BMW i3

[SwedishAdvocate]

could someone please tell me if the i3 with range-extender is like the chevy volt as far as if you run out of electrity the ICE starts and then if you need to refill again you can stop at another gas station because i watched a review that made it sound like after the petrol/gas ran out the i3 would just stop

The i3 is a pure series plug in hybrid, with the ICE acting to generate electricity only. The ICE is active infrequently: only when battery SOC% drops below about 5% in the US model. So yes, if the ICE is running and you run out of fuel, you would stop (as soon as that 5% is gone, which would go very quickly - probably 3 or 4 miles.)

Welcome, Tess!

/…/

Just keep filling it with fuel, it'll keep going. It's not a one time use thing. The ReX is a normal everyday gasoline powered electric generator...it just happens to be in a car. If the fuel gets low, fill it up! But yes, if the ReX is out of fuel, and the battery is flat, the car will stop. No source of energy means it will no longer move.

There was some discussion about this a while back in this thread. Between posts #353 – #364 or so (pages 36 & 37). The takeaway seemed to be that the US i3 with the range extender has a gas tank that can only hold about 2 US gallons of fuel. So if you set out on a longer journey with a US i3 with a range extender, then once you’ve depleted your battery charge, and a while later also begin to start to run out of fuel for the range extender, then:

…/ nless you intend to stop every 50 miles for fuel, it's not a very practical way to travel on long trips. Even carrying an extra gas can, it's a hassle to have to stop that often.

- - - Updated - - -

Autocar recently posted this video review of the i3:

[ BMW i3 - is this the worlds most desirable affordable electric car? - YouTube ]

Steve Sutcliffe: The i3 is very good. It borders on genius.

That hasn’t really been the ‘vibe’ in this thread so far, has it? :wink:

 

[Merrill]

Disappointed that the i3 is not an all electric vehicle, it is another Chevy Volt. Why can't car manufactures build something that does not look awful. So 70 to 80 miles on a charge and another 70 to 80 on the ICE, somehow I thought it was all electric.

 

[brianman]

Disappointed that the i3 is not an all electric vehicle, it is another Chevy Volt. Why can't car manufactures build something that does not look awful. So 70 to 80 miles on a charge and another 70 to 80 on the ICE, somehow I thought it was all electric.

cue Chad's post

 

[Tharo]

Disappointed that the i3 is not an all electric vehicle, it is another Chevy Volt. Why can't car manufactures build something that does not look awful. So 70 to 80 miles on a charge and another 70 to 80 on the ICE, somehow I thought it was all electric.

WTF, i3 is a full electric car, but had two versions: only electric or electric+gasoline.

 

[Yggdrasill]

WTF, i3 is a full electric car, but had two versions: only electric or electric+gasoline.

The i3 is either an all-electric car, or it's a plug-in hybrid, depending on whether one includes the REX or not.

The all-electric i3 is a pretty good addition it the market. It fills various niches in the Leaf/i-MiEV space. It's a good commuter or city car for people needing no more than four seats and quite limited storage space, but with a desire for better performance, interior and/or styling than a Leaf/i-MiEV.

 

[VintageMark]

I guess history will be the judge of whether the i3 is ultimately a 'good car'... what I can tell you is that here in Europe at least... for those willing to consider it... it has a place...

My wife drives 16 miles to work... 16 miles home... which means even driving the i3 BEV in a 'sporty' fashion (which it actually does very nicely)... she will get 2 full days commute between charges.... as a 'nice car' it much better than the Leaf /etc.. it's not traditional BMW build... but the build quality still 'feels' better than even the Tesla Model S...

As a commute car... it's near perfect...

My car as it has always been will be the 'long distance' car... hence I am getting the Model S...

And the best bit of i3? (sporty ride, great commute range, cheap electric 'fueling', good build quality aside)... the monthly cost is just 25% of what I will be paying for my Model S...

So... as with all things in life... horses for courses... but I wouldn't be too down on the i3... it has a place and is a nice car...

 

[GSP]

Autocar recently posted this video review of the i3:

Nice review. Thanks tommolog.

GSP

 

[surfingslovak]

Nice review. Thanks tommolog.

A different review entirely from a Sandal BMW Huddersfield employee, and an article from Parkers in the UK, which suggests that the production version of the i3 automatically engages the range extender at 18% SOC. This would make it more similar to the Volt, and easier to operate in hilly terrain without taking additional precautions. The US version of the i3 REx trim will likely continue to be restricted, and engage only at about 6% SOC, without allowing manual override.


Road Test: BMW i3 Range Extender Loft Interior World

BMW claims the REX averages 470.8mpg, emitting just 13g/km of CO2. During our test, including lots of battery-sapping motorway driving, we managed a still impressive figure of just over 300mpg.

The driver can set the engine to come on at any time to retain a specific battery percentage, or it will come on automatically when capacity reaches 18 percent.

 

[scottf200]

Disappointed that the i3 is not an all electric vehicle, it is another Chevy Volt. Why can't car manufactures build something that does not look awful. So 70 to 80 miles on a charge and another 70 to 80 on the ICE, somehow I thought it was all electric.

