surfingslovak
Member
Based on what friends told me, BMW has more of a cachet in Southeast Asia. VW, and by extension also Audi, has historically had strong ties to China and sold a large volume of vehicles there.
Last edited:
-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
BMW i3
- Thread starter gregincal
- Start date
-
- Tags
- Electric Vehicles
I totally disagree. From a functional standpoint the Volt is a car that can be driven like a normal hybrid for a road trip. The BMW has much greater electric range, but is entirely unsuitable for a road trip, because the range extender has too little power or range. It's pluses and minuses fall much closer to a pure electric car even with the range extender than to a car like the Volt.
With an rangeextender going on al long trip, the REX will ran from the very beginning to keep the car's battery on a high SOC and heats up the if cold. Its just extending the electric range.
it will switch off as soon as possible. or tank is empty.
TonyWilliams
Active Member
Not in California.... The gasoline motor won't turn on until the battery is around 20% SOC.
surfingslovak
Member
Stopping by a gas station every 100 miles isn't a huge issue for road trips. I don't know of a 100 mile stretch of road in europe where there are no gas stations. (It might be an issue in Alaska and the like, though.)
It would be completely inexplicable if BMW had decided to implement the REX in such a way that road trips were impossible, as the reverse is completely trivial. If the car comes with a "charge hold" button like the Volt, the driver can decide when to use the gas engine and when to use the battery. If you press the "charge hold" button at 50% SOC, the remaining SOC would be more than sufficient to power all 170 electric hp, and 34 hp is more than sufficient to sustain highway-speeds.
If the i3 doesn't have a "charge hold" button like the Volt, BMW seriously screwed up. I can see the advertizing already: "All the utility of a Leaf and cost/complexity of a Volt!"
They could have done a very cool intro sequence… instead, we have the tortured corporate speak from the CEO instead. Argh. Given that he's not a native English speaker, they should have done a movie intro sequence and then used a screen for the main points. At the very least. The whole satellite linked cities thing is so..., well, last century. The trumped up Q&A session was so terrible that it was almost painful to watch. Does BMW actually pay marketing professionals to come up with this crap? They almost look embarrassed when they finally show the i3 itself. All that build up for something so ugly. After the car is unveiled, it startlingly managed to get even worse. They really didn't do much with the i3 after the unveiling. It doesn't help that BMW themselves have "leaked" the car on multiple occasions beforehand. Are we really fooled by the camouflage? I admit that I rarely watch car intros. Are other car introductions this bad?
I'm not a big fan of the euro thumping beat music that Tesla uses in their intros either. It doesn't fit - its loud, then silent, then loud then silent. But far and away better than what BMW showed us today. Ms. Munter's presentation at TESLIVE was put together far better than this BMW event.
It is very cool that they are using sustainable energy for the production of the i3. But there were no visuals. Wind power is visual. Hydro is visual. Oh, well. It would be interesting for Tesla to provide more details on the energy used for production in the Model S.
I'm not a big fan of the euro thumping beat music that Tesla uses in their intros either. It doesn't fit - its loud, then silent, then loud then silent. But far and away better than what BMW showed us today. Ms. Munter's presentation at TESLIVE was put together far better than this BMW event.
It is very cool that they are using sustainable energy for the production of the i3. But there were no visuals. Wind power is visual. Hydro is visual. Oh, well. It would be interesting for Tesla to provide more details on the energy used for production in the Model S.
At freeway speeds you're going to have to stop probably every 75-80 miles to refuel. The fuel tank in the Chevy Volt is 4 times the size of the BMW i3. If somebody really wants the utility of a plug in hybrid, then the Chevy Volt is far superior. The range extender in the i3 is just that. It eliminates range anxiety in doing somewhat longer than normal trips, but even BMW doesn't try and promote it for long distance driving.
I think it's a lot more practical to stop for a longer 45 minute break less often at a Tesla supercharger than always be stopping for gas in an i3. The i3 is a city car through and through.
