New Peugeot e-208 vs used BMW i3: costs
Want to go electric without paying a fortune? Peugeot’s all-new e-208 is a great choice. But BMW’s radical i3 is even more affordable as a used buy...
Buying and owning
Costs, equipment, reliability, safety and security
Factor in a small discount and the Government’s £3000 grant and a private cash buyer can get the e-208 for less than £26,500. However, that’s still more than the £22,500 or so you’ll pay for the i3, which would have cost the original owner £28,570 with the grant (£4500 back in 2018) included.
On the other hand, if you’re looking to buy through PCP finance, the i3 will cost you slightly more in monthly payments, due to a higher interest rate than on a new e-208.
While both brands offer a three-year warranty and an eight-year/100,000-mile battery warranty from new, the used i3 is already two years into its coverage. BMW offers an additional year of coverage for Approved Used cars, but to get a full three years to match the e-208, you’ll have to take out an extended warranty, which isn’t cheap, at £1060 per year.
Neither are the i3’s servicing or insurance costs, but its slower predicted depreciation is enough to offset these, making it cheaper to run over three years by around £2000.
Both cars have the ability to rapid charge, but the e-208 allows for a rate of up to 100kW, whereas the i3 is limited to 50kW. If you can find a suitable charger, the e-208 can be charged from 0-80% in just 30 minutes – 10 minutes quicker than the i3. At home, the i3’s smaller battery goes from 0-100% in four and a half hours via a typical 7kW charger, versus seven and a half hours for the e-208.
The i3’s safety rating has now expired, but it didn’t do brilliantly when it was tested back in 2013, and automatic emergency braking (AEB) wasn’t available even as an option. The standard 208 achieved only four stars last year – not great, but that was under the latest stringent criteria. Plus, it gets AEB as standard.
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