My girlfriend accuses me of not wanted to leave my postcode, so I'm the poster boy for an urban car. My average annual mileage is 8K. I calculate my daily average is only 24 miles - I fly out of town a lot. But 20 miles is a short trip within San Diego city, which must be 60 miles or more North to South. I think I need a real-life range of 80 miles.
The Rex didn't appeal- I don't want to lose performance entailed by the weight gain, but I would have accepted it. Due regulations, in the US the Rex will only kick in when the battery is down to 5%. Then the car will be powered almost solely by it's motorbike engine of 34 hp - dangerously under-powered in my opinion. That's a deal-killer for me. In California, an i3 with Rex won't qualify for the white HOV lane. That is likely the coup de grace kill it for anyone still standing. It's a shame the i3 has been compromised worldwide for the sake of the US market, where I now think it will flop.
I'd rather have an i3 than a Tesla. A nippy little easy-parking car, a scratch on which wouldn't move me to tears, would be fun. I'm going to monitor my drive-miles for the next month or so, but I don't think the i3 will make the cut.
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The Rex didn't appeal- I don't want to lose performance entailed by the weight gain, but I would have accepted it. Due regulations, in the US the Rex will only kick in when the battery is down to 5%. Then the car will be powered almost solely by it's motorbike engine of 34 hp - dangerously under-powered in my opinion. That's a deal-killer for me. In California, an i3 with Rex won't qualify for the white HOV lane. That is likely the coup de grace kill it for anyone still standing. It's a shame the i3 has been compromised worldwide for the sake of the US market, where I now think it will flop.
I'd rather have an i3 than a Tesla. A nippy little easy-parking car, a scratch on which wouldn't move me to tears, would be fun. I'm going to monitor my drive-miles for the next month or so, but I don't think the i3 will make the cut.
Flag as inappropriate