BMW i3

[Raffy.Roma]

The point of adding a range extender is to add range. Having a bigger tank would make it a more useful single use car instead of just a commuter car.

I read somewhere that in BMW view the range extender is not to be used daily. So IMO the range extender according to BMW is to be used only in particular cases, not too often. Maybe that the range extender has been designed by BMW not to work too often, otherwise it could suffer mechanical damages.

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Like the I3 with the frunk in the same colour with respect to the rest of the car. In Italy the frunk of the I3 is always black. How does it work? You can ask to BMW to have the frunk in the same colour of the car?

 

[Aury]

Like the I3 with the frunk in the same colour with respect to the rest of the car. In Italy the frunk of the I3 is always black. How does it work? You can ask to BMW to have the frunk in the same colour of the car?

You can play with the colors here: BMW i3 : 360° view

they're just color options like any other car, but Tommolog said he wrapped the car, so he did the coloring in a red wrapping, below it his original black

I think it looks good in red, BMW should offer it, or offer some more colors

 

[ggr]

The main problem I have with the i3 is the silly 2.x gallon gas tank, limited so they qualify for the California "more ev miles than gas miles" scenario. If they just fixed that car by adding a regular 10 gallon gas tank, it would be so much better. And fixing the front would be nice, but its really the small gas thank that ruins it.

If they increased the gas tank size, I'd at least respect them. As it is, they just made the wrong tradeoff. I really want a car to come out and push Teslas to be better - that's the way to better vehicles. For example, it wouldn't hurt if a decent competitor came along that was a little cheaper than the M.S.

The range extender isn't powerful enough to really drive the car when the battery is depleted. You can't drive at the speed limit on a freeway if you are going to gain more than about 1000 feet of altitude; there just isn't enough power coming out of the range extender. Really, it's just a very long range "limp home" mode.

 

[Raffy.Roma]

You can play with the colors here: BMW i3 : 360° view

they're just color options like any other car, but Tommolog said he wrapped the car, so he did the coloring in a red wrapping, below it his original black

I think it looks good in red, BMW should offer it, or offer some more colors

Ok now I understand. The red I3 was wrapped. In fact also on the American site of BMW the frunk is always in black. It's a pity. I would have liked more colours (like red) and the frunk in same colour with respect to the rest of the car (also the trunk) for the I3.

 

[tommolog]

@tommolog - Did you also tint the front (side) windows or is that my imagination?

No, but it does look like I did in that picture. I may well do so in the future though.

 

[Saghost]

The range extender isn't powerful enough to really drive the car when the battery is depleted. You can't drive at the speed limit on a freeway if you are going to gain more than about 1000 feet of altitude; there just isn't enough power coming out of the range extender. Really, it's just a very long range "limp home" mode.

This is why I was talking about more flexible programming for when to use the range extender. If you had most of the battery to use as buffer, climbing the hill or passing wouldn't be an issue, as long as the sustained road loads of the chosen average speed are less than the maximum output of the range extender - which on the i3 I think means about 75 mph.

It can't much sustain faster than that, but if the engine comes on early enough it should be completely comfortable at that speed, with no issues climbing hills or making short jaunts above. Of course, current CARB rules for the BEVx category prevent BMW from allowing that to happen...
Walter

 

[David99]

I read somewhere that in BMW view the range extender is not to be used daily. So IMO the range extender according to BMW is to be used only in particular cases, not too often. Maybe that the range extender has been designed by BMW not to work too often, otherwise it could suffer mechanical damages.

The range extender is based on a BMW motorcycle engine which is very reliable and designed to run constant. The reason BMW says the Rx isn't meant to run a lot is because the i3 is designed as a pure EV and should be used that way. The range extnder option was added for those with range anxiety and help skeptical people to buy it. Unlike in the Chevy Volt, where the engine and generator takes up the entire front of the car (much like a conventional car), the i3 has a small and light one that doesn't provide as much power.

 

[Aury]

Right. It would make no sense to put a bigger ICE engine in the i3. The i3 has a very specific function, it's a city car, it's not meant to drive half accross the country, it's meant to give you a high-end car in city package. It's the BMW version of the the leaf. You'll see most people still recommend the range extender version over the full electric one, because...range anxiety, easy to remedy on the side of the road, can visit family where there are no good charge stations. It's an EV car with a small engine just in case. But it's supposed to be driven 99% on it's electric engine, because the target audience lives in the city and doesn't need to do 200 miles every day.

