[jadnashuanh]

The bottom line, is, I think, that the i3 won't embarrass itself - it can get up and go in the city environment where higher speeds like on an interstate may be more attuned to something with more power. Plus, if you drive at 10/10ths all the time, you're a menace in the city! The i3 can more than keep up with any sane driving, and get great efficiency while doing it. Many people that opt to own one will have a second (or more) car(s) that better meet their needs in other venues.

In a city, the 0-30 is much more an indication of what's needed than 0-60, or quarter mile time, which, if you should exercise, will likely land you in jail or at least without a license. And, in at least some places in the world (London is a good example), it not only saves in fuel, but tolls (in the congestion charge)...this can add up quite a bit over time.

[RoboM]

That's how i look down on ///M.

[DrakeKemper]

...it's still ugly

[Onurleft]

torque would've hurt it in this case, the M3 was battling wheel spin in 1st, into and through part of 2nd

[Murph335]

"On to the next one, on to the next one" (m3 that is)

Ok ok yes it sounds great, looks good, LSD, dct rock.

[tommolog]

Originally Posted by Daft

Goddammit I bought the wrong car. I'm going to hang myself now. Who wants to buy my slow M3...

Don't do it!! Take a deep breath and relax for a minute. BMW knows the M3 crowd is going to want the new best thing. They are going to offer a special trade in program for ///M owners that have i envy. Fear not, you won't be left behind.

[cc3]

Originally Posted by tommolog

Don't do it!! Take a deep breath and relax for a minute. BMW knows the M3 crowd is going to want the new best thing. They are going to offer a special trade in program for ///M owners that have i envy. Fear not, you won't be left behind.

Sets the street on fire!! But hope it's not like a Tesla S if it hits a speed hump or debris!!

[tommolog]

Originally Posted by gaz26

Sets the street on fire!! But hope it's not like a Tesla S if it hits a speed hump or debris!!

That's understandable and relevant here so I'm glad you brought it up. The i3 has basically the same architecture as the Model S with the large flat battery pack located under the passenger compartment. The cells Tesla uses do have a higher energy density but are also more likely to have a negative reaction to a serious pack intrusion. Watch the video below where they show a spike being driven into the battery, this simulates striking a metal rod that is road debris and that punctures the pack - though obviously not exactly. The narrator even remarks that the batteries they use cannot be compared to laptop batteries (which Tesla uses).

BMW "Safe Zero Emissions" video:

[cc3]

Originally Posted by tommolog

That's understandable and relevant here so I'm glad you brought it up. The i3 has basically the same architecture as the Model S with the large flat battery pack located under the passenger compartment. The cells Tesla uses do have a higher energy density but are also more likely to have a negative reaction to a serious pack intrusion. Watch the video below where they show a spike being driven into the battery, this simulates striking a metal rod that is road debris and that punctures the pack - though obviously not exactly. The narrator even remarks that the batteries they use cannot be compared to laptop batteries (which Tesla uses).

BMW "Safe Zero Emissions" video:

Impressive engineering

[IEDEI]

nice i3! surprising performance!

lol @ defensive M3 owners!

my 135is has 317 torques out of the box. you mad? lol

[SCOTT26]

Originally Posted by tommolog

Don't do it!! Take a deep breath and relax for a minute. BMW knows the M3 crowd is going to want the new best thing. They are going to offer a special trade in program for ///M owners that have i envy. Fear not, you won't be left behind.

The i8 is another interesting comparison with both the outgoing M3 and incoming M4 but I don't think that will be shown, well officially at least.

[Mr. Grumpy]

Originally Posted by ///M235i

A few take aways here:


1. S65 does in fact sound glorious
2. It sounds even better from behind the dashboard
3. The clown driving it was spinning his wheels half way through 1st gear
4. i3 wat?
5. Great sense of humors expressed by all parties involved
6. i3 JB4 tune is on the way and it will change everything

[hyperboost]

lol. M3 got jumped?
say what?

[3s-a-charm]

Best thing about the i3 is you can hear the M3's beautiful engine.

[gmane]

Seriously why are you guys discussing this??!! #SMFH

[cblandin]

So last year I sold my E39 M5 (I've owned 5 BMWs...still have an E36 M3) to lease a Chevy Volt. Here's the kicker with electric...you can use all of the power almost all the time. You are never caught in the wrong gear, never in the "oh crap, it - or I - just shifted to 2nd or 3rd and really should have stayed in a lower gear, but then I feel like an idiot waiting for an opening while running at 6500 rpm", etc. There is just no drama so you use more of the available power more of the time. Now, as a "car guy" (like most on these websites), I appreciate that the loss of drama (i.e. noise, feeling the build of power, timing a shift, etc.) can be viewed as a negative. Truthfully though, if my Volt had a bit better suspension and tires I might actually drive it at a higher average level of speed (and fun) than I did on my M5. The Volt's 0-60 time is a sad 8.9 seconds, but even with the M5 I often found myself blasting up to around 50 or so and then letting off as I merged onto certain roads, etc. On the freeways, I'd have a nice pass every now and then, but as often as not was stuck behind a line of cars. Now, I'm not satisfied with the Volt's 0-60 time (it is weird as the acceleration is so obviously software limited both at the start and when it hits 40 or so...the curve falls unnaturally), so I can appreciate how the i3 closes that gap and in "real life" would likely be driven as/or more quickly than most pure sports sedans. Is it necessarily as "fun" at the limit? Doubtful. Will it be more fun more of the time in "regular" driving...hmmm?

