We are just heading out on our 100th (or so) 350 mile round day-trip in our 2015 REX, so I don't have time to comment on whether or not they are good for that : ) Maximum in one day: 515 miles in winter conditions.
2015 REX / Participating on plugshare w/level 2 Clipper Creek 32 amp, Moclips, Washington coast
I think many REX problems are due to infrequent usage. The most complex parts of the car are the high voltage parts which are shared between REX/BEV.
Having said that based on engineering principles the chance of failure in REX is higher, simply because it has more parts.
Personally I think for most people in US only the 2019+ has adequate range as a BEV. For 60/94ah models the REX worth the trouble because it practically provides unlimited range.
Ultimately it still comes down to individual use case and tolerance.
I'll point back to my 2-day, 1,700 mile drive in a 120 Ah BEV (2021), which would have been borderline with the 94 Ah battery and impossible at this stage in DCFC rollout with the original 60 Ah battery.
With no REX, if any of the majority of charging stops was out-of-order, I'd have been on a 100+ mile tow truck ride, or parked at a motel with an extension cord running out the door.
But back on home turf, in a 3-car household, my former 94 Ah BEV was more than adequate 99% of the time. The only reason I road tripped an i3 1,700 miles was because that's how far away the dealership was where I purchased it. It likely won't be repeating any journeys of that length.
Around home, however, I've got such great DCFC coverage in the SF Bay area that I have numerous charging options to pick from, without really needing to pre-plan. In the not-too-distant future it'll be like that in more places.
Keep in mind that the Electrify America charging network, which I relied upon for my entire journey -- 18 charging stops in all -- didn't yet exist just four years ago! Their first station opened in May 2018.
2 0 2 1 B M W i 3 1 2 0 A h B E V - O a k l a n d Wokeby Trunk Extension | Duosida 16A L1 EVSE SeaSucker Monkey Bar Roof Rack
A few additional thoughts about the BEV/REX debate:
- The REX has sort of a better warranty in PZEV states (15yrs/150k miles). It is not clear if many people have taken advantage of this yet, but theoretically you should be able to cover many issues even for non REX component under PZEV warranty.
- I think REX is sort of a unique characteristic of the i3. There are many BEVs, many of them more capable than i3, but i3 is the only production REX and if Mazda MX-30 falters, could be the only one forever.
- In some emergency situations it could be difficult to charge a BEV, but with a REX you can get out of there.
I was on the fence about a 2019 or a 2018 REX for my second i3. Eventually decided on the REX. I fully understand if someone chooses BEV for different factors.