Can an i3 crawl

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Jako999

Member
Joined
Feb 26, 2020
Messages
12
Hi all I had a go in a Smart car today and the one thing that was great was when you took your foot of the break the car starts to crawl which is great in traffic, when I test drove the i3s when you took your foot off the brake it just sat there until you press the accelerator but then it was har to just crawl at a few mph. As I haven’t got the car yet I am just wondering is this correct or can you change any settings I won’t want to stop the hill hold working but the Smart crawled and did hill hold.

Thanks
 
Forty-nine percent of i3 owners already complain that the car doesn't come to a complete stop under one-pedal driving, and now you want it to go faster? :D :D :D

That's potentially a handy feature in the Smart. How fast does it get up to? Is it set speed, or does it automatically track the speed of the car it's following?

For US owners who have an i3 with the Tech package, you can install a "TJA module" in the steering wheel and enable Traffic Jam Assist, which paces traffic in front of the car and also steers, with very little input from the driver (I believe you need to tell it to "go" after it comes to a stop of a certain period). Something similar is available as a factory enabled feature in European models.
 
The regen is variable within the system limits. But, if you want to crawl, a slight pressure on the go pedal will let it move at nearly any speed. Once you reach a certain point, it will start to add regen as you back off. There's a dash display that shows whether you're using energy or regen is functioning. Just keep the indicator slightly above the zero point (where it will coast), and go any speed it is capable of.

So, short answer, yes, an i3 can crawl, but not without you using the go pedal.
 
With no disrespect to OP, I disagree with the thought that a vehicle should crawl without an input from the driver telling it to do so. This behavior was a necessary side-effect (evil) of automatic transmissions, but is counter-intuitive to controls on a machine. "It goes forward when you push this pedal, but it also goes forward when you DON'T push this other pedal" doesn't really make sense from a design standpoint.

After a scary situation where my i3's rear started to lose traction in the ice due to regenerative braking when I was trying to coast, I'm not even sure where I stand on "one-pedal" driving in the first place.

Having said that, maybe if it's a user-adjustable setting that could meet everyone's needs (except if I borrowed OP's car and crashed it thinking it would just sit still if I let my foot off the brake while it was stopped).
 
I'm happy that our i3 doesn't emulate automatic transmission creep. I don't press the brake pedal much and would not want to have to press it whenever stopped to prevent our i3 from rolling forward.

If you change driving mode to EcoPro or EcoPro+, the power pedal mapping would much less sensitive during its initial travel which would make driving at very slow speeds easier.
 
With no disrespect to OP, I disagree with the thought that a vehicle should crawl without an input from the driver telling it to do so. This behavior was a necessary side-effect (evil) of automatic transmissions, but is counter-intuitive to controls on a machine. "It goes forward when you push this pedal, but it also goes forward when you DON'T push this other pedal" doesn't really make sense from a design standpoint.


I also enjoy the fact that the i3 doesn't creep forward on level ground.

With no foot on the "go" pedal I like that my i3 pretty much stays where it is when stopped.
 
Thanks guys as for how fast does the Smart crawl at it’s around 3 mph.
I like the idea of changing the mode would equal less power. The other reason I like a car to crawl is pulling into a parking space, when you pull in and stop but then need to go another 30cm(12inch) it’s almost Impossible to do, my wife’s petrol car stops and holds if you touch the throttle it will lurch and hit the car in front you have to switch the hold off then release the brake slightly and it smoothly inches in.
 
The i3's throttle is very thoughtfully tuned. Making small movements such as you describe is very easy, no lurching.

Like 3pete said, the "crawl" behavior is a side effect of an imperfect system, as is the lurch your wife experiences. I do believe the i3 engineers mapped the early part of the throttle throw to allow very good control during very low speed maneuvering.
 
I’m sure when I get it I will get used to it, it’s a pity no one told Range Rover how to set it up but then I would advise no one to buy one any way it’s an £80,000 heap of rubbish. Hopefully when I get my first ev my wife will love it and follow?
 
eNate said:
The i3's throttle is very thoughtfully tuned. Making small movements such as you describe is very easy, no lurching.


Yes, this matches my experience, the i3 never lurches.

When needing to carefully position the vehicle (parking) only the lightest of pressure on the accelerator is needed to move forward – the control is very precise.

If you're coming from a car with an automatic transmission then, yes, the i3 will take a little bit of time to adjust, but if you give it an honest go I suspect the realization will be that a conventional gas engine + automatic transmission combo is quite crude in terms of power delivery.
 
If you have Active Cruise Control, tbe i3 will do a great job of moving along with slow traffic while keeping a safe distance between you and the car in front.

Traffic Jam Assist adds automatic steering, but I have found that it turns off too often in the type of conditions that I drive in each day. At the normal speed of traffic on the road I drive to and from work, it switches off at each intersection.

I think others have had better success with TJA so it may just be that it works better on some roads than others.
 
My E93 M3 w/DCT has this "creep/crawl" feature. You tap the accelerator and it slowly, progressively moves the direction your gear is in. It's great for parking whilst using the PDC beeping. I'm happy with the pedal control of my i3, along with a backup camera, I can do without the creep/crawl feature.
 
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