BMW i3

[woof]

My original question was why not have the option to increase the battery size option along with the engine option and fit which ever you would choose in the same space. I think I would have opted to pay the additional $3500 for those extra 25 miles. Personally I would have liked 120 miles which would bring the i3 up to the 95% of my driving habits.

That would've been my choice (and many other's I'm aware of) as well. However BMW must have their reasons. When the ActiveE drivers found out that the i3 was getting less range than the ActiveE many were disappointed. From the Mini-E to the ActiveE to the i3 each successive EV got less and less range. I never got a straight answer out of the BMW product manager's as to why. Their answer was "an MIT study showing most people only drive 40 miles per day". Yeah, well, whatever.

While initially I was quite annoyed with the idea of the ReX option instead of more batteries, over time I've come to see the ReX as EV training wheels, and decent move on BMWs part. They don't have the battery tech needed to create a great EV, so instead they create a decent EV with what they do have, and have the option of adding a very cheap high energy density ICE for extra range. For many people (who aren't crazy EV purists such as myself), this is good enough. And with the ReX outselling the i3 EV version 2:1, it seems to have been the right move for BMW.

Doesn't mean I'm not disappointed. Had they married the 32 kWh batteries from the ActiveE, with the weight savings of the i3's carbon fibre chassis, I think they could've gotten 120 miles. It most likely would've been a $70K car however.

 

[Vmax]

Very good point!

 

[Doug_G]

their answer was "an MIT study showing most people only drive 40 miles per day". Yeah, well, whatever.

Duh. If they average 40 miles, you need 3X that (3 sigma) to cover 99.5% of their usage. Otherwise they are going to run out of charge frequently.

In other words, you need a reliable 120 mile range - minimum - to cover typical commuter usage.

 

[RiverBrick]

Just wondering if the i3 could have eventually been the first potential 120 mile range electric vehicle, if they gave a second option of a bigger battery pack to fit in the space reserved for the engine... (I am an MS85 owner)

Thanks!

The engine messes up the 50/50 weight distribution of the pure BEV i3 and forces the REx version to have wider rear tires.

Had they offered a bigger battery pack option, they probably could have better distributed the extra weight. This would have meant better handling, better aerodynamics, less tire wear, and the ability to rotate tires as compared to the REx. For the same $3,800 as the REx, I too would have liked to have seen an option of more kWh (6-8 seems reasonable). However, except Tesla, manufacturers tend to do the minimum in order to meet CARB-ZEV requirements.

 

[woof]

Duh. If they average 40 miles, you need 3X that (3 sigma) to cover 99.5% of their usage. Otherwise they are going to run out of charge frequently.

In other words, you need a reliable 120 mile range - minimum - to cover typical commuter usage.

Yep! I even asked what was the standard deviation on that study of theirs. They looked at me blankly.

 

[AEdennis]

There are many compromises that the BMW i folks wanted Active E folks to take on to move from the AE to the i3.

The extra battery in the space of the REX was definitely one of the things I was asking for and didn't get.

At the end of the day, the delay in delivering the car and getting used to my Model S contributed to my skipping the i3 altogether (as well as no AM radio, apparently this has been resolved by some folks by a software hack.)

 

[theganjaguru]

I’ve been waiting for the right electric vehicle for a while. But one of my main requirements for purchasing BEV is that it be purpose built to be electric and not a modified ICE. That left me with only two real options, a BMW i3 or the Nissan Leaf, which I passed on due to its lack of any real thermal management for its battery.

I’d love a tesla, but it was easy to rationalize an i3 purchase given my lust to drive electric and the $20,000 price difference between what I paid for my i3 and what a base MS would cost. The price difference between the two is just $20,000 more than I am willing to shell out. My daily drive is a 50/50 of highway and city, anywhere between 26-35 miles round trip. So I decided the i3 was more than enough to handle my daily needs.

