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      11-06-2013, 11:17 AM   #1
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Post BMW i3 Video Review and New Photo Gallery

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Auto Express reviews the BMW i3 electric car and we've post a new photo gallery below.




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      11-08-2013, 01:07 AM   #2
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Video unavailable, CA, USA.....
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      11-08-2013, 01:40 AM   #3
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http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/bmw/i3/...range-extender
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      11-08-2013, 04:55 AM   #4
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Good review, thx.
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      11-08-2013, 07:51 AM   #5
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I just can't get past the look, prefer the concept active tourer!
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      11-08-2013, 10:07 AM   #6
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Video unavailable, CA, USA.....
It's up.
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      11-08-2013, 10:45 AM   #7
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I cannot wait to drive one! The narrow tires however don't make me feel it will handle w any sort of stability when pushed.
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      11-08-2013, 10:58 AM   #8
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Originally Posted by cgm1978
I just can't get past the look, prefer the concept active tourer!
While the AT might look more conventional the i3 pushes it to new level and it's a true EV and that makes it greater in so many ways. The i3 is also RWD!
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      11-08-2013, 11:13 AM   #9
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Interesting journalists don't comment more on the fact that EV's are still very expensive and lease rates at least in the UK reflect steep depreciation. Whereas it seems prices of conventional petrol and diesel cars only go one way and that's upwards, electric cars are only going to get cheaper. Makes the cost of ownership potentially very high for early adopters of the technology. Wait a couple of years before buying ??
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      11-08-2013, 11:25 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gaz26
Interesting journalists don't comment more on the fact that EV's are still very expensive and lease rates at least in the UK reflect steep depreciation. Whereas it seems prices of conventional petrol and diesel cars only go one way and that's upwards, electric cars are only going to get cheaper. Makes the cost of ownership potentially very high for early adopters of the technology. Wait a couple of years before buying ??
Not at all. Lease them at a good monthly with small initial out of pocket and do a short term
Lease like 2 years so you can take advantage of the new battery tech coming.
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      11-08-2013, 11:44 AM   #11
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Looks wise it's Appropriate

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I just can't get past the look, prefer the concept active tourer!
The Active Tourer is coming as eventual replacement or addition for the 1 series range and BMW is inevitably going to do a plug in hybrid version.
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      11-08-2013, 02:57 PM   #12
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I was next to one of these in London today. Strange looking car and looks nothing like any BMW its so strange.
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      11-08-2013, 03:26 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by red-sauerkraut View Post
I cannot wait to drive one! The narrow tires however don't make me feel it will handle w any sort of stability when pushed.
Having a very low center of gravity certainly should help along with a very stiff structure. I'm not sure how much wider of a tire would fit in the wheel well (it has a fairly tight turning radius), but wider certainly would hurt the range both from rolling resistance and wind resistance. I think in the near term, finding alternate tires may be tough. Being a city car, it may not see the miles a more traditional vehicle would, so it may be awhile before they're needed, and more choices may show up.
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      11-08-2013, 03:37 PM   #14
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by red-sauerkraut View Post
I cannot wait to drive one! The narrow tires however don't make me feel it will handle w any sort of stability when pushed.
Having a very low center of gravity certainly should help along with a very stiff structure. I'm not sure how much wider of a tire would fit in the wheel well (it has a fairly tight turning radius), but wider certainly would hurt the range both from rolling resistance and wind resistance. I think in the near term, finding alternate tires may be tough. Being a city car, it may not see the miles a more traditional vehicle would, so it may be awhile before they're needed, and more choices may show up.
Still very narrow Id be sliding all over the place driving this car.

I swapped to stickier rubber on our Leaf and it made a world of a difference.
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      11-09-2013, 04:12 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by red-sauerkraut
Quote:
Originally Posted by gaz26
Interesting journalists don't comment more on the fact that EV's are still very expensive and lease rates at least in the UK reflect steep depreciation. Whereas it seems prices of conventional petrol and diesel cars only go one way and that's upwards, electric cars are only going to get cheaper. Makes the cost of ownership potentially very high for early adopters of the technology. Wait a couple of years before buying ??
Not at all. Lease them at a good monthly with small initial out of pocket and do a short term
Lease like 2 years so you can take advantage of the new battery tech coming.
In the UK BMW is selling these vehicles in a very different way. The conventional lease deals are very expensive due to high depreciation. BMW prefers you to rent them which gives a better monthly outlay but they are still far from cheap. A Rex with a few options is still £500 per month with£3000 deposit. You can then add to that if you take up some of their other packages on things like swapping the i3 for another BMW for the weekend. There is no negotiation on price and the dealer only gets a small handling fee.
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      11-09-2013, 09:39 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gaz26
Quote:
Originally Posted by red-sauerkraut
Quote:
Originally Posted by gaz26
Interesting journalists don't comment more on the fact that EV's are still very expensive and lease rates at least in the UK reflect steep depreciation. Whereas it seems prices of conventional petrol and diesel cars only go one way and that's upwards, electric cars are only going to get cheaper. Makes the cost of ownership potentially very high for early adopters of the technology. Wait a couple of years before buying ??
Not at all. Lease them at a good monthly with small initial out of pocket and do a short term
Lease like 2 years so you can take advantage of the new battery tech coming.
In the UK BMW is selling these vehicles in a very different way. The conventional lease deals are very expensive due to high depreciation. BMW prefers you to rent them which gives a better monthly outlay but they are still far from cheap. A Rex with a few options is still £500 per month with£3000 deposit. You can then add to that if you take up some of their other packages on things like swapping the i3 for another BMW for the weekend. There is no negotiation on price and the dealer only gets a small handling fee.
Maybe stay away from BMW-i until they are competitive.
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      11-11-2013, 08:48 PM   #17
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      11-16-2013, 01:24 PM   #18
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Hmmm...their range at just over 80 miles on a what looks to be a mild weather day and WITHOUT freeway driving probably cements the need for the REx as a possible replacement for my Volt. Realistically, on a much colder day with City freeway speeds (that's U.S. freeway speeds), that number could easily be around 60-62 miles of range based on what I've seen with my own car and others. Even though that easily covers my 37 miles round-trip daily commute, I find that my normal driving is about 42-45 miles per day and when I exceed that I am usually in the 65 mile area (excluding the one-off trips). That's a bit tight. Really wish BMW had bumped this up just a bit more.
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      11-16-2013, 02:50 PM   #19
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FWIW, assuming the vehicle is on the charger at home, you can precondition it while still attached, gaining full range (warm up the battery pack and the passenger compartment - done via the internet from a phone or browser).

