Following our family’s successful test drive of an i3 we decided to order one, and I looked around for a good deal. I contacted the dealer closest to my work in Milton Keynes but the only deal they could offer us was very expensive (ca. £600 per month).

Online there was a mix of offers available, most at very high prices but a couple at a good price. I researched these further and settled on a particularly attractive Personal Contract Hire (PCH) lease deal. I eventually took one, for a base i3 but with Loft interior and optional wood dash.

My first glimpse of our new i3 (Image: T. Larkum)

All of this took place about the time of, and was prompted by, the launch by BMW of the i3 version known as a ‘94Ah’ (because its new battery cells have a higher capacity than the old 60Ah ones). We are therefore receiving one of the first examples of this longer-range i3 to be produced, and the i3 was on the shortlist to follow our ZOE precisely because of the increase in range it would provide.

Our new i3 in the showroom (Image: T. Larkum)

I was surprised but pleased to learn that although the car would be on lease, it could be supplied through our local dealer (closest to home), Wollaston BMW in Northampton. That was particularly appropriate as that was where we had our test drive.

Nearly time to go… (Image: T. Larkum)

After waiting was seemed like ages (but was actually only a couple of months) I went and collected the car last Friday. There was a minimum of paperwork but a long and detailed handover in the showroom covering all the main points of operating the car (my thanks go to Ben at Wollaston for his patience and attention to detail).

Sitting outside the office (Image: T. Larkum)

I then drove it out of the showroom and straight to the office in Milton Keynes. There I didn’t even get to sit down before I was asked to do test rides, and eventually took out a dozen people. It was no hardship, though, as it’s such a pleasure to drive.

I’m loving the new i3 and haven’t stopped smiling since I picked it up!