BMW i3s REAL LIFE REVIEW | FULL ELECTRIC CAR REVIEW | KERRY WHELPDALE

[@simonreeves2017]

Go for a cheap overnight electricity tariff- I have a standard i3 for 6 months and have only just put in a 7.2kW charger, so like you I was charging from a domestic socket at about 2.8kW. Try Octopus Energy - 1/3 price between 12:30 and 4:30 over night, can configure i3 to only charge between these times. Doing this, my i3 costs less than 1p per mile in 'fuel'. You do need to do a bit more homework on the i3 range though - quite a lot of well intentioned miss-information about the vehicle.

[@loonymoon1]

Nice video. I just got an older model 2018 I3S mine is the previous 33kWh battery and also has the range extender which is a little petrol engine which can kick in to generate extra electricity if you need it, useful in an emergency if you're low on charge and a charger is broken or blocked for example, Definitley a good solution as the infrastructure builds up. As my first EV I feel it's a good "comfort blanket". So far I've driven 1000 miles and used

[@jhccb123]

Hello 👋 do you still have your i3. I'm really thinking about getting one. Any advice

[@eauto9152]

The s version don’t have a longer range, it is only a little bit faster. Love the car.

[@slowestz]

S version doesn’t get more range, it actually gets less, it has a more powerful 184hp motor and a “sport” profile for the drive modes. Other differences is fender flares, 20” alloys with slightly wider wheels and 10mm lower ride height.

[@sarahcarter5703]

We have one of these and I love it - so fast off the mark. I will get another one when I change it. We love charging it in Brighton as it is so fast. I do find the boot small though - with two kids, backpacks for them and me, dog, guitar and loads of bits, it is a squeeze sometimes!

[@KerryWhelpdale]

Yes it defo is a squeeze for us with the boot too.. but it makes me pack more consciously hahahah!!! Xxx

[@antonyculbert6802]

Great video Kerry. I also have a i3s and also just use the 3pin charger(granny cable). Not sure if you know you change the charge current settings. As standard from the factory it is set to slow charge but you can change it to reduced or maximum. Also if you haven’t got the BMW connect app I would recommend it as you can set the car to heat the cabin before you get in it, from your phone

[@KerryWhelpdale]

Oohh this is so interesting.. I didn’t know this about changing the charging setting.. I’m going to look into that straight away :) thank you xxx

[@antonyculbert6802]

Kerry hi, did you get to check charging current settings?

[@KerryWhelpdale]

antony culbert yes!!! I can’t believe we didn’t know this before.. our car charges so so quickly now.. thank you so much for the advice.. we honestly would never have know this otherwise 😘😘

[@mc4130]

This is great. My wife absolutely loves your videos, so when trying to convince her we need an i3, I just need to show her this! Thank you! Can you please now do a review on a nice mens Barbour Jacket, I’d be very appreciative…. Many thanks

[@leallen3358]

So helpful! We have been thinking of an electric car next and your video has explained it all so well that my concerns about getting one have gone. Thank you so much! ⭐️

[@KerryWhelpdale]

Aahh I am so please my video has helped :) thank you so much for letting me know :) xxx

[@simonpritchard472]

Whoa! The S actually has slightly less range than the non-S, mainly because of larger tyres, and slightly more power available. The batteries are the same.

[@DarkstarDarth]

So do you still have the i3 and if so how is it doing? Thanks.

[@jakubjodlowski2768]

Hands down one of the best car reviews I have seen in a while. Who cares about the horsepower etc.! Very cool to hear just how it FEELS in the real world, and the financial aspect of an electric i3s via Thirfty. Cool stuff!!!

[@KerryWhelpdale]

Aahh thank you so much :) so happy to read this :) xxx

[@dgbourdon1325]

Nice little vid, beautifully delivered!

[@KerryWhelpdale]

Thank you :) xxx

[@mariannetuite7411]

I don’t drive but this was a great video. Really appreciate the eco friendly content as I’ve been working at reducing my waste this year. Also really enjoyed the zero waste store video. I’m a wheelchair user and unfortunately I’ve found that our local stores aren’t accessible but the more these places become known and the norm that will hopefully change, so thanks

[@KerryWhelpdale]

So glad you enjoyed this video.. thank you for watching :) yes I do agree that the more people want this lifestyle the more and more the stores will accommodate fir everyone 😘😘😘

[@jhccb123]

👋 hello there! I know you posted this video about the bmw i3 a while back. I was just wondering how it performed ?