Then, depending on the area you are in, relative to the comfort mode, each of the economy settings bump the max range up about 20% each. The most efficient drops the max speed and maximizes the regenerative braking (keep in mind, it will turn the brake lights on by itself when you release the go pedal in this mode - because you WILL be slowing down!). So, the range hit on a cold day may not be as big as you think.
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      11-16-2013, 03:17 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jadnashuanh View Post
FWIW, assuming the vehicle is on the charger at home, you can precondition it while still attached, gaining full range (warm up the battery pack and the passenger compartment - done via the internet from a phone or browser).

Then, depending on the area you are in, relative to the comfort mode, each of the economy settings bump the max range up about 20% each. The most efficient drops the max speed and maximizes the regenerative braking (keep in mind, it will turn the brake lights on by itself when you release the go pedal in this mode - because you WILL be slowing down!). So, the range hit on a cold day may not be as big as you think.
Jad - the pre-condition is only modestly effective in my experience and only practical for most on one leg of the journey (leaving from home). Most don't have charging at the office or other destinations so after sitting all day at work, you cant leverage pre-conditioning (OK, you can still do it w/o plugging in, but you use battery juice so if your goal is to conserve battery - as opposed to comfort - then it won't help you). In my Volt, my commute in the morning to work will often show anywhere from 3.8 to 4.1 kw used to 4.1 on days when the temps are above 55 F or so. On the absolute coldest days (and keep in mind, I'm in Texas, not North Dakota) I've seen that number be as high as 6 kw. The afternoon's warm up so the average of the two trips is better than that, but still. Overall, in my Volt I do better than the advertised 35 mile range on battery - probably get around 40. My "best" range was 52 miles on a charge..my worst was easy to remember...Christmas Day last year, it was a snowing (wet snow), driving to my parent's house with 4 people...got exactly half my best day at 26 miles before I ran out of juice. Cold weather is NOT an EV's friend, but most reading this forum already know that. If you go into EV ownership with the right mindset it isn't really a big deal and most folks don't need nearly as much range as they think they need. If you have a second gas powered car (and most do), you'll probably do the garage hybrid bit anyway.
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      11-16-2013, 03:29 PM   #21
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I'm now retired, but where I last worked, they did have some vehicle chargers. I think you'll start to see this more and more because there will likely be green credits for them, and an added perk to the employees. But, agreed, at least for now, those are in the minority.

The i3 has a fairly sophisticated battery conditioning system, probably more so than the others out there, so prepping it is not just conditioning the cabin - it's heating the battery pack as well.

Their most efficient mode limits top speed, acceleration, and increases the regenerative braking dramatically, so if your commute fell into that range, bumping the max range up by 40% from the comfort mode can make a huge difference.

It will be interesting once these are readily available in the USA to experience the differences in the modes, and see how they match up with personal driving styles and needs.
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      11-16-2013, 03:41 PM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jadnashuanh View Post
I'm now retired, but where I last worked, they did have some vehicle chargers. I think you'll start to see this more and more because there will likely be green credits for them, and an added perk to the employees. But, agreed, at least for now, those are in the minority.

The i3 has a fairly sophisticated battery conditioning system, probably more so than the others out there, so prepping it is not just conditioning the cabin - it's heating the battery pack as well.

Their most efficient mode limits top speed, acceleration, and increases the regenerative braking dramatically, so if your commute fell into that range, bumping the max range up by 40% from the comfort mode can make a huge difference.

It will be interesting once these are readily available in the USA to experience the differences in the modes, and see how they match up with personal driving styles and needs.
The Volt's preconditions the pack as well (as a matter-of-fact it comes on automatically to do just that when plugged in regardless of my own "pre-conditioning" for cabin warmth, etc.). The Volt has a Normal and Sport mode and a "Drive" and "Low" mode. I use the latter for greater re-gen on braking (i.e. love "one-foot" driving). The climate control on the Volt also has an Eco and Comfort mode. I get the impression BMW is taking that a step further which will be good.

I do wish they would install chargers where it made sense (i.e. at offices in parking garages or anywhere else people spend hours) instead of stupid places like a restaurant or pharmacy where you may only be there for minutes or an hour. Of course, with the Volt, the cost of charging commercially exceeded the cost of gas so it never makes sense to charge publicly.

The big motivator for me with the i3 as a possible Volt lease replacement was the improved 0-60 time...unfortunately, that delta is cut in half when the range extender is added. It's still on my list of course.
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