BMW i3 vs Mercedes B-Class Electric (Exclusive)

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By Ted Kidd

I was recently mentioned in the editor’s note to an article on CleanTechnica, Mercedes B-Class Electric vs BMW i3. The short point is that, unlike Car & Driver, I much preferred the Mercedes B-Class Electric over the BMW i3.

Ok, so it wasn’t just me, it was everybody I was with. Four of us checked out both cars. We went from the BMW, which we loved, to the Mercedes — and laughed…

And laughed…

And laughed.

If getting “more attention when it came down to it” is important EV purchase criteria for you, ​definitely ​buy the i3. Then you can spend your savings getting help with that narcissism problem.

When driven back to back, the Mercedes made the i3 appear like my Gem e2.

… which is basically a glorified golf cart.

We really wanted to like the i3. The salesman was awesome. He let us take the car for the afternoon, and the car drove great. And actually, I did like the car, but I feel the need to counterbalance the ​BMW bias of Car & Driver‘s conclusions (BMW a big advertiser? Someone own an i3?).

​​MPGe​ gets 5 points​? When people go from paying 20-50¢ a mile to 2-4¢​ per mile​, I don’t think ​saving ​​an additional ​¼ cent is worth the space on the page, much less 5 extra points​! (Car and Driver’s ​upper group rankings have Mercedes 85, BMW 78 — which I think does better justice to ​how ​these vehicles​ measure up​.)

If you only have 2 people, the BMW shortcomings are small. But when you move to 3, 4, or 5, it immediately becomes burnt toast next to the Mercedes B-Class Electric. The Mercedes ​back seat is LUXURIOUS, even has fold-out trays.

I used Glass to create a video of the BMW experience. (Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough battery to record the Mercedes test drive.

So, things I didn’t like about the i3. Things that might not be obvious without the benefit of driving the Mercedes immediately after the BMW:

• Stupid, ugly, inelegant, cumbersome on/off/shifting pod behind the wheel. Deb had a hard time getting it started, and in gear. Take a tip from Tesla: when someone does something really well, imitate. Mercedes controls are the best.
• No regen paddles.
• Park bench dash and door materials.
• Terrible/claustrophobic accommodations for rear passengers.
• Front seatbelt attached to rear door, further instilling the feeling of being trapped.
• Huge, ugly, inoperable window in back instead of something smaller that actually opens — FURTHER instilling the feeling of suffocating rear-seat passengers.
• Weird, pop-up mini iPad displays.

I didn’t get a deep dive into the Mercedes, but I liked:

• Paddles for regen.
• An AMAZING interior with memory seats.
• A range charge option — (It’s a Tesla, remember? Don’t want to charge to 100% unless you absolutely need it.)
• Awesome rear-seat room and comfort.
• Nice, normal looking — huge improvement over previous ugly duck look.
• Great Mercedes/Tesla control stalks — improved for 2015!
• Smooth-adjusting cruise (better than Tesla).
• Great backup camera.
• RANGE mode — the battery pack charges to 80%, range mode allows a periodic full charge, meaning this car CAN go 100–120 miles when you need it to.
• Etc….

I didn’t like the iPad display on the Mercedes either. Or that it didn’t have keyless go. And I couldn’t get the cruise control radar to work.

And I did like the ​more powerful ​regen in the BMW. I found the seats of both equally comfortable. The BMW is more “sprightly” (but it’s much less car). BMW had AWESOME modular cup holders, and keyless go. Ultimately I don’t like the weird for weirdness sake look​,​ or ​the poor design of that back door. The front seat needs a built-in seatbelt (like my ‘98 Dodge had) and the rear window needs ​be smaller and it needs ​to operate.

Really, I liked both cars, possibly more than the Car & Driver folks did. But the Mercedes is so much nicer and more useful that I think Somebody didn’t do their readers justice with their BMW-biased commentary.

About the Author: Ted Kidd is a Rochester NY Electric Vehicle fanatic, Energy Activist, and Energy Efficiency expert in the residential and small business market.

All images copyrighted by Ted Kidd.