The new BMW i3 has reached a showroom in Iași: I saw it at APAN, priced at nearly 400,000 lei
Two Neue Klasse BMW i3s are on display at APAN Motors in Iași, with sticker prices of about 398,000 lei. They aren't being sold from the floor yet, but test drives are coming soon. What I saw: interior, boot, frunk, 400 kW charging.
The new BMW i3, the electric saloon built on the Neue Klasse platform, has reached Moldova, the north-eastern region of Romania. Two cars are now on display at the APAN Motors showroom in Iași, and I went to film them. For now they are only for viewing: they aren't sold straight from the showroom, but the dealer is preparing test drives soon.
What it costs
Both cars carry sticker prices of about 398,000 lei, roughly €78,000. Nobody mentioned any discount. For comparison, in Germany the i3 50 xDrive starts at €65,900, and the well-equipped First Edition costs €75,340. The smaller i3 40 xDrive starts at €59,900, but it isn't on display in Iași.
What I saw on the two cars
- 20-inch wheels with Nexen tyres.
- Two different interiors: one red and one grey, so you can compare them in person.
- Panoramic iDrive: the display strip that runs across the full width of the windscreen, plus the M steering wheel.
- Soft-touch materials almost everywhere in the cabin, and a wireless phone charger.
- The classic head-up display (projected onto the windscreen) is an extra-cost option.
Space: frunk, boot and rear seats
The i3 has a frunk, a small front boot that's handy for charging cables. The rear seatbacks fold down to an almost flat floor, so a mattress fits if you want to sleep in the car. Someone 1.90 m tall sits comfortably in the back.
Battery and charging
The i3 50 xDrive uses the same battery as the iX3: 108.7 kWh net, with new cylindrical cells, on an 800 V architecture. It DC fast-charges at up to 400 kW: 10 to 80% in about 21 minutes, and up to 423 km of range added in 10 minutes. It has two motors and all-wheel drive, 469 hp, 0–100 km/h in 4.7 seconds, and up to 906 km of WLTP range for the First Edition.
These batteries are made at BMW's new plant in Bavaria, which we covered here. The same technology is in the new iX4 and in the iX3, which we covered in our article on BMW's Neue Klasse plans.
Where to see it
APAN Motors Iași is at Șoseaua Păcurari 189, phone +40 374 269 269. The showroom is open Monday to Friday, 9:00–18:30, and Saturday, 9:30–13:30. If you want a test drive, call ahead and ask when they start.