Frankly, I'd love to see a somewhat affordable multigear electric sports sedan hit the scene (something that doesn't scream "look at me, look at me, I am a new age electromobile"). The latest Porsche Panamera Plug-In Hybrid comes to mind (at a 50% discount mind you)...just saw a commercial for one the other day.

[jadnashuanh]

Every electric motor has a sweet spot. Max torque at zero RPM, but once it tries to rise above a certain point, that torque can drop off rather rapidly. One reason why they limit top speed, the power in verses power out drops off, and how fast do your really want to be spinning (the i3 maxes out at 11Krpm). This is one reason why once you reach a certain speed on the Volt, their fancy transmission and logic limits the rpm on the electric and turns on the engine - overspeed on the electric drops its efficiency, so the engine takes over up to about 20% of the motive drive. Lower than that speed, it tries to just keep it on electric power.

Another reason why it is designed as a city car...if it were designed for longer road trips, it would want a multigear transmission and a bigger battery, but add considerably to the costs.

This is a purpose built vehicle, trying to make it into a general use one is just not going to work, but for use in and around a city on typical daily trips, it should be great.

Now, the i8 has longer range overall, and it is likely that at least some of the other I-series vehicles in design will as well.

[cblandin]

Originally Posted by jadnashuanh

Every electric motor has a sweet spot. Max torque at zero RPM, but once it tries to rise above a certain point, that torque can drop off rather rapidly. One reason why they limit top speed, the power in verses power out drops off, and how fast do your really want to be spinning (the i3 maxes out at 11Krpm). This is one reason why once you reach a certain speed on the Volt, their fancy transmission and logic limits the rpm on the electric and turns on the engine - overspeed on the electric drops its efficiency, so the engine takes over up to about 20% of the motive drive. Lower than that speed, it tries to just keep it on electric power.

Another reason why it is designed as a city car...if it were designed for longer road trips, it would want a multigear transmission and a bigger battery, but add considerably to the costs.

This is a purpose built vehicle, trying to make it into a general use one is just not going to work, but for use in and around a city on typical daily trips, it should be great.

Now, the i8 has longer range overall, and it is likely that at least some of the other I-series vehicles in design will as well.

Jad - you are only sort of right on this regarding the Volt. So long as the battery has a charge it is pure electric up to 100 mph - ironically, I think this is faster than the "purpose built" i3 in its all electric mode. Once the battery is drained the engine runs to provide juice (i.e. as a generator) only at low speeds and at freeway speeds it will also couple to help at those speeds. To be clear though, while you still have juice in the battery - the engine is never used...for me that's 87.4% of my last 16K miles.

[jadnashuanh]

Originally Posted by cblandin

Jad - you are only sort of right on this regarding the Volt. So long as the battery has a charge it is pure electric up to 100 mph - ironically, I think this is faster than the "purpose built" i3 in its all electric mode. Once the battery is drained the engine runs to provide juice (i.e. as a generator) only at low speeds and at freeway speeds it will also couple to help at those speeds. To be clear though, while you still have juice in the battery - the engine is never used...for me that's 87.4% of my last 16K miles.

The max listed speed on the i3 is 93mph.

But, depending on the speed and battery level, contrary to common knowledge, on the Volt, the engine can provide up to about 20% of the motive power; IOW, while most of the time, the engine only powers the generator, there is a mode where it actually helps to power the wheels directly through the fancy transmission, which also limits how fast the electric motor has to turn. Once the electric motor gets into overspeed condition, it is more efficient to let the engine help turn the wheels than stay all on electric. How it decides the tradeoff and activates that is somewhat convoluted.

[cblandin]

Originally Posted by jadnashuanh

The max listed speed on the i3 is 93mph.

But, depending on the speed and battery level, contrary to common knowledge, on the Volt, the engine can provide up to about 20% of the motive power; IOW, while most of the time, the engine only powers the generator, there is a mode where it actually helps to power the wheels directly through the fancy transmission, which also limits how fast the electric motor has to turn. Once the electric motor gets into overspeed condition, it is more efficient to let the engine help turn the wheels than stay all on electric. How it decides the tradeoff and activates that is somewhat convoluted.

Jad - correct, but only AFTER the battery is depleted. The engine NEVER RUNS WHEN THE BATTERY HAS A CHARGE - regardless of how hard you are accelerating or how fast you are driving on the freeway (70, 80, 90 mph, etc) or where the battery is at in its level of depletion. The only exception to this would be when YOU purposely decide to engage the engine to reserve battery juice (i.e. Hold mode on 2013 and above Volts or "Mountain Mode" on all Volts). On my daily round trip commute (37 miles) I won't use any gas and the engine never starts. If I go beyond the battery range THEN the engine kicks on and operates either as a pure generator (low speeds) or as a combination generator and driver of the wheels (freeway speeds) - as you describe. As an aside, even once the battery depletes, after I have driven a bit on gas, when I come to a stop the engine will almost always shut off while I sit at stop lights which is nice (it obviously builds some level of residual charge to support this). In many ways, the Volt really is the best of both worlds...I'm on battery 87+% of the time, but never have to deal with range concerns. It does, of course, come at the expense of complexity and weight (i.e. both a full electric and full ICE drivetrain). Sadly, there is at least one guy on the Volt forum who drives his Volt on gas all the time because his (California) electric rate is so high it is actually CHEAPER for him to use gas than electricity. Fortunately, I'm nowhere near that!

[yoelev]

The only thing vry clear about this video is just how good that s65 sounds. Traction, torque, rain, electric. Blah blah blah. The sound of that engine should send chills down your spine. It's one of the best sounds ever to come from an engine. Long live the s65. I'm driving mine into the ground.

Everything else doesn't matter

[surewin]

The point of the video was to promote the i3 through trolling. Looks like it succeeded.