Quote:
Originally Posted by Efthreeoh
I know you are very passionate about the i3 (a good thing!); and I'm not trying to be a dick here. But I guess I missed your point then. What I don't understand is the need for this car. It has a theoretical range of somewhere between 80 and 100 miles per charge. It is targeted mainly for a city dweller; it's limited range makes that apparent. If you live in the city, my observations are: 1) most large cities have excellent mass-transit systems that eliminate the need for a personal car; 2) most city dwellers live in buildings that are not inductive to secure home charging an electric car; 3) if you live in a large city, and want to travel away from it you can only go 40 miles in the i3, which in some cities isn't very far.
So the i3 has an "optional" range extender, from what I read (I think from you actually, or Steve 26), that is meant to allow the owner to return home on a depleted battery and is it not necessarily designed for continuous gas-powered long distance travel (made obvious by the 3 gallon fuel capacity). If that is the case, then the Volt is the better choice IMO. The Volt targets a Suburbanite who does not have access to excellent mass-transit, can usually have a private secure location to charge the car, and has a range extender system that is truly designed to operate continuously as a power source for mobility. And the Volt is far less expensive.
A few months ago, with all the talk about how light the new construction techniques make the i3, I did a calculation of vehicle weight vs. range; it's posted here somewhere. My calculations determined that the Volt actually has a better range-to-weight ratio as compared to the i3 (when both cars are equipped with a range extender), which in my mind shows GM has developed a vehicle that is on the level or better of engineering with BMW (regardless of the use of CF). The Volt came to market in late 2010 with a MSRP lower than the i3 (when both equipped with a range extender).
The reason I get passionate about these things is most everyone here drinks the BMW engineering prowess Koolaid and refuses to acknowledge that the other 30 or so automobile manufacturers on the planet have as good, or in some cases, better engineering and manufacturing capabilities than BMW. BMW is excellent at self-promotion.
So from my read of the i3, its has some avant-garde styling and possibly innovative manufacturing (application) attributes, it is well packaged, but it performs on par or worse with the other vehicles in its class, is at least two years late to market, and is more expensive than the other vehicles in its class. I'm just not sure what the point is. The i3 is certainly not the "3-Series" of the EV class (i.e. the benchmark).
What I find really amusing is the recent posts about BMWs solar-powered home recharging station. I have to wonder if anyone considered that commuter cars are generally driven during the day to work, away from home and the solar station? Sure, the solar station can charge a bank of batteries during the day, then at night transfers the energy to the i3's battery. A lot of cost and infrastructure just to make a green point.
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The i3 is superior to the Volt in many respects, which justifies the price premium.
The i3 is:
Quicker than the volt. Better power to weight ratio than the Volt.
Gets better mi/kWh than the volt. (Pretty much guaranteed at this point)
More agile and responsive handling than the Volt.
Roomier inside than the Volt.
Has at least twice the EV range than the Volt. (What matters most to EV buyers anyways.
Has quick charging option, compared to the slow charger on the Volt.
Has far more exotic construction than the Volt with the CFRP.
Has LED headlights standard (US version)
Etc........
Different class of car in the opinion of most people.