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      11-04-2019, 08:28 PM   #1
adriang
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I am considering an i8, and just wondering about your experiences driving in a busy city. I commute from a rural area to a city (Mississauga) near Toronto. It is about 50km/30miles to work one way and would want to hear realistically what annoyances one could expect with this? My commute times are quite long but I've learned to live with them while enjoying the cars that Idrive...pun intended.

Hopefully someone local can also chime in about charging stations? I could get a 240v supply installed at home, and if I'm not mistaken I have a 240 volt plug available at work. Is the bump up from 120v to a 240v supply at home worth the effort if the car can sit overnight plugged in, or sit at work a lengthy time?

What about public charge stations, are the majority paid services or is it actually easy to find a free charging station, let's say at a mall like Yorkdale or Mississauga Town Centre?

Thanks ahead for your inputs,

Adrian
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      11-04-2019, 10:00 PM   #2
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i8 is a superb commuter.
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      11-05-2019, 02:17 AM   #3
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Indeed the i8 is a great commuter. The new i8 has a significantly larger battery, so it depends on your day if it makes sense to upgrade the outlets. I assume you get 15 Amps? So a full charge on a 120V x 15A = 1.8kW socket would take 5.5 hours. If the car typically can stay connected for that time over night and at work you are fine. 240V would cut this in half if the Amps are the same. B.t.w. the German Schuko standard has 16A breakers but I'd only approved for 10A constant load. And I think Schuko is thermally more sound than your outlets. So if there is a similar limit it would only be 1,2kW and significantly more time to charge, about 8.5 hours. In that case a wall box with EV specific plugs that can take more Amps would make sense. I use Type 2 at 230V/16A=3.7kW for example, that's all the i8 can do.

If you have to charge from empty to full in less than 5.5 hours the upgrade would help you. Realistically your commute in the winter will be beyond the edge what the car can do full EV and you might want all wheel drive. Then the car would not be completely empty and charged in less time. Fuel consumption will still be great. That thing does 160km/h on the Autobahn in Sports mode at 6L/100km. Comfort mode 50 km will be a couple of mL each drive

Last edited by Leto1701; 11-05-2019 at 02:56 AM..
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      11-05-2019, 02:53 AM   #4
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As stated above, the i8 is a great commuter if you can handle being stared at ... a lot!
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      11-05-2019, 08:46 AM   #5
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Make sure you get the later model with the bigger battery, which would allow you to drive mostly electric each way if you can charge at work. The ride is very compliant and I concur that it is a superb commuter car. I have been doing it for nearly 5 years and have yet to find a different car to trade up to....
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      11-05-2019, 09:41 AM   #6
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I have a 2019, and have no issues w charging via 110. Frankly the options - eco, comfort, sport - provide the luxury of having seamless transition among power sources. Pulling out into traffic in sport is too much fun to ignore. In general the i8 coupe is a superb jack of all trades, several great cars rolled into one package: very comfortable and capable GT; elite sports car with good acceleration and handling; back seat; green; AWD; attractive and fun. Financials and reliability are uncertain.

My advice is get the i8 and then see if you want a 240...
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      11-05-2019, 05:13 PM   #7
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I am on my second i8 and it is probably one of the best daily / commuter cars as long as you can deal with the ingress/egress, limited ground clearance compared to an SUV and lack of storage
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      11-06-2019, 08:36 PM   #8
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Thank you all for your comments, very informative about everyday use.

How often do you find yourselves thinking you have to plug the car in wherever you can...or if not at all?
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      11-07-2019, 01:39 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by adriang View Post
Thank you all for your comments, very informative about everyday use.

How often do you find yourselves thinking you have to plug the car in wherever you can...or if not at all?
Not sure I understand the question. My i8 is plugged in when it sits in the garage at home every time. For my normal commute that's enough to be an EV. So I don't have to plug in e.g. at work. I also avoid blocking a charger that could support a BEV with my PHEV because I don't really need it. So even if there are 22kW chargers in the office garage, I feel it would be pretty stupid to block them for hours to charge at 3,7kW and someone can't charge the EV that's depending on it. If I go long distance and the hotel has a socket for me I will use it. The thing about the PHEV is that you don't need to think about it. If you wanted 100% on electricity you would have bought a BEV.

I would put it like that:

- If you can't charge regularly, e.g. at home, get a HEV
- If you can charge regularly get a PHEV, ideally with enough EV range to commute
- If you do long distances every day get a high range BEV, but only then

Don't carry 700kg of Batteries you don't need around every day for 100km. They also have to be produced, etc. BEV owners don't like that statement but after 6 years of Tesla driving that's my conclusion. The environmental footprint of a high capacity BEV for short distance driving or even long distance driving that you don't need to do and only do it because you have that car is terrible. Don't buy a pure ICE either. For many, the PHEV is the best bridge tech until we have enough infrastructure and cars to go to (regenerative energy based produced) H2. That might be a while. The i8 is one of many examples of how this is not so bad and there is a huge range of great PHEVs meanwhile that don't make people ask for 22kW extra power at home, new networks of 350kW DC chargers on the road, etc. Just use your existing infrastructure, dramatically reduce gas consumption, do long distance without a worry and worry about something else.

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      11-07-2019, 05:27 AM   #10
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I daily drive my i8 to work. It's 16mi to work and 20mi home (I take different routes due to traffic) and am typically on electric to work, gas halfway home (Sport mode to charge) and electric the rest of the way home. I charge overnight using the 120V charger. I get about 50MPG on the commutes. It's so much more comfy that my previous daily drivers. Some people think I'm nuts for dailying this car but it's perfect for it.
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