150 mile commute, is the i3 REX up to it?

I’m new on here, a UK user and currently own a BMW 5 Series, 3.0 litre. It only does 26 MPG and I’ve recently landed a new job which means I’ll be doing up to 75 miles one way commute. This journey will be mainly across single carriageway “A” roads at 60MPH for about 40 miles, about 20 miles on a dual carriageway “A” road with a 70 MPH limit and then the rest in town centres. There is no charging point at work so I will need a REX as the standard i3 won’t be sufficient. I’d be looking to buy a used i3 REX, so I won’t be able to afford the 94Ah version, it will be the 2015 variant.

The questions I have are

1) Is the i3 REX up to a long distance commute such as this, typically this will be up to 150 miles per day/750 miles per week with only access to a charge point at home?
2) How does the REX work in practice? Would I use almost all of the battery to get to work and then be using the REX almost all of the way home? Or would 50/50 be more likely?
3) How realistic are the quoted ranges in UK weather, especially the winters? I live in the south of England so the winters are not too severe.
4) The REX tank I see is only 2 gallons, would this mean that I’d need to refuel every day?
5) What are the servicing costs and how often does it need to be serviced?

Any help or advice that anyone can offer would be appreciated.

1 should be fine
2 that is your own choice. Personally i would rex the fast parts also on the way out. So 50/50
3 you will loose about 25% range in winter. But preconditioning before departure from home when plugged in helps.
4 yes your commute will mean refill every day.
5 dont know about cost yet.

Furter check online if there is an area close to your work where you can charge. Look at zapmap, plugshare, podpoint. Google

I drive a 94ah Rex so can't offer a definitive range figure for the 60ah but I'd say based on mine, you'll be struggling with that especially if you're going to drive at the speed limit (or over) and with lights, heat or a/c, wipers etc. In cold weather extremely unlikely without stopping for fuel.

But more from a pragmatic viewpoint, the Rex is a small back up engine and isn't designed for everyday use You'd be talking the equivalent of 20k miles per year on the Rex which would be thrashing it to death.

You may as well buy an ICE and if I were you I'd look at a 120d or 320d if you're after better economy.

Just my 2p worth

When BMW was pondering the i3, they fought with whether they should include the REx option at all...the car is designed as a shorter range, commuting car, with the primary goal of urban/suburban...not, what you are talking about. Can it do it, yes, but on the original one, you'd be pressing your luck in the winter without stopping for fuel unless you drive in one of the Eco modes and keep your speeds down along with limiting the heating. The BEV has a heat pump, so it's much more efficient at heating than the REx, where every watt is a direct watt from the battery pack, whereas, on the BEV, you probably get about 3W of heat for each watt input except on really cold days (likely colder than the norm in the UK), where it too may call on the resistance heating. Yes, people use them for longer trips, but I'm not sure I'd want to do it every day. It all depends on how determined you are at saving some money verses the inconvenience.

The larger battery version from 2017 should be able to fairly safely make this trip while filling up daily. Even if you could find a plug at work to charge during the day verses a higher powered EVSE, you could make this work.

wilcovh said:

2 that is your own choice. Personally i would rex the fast parts also on the way out. So 50/50

Click to expand...

I didn't know you had an option of when to use REx or not use it. How do you turn the REx on and off ?

x

theothertom said:

wilcovh said:

2 that is your own choice. Personally i would rex the fast parts also on the way out. So 50/50

Click to expand...

I didn't know you had an option of when to use REx or not use it. How do you turn the REx on and off ?

x

Click to expand...

It depends on where you live and whether you've got that software enabled. Except in North America, it's standard on the REx. You control it via a menu choice. You cannot manually turn it on until the battery SOC is 75% or lower. In NA, and elsewhere, it will turn on automatically, once the SOC gets below about 6%. The 2017 appears to allow the engine to run a bit faster, so it has a higher maximum output (it varies based on the load, SOC, and probably other things). In the USA, people who 'code' their cars have enabled the functionality 'standard' elsewhere. FWIW, many of the configuration items in any BMW are based on selectable items, accessible via coding routines. You're not changing the actual software, but are changing values for parameters that are already assigned.

Thanks jadnashuanh. Good info.