Even if I had decided that I could afford a base 60 MS, It would have required selling a truck that I love (and that is paid off). For me, a base 60 MS as my only car would not handle my extracurricular driving activities as I go as far north as Tahoe and as far south as Cabo San Lucas Mexico.

I haul toys and like to ski in Tahoe so access to a 4x4 is mandatory for me as I don't do chains. Plus I need 4x4 to get to ascend to the top of my parents driveway if has been snowing. Taking a Model S to Mexico just isn't possible. Even if it was, I wouldn't want to take such an expensive car such as a Tesla there unless I was a king pin of sorts.

I picked up an i3 on 11/30. The instant torque and handling sold me. It's fun to drive and handles like a BMW (considering it being so small and the tires so thin.) After almost three weeks of ownership, I' am very happy with my i3.

The car itself is solid and well built. The fact that it is a purpose built EV and the extensive use of carbon fiber and ecofriendly interior materials are features that make this car a leader in its class. IMHO an i3 is definitely not in the same class as a Model S due to the fact that its base price is way less than a Tesla and real world range is < 100 miles. Plus it is a compact car.

I love the fact I haven't bought gas since I purchased it. My ICE is relegated to dog duties and road trips. I was driving my truck last night and needed to pass someone as I got on the freeway, I couldn’t believe how much slower my truck felt than before I got my i3.


i3 Pros
Fun to drive factor of an electric powertrain and instant power. Torque baby!!
Gas Savings
Not buying gas
1 year free DC fast Charging
Brake regen is excellent, though this is my first EV, so I have nothing to compare against. 1 peddle driving is easy.
Automatic hill hold
Buttons and nobs. (For certain tasks, I definitely prefer brevity and certainty of tactile feedback over memorizing touchscreen swipes…) It’s like typing on a keyboard vs typing on a touchscreen.
Adaptive Cruise Control

i3 Cons
The dealerships experience

Nickel and dime for features - Backup cameras not standard (though not necessary on a small hatchback, but for the price? C’mon BMW). Mega package also only has speakers in the front and no ability to engage fog lights without engaging high beams
DC fast charging network is anemic, though BMW has announced they will be expanding their network in 2015

The smartphone app:
Activation/registration process is poorly documented and broken. Almost 2.5 weeks after I bought my car and I still didn’t have access to use the smart phone app. No one at BMW could tell me what was wrong or offer to take responsibility and resolve my issue. Only after three phone calls and an angry email to BMW corporate was the issue resolved. Issue was due to someone at the stealer-ship misspelling my first name.

Smartphone app weirdly limited. While I can lock my car, I can’t unlock it with the phone remote. I can precondition the car through the app. But I have no option to set any temperature.
Limited information available on energy usage. I can view miles per kWh used either dynamically or averaged out. But detailed information about current battery capacity and charge rates are not available to me. BMW has decided I am too inept to understand such information. All I get are pretty graphs.

Where BMW entirely missed the boat:
Batter Options. - I think BMW should have followed Teslas lead and offered higher capacity batteries as part of their options (such as 27 and 37 kWh), instead of making money off of nickel and dime-ing consumers for backup cameras and rear speakers.

But again, I am very happy right now. I plan on adding rear speakers to supplement the anemic sound system and will put a tint on the side and rear windows. I plan on keeping my i3 until Model 3 is released. I am hoping tesla will build a performance D Model 3.

I purchased a frozen white Mega with Tech + Driving assist, DC charging, and the 20 inch sport wheels.

 

[Tedkidd]

Nicely done

 

[yobigd20]

and no ability to engage fog lights without engaging high beams

Uh wow major fail by BMW. Having high beams and fog lights on simultaneously is completely self defeating and not even legal in some jurisdictions.

Regular headlights and high beams reflect off of fog and snow. Fog light beams are a different shape. They are narrow and wide and positioned low to cut through the fog so you can see what's ahead of you. Having high beams while having fog lights on is self defeating because the high beams will just reflect the light off the fog and reduce your visibility.

