I'd go for the range extender option if you can. 2016 and older didn't have the longest lasting batteries.

Be prepared to pay luxury car maintenance prices, it's a bmw

I had a 2017 i3 for about 5 years. LOVED it. I recommend avoiding the range extender, just get the full electric, 2017 or newer with more range (and a heat pump!).

Super lightweight, rear wheel drive, actually exhilarating 0-30 (mph) and more than enough power for freeway driving.

If you can charge at work or at home and the range is sufficient, they are lovely and fun things.

Technically, anything that isn't the latest year is an older gen Leaf. They just got a refresh.

I got a 2021 Kona Electric for $16.5k before any taxes and fees and it was not the cheapest you could get. If you're looking for $15k out the door cost though you'd probably have to get an older year.

With any EV that old you'll need to check the battery state of health. Batteries degrade from charging, from sitting at very low or high charges (the nmc cells at least) and time. Take the range left, divide it by half and if that still fits your needs, you should be good to go over next few years. Be sure to be able to charge at home or at work as those commuters with their smaller batteries usually won't have the range to get you through the week without recharging.

That's all pretty central EV advice and applies to the i3 just as it would apply to an older leaf, e-up or zoe. Other than that, what I've heard about the i3 was exclusively good and I don't see how it wouldn't be a great commuter. Haven't driven one yet though.

I seriously considered one but I was just coming off of owning a car with low production numbers and the tires alone told me I was in the wrong spot. They’re staggered (so can’t be rotated) and there’s one summer and one winter model available in that size. For tires. So there’s a lot of dealer-only parts and getting people to work on it might be a challenge.

That aside, it seems form reviews that they’re pretty good cars in a lot of ways and some of the quirks can be adjusted in software with a phone app and dongle.

They're awful.