So after hundreds of articles, countless videos, you don't even know the basics of this car and show your disdain for it? The BEV elitist attitude is so ignorant. These i3 REX option drivers as well as Volt drivers put on hundreds of millions of miles of electric grid only miles yet BEV only drivers think their electric grid miles don't stink (twist on common phrase).

 

[surfingslovak]

And for those that haven't seen this episode of Fully Charged yet, Robert Llewellyn had an opportunity to drive the i3 couple of weeks ago at the Brands Hatch racetrack:

 

[Zythryn]

I had a chance to test drive one at a BMW test drive event today.
I have to admit, I am revisiting weather or not our second vehicle needs more than 75-80 miles of range.
It doesn't provide direct competition with the Model S. But it does some things better.
The two that stood out for me was hill-hold and the regenerative braking.

The i3 regenerative braking is phenomenal. It is initially as strong as the Model S. But the regen in the Model S weakens at slow speeds. The I3 will bring the car to a complete stop.

The regen in the Model S was the best I had ever experienced, until now.

On the bright side, I suspect improvements can continue and be updated OTA.
And after my initial toying with the idea, I can't give up the superior service experience, better business model, and the rest of the Model S package.
However, if the i3 had been available when we leased our Volt a couple of years ago, we may have both a Tesla and a BMW in our garage

 

[Rifleman]

if the i3 had been available when we leased our Volt a couple of years ago, we may have both a Tesla and a BMW in our garage

I have said the same thing about my Volt, if the i3 was available when I leased it, I probably would have gone for the i3 instead.

 

[surfingslovak]

Here is an updated ride & drive event schedule compiled by members of our i3 Facebook group.

Apr 25: Nalley BMW, Decatur, GA

Mar 22: BMW of Tenafly NJ

Feb 22: BMW of Sudbury, MA 10am-6pm

Feb 22: Herb Chambers BMW of Boston, 10:00 am to 6:00 pm

Feb 21-22-23: East Bay BMW, Pleasanton, CA

The German publication Manager Magazin, which appeared on newsstands yesterday, reports that i3 production is ramping slower than anticipated. You can read a summary of their research in the article linked below.

BMW ramps i3 production slower than expected, carbon body parts blamed

 

[hiroshiy]

Tomorrow at Tokyo marathon, BMW i8 will be leading the marathon as a pace car, and the winner will get BMW i3.

BMW×TOKYO MARATHON 2014 | BMW×æ±äº¬ãƒžãƒ©ã‚½ãƒ³2014 スペシャルサイト

 

[Discoducky]

The two that stood out for me was hill-hold and the regenerative braking.

The i3 regenerative braking is phenomenal. It is initially as strong as the Model S. But the regen in the Model S weakens at slow speeds. The I3 will bring the car to a complete stop.

The regen in the Model S was the best I had ever experienced, until now.

And I'll admit that I'm jealous of the hill-hold and regen bringing the car to a complete stop. If the S had this I might never use the other pedal...what's it called again?

 

[brianman]

the other pedal...what's it called again?

"Fun intermission" pedal.

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

"Fun intermission" pedal.

Or, the good old "break pedal" (with a nod to the 'Misteaks, Puns, etc.' thread )

 

[pharmacydave]

The "one pedal" driving of the Active-E for the last 2 years has been fantastic. I do hope the S will have an update someday to mirror the BMW regen curve.
I drove the I3 and just got more upset that I could not keep my Active-E. I will miss it, only 3 weeks left before they take it back, but my S will be here in 4.

 

[AEdennis]

The "one pedal" driving of the Active-E for the last 2 years has been fantastic. I do hope the S will have an update someday to mirror the BMW regen curve.
I drove the I3 and just got more upset that I could not keep my Active-E. I will miss it, only 3 weeks left before they take it back, but my S will be here in 4.

Mine goes back tomorrow, Sunday, February 23...

We've been driving it all around creation today. I would love to keep it...

Alas...

 

[tftf]

The German publication Manager Magazin, which appeared on newsstands yesterday, reports that i3 production is ramping slower than anticipated. You can read a summary of their research in the article linked below.

BMW ramps i3 production slower than expected, carbon body parts blamed

I read the original article and it states that only 70 BMW i3 can be built at the moment per day (carbon supply bottleneck), however they intend that solve soon with additional investments in the carbon supply chain.

Other take-aways from the article:

- The BMW i5 final greenlight depends on i3 demand in the US and other important EV markets. If this car gets a "go" from Munich, the larger BMW i5 is expected by 2017.

- The 11k fix orders (as of late January 2014) are almost only from within Europe. This number does look very encouraging to BMW management since many countries (USA etc.) are only coming later.

- The original sales targets for the i3 were 30'000 for 2014 and 50'000 for 2015. This can't be achieved for 2014 due to the carbon supply issues.

- The production issues weren't unexpected. BMW management on purpose chose the current smaller series (i3 and i8, soon the 7 series) to work out initial kinks before they ramp up carbon production for more car models.