BMW i

[agentsmith1612]

I think the RE in the i3 is not designed in that way that you could go longs trips like in the volt.
The RE in the i3 is only for situations where your battery is low and you want to arrive at the next charging point or your destination (if it is not to far away).

In my opinion the RE in this case is something like a emergency power aggregate.

 

[gameon]

I hope range extender is simple generator to supply power and not like hybrid.

Also extender shouldn't force me to go for regular maintenance like ICE cars.

If both are true and cost around $35k (apply 7500 rebate comes to $27.5k... winner in my eye for many)

let see on july 29th

 

[fengshui]

First media reports are coming out now:
http://www.edmunds.com/bmw/i3/2014/road-test.html

 

[fastcars]

so far reports are promising apart from divided opinion on look (I like it)

 

[tommolog]

A journalist in Australia got to drive one: Drive - BMW i3 Review

 

[stopcrazypp]

Not surprisingly (at least to me given the initial specs) the EV version drives extremely well. Probably one of, if not the best driving production EVs (outside of Tesla and some of the low volume sports cars). The only thing that's kind of different is the narrower low resistance tires and also the softer spring rates.

I'm more interested though in how it operates with the range extender.

 

[Mayhemm]

I think the RE in the i3 is not designed in that way that you could go longs trips like in the volt.
The RE in the i3 is only for situations where your battery is low and you want to arrive at the next charging point or your destination (if it is not to far away).

In my opinion the RE in this case is something like a emergency power aggregate.

Rather than a RE option, BMW should have just offered a bigger battery option. Perhaps with a warning graphic that pops up when you enter the latter half of battery charge to appease the worriers? This would accomplish the same thing as the RE, but without an ICE and everything that goes with it (pollution, maintenance, etc)

 

[Rifleman]

I think that the i3 is going to reinforce what Tesla already knows, that a car that is build from the ground up to be an EV will offer a superior driving experience to a EV that was converted from an ICE platform, or even a traditional ICE vehicle.

Even though the i3 is way to small for most peoples needs (real or perceived), BWM may have just firmly into second place in the EV race with it. If they build upon it, and come out with something the size of a 3 series or bigger, they could become Tesla's biggest competition for Gen 3.

 

[gregincal]

I think that the i3 is going to reinforce what Tesla already knows, that a car that is build from the ground up to be an EV will offer a superior driving experience to a EV that was converted from an ICE platform, or even a traditional ICE vehicle.

Even though the i3 is way to small for most peoples needs (real or perceived), BWM may have just firmly into second place in the EV race with it. If they build upon it, and come out with something the size of a 3 series or bigger, they could become Tesla's biggest competition for Gen 3.

Yes, but will they? After all the investment, they've come out with a car that clearly doesn't compete with any of their traditional cars. Tesla's Gen 3 is going to be aimed squarely at the 3 series. Will BMW have the corporate fortitude to release a product that competes directly with their own bread and butter? I have my doubts.

 

[Rifleman]

Yes, but will they? After all the investment, they've come out with a car that clearly doesn't compete with any of their traditional cars. Tesla's Gen 3 is going to be aimed squarely at the 3 series. Will BMW have the corporate fortitude to release a product that competes directly with their own bread and butter? I have my doubts.

You might be able to make the the argument that the i3 will compete with the mini-cooper, but even that is a little bit of a stretch. You are right on this issue, just because they will be in a good position to compete does not mean that they will have the strategic vision to do so.

 

[fastcars]

I feel BMW will be in really good position by the time gen3 come out. BMW will know the demand and improvement in battery technology will help them in making i3 bread and butter of 3 series (maybe stretching that part)

 

[agentsmith1612]

Here you will find the newest pictures and a paper for the press.

Unfortunatley in German only: Der BMW i3. (Ausgewählte Kapitel)

I have one little issue with this car, the small trunk only 200 L thats very less for a car at that price.

But on the pictures you can see that BMW build up a battery that is very flat and fits to the bottom of the car very well, like Tesla.

Not like the other EVs out there with battery packs that are much higher than Tesla or BMW ones. Therefore the pack don't affects the in-cabin room.

Great work BMW.

 

[60TTuC]

First drive: BMW i3 - BBC Top Gear

 

[ggr]

First drive: BMW i3 - BBC Top Gear

BMW reckons nearly all i3 buyers will use it as a second car so won't be doing long journeys, and it's optimised to make them efficient and fun.

In my industry they call this "design to fail". They are perpetuating the the perceived limitations.

I'm not sure what to make of the range extension feature using the 650cc motor. If I've done my back-of-the-envelope calculations correctly, I would not be able to drive from my home in San Diego to a nearby tourist trap called Julian (at about 5000'), because by the time I turned off the freeway the battery would be empty and the range extender wouldn't be able to handle even 45mph up any decent hill. And yet this is a drive that I don't hesitate to do in the Roadster so long as it has at least 3/4 standard charge. (There are now some Blink chargers at Santa Ynez, about 3/4 of the way to Julian if you go that way, but you'd still have to stop for an hour or so in the i3.)

 

[fastcars]

In my industry they call this "design to fail". They are perpetuating the the perceived limitations.

I'm not sure what to make of the range extension feature using the 650cc motor. If I've done my back-of-the-envelope calculations correctly, I would not be able to drive from my home in San Diego to a nearby tourist trap called Julian (at about 5000'), because by the time I turned off the freeway the battery would be empty and the range extender wouldn't be able to handle even 45mph up any decent hill. And yet this is a drive that I don't hesitate to do in the Roadster so long as it has at least 3/4 standard charge. (There are now some Blink chargers at Santa Ynez, about 3/4 of the way to Julian if you go that way, but you'd still have to stop for an hour or so in the i3.)

Your roadster cost lot more compare to i3. It is comparable to leaf, volt and spark EV.

i3 has some years to improve range from 100 to 200 or more by the time gen3 come out.

You should compare it with i8 when it come out :wink:

 

[nspollution]

BMW is one of the most ignorant car builders when it comes to in-car technology. They make a fun car to drive, but the in-car technology is just bizarre. I don't see how they can compete in a world in which a being an automaker is being a tech company, not a manufacturer.

 

[anticitizen13.7]

First media reports are coming out now:
http://www.edmunds.com/bmw/i3/2014/road-test.html

Looks reasonably quick, and the chassis seems very capable, but after seeing the full set of photos, WTF was BMW's design team thinking?

It's just not a good looking automobile. I saw one comment on Edmunds that likened the i3 to a cross between a Honda Element and a Fiat 500.

 

[JRP3]

Agree. With all that effort in light weight design and exotic carbon fiber construction why didn't they make it better looking and more aerodynamic, which would also increase it's range? They came so close to getting it right but blew it with a few strokes of the pen on the design table.

 

[woof]

English Press Release: The BMW i3

Lots if interesting things there. Some things that caught my attention:

"Variable" Regen, based on speed. "coasts" at high speed, max regen at low speed.
ECO Pro and ECO Pro+ Modes gain 12% and 24% range (not clear what those modes do, or gain from what)
Traffic Jam Assist mode (?)
Adaptive Cruise Control
Lots of bluster about "most connected car" and "best motor in an EV".
Skateboard design, motor in the back connected directly to gear box (sounds familiar)
REx exists to keep battery charged at a specific point.
REx too small to drive car directly.
Optional heat pump (odd that it's optional...probably a cold weather package bundle)
Nothing about heated seats that I saw.
Manual (not electric) seat adjustments.

 

[30seconds]

Any speculations on what this tells us about the i8? Seems to me that they put lightweight structure as #1 priority for the i3, especially over battery size. I'm not sure if this means that their battery tech was the limit and they had to design around or they are investing in weight reduction first in order to take advantage of future battery capacity improvements.