To the OP (Mr. Tickle):
I don't know about financing options in the UK, but can you lease ? If so, you might want to consider leasing a 2017 for a couple of years to see if the long commute works for you. If not, turn it in and walk away. If it suits you, then you can decide to buy your car or another used one. Of course you would have to make sure you have enough miles on your lease

I would highly recommend getting a L2 charger installed at or close to where you work. We have a cottage 150 miles one way from home. Before a L3 charger was installed half way to our cottage we might have to fill the gas tank twice to make it. Filling twice on each trip was a pain. Now that we can charge during our trip the REx operates for brief periods so gas fills aren't an issue.

1) Is the i3 REX up to a long distance commute such as this, typically this will be up to 150 miles per day/750 miles per week with only access to a charge point at home?

I bought a 2014 BMW i3-REx that came off lease for $29.9k (USA) because it had the unrefueled range to reach Nashville TN, 120 miles (193 km) away from our home in Huntsville AL. I bought it and drove 463 miles (745 km), over the Smoky Mountains which included climbing a pass, 2200 ft (670 m). Last year, my wife and I took a holiday weekend to drive 700 miles (1,126 km), each way, to Stillwater Oklahoma.

2) How does the REX work in practice? Would I use almost all of the battery to get to work and then be using the REX almost all of the way home? Or would 50/50 be more likely?

On long distance trips, my practice has been to turn on the REx early, at 75% SOC, and use the battery as a 50 mile, reserve. This allows using all the gas in the 2 gallon (USA) tank (actually 2.4 gallons if coded.) Around town, I use the battery and had the warning come on once because I'd gone 60 days (?) without running the engine.

On a Standard Day:

• 65 mph -> 40 MPG (USA)
• 70 mph -> 38 MPG
• 75 mph -> 34 MPG plus ~20% of the battery SOC

With respect, I disagree about whether a motor scooter engine designed for 70 hp is being abused at the nominal 34 hp maximum output driving a generator under computer control. Sad to say, it is not as efficient as other engines (aka., Prius) but in the BMW i3-REx it is as efficient as the Volt and all other plug-in hybrids with the exception of the Prius Prime. I especially appreciate the cooling system works after the car stops to keep from 'cooking' the engine oil.

On long distance trips, it is my practice to carry a one gallon spare gas can in the frunk because you can never tell if the planned gas stop will be closed. One gallon will easily go another 40 miles. I also replaced the 'goop kit', with a tire plug repair and vice grips so I won't have to risk the tire pressure sensors if there is a flat.

3) How realistic are the quoted ranges in UK weather, especially the winters? I live in the south of England so the winters are not too severe.

Below 50-55F, range is affected by denser, cold air, and tire warm-up but I've not done any benchmarks, yet. We don't have a lot of cold weather in North Alabama. Regardless, Nashville, 120 miles away is well within range.

4) The REX tank I see is only 2 gallons, would this mean that I’d need to refuel every day?

Probably. My strategy is if I am going to use the engine, I want to burn all the gas and use the traction battery as reserve. But if I'm in battery range and charging stations are handy, I run pure EV.

5) What are the servicing costs and how often does it need to be serviced?

In the USA, we have a 50,000 mile, 5 year, manufacturer warranty. Mine expires in January 2019 so I'm following BMW's schedule. At $160 each, the tires are expensive but I'm running them at maximum pressure, 51 psi, and wear has been nominal.

One caution, we had a motor mount bolt break in December. The replacement parts are much larger and stronger so my particular BMW i3-REx is in good shape. But if your car still has the original bolt and mount, I would consider it a potentially weak point. The two week repair was fully covered under warranty but those two weeks aborted a planned vacation to Arizona.

Bob Wilson

As I and others have said, you CAN use the i3 REx on longer trips, but to do it every day, IMHO, would be a pain...doable, but not as simple as something with a longer, unrefueled range. If you had an EVSE at work, or a CCS unit you could reliably access (their reliability and access is marginal in most places around the country), then, that could easily change the picture. Some states offer businesses a break if they install charging stations. I'm not sure if the Federal ones still exist, especially with the current administration. That might make it more palatable for a business to consider installing one, and again, that could change the picture.

I have a 60Ah REX. 150 miles is exactly the round trip distance to my weekend get away. I can't charge the car while I'm there. 80% of the trip is on a highway, where I drive at around 70-75 mph. Most of the time I drive in decent weather (around 65-70 deg. F).
Well, I *always* have to stop for gas on the way back. It would otherwise leave stranded after, say, 120-130 total miles driven. So my advice to you in regards to buying the 60Ah REX would be an absolute NO. If you can afford the 92Ah REX version, it seems like it would get you there without a problem.