Hello there,
My very first posting. After testing a 2019 i3s I fell totally enchanted by this beautiful little car. I have an astronomy hobby and one of the most important features I felt I needed was a "boot" that was sufficiently large enough to accommodate my equipment. So off to the dealerships I went with a tape measure. I checked out the Kia Soul, Hyundai Kona, Kia Niro, Ford Bolt and then finally the BMW i3S. Nothing seemed to come close to the size of the Kia Niro. But my final trip to the BMW dealer was my last. Once in the store, out came the tape measure and my pen and notebook. I sat in the drivers seat and admired the nice interior. So unique and lots of attention to details.
In my judgement (intuitively), I didn't think this would work. My 14.5" DOB mirror box measured 24"x 24" x 30" assembled so the height of the "boot" was 28.5". The only way this would work if I partially disassembled the box which was not a big deal and had two boxes that had a decreased height. So as I was leaving through the front door, the customer relations manager was opening the door for me and we started up a conversation. He had some schooling in astronomy (university courses) and was intrigued of my predicament. So he made me an offer. Why don't I take one home for the evening and try it! There was one sitting in the lot that just needed some topping up. I went off to lunch and upon my return, he passed me the FOB and off I went.
My first impression was... what a nice driving car. It is so quiet and refined. It is so responsive and the cabin seems so open with lots of clear views of the road. Once at home, my better half scolding me as expected. "Did you just buy a car???" A little explanation and peace was restored for the moment. So I drove around in our city and then her and I sort of agreed that my equipment wouldn't fit. Without even trying, I resigned to this.
Later that evening, she headed off with to dinner with friends and I was sitting around and then I decided in the dead of night to load up my telescope. Everything fit in there. I was surprised.
So the next morning, I returned the i3S and made a deal.
So my question. I ordered a 2020 model 10 days ago. Then I realized I wanted to change my options to the "enhanced" package that included Navigation Business, 10.5 " screen and driver assist feature. Yesterday I went to the salesperson and asked if this can be changed. His first response was no ...it has been ordered. But he said since its the long weekend he will look into it and will get back to me.
What do you think??
Timothy
Not to be left out in the vehicle connectivity game at CES 2015, BMW introduced some impressive innovations of their own.
We found BMW i3’s Connected Mobility particularly interesting – the vehicle itself comes with a built-in SIM card. It offers trip-planning abilities that are synced with a user’s calendar. For example, if a meeting time and location is entered into the calendar, the Connected Mobility feature can calculate how long it will take to get from one location to the next. It can even recommend public transportation options, should the user need to leave their vehicle elsewhere. When paired with the mobile app, the Connected Mobility feature can assist the user in finding their car, even in a large parking lot or garage.
Link to Longyuan
With the Remote App for Android, the user can control vehicle functions of the i3 using their smartwatch. Users can unlock doors with a simple gesture, and the doors can be opened or closed based on the wearer’s movement towards or away from the vehicle. For convenience, the user’s smart devices are permanently connected to BMW’s ConnectedDrive server. BMW also introduced their laser light feature on the M4. Part of what makes this lighting system special, besides being able to illuminate the road up to 650 feet in front of the vehicle, is that it can detect pedestrians and larger animals. This sort of data could potentially help law enforcement personnel reconstruct accidents more accurately. The engineers at BMW continue to strive to make the user experience comfortable, seamless, and safe. For more information, please visit BMW I3 Exporter.