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bwilson4web

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 30, 2016
Messages
805
Location
Huntsville, AL
Today I was helping a BMW i3-REx owner understand some features that she'd never used since getting the car in 2014:
  • Changing the navigation map to a flat 2D with enhanced contrast.
  • Fixing the portable gas can caps so it won't leak (some assembly is required.)
  • Driving on dynamic cruise control.
She noticed I was driving the Prius Prime and asked, "Which do you prefer?"

"It is like having two children, which one do you like most?" I replied and she laughed.

The Prius Prime, 25 mile battery gives 3 stops around town before needing a charge. So I often shop where I can also get a free charge like Propst Discount Drugs in the 5-Points area or Whole Foods. I also shop in the near-by stores and restaurants. She noticed my vanity plate, "199 MPG" but is driving her BMW i3-REx to Florida tomorrow. She know the BMW i3-REx will take five gas stops on the way down hence the portable gas cans.

I explained the Prius Prime drove 1,200 miles from Connecticut to Huntsville and filled up once. It gets 56-58 MPG on the highway which makes it exceptionally efficient cross country. In contrast the BMW i3-REx driven EV to Nashville costs ~$24 because the two fast DC chargers cost ~$12 each for about 60 miles of range. But driving back from Nashville only cost $6 in gas. The cost of fast DC charging away from home is too expensive compared to gas.

She asked about emissions and I pointed out that driving gas on the highway is surrounded by fields and trees that neutralize emissions. In contrast, the city has streets, houses, and buildings that do nothing to deal with emissions.

For dynamic cruise control training, I explained that it takes a while to feel confident but 'let's do a test drive.' I drove in rush hour traffic to the city limits so she could see the display and buttons as I used them. Sure enough, a rush hour commuter steered into our lane and I braked pointing out 'you must still monitor the car' but over 90% of the driving uses dynamic cruise control. We stopped at a gas station and she drove me back in the much lighter traffic headed into town while I talked her through the controls.

She has 55,000 miles on her 2014 BMW i3-REx but now she knows how to get the maximum from her car. The navigation map changes and dynamic cruise control makes a good car into a great car.

Bob Wilson
 
She asked about emissions and I pointed out that driving gas on the highway is surrounded by fields and trees that neutralize emissions

That's not how it works. Fields and trees don't magically neutralize the emissions of vehicles around them, and nowhere else.

Both the i3 REx and the Prius Prime are *EXTREMELY* clean vehicles. Their gasoline engines spew out very little particulate, NOx, and other smog-producing components. Those are the parts that are worst on a day-to-day basis. For bigger vehicles, it's not that the fields and trees neutralize the smog-forming components, as much as more open spaces allow those gasses to disperse more easily than a "concrete jungle."

For both vehicles, CO2 is the biggest pollutant, and in both cases, plants *ANYWHERE* help. On a freeway drive a couple hundred miles where you go from city to country to city, you will pass by fields and trees. It's not that your driving is "less impactful" when you are passing plants - those same plants are absorbing CO2 from vehicles all over, thanks to wind patterns moving the air around.

Back to the topic - it really depends on how you want to use the vehicle. If you are buying it for 99% around-town driving, the i3 is better. If you want it for regular road trips, the Prius Prime is better. As you said, it's like two kids. We got rid of our Prius (non-Prime) to get the i3. But right now, we're looking at replacing our old Subaru Forester with the upcoming Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid (which is a plug-in hybrid using the Prius Prime's technology.)
 
I was thinking more of the NOx than CO{2}. Regardless, best to keep the exhaust gasses away from concentrations of humans. Now if we could just do something about the stinkers on the highways.

Bob Wilson
 
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