd be more than happy with the i3 tbh, it was just a little more expensive than the mini. I wonder what else would be available for circa £200 a month

Smart or e-Up! is pretty much your lot.

I think the problem with waiting is the low BIK is only 'guaranteed' until April 2025, so you don't want a lease going much beyond that. You need to jump on these schemes now to take full advantage, that's my understanding anyway.

This is another factor in me not wanting to wait for the Mini. As it is I have 3 months of 'risk' BIK tax wise at the end of my lease...Apr-Jun 2025. Until then I know exactly what this will cost me, so if they do pull the rug from beneath salary sacrifice EV owners, I'm not too exposed.

 

[MarkCup]

I threw this together, be warned, it's a lengthy one...

 

[MarkCup]

Oh, and here's a naked roof pic