[@sarahtrotter1285]

Still my absolute FAV youtuber xxx another great vid xxx

[@KerryWhelpdale]

Aahh thank you :) xxx

[@Olivia-cd8dm]

Please keep up with the sustainable content! I loved this review x

[@KerryWhelpdale]

Thank you :) Its getting so much easier going more and more plastic free but still so hard in other ways.. eg.. soft cheese.. don’t know what I do there?! The kids love it!! But I’m sure there will be solutions for everything very soon :) xxx

[@katejefferies9285]

Very interesting Kerry! We're a bit behind the UK in terms of plentiful charging stations, though I think you're right that that will change as time goes on. Good on your government for offering incentives! One question I have is how do you manage with just the one car as a family of four and Chris being on the road so much? Any insights into how you organise family life around one car would be great!

[@KerryWhelpdale]

Yes it’s brilliant the government offer that incentive as it makes a huge difference to the price of installation :) With only having one car, Chris travels 3 days a week so 4 days he is at home so I have access to the car.. our school is very close so I walk most of the school runs.. and if Chris is ever away and I need to get anywhere I get an Uber.. it works out so much cheaper than having to run a second car for the occasional use! We have been doing it for about 6 months now and it’s working quite well.. a bit annoying sometimes but nice to save the money :) xxx

[@ameetkaushal3877]

Hi, how long does it take to charge at home on the 3pin? Thanks!

[@lanawilson4]

How often would Chris have to charge when he is doing his communte to work?

[@KerryWhelpdale]

I’ve just done the commute with him and we got there and back on one charge.. we drove in eco+ mode so not fast at al.. but we have 13 miles left in the tank!!! Lol!! Cutting it fine but shows we can do it!! So 150 miles for £3.50 of electricity:) xxx

[@lanawilson4]

@@KerryWhelpdale thats amazing!

[@Turburki]

Thank you so much for the wonderful review ! Kerry ~ How are the seats at the back for the boys ? I always wonder about the comfort level with the seats 😇

[@KerryWhelpdale]

I’ve sat in the back on lots of occasions and they are very roomy and also very comfortable too :) I think they are actually more spacious than normal seats as they don’t have the one in the middle!! Lol xxx

[@Turburki]

Kerry Whelpdale oh!! This car sounds really good if it suits your usage :) maybe I should go try it out sometime next week! Thank you again for recommending it to us ~ Kerry 🙏🏻

[@JohnBrissenden]

Great review! We’re seriously thinking about an i3, so stumbling across your very helpful review couldn’t have been better timed. Like your husband, I have a long commute, 150 miles three times a week. My question is, how does your husband find the i3 on the motorway?

[@KerryWhelpdale]

He has gone as far as to say that this is the best car he has ever had.. it’s great on the motorway, very comfortable and nippy :) he plans his journey so just leaves half an hour earlier than normal so he can charge at his destination so he has enough miles to get home very comfortably :) I hope that helps :) xxx

[@JohnBrissenden]

@@KerryWhelpdale Boom! The answer I was hoping for. I'm taking one out for a 24-hour test drive next week, and really loking forward to it now. Thanks for your reply! x

[@cheveredj8435]

I can detect the enthusiasm in your voice and I definitely share your passion with it, I've been looking at these cars for about three weeks now and I love them they just sit into our life style so much I've got solar panels so it definitely would be beneficial for me to charge it at home with the cable like you have done on your drive way but if I need a fast charger I've got 3 chargers roughly about 1 mile away, these cars are so cool I'm sold, very good video well done.

[@hassanskien3989]

Thank you for your effort and good review!

[@xenomorph1317]

Hi Kerry, I ordered mine in exact the same spec, arrival due februari 2020. Also tested it and it is indeed pretty fast, so im not dassapointed coming from a F80 M3 😀. One thing i do not agree to is what you said about charging thru the 3 point plug with the mobile charger not being "common" If you have no big commute you can also simply charge it a few times a week with the mobile charger. If you do more mileage it is indeed better to have a home charger. Great you love it 👍🏻

[@KerryWhelpdale]

Oh yes sure.. if you don’t need it for the miles like we do then charging it with the 3 pin plug is no problem at all :) Hope you enjoy your new car when it arrives.. it really is such a lovely car.. I love it so much :) xxx

[@xenomorph1317]

Kerry Whelpdale and highly underestimated for sure 😀 Happy driving👍🏻

[@KerryWhelpdale]

You too :) xxx

[@georgejillard]

Hello great review. Do you have any thrifty codes to use? Thanks

[@KerryWhelpdale]

Yes if you tell them you got a recommendation from me they will give you 10%! Off :) xxx

[@georgejillard]

That’s great thank you! So have you decided to extend your rental on one?

[@KerryWhelpdale]

Yes.. we have :) it’s honestly the best car we have ever had and driven.. we are 100% getting a charge point installed in our home :) xxx

[@georgejillard]

Kerry Whelpdale I’m such a fan of it too! Be interesting to see a video of the chargepoint install, costs and experience, also which one you go for. :)

[@georgejillard]

Sorry for all the questions but who have you insured it with? Thank you :)

[@ianlove3]

Just come across this thank you down to earth just want I needed to see.

[@susanwheeler5558]

Great review Kerry. xx

[@KerryWhelpdale]

So glad you enjoyed it :) xxx

[@srkrocke]

Cool! We drive a Kia e-niro since 6 weeks and I really don't miss our Audi A3 (plug in hybrid) we drove before. In NL, where I live, there's a charger on nearly every corner and this car drives more than 400km on one load. When in the UK we are a bit nervous about loading though. Chargers that don't work, just one charger on busy places already in use, etc. We have a full wallet with charger cards now 🤣

[@KerryWhelpdale]

Oh wow 400km on one charge is AMAZING.. I wonder if the UK have those cars too? Yes sometimes we go to charge and the charger is busy, but we do usually leave enough time for those issues but it does make it less convenient! I think as time goes by more and more charging docks will be installed which will accommodate for all the electric cars coming out :) xxx

[@joannedean-waters1536]

Thank you so much for sharing Kerry...I think you covered all the main points I would want to ask...excellent, honest review 💕xx

[@KerryWhelpdale]

Aahh I am so glad you enjoyed it.. any questions just ask :) xxx

[@Dharxxx]

Brilliant video! Been wanting to look into electric cars for a while this is very usefully. How much would you say your saving a month on petrol vs electric costs?

[@KerryWhelpdale]

I am going to do a follow up video on this and go through all costs.. as we have only had it for 3 weeks we don’t know how much our electricity bill will be for this month.. but I think we will take off a good £250 off our fuel bill a month.. which is just MASSIVE for us :) xxx

[@Dharxxx]

Kerry Whelpdale fantastic, thank you Kerry xx

[@retromantic9706]

Isn't it very "bumpy" ride with those 20" wheels with skinny tires?

[@KerryWhelpdale]

It is quite bumpy and sometimes I can feel a bit car sick in it if I’m not driving! Xxx

[@retromantic9706]

@@KerryWhelpdale Thanks, I'm struggling between the i3 and i3s.. and I'm guessing I'm more into comfort

[@KerryWhelpdale]

Have you test driven then both? I definitely wouldn’t say it’s an uncomfortable car.. I just think it’s a bit more bumpy than your average car.. but still very comfortable at the same time :) xxx

[@retromantic9706]

@@KerryWhelpdaleI have tested them both but the thing is it's winter in Sweden now so every i3s I've tested had the 19 inch standard winter wheels and with those it felt okay

[@Mike_5]

You can get a Government subsidy to have a charging point installed in your house but you have to remember that if you have a public footpath outside and the charging lead to the car is over this you will be personally liable for any injuries such as trip hazards which is well worth taking into account. Also an electric car does not just charge up and when you park it stop using electricity as the alarm and other devices discharge the battery. Maybe consider a Hybrid car?