 

[TexasEV]

In the i3 forums there is lots of talk about check engine light repeatedly coming on in the U. S. cars with range extender, and BMW says its a software bug causing the warning rather than anything wrong and they're working on a fix. When the fix is ready the owners will need to return to the dealer for the fix to be applied. Just a reminder how wonderful it is Tesla has OTA updates, which we tend to take for granted after we've had the car for a while.

 

[mhpr262]

I used to think it should be up to the driver when and how to switch on the range extender, I thought common sense would dictate that people would want to drive on cheap electricity as much as possible.

That doesn't seem to be the case though, judging from the hundreds of used Volts I have heard about which are now being offered in the used market. They were fleet cars, bought only for tax incentives and HOV lane access and they seem to have been run on gas almost exclusively, with the drivers/fleet managers to careless and/or ignorant to plug them in. Well, at least some second hand owners can look forward to getting Volts with a very low number of charging cycles on the battery.

 

[David99]

I used to think it should be up to the driver when and how to switch on the range extender, I thought common sense would dictate that people would want to drive on cheap electricity as much as possible.

They disabled that option in the US to get a certain low emission status. I know in the UK the Volt can manually be switched. This way you can drive on gasoline for example on the freeway and then switch to all electric in the city to minimize pollution and noise there. Some European cities have restricted access for cars and switching to electric mode would give them access.

 

[Aury]

What I find interesting about the i3 is that it is getting way more attention than the Mercedes B class electric.

I wish I knew who said it, maybe it was a random person or maybe BMW. The fact different looking EV get more attention than refreshes of ICE cars. I think part of the attention the i3 gets is strictly down to it's design. Because in many areas the mercedes B is the same type of car, and it gets nowhere near the attention of the i3.

 

[Cosmacelf]

I got to drive a friend's brand new i3 today. I was impressed. Obviously it isn't going to compete head to head with a Model S due to range, storage size, etc. But for a city car, it was really nice. The single pedal regen braking is much better than the Model S. It somehow isn't as touchy as the Model S, yet it allows the car to come to a complete stop (unless you are on a downslope). The hill hold is also better, coming on in more situations, and lasting more than 1 second. Add the two together and you have way fewer times you need to touch the brakes in an i3 compared to the Model S.

The visibility is vastly better than the Model S too. The windshield appears huge.

Negatives are an almost complete lack of storage space, no over the air software updates, very limited diagnostic information (you can't even tell what current you are charging at), limited range, etc.

And while it is very stable at low speeds ( feels more stable than the model S), it feels less stable at higher speeds, like above 60 mph.

 

[Tedkidd]

I drove both, on the same day:
drove BMW I3 and Mercedes B. liked 'em both!

I liked the Mercedes much better. BTW, they've swapped the cruise and directional stalks. Hope Tesla does that with the X.

 

[NigelM]

I drove both, on the same day:
drove BMW I3 and Mercedes B. liked 'em both!

I liked the Mercedes much better. BTW, they've swapped the cruise and directional stalks. Hope Tesla does that with the X.

Please don't multiple post the same thing in different places. You started the exact same conversation over in the Model X section.

It's confusing and just creates work for the moderators.

 

[TonyWilliams]

The main problem I have with the i3 is the silly 2.x gallon gas tank, limited so they qualify for the California "more ev miles than gas miles" scenario. If they just fixed that car by adding a regular 10 gallon gas tank, it would be so much better. And fixing the front would be nice, but its really the small gas thank that ruins it.

If they increased the gas tank size, I'd at least respect them. As it is, they just made the wrong tradeoff. I really want a car to come out and push Teslas to be better - that's the way to better vehicles. For example, it wouldn't hurt if a decent competitor came along that was a little cheaper than the M.S.

Throwing a bigger gasoline tank on a hybrid car doesn't make it competition for a Tesla.

 

[gameon]

Tire on i3 looks small... even bike got better one... seriously leaf and volt got the standard-size tire.

I don't have a lot of faith how they will perform in winter conditions.

 

[Dave EV]

Tire on i3 looks small... even bike got better one... seriously leaf and volt got the standard-size tire.

The tall/narrow i3 tire was designed for efficiency.

I don't have a lot of faith how they will perform in winter conditions.

Have you seen what a purpose built ice/snow tire/wheel looks like compared to a purpose built summer tire/wheel looks like?

 

[mhpr262]

I drive a 55hp Fiat Panda, with tires that are exactly the same width as the ones on the i3. Winter driving is no problem and may even better than with cars fitted with wider tires.

 

[Vitaman]

Cosmacelf summed it up very nicely.
It's a super fun car, but feels a little like a toy after test driving an S. It seems well thought out and even has rear cup holders!
The auto parallel parking feature is a blast.
Another nice thing about the i3.....My Model S won't be here until November, our i3 will be picked up in 2 days.