Should I get an I3?

I like the I3. However, after doing a test drive, the test vehicle (a BEV) was reporting only a range of 56 miles. I typically drive around 30 miles a day, so the range seems fine. However, about 3-4 times a year I drive about 120 miles one way and would only have 120V charging at the destination. After running through the numbers, it does not seem practical to keep my current gas car long term. Would an I3 with Rex actually work as a person's only car as I am not married to have a second car in the family? I generally travel into Maryland and as far as Williamsburg, VA.

tom10422 said:

I like the I3. However, after doing a test drive, the test vehicle (a BEV) was reporting only a range of 56 miles. I typically drive around 30 miles a day, so the range seems fine. However, about 3-4 times a year I drive about 120 miles one way and would only have 120V charging at the destination. After running through the numbers, it does not seem practical to keep my current gas car long term. Would an I3 with Rex actually work as a person's only car as I am not married to have a second car in the family? I generally travel into Maryland and as far as Williamsburg, VA.

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If it's really only 3-4 times a year I would get the BEV version and rent a regular gasoline car for those trips. Or find a dealer participating in BMW mobility program and get loaner for those few days.

tom10422 said:

I like the I3. However, after doing a test drive, the test vehicle (a BEV) was reporting only a range of 56 miles. I typically drive around 30 miles a day, so the range seems fine. However, about 3-4 times a year I drive about 120 miles one way and would only have 120V charging at the destination. After running through the numbers, it does not seem practical to keep my current gas car long term. Would an I3 with Rex actually work as a person's only car as I am not married to have a second car in the family? I generally travel into Maryland and as far as Williamsburg, VA.

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Well as for me I have a Rex and in the winter range decreases substantially. I could do most of my driving on a BEV, but the Rex saves me the range anxiety. I did a 103 mile trip today with 77 miles on the battery and 30 miles on the Rex. Just for me it says I can go where I want without worrying if I can make it and here in rural Ohio charging stations are few and far between. Just saying and I have a Prius plug in for longer trips like 600 miles as the wife anfd I love visiting Williamsburg.

tom10422 said:

...about 3-4 times a year I drive about 120 miles one way and would only have 120V charging at the destination. After running through the numbers, it does not seem practical to keep my current gas car long term. Would an I3 with Rex actually work as a person's only car as I am not married to have a second car in the family?

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It absolutely will. To make all that you read on this forum about any limitations of power when operating on the REx irrelevant, and make longer trips with fewer stops, use Tom's suggestion to "code" the REx to enable manual activation. Then on any longer trip, manually activate the REx when you get to 75% SOC, drive until fuel depletion, hunt for gasoline stations on battery power, fuel up, switch back to REx operation, and repeat until the distance to your next charging opportunity equals your battery range remaining. Then switch back to battery operation to deplete your useable battery energy.

I've found it to be a delightful car for every purpose up to and including a 330 mile trip I take on occasion.

tom10422 said:

Would an I3 with Rex actually work as a person's only car as I am not married to have a second car in the family? I generally travel into Maryland and as far as Williamsburg, VA.

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The question you might need to ask yourself is why would an i3 Rex not work as a persons only car? Assuming the car is of the right size for you, you will not have any range anxiety issues as the Rex portion will always be enough to keep you going to the next petrol station. Given your usage, you are only going to need the Rex bit very occasionally anyway.

I'm in a similar situation, the vast majority of my journeys are less than 40 mile round trips. I went for a Rex to give me comfort for those longer trips where I might not find a charger at the far end, and for when I forget to plug it in to charge overnight!

Yes.

I bought my wife a REx. We live in the DC area, on the MD side. Every once in awhile she will let me wrestle the car away from her, and I get to drive it to work. My commute is 27 miles one way. I make excursions to customer sites during the day. No problemmo.

Today the high was in the 30's so battery capacity was diminished, I ran 'full hog' (i.e. comfort mode, seat heaters, cabin heat, upgrade stereo blaring Metal from compressed Sirius). Guess-o-meter range at the start of the day was still in excess of your 120 mile concern.

Go for it!

See you on the Beltway,

Sledge
Spouse of an i3 owner that let's me drive it sometimes.
Giga REx, everything but the 20" wheels

Tomasz said:

If it's really only 3-4 times a year I would get the BEV version and rent a regular gasoline car for those trips. Or find a dealer participating in BMW mobility program and get loaner for those few days.

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I totally agree! Always dragging around an extra 200+ pounds of REx motor, etc., reduces one's range a bit although there is some validity with the notion that with a REx, one might be more likely to drive farther on electricity knowing a REx exists. For me, eliminating internal combustion engine maintenance was very important, so we bought a BEV and are very happy with our decision.

As much fun as folks have bashing the i3 REx because of efficiency lost due to the extra weight, keep in mind that at 117 MPGe, it is more efficient than any other EV currently manufactured except for the limited production Chevy Spark EV compliance car (1,014 sold this year) at 119 MPGe, and the i3 BEV at 124 MPGe. It also accelerates faster than all but the Teslas.

Bashing is a little bit of a stretch!

There are people's needs that make the REx viable, whereas the BEV wouldn't be. But, there are a lot more people that buy the REx because they fear running out of fuel, and then, never use it. For someone whose driving needs make the REx 'necessary', it's a good car. In my case, I'll take the lower initial cost, the almost non-existent maintenance on the BEV (not that the REx requires a lot, but it's there - plugs, wires, oil, filter, muffler, cooling, etc.). I can do this because if I need to go further, it is usually MUCH further, and my other car is both more comfortable and able to carry more while doing it. The extra weight is noticeable. The BEV IS faster, and it does go further on a charge than the REx. The heat pump IS more efficient than heating in the REx, which also accounts for more range, or if you prefer, less of a range hit in the cold.

So, it's nice that BMW offers the option, but if you're running the REx (say after you tweak it, or those where theirs came without the US restriction), constantly refilling the fuel tank, you're getting a pretty paltry fuel economy compared with some of the vehicles in Europe, and with those, you can probably go 400-500 miles or possibly more before you have to stop to refuel. That can be huge on a longer trip. There are roads I've been on in western Texas where it is close to the range of the REx between refueling stations. Depending on the time of day, you might be out of luck and stuck. So, regardless of whether you can turn the REx on or not, it is NOT a substitute for an ICE everywhere.

I do not consider this a defect...it was designed as a viable commuter, city car with shorter range - add the REx if you forget to recharge, or to extend your day for an unexpected sidetrip. For me, it's just an extra cost, unneeded option...for some, it is the difference between viable or not. Just don't try to make it something it is not.

I still do not understand why folks entertain the discussion of BEV v REx i3. The real choice is between BEV at all (Nissan LEAF, Tesla Model S, BMW i3 BEV, compliance car...) vs a Range Extended Electric Vehicle, also known as a Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) - (Chevy Volt, Toyota Prius Plug-In, BMW i3 REx, compliance car ...). They are very different categories of vehicle for very different needs.

If I were you, I would first decide upon which category best suits your needs. A BEV or a PHEV. Once that decision is made, then compare all of the vehicles within that category to arrive at the best choice for you.

I suppose confusion reigns because the i3 BEV is the finest BEV currently available for sale, and the i3 REx is the finest PHEV, so comparison is somewhat inevitable.

To help you make that first decision, I've dusted off and updated a list of reasons to get a PHEV in general, or in some cases an i3 REx in particular from a previous thread (http://www.mybmwi3.com/forum/posting.php?mode=edit&f=2&p=6778):

• 1. It is incredibly inexpensive. You cannot find a liquid cooled, highly efficient, staggeringly low emission 34 hp gen-set anywhere for $3,850, much less one that imposes no volume penalty, and integrates seamlessly with the i3's electrical system.
  
  2. It imposes a negligible weight penalty, slowing the zero to sixty time by only 0.8 seconds (still quicker than any other EV except the Teslas), and increasing the fuel consumption to carry the additional weight by only 4.65% (seehttp://www.bmw.com/com/en/newvehicles/i/i3/2013/showroom/technical_data.html#m=i3_range_extender) or roughly $129 (assuming $0.11/kWh) over the course of 100,000 miles
  
  3. It eliminates the cost to rent or own and maintain a gasoline fueled vehicle for trips beyond a BEVs electric range.
  
  4. It eliminates both the embedded and produced pollution caused by renting or owning a gasoline fueled vehicle for trips beyond a BEVs electric range.
  
  5. It allows for a greater ratio of EV to gasoline powered driving for any given size battery bank:
  • - For EV only trips, it allows for full use of the battery's capacity, as the driver need not hold any EV range in reserve
    - For trips beyond the range of a BEV, it allows for not only EV use, but use of the the battery pack's full capacity. Consider a trip of 110 miles, only 100 of which could be reached by a BEV in its most economical mode. The BEV would stay in the garage, and the gasoline powered vehicle would travel the full 110 miles on gasoline only. A REx would be able to travel approximately 90 miles on electrical power, and need to travel only 20 miles using gasoline. 82% electric beats 0% electric.
  
  6. In many parts of the world, including much of the United States, well to wheel emissions per mile for an i3 REx operating on electricity are less than that of the lowest emission gasoline alternative, the Toyