Are The i3's "Dynamic" Range Calculation Unique?

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eNate

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Is the way the i3 revises estimated range based on the destination plugged in to navigation a feature only found in BMWs? Is this not common in other brand's EVs?

A little back story: I've had my eye on the Polestar 2 to replace my wife's car. A few days ago, this video popped up:

https://youtu.be/XQ2_lGklZRM

In summary, the guy plugs in a destination in cold weather with a steep climb up the mountain at the end. Right off the bat, the range displayed on the dash does not agree with the "battery remaining" calculation by Google inside of the nav app (the Polestar has Android built in; Google Maps is the default nav).

Then, as he nears his destination, Google navigation seems to be surprised by the steep ascent, and the estimated battery remaining figure plunges.

First off, this is bizarre that Google Nav and "the car" are displaying different figures. According to P2 owners on their forum, the car always shows the same estimated mileage remaining at 100%, apparently no regard for cold temps or previous driving history. The user recommendation is to "trust Google" for a more accurate range estimate based on its "% remaining at destination" calculation. For a supposedly "integrated" system, hat's just... odd.

But secondly, maybe more importantly, Google has a vast database of terrain, weather, and traffic to draw from. How could it possibly NOT take a steep ascent on a cold day into account when calculating battery usage?

And to bring this back to BMW, I find the i3 does an admirable job of providing me with an accurate adjusted estimate of range available after I've entered a destination in navigation. Further, I am quite certain that BMW uses Google services on the back end for some of its server-based navigation functions.

Do any of you with experience in other EVs know if this sort of dynamic range calculation is common?
 
eNate said:
Is the way the i3 revises estimated range based on the destination plugged in to navigation a feature only found in BMWs? Is this not common in other brand's EVs?

...
And to bring this back to BMW, I find the i3 does an admirable job of providing me with an accurate adjusted estimate of range available after I've entered a destination in navigation. Further, I am quite certain that BMW uses Google services on the back end for some of its server-based navigation functions.

Do any of you with experience in other EVs know if this sort of dynamic range calculation is common?

This is a late response to your very interesting post...
Apart from our i3 BEV (120Ah) I only have direct experience of a Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV that seemed to just do a direct calculation of battery/fuel/both range from the fuel/battery level read outs and when it had over estimated range it didn’t dynamically change.... it was best just going on the gauges..

On the i3 I am very impressed and pleased with the BMW i3 “guessometer” - because it appears to be pretty good. That’s whether you’re going from the navigation screen (programmed destination) or just on the range gauge.
I won’t say it’s faultless, but it’s pretty good at predicting the range on any given day - if anything I think that thankfully - it’s a little pessimistic.
Like you I think it gives an uncannily accurate adjusted estimate of range available after I've entered a destination in navigation.
 
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