2017 BMW i3 Specs Revealed With Some Surprises

Fluid Black as pictured and Protonic Blue Metallic will most likely be very popular colors in 2017

While many of the changes that the 2017 BMW i3 will be getting have already been announced; such as the availability of the anticipated 94 Ah battery cells, the new Protonic Blue color and a moonroof option, I've now learned there are also more subtle changes in the US for the new model year.

First, and most interesting, is the revelation that BMW will indeed continue to offer the i3 with the current 60 Ah battery, offering a lower range and lower cost i3 alternative. This is something that I don't believe has been reported on any other EV news site to date. I speculated that BMW would do this back in March, when I wrote this post dedicated to the topic. BMW hasn't made any statements regarding offering two battery options, and made no mention of it in the the official press release of the 2017 i3. Still, my sources tell me otherwise.

The 60 Ah i3 will only be offered as a BEV; the range extender will not be an option. BMW will hold the price and offer it for the same $43,395 ($42,400 plus $995 for destination and handling) as the 2016 i3 sells for.  The 60 Ah i3 will keep the same packages as previously offered. Mega World is the standard model with Giga World and Tera World serving as the upgrade packages. The 60 Ah BEV offering will allow customers that don't need the extra range a way to save some money.

The 19" BMW i Star Spoke 427 style wheels (pictured above) will remain the standard wheels for the 60 Ah BEV i3 in 2017. They will however not be offered on the 94 Ah i3. For the 94 Ah i3's (BEV or REx) the 19" Turbine 429 style wheels that were previously only offered as an option in the Giga World package will be standard. The 20" Sport wheels are still optional, and cost the same $1,300 as in previous years  

Personally I don't see a big demand for the 60 Ah model. It's only $1,200 less than the new 94 Ah i3 and will have a much shorter range at 81 miles per charge compared to 114 (est) for the 94 Ah i3. Forty percent more range for only $1,200 makes the decision a no-brainer in my opinion. So why is BMW even bothering to offer the 60 Ah battery anymore? My guess is mainly for fleet sales. They'll probably offer up a very competitive lease deal for fleets, like they recently did for the Los Angeles Police department. It's also possible that they have excess supply of 60 Ah battery cells that need to be used. BMW no doubt had to guarantee to purchase a certain number of cells from Samsung when they negotiated the original supply contract. Perhaps they didn't sell as many i3s as planned, and still have a few thousand 60 Ah packs to use, however that's pure speculation.

The 94 Ah 2017 i3 will finally have a moonroof option. It will be available for $1,000 on both BEV and REx cars. It will not, however be offered as an option on the 60 Ah i3.

The 94 Ah BEV will list for $44,595 and the REx will now cost $48,350. Comfort Access and the Universal remote garage door opener are standard on the 94 Ah i3. To get them on the 60 Ah i3, you need to upgrade to the Giga World package. So that alone helps to close the $1,200 gap in pricing between models. The much anticipated moonroof is available as an option on both models for $1,000, but it's not available on the 60 Ah model. The 94Ah i3 has a new standard trim called Deka World. With the standard Deka trim, as mentioned above, the Turbine 429 style wheels are standard, as is the Deka Dark cloth, an interior not previously offered in the US although it had previously been offered as the standard interior on European i3s.

The new standard Deka World is called "Atelier" in Europe. It's a combination of dark gray and black cloth, with BMW i blue trim. 

There are then three optional "Worlds" to choose from, instead of the two in past years. Mega World, a $1,400 option, offers the 19" Turbine 428 style wheels and the Mega Carum Spice cloth interior.  Mega World doesn't  offer an interior upgrade, like Giga and Tera Worlds offer. Instead it's actually just a different color cloth with no upgrades in the dashboard trim. One potential problem I can see with this, is that Mega World is the standard interior on the 60 Ah i3, and it doesn't offer the 19" Turbine 428 style wheels. So "Mega World" isn't the same on all i3s, you need to know which battery the car has to know what wheels it comes with. It's standard on the 60 Ah, but optional on the 94 Ah, and has different wheels depending on the battery. That's certainly going to give some client advisers and customers a headache.

The Dark Oak wood trim is a new offering on the i3. It is available in the Giga or Tera World packages and customers get to choose if they prefer this, or the lighter Eucalyptus wood which was previously the only wood trim offered.

The next level up is Giga World which costs $1,800. Giga World also upgrades the wheels to the Turbine 428 style wheels but also upgrades the interior. In previous years, Giga World upgraded the wheels from the standard 427 Star Spoke wheels to the turbine 429 style wheels. Now for 2017 it upgrades from the standard 429 style wheels to the 428 style wheels which is also a bit confusing, especially since a Giga World 60 Ah i3 comes with the 429 style wheels - different than a Giga World 94 Ah i3! The interior for a 94 Ah Giga World i3 is the same as it has been in past years, and the same as it is on a 60 Ah i3 for 2017. The only change is the customer now has a choice of the light Eucalyptus wood trim, or the new Dark Oak Wood trim.

The Tera World interior remains the same. The only exception is there is now a Dark Oak Wood trim option. My i3 pictured above has the Eucalyptus wood trim. Customers now have their choice of which wood they prefer.

The top of the line World is still the Tera World, and it's a $2,600 option. It has the exact same offerings as the Giga World, except it has a full leather interior. It's the same Dalbergia Brown color as in previous years and what I have in my i3.

As for exterior colors it appears that only Capparis White is standard, and any of the other five other colors will cost an additional $550. Those include: Fluid Black, Ionic Silver Metallic, Protonic Blue Metallic, Platinum Silver and Mineral Grey. Also of note is the new Protonic Blue Metallic will not be available on the 60 Ah i3.

The new Protonic Blue Metallic will likely be a popular choice. However you'll have to order the 94 Ah battery if you want this color because it's not available on the lower cost 60 Ah i3. 

That's all I have for now. Based on my research I believe everything above is correct. However BMW hasn't formally released these details and it's possible that I didn't get everything 100% correct. I'll follow up and make any corrections necessary if that proves to be the case.

Breaking: BMW i3 "Shadow Sport" Special Edition to be offered in US

The i3 Shadow Sport Limited Edition is coming

Thinking about getting a BMW i3? Do you like to own low-volume special edition cars? When it comes to cars, a special edition where only 50 copies are made guarantees the owner will be in pretty exclusive company.

That's exactly what BMW is doing with a special version of the 2016 i3. BMW is calling it the "i3 Shadow Sport" and they are using social media for the public unveiling. Tomorrow (Monday, 11/16) at 8:00pm EST, you can tune into the live BMWUSA Periscope event to find out the details on the i3 Shadow Sport.

BMW's teaser of the new limited edition i3 Shadow Sport

From the teaser picture it looks like the car has a moonroof, which has yet to be available in the US, and is the new color, Fluid Black. It has the 19" Cyclone wheels which only come with the top-of-the-line Tera World package, so it's likely loaded with all the options the car offers. So far, all BMW has said was "With only 50 available to purchase, the all-electric 2016 BMW i3 Shadow Sport is every bit a BMW i3 with new features – available for the first time in the US." Nothing else is known about this special edition i3, so if you're interested in the i3, and like owning rare cars, made sure you tune into tomorrow's live Periscope event. 

BMW i3 Wheels and Tires: What you need to know

You get a better view of just how tall and thin the tires on the i3 are without the body in place

Note: This was originally posted on February 17th, 2014. I have had so many people message me about tire and wheel size information that I thought it would be a good idea to repost it.

One of the more talked about features of the i3 is its tires. Not for decades has there been a car with such tall and narrow wheels and tires. Since the 70's, the trend has been for tires to get wider and wider, and that is especially true for performance cars since more rubber on the ground generally means better roadholding.

Performance is critical for any BMW

Then came along the i3. It's BMW's quirky-looking mega-city car, and the first electric car from the brand. With all the incredibly unique aspects of this vehicle, it's still the tires that catch most peoples attention when they first see it in person. They just aren't used to seeing such tall and thin tires on a car, let alone a BMW. Actually, they look like they would be better suited for a motorcycle, but that's just because we just aren't accustomed to seeing tires like this. Rest assured the BMW engineers have done their homework, and the tires do exactly whet they were designed to. They provide excellent grip while increasing the cars efficiency with lower aerodynamic drag.

BMW commissioned Bridgestone to make special tires just for the i3. Even though they carry the "Ecopia" name, they are different from any other tire that Bridgestone makes. Franco Annunziato, CEO and President of Bridgestone Europe said: “The BMW i3 is very much a car for the future. Developing a unique tire for this unique vehicle was therefore an enormously challenging but also rewarding experience. Energy efficiency is an important development criteria for all our tires at Bridgestone. However, it becomes an even more critical factor in an electric car. Which is why we have put all our knowhow, skill and passion into developing this unique tire. One that we are confident delivers the premium performance, safety and economy towards consumers who have come to expect it from both brands.” As for performance, since BMW wanted to use a narrow tire for efficiency but not sacrifice on performance, they needed to use a much taller tire than most would expect on a car of this size. By increasing the height, they were able to increase the contact patch so it is similar to the contact patch of a MINI Cooper, which is well known for its great handling. Talking about the i3's tires and their grip on the road, Ulrich Krantz, BMW's product manager for BMW i said: "It’s not rocket science. All that matters is the size of the contact patch. The 19-inch tires may be skinny, but their tall height generates the same contact patch as a low-section 16-inch MINI tire". 
 

1) Standard Mega 19" #427  2) Tera World 19" #428   3) Giga World 19" #429   4) Optional 20" Sport  #430

So with the question of performance behind us let's focus on the tire and wheel sizes and combinations. BMW doesn't make it easy here. The standard wheel on the base Mega World interior is a BMW i Star Spoke (Style 427) wheel that is 19" x 5" on the front and rear and they use the 155/70 R19 84Q Bridgestone Ecopia EP600 all season tires that were specifically designed for the i3. Here is where it starts to get tricky. If you get a BEV i3 with the standard Mega trim, the wheels and tires are the same size on the front & rear, but if you get any other interior trim (Giga or Tera Worlds) the rear wheels are slightly wider (19" x 5.5") and the tires are wider and lower profile (175/60 R19 86Q). Also, if you get the standard Mega World trim but get the range extender, you also get the wider wheels and tires on the rears. Then there are the optional 20" Double Spoke sport wheels. They are also staggered in size and use Bridgestone Ecopia EP500 summer tires, not all-seasons. Up front you get 20" x 5" wheels and 155/60 R20 80Q tires and in the back there are 20" x 5.5" wheels and 175/55 R20 85Q tires.

EP600's on left & winter tire on right

So the wheel and tire size is staggered in every instance except for a base i3 with Mega World trim and no range extender, right? Kinda. Everything above applies for the standard 19" Bridgestone Ecopia EP600 and 20" Ecopia EP500 tires but not if you want/need winter tires. There will be two different winter tires available (Blizzak LM500 & Blizzak NV, though I'm not sure they will both be available in the US). However they will only be available in 155/70 R19, so if you want the winter tires you'll be using the same size front and rear tire. Furthermore, if you order your i3 with the optional 20" Sport wheels ($1,300 option) and you live in an area that would necessitate winter tires, then you'll need to buy a set of 19" wheels also, since there are no 20" winter tires that will fit the 20" sport wheels. I have spoken to BMW product managers about this and was told bluntly that the 20" tires are summer tires, not all-seasons and they will not perform well in snow and ice. So if you were considering the 20" sport wheels for your i3 and you live in a cold weather area, understand you'll likely need to spend another $2,000 or so to get a set of winter tires & wheels, since you can't just buy the tires. If you have any of the three 19" wheels then all you need to do is buy the winter tires and you can swap them for the winter and put your Ecopia EP600's back on in the spring.

One more thing. None of the tires are runflats, and the i3 does not have a spare tire. What you do get is a can of "Fix-a-Flat" tire sealant and compressed air, which if used properly should get you at least as far as your nearest BMW dealer which will likely be the only place that stocks there rare tire sizes. If not used properly it will blow up in your hand leaving you covered with the sticky goo meant to seal the hole and you'll be calling Roadside Assistance. Finally, if you are wondering how well the i3 does in the snow, below are a couple videos that were just posted on YouTube by a new i3 owner in Norway. I have also talked with a couple people that have driven the i3 in the snow and they have remarked about how well it has done, likely another benefit of the tall, thin tires that slice through the snow instead of rolling over it.