There's a reason why every single other manufacturer disables fog lights when high beams are engaged as well as positioning them lower on the vehicle. The lower position increases the angle of illumination relative to your eyes. Technically though you're not even supposed to any any headlight with fog lights. To make fog lights as effective as possible they need to be able to be engaged without having regular headlights on and definitely not when high beams are on. That is a total major fail by BMW.

 

[ecarfan]

Originally Posted by theganjaguru: "and no ability to engage fog lights without engaging high beams"
----------

Is that true? I find it hard to believe.

 

[jerjozwik]

To make fog lights as effective as possible they need to be able to be engaged without having regular headlights on and definitely not when high beams are on. That is a total major fail by BMW.

while not as bad as the apparent crappyness of the bmw fog light switch, the fiat 500e makes you turn on your headlights before the fog lights can be engaged. i was considering re-wireing it for a long time.

...then winter came and i sad screw it.

 

[woof]

Originally Posted by theganjaguru: "and no ability to engage fog lights without engaging high beams"
----------

Is that true? I find it hard to believe.

Pretty sure the US version of the i3 doesn't have fog lights. (my "giga world" doesn't, and I cannot find any mention of them in any trim) The two lower lights on the i3 ARE the "high beams" (which is an odd name as in this case they are physically lower than the main lights). But they do appear to illuminate higher and wider than the main head lights.

The only mention of "fog light" in the manual is the non-US version which seems to have a single yellow light in the back called a "fog light".

 

[AluminiumStork]

That is the best color combo on the i3...

 

[aronth5]

BMW had two I3's at a local mall yesterday and there was certainly a lot of interest.
The one question everyone wanted to know was range and that information wasn't available nor was the range extender even mentioned.
Not surprised but that doesn't speak very highly of BMW to ignore such basic information.

 

[ecarfan]

There is of course a good reason why BMW did not state the range of the car in that document: it's so low that many people would instantly dismiss the car as not worth considering.

 

[jcaspar]

Here is a 6 month review of the i3. Seems like a significant amount of problems though I suspect the care was rushed to market.

 

[djplong]

Can't fast-charge (and that after 6 months of promises) and the app disagrees with what the car says? BMW didn't learn anything from Tesla, that's for certain.

 

[ecarfan]

Here is a 6 month review of the i3. Seems like a significant amount of problems though I suspect the care was rushed to market.

Interesting, a lot of significant issues reported in that article. The owner seems disappointed in the car and makes the BMW ActiveE sound good.

Reading TMC it is easy to fall into the mindset of thinking that Model S production is plagued with problems, but if you step back and look at the big picture Tesla is doing well for a young company.

 

[AEdennis]

Interesting, a lot of significant issues reported in that article. The owner seems disappointed in the car and makes the BMW ActiveE sound good.

Reading TMC it is easy to fall into the mindset of thinking that Model S production is plagued with problems, but if you step back and look at the big picture Tesla is doing well for a young company.

The ActiveE was good. (Unless you got a bad batch. Mine was pretty reliable and took me 54,321 miles in two years).

The writer is TMC's MPT's better half...

 

[cwerdna]

Some versions of Chevy volt will sound the alarm (honk the horn repeatedly) if you remove the J plug while the car is locked.

It's not some versions. It's ALL versions. Some owners have chosen (usually wisely) to disable it. Others don't know how (I've spoken to a few of those) and I've had one get annoyed when I suggested they disable it, after I unplugged their completed Volt (green light flashing == complete; green light on solid == charging).

At my work, on our internal EV page, we tell Volt and Spark EV guys to disable their honk alarm as we do unplug completed cars and plug in waiting ones we see.

- - - Updated - - -

Interesting, a lot of significant issues reported in that article. The owner seems disappointed in the car and makes the BMW ActiveE sound good.

Other than the tire noise, that's nothing compared to some (there are a number of them) of the horror stories I've seen on the BMW i3 Facebook group. Some aren't horror stories yet but there are some fairly serious issues, sometimes requiring a tow.