[@KerryWhelpdale]

We would have the charging point installed from our electricity so it wouldn’t cross any footpaths.. I would be very interested to try a hybrid next to see the difference but I’ve heard it used fuel on the motorways which is what most of our driving is so wouldnt really save us much money?? I need to check this though :) xxx

[@Mike_5]

@@KerryWhelpdaleI get your point totally and you gave a very good overview of but the Hybrid is switchable so you can use either or both engines (e.g. petrol / diesel electrical) so in typical use you would use the fossil fuel engine to charge the batteries for the electric then switch the fossil fuel off so you get a 'self charging' car.

[@matthewmcnair8778]

Excellent review without the usual stigma of people knowing everything about cars!!! Thanks

[@SSLOW]

Great video! S stands for “sport”, the i3s has the same range but some more power ;)

[@argault]

The S does stand for Sport, however due to that very reason the range is less than the standard i3! At least that is what BMW claims on their configurator on their website!

[@SSLOW]

Thanks Alan! I just double checked and on the configuration of the i3s on the BMW site it stands the same 260 km range than the i3. Maybe it’s just that website, have a great day

[@SteveDaviesCPT]

Contrary to what one might think, the more miles you do the more sense an electric car makes. Sounds like Chris works 50 miles away - so a daily charge will easily do the job and leave room for another 50 miles on top of you take it easy.

[@GoogleAccount-vn8mu]

The best car in the world

[@gordonbrittas4842]

The S has less range than the normal i3 with similar battery. ... More power though so quicker.

[@tiredmummy7739]

Great car x

[@KerryWhelpdale]

It’s it just 😍😍😍

[@lauracullen854]

This is so exciting I love electric cars,we have a Tesla and I wouldn’t go back to a engine car. 😘

[@KerryWhelpdale]

Aahh I tried out a tesla for 2 weeks and it was brilliant.. the range is amazing :) I know I feel like I don’t want to go back to an engine car either :) xxx

[@xenomorph1317]

Kerry Whelpdale the only reason that kept me away from Tesla is the poor build quality something that for me personally is important. If they get that fixed i switch over from my I3s immediately.

[@clairebear220990]

I live in a terraced house so how would I charge 🤔🤔

[@KerryWhelpdale]

Hmm yes that is my question too.. my brother lives in one too and he just told me he is getting an electric car too.. when I asked what he will do about charging he said he would just top up at a charge point.. he doesn’t work far from home so would probably only need to charge up once per week.. so I guess that would be how you would get around that? Xxx

[@clairebear220990]

They’re an amazing idea , I probably only do 100 miles a week so charging it would cost so little ! Wow this has really made me look into going electric for my next car , great video xxx

[@stevewalsh-balshaw1727]

Sustainable for the wealthy yes for the rest of us an out of reach idea pricing needs to get real way way too expensive

[@z00h]

Boioioioing!

[@DannyThompson54]

Cool video review. Its always nice to get a lay person's point of view to balance against the veteran expert vloggers. The i3s, where the "s" essentially stands for "Sport", is all that you describe and then some. The suspension is a bit firmer than the regular i3 and the i3s also has "Sport" power mode that is punchy as you might expect a BMW sports to be. The default "Comfort" mode is quite rapid enough for any normal/sane use. I do think your car sick feeling is going to be attributable to use of the phone while hubby is driving, coupled with the firmer suspension. Other useful things to note - the i3 is rear wheel drive, great for power delivery, and has the turning circle of a London black cab which is great for manoeuvring in tight spots. Superb rear camera and sensors make parking a breeze.

[@KerryWhelpdale]

Oohh I havnt even noticed about the turning circle so I now need to go out and test that out :) I really do love cars and even though I’m a novice I really enjoy making reviews on them :) xxx

[@dianehealey479]

Our next car is going to be electric. Will probably be sometime next year.

[@KerryWhelpdale]

I love having the electric car.. it’s brilliant and it’s so nice not having to go to the petrol station too! Xxx

[@zulfqarali905]

Hi kerry well done you keep it up you are doing a great job and having fun making some brilliant videos superstar Ali Walsall west midlands england junction 10 m6 Walsall churckery fabulous review on the bmw i3 😅

[@garrycroft4215]

I think that you like to be first away from the lights. (Girl Racer) lol

[@elliemulligan3351]

I am a big BMW fan we have a 5 series m sport but I have to say this model is really ugly ! Proper let down for BMW. But the electric element is good...

[@KerryWhelpdale]

I used to think it was ugly too.. but now I have one and love the drive and everything about it, I weirdly don’t find it ugly anymore!!! Xxx

[@elliemulligan3351]

Kerry Whelpdale yeah maybe I should get one might change my mind 😂 sorry to be so shallow 🙈

[@ivanahoudek2877]

Great video but some of the details you've mentioned are completely wrong and incorrect. "S" doesn't stand for "bigger ranger" but for sports (it's a car, not an iPhone), and those two cars (i3 and i3s) are actually very, very different. For start, the chassis is different - it's lower and more sporty, wheels are different and "i3S" is much faster and the battery capacity is actually smaller, and so is the range. I don't expect you to understand these things at first look at the car, but if you're already doing a "review" of the car then at least you should check all the facts before "spreading the word"... I don't mean anything bad, don't get me wrong.. I love your videos, and I'm a long-time subscriber but this time I got really disappointed because it looks like you didn't even bother to check what you're talking about...

[@KerryWhelpdale]

Wow I wasn’t expecting this message at all.. didn’t read to nicely for me! Sorry if my car review offended you.. I enjoyed making it so I will keep doing them with my basic knowledge and hope I can help a few people with their choices! I’m just someone who likes driving cars and I know if it works for my family or not.. I’m not claiming to be a car pro! Sorry! Xxx

[@ivanahoudek2877]

Kerry Whelpdale and that’s fine 👍🏻 I didn’t expect a pro review, and I quite liked your approach and what you shared. I’m just saying that the info you gave in the video is misleading because what you said is not true. It’s quite the opposite. And thanks to that now 1,5k people think that’s true 🤦‍♀️ and WOW I’m shocked that you think that’s OK? 😳 It makes me think a bit, if can actually trust your videos fully or should I double check everything you say.. because you obviously don’t. And you obviously don’t care because instead of an apology for sharing the wrong info and taking this comment as an advice, you got offended 😏 wow I don’t have a problem with your opinion, that’s all good. But then don’t go into technical things which you don’t know or understand and didn’t even bother to check. From someone who has so many followers and does vlogging for a living , I’d expect better. That’s all

[@KerryWhelpdale]

I’m sorry if my reply seemed rude yesterday.. I think I just took offence to your message.. on reflection I do apologise. Our i3s has a range of 180miles .. the range on the i3 is 100 miles on in comfort mode. That is the info I have seen and have been informed of, so when I said the range is longer, that is what I am referring to. My friend has this car too and she had to i3 before and she has also told me the i3s has a longer mileage range. I always try to make my information as accurate as possible when making my videos, so yes I got offended when reading your message. I never compared anything else about the two models of cars, so no other information of mine was incorrect. I would never want my followers to not trust what I say and I pride myself on being honest and trustworthy. So once again, I apologise if my review to you was not right.. but I do not feel like I have given 1.5k people the wrong information to think about getting this electric vehicle and the pros and cons it has as a family car :) xxx

[@ivanahoudek2877]

Kerry Whelpdale Yes, compared to the original i3 (older model) the new i3s has a longer range but you are then comparing an old and new model. Which is again not the same. The new models have different batteries and longer range. The thing which bothers me is that you actually said, and I quote “the only difference in between i3 and i3s is that this one had longer range”. And that is simply not true. They are two very different cars. I don’t mean it bad, but I just think that it’s not ok to say that because it’s not true. And I do too speak from a first hand experience, because we do own a new i3s and we tested both before buying one. And the difference is huge. Apart from those 15s of the video, everything else was great and I believe very helpful. I didn’t mean to offend anyone, I’m just stating that that’s not correct :) If you spare 3 min you can watch the full comparison here and you’ll see what I’m talking about kzbin.info/www/bejne/rXKch6ZohMmfnck