Possible newbie with questions

Hi all
My usual cars have all been 2 seater soft tops but no one seams to make an electric one of those at to right price, so I’m thinking of having a change for a bit till they do and there are two cars in the running one is a Smart Fortwo cabrio and the other is an i3s I like either sports/super cars but I also love small funky cars. I average around 70 miles a week in a car of which a lot of it is in traffic with the odd longer journey and a bit of a blast. My sports car will go but I still have an suv and a motorbike. I’m thinking if I do go for it it will be a new base i3s in graphite with black wheels and may be a sun roof.

I am probably going to lease the car as I work for the NHS and the deals are brilliant.
The car may end up doing a couple of hundred miles a week as the lease includes the insurance for up to 5 people so I can se my wife and kids using it some times when they realise they don’t have to put the petrol in their own cars.
What is the real range in the uk if you leave it in sport and floor it off junctions mind you you soon can’t change the cars up in front but I do some country road driving sometimes.

So is the sun roof worth it , is the standard sound system any good and is there any must haves on the order list.

Thanks

Unlike an ICE where it may not be all that efficient when trouncing on it, an EV isn't nearly as bad. What does decrease range is going fast (drag becomes a big component of your energy consumption) or using the brakes. Once up to speed, keeping it steady without lots of jiggling the go pedal will get you the longest range. Use the regenerative braking and don't scream up to a stop or light and use the brakes, and it should do fine.

I think you'll find the i3s comes with summer tires. As the temperatures drop, even without snow (get a bunch where you live the last few days!?) and you'd be parking the thing unless you bought another set of wheels and winter tires for it. High torque, rear drive, summer tires, and you're just asking for a crash if there's snow on the ground.

jadnashuanh said:

What does decrease range is going fast

Click to expand...

So you're saying I'm able to drive my i3 slow?

The speed you choose is one of a few things that will affect your range...same is true on most ICE vehicles...drag increase is not a linear thing, so say at 30mph in the city versus 60mph on the highway, the drag is not twice as much, it's closer to 4x as much.

The ambient temperature will affect your maximum range...the electrons just don't move as easily in a cold battery. Setting a departure time while plugged in can help minimize that, but may take as much as 3-hours notice prior to leaving for best effect. It can also help to precondition the cabin if you're plugged in, as then you often will leave with a fuller battery.

Keep your tires properly inflated.

Once at speed, driving a steady velocity helps...every time you accelerate it takes more energy. You can recover some of that during regen, but not as much if you're actually using the brakes. IT's not a perpetual motion machine...you will never recover all the energy used to move it when slowing back down.

Stay off the brakes and rely on regen except for adverse conditions when someone cuts in front, or the light turns before you expect it.

Keep the windows closed, as the drag above 25mph takes more power than the HVAC system.

The community average efficiency seems to be hovering around 4 miles/Kw. I let my brother-in-law drive and he was getting closer to 2 miles/Kw. Lousy use of regen, and couldn't keep a steady speed account for that.

Super cold days with short trips where the car cools off in between departures will be your worst efficiency.

The i3 is not a sports car and neither is the i3S.

Leaving it in Sports Mode and driving it fast will leave you having to buy tires quickly and a range of about 80 miles with the aircon on..

The i3S version just has a more sportier ride with a slightly stiffer suspension and 20 inch wheels.. Note: it is not a BMW performance car, it does not handle like a 3 series or any other BMW series..

The i3 is a urban city car made for stop and go traffic and it is somewhat stable on the freeway as long as you keep it under 70mph.

I would never speed into sharp curves at 60mph in the i3 because the car was not built for it..