Actually, I think I would find that pretty annoying. I rented an ICE a couple of months ago because I had to do a road trip through upstate New York. It's a wasteland for charging stations. I got this Ford Escape with a small tank and crappy fuel economy. My old G37 would have done the trip on one tank; this thing took three! At one point on the way back I was getting pretty serious range anxiety because I was anticipating fueling up at a particular gas station, but it had gone out of business.
(Can't get Superchargers soon enough!)
I think BMW miss the shot at capturing price point and mileage ration i.e. $35k for 150 miles. I was hoping for $35k before tax rebate or less...$27k for 80 to 100 miles looks good.
If nissan make improvement in leaf battery cooling side and add few miles in coming year it will be really tempting option. Now spark ev looking better for price...BMW miss the chance...
If nissan make improvement in leaf battery cooling side and add few miles in coming year it will be really tempting option. Now spark ev looking better for price...BMW miss the chance...
If I didn't have a Model S I would have considered the i3. I have a 63 mile round trip commute across a mountain pass and can't charge at work. I didn't feel I'd have enough electric miles on a Volt to make it worthwhile, and the Leaf doesn't have quite enough range to reliably make the drive every day. It remains to be seen how the range of the i3 would compare across my mountain highway commute, but the security of the REX would make it a fine option (to me that's the point of the REX in the i3, being able to plan a trip at the edges of the EV range without range anxiety). In addition at 0-60 in 10.2 seconds, the Leaf is just too slow for me. It might be quick off the mark driving around town, but for me the most important thing is accelerating from 45 to 60 going uphill (a very common thing on my commute). The BMW sounds a lot better, although I'm a little worried about its cornering ability with its tiny tires.
I would have replaced my Audi A3 with it and continued to use my wife's Honda CRV for weekend trips. Of course now my Tesla is not only used for my commute, but for any weekend trip where it's at all practical (which is 95% of them).
I would have replaced my Audi A3 with it and continued to use my wife's Honda CRV for weekend trips. Of course now my Tesla is not only used for my commute, but for any weekend trip where it's at all practical (which is 95% of them).
comparison chart for i3 against other EVs
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13746_...the-new-bmw-i3-compare-with-our-favorite-evs/
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13746_...the-new-bmw-i3-compare-with-our-favorite-evs/
Configure your i3 here (UK version): i3 configurator UK
- - - Updated - - -
NOTE: Not a full configurator as there are no prices or full list of options
- - - Updated - - -
NOTE: Not a full configurator as there are no prices or full list of options
Last edited:
leilanimunter
Member
I am very happy to see more EVs hitting the market, but one look at the i3 and I am very happy with my Model S order. Tesla=Sexy and there is no other electric car that can compete.
Notice the little dig at Tesla in the headline: "first electric car to go into full scale production from an ESTABLISHED luxury auto maker"
http://money.cnn.com/gallery/autos/2013/07/29/bmw-i3/index.html
Notice the little dig at Tesla in the headline: "first electric car to go into full scale production from an ESTABLISHED luxury auto maker"
http://money.cnn.com/gallery/autos/2013/07/29/bmw-i3/index.html
Raffy.Roma
Rome (Italy)
Of course you are right Leilani. But the i3, being much cheaper than the Model S, is addressed to people who cannot afford to buy the Model S.
Then there is another aspect, the size. In Rome for istance, and in the same way in many European cities, it would be very difficult to park such a big car like the Model S, while the i3 would have less problems in this respect.
From these points of view I think that Tesla Gen III will be very welcome in Europe.
Surely there's something between a large car like the Model S and a dinky city car like the i3. Something that, say, looks and performs like a BMW 3 series. One would have imagined that is what BMW would have been shooting for with something named the i3, but sadly no. Gen 3 will be that car. I'm not convinced that BMW will ever really want to compete with the 3 series by offering a credible alternative.
Yeah, I dont understand how a single manufacturer cant make an EV that goes above 100 miles in a decent price range. Its weird that every single one of these only goes 80 miles of actual range. They either are really behind in technology or they are holding the customer back. Cant wait for the Gen III.
I'd agree if there were usable SCs near me. Perhaps there will be by this the i3 is available.
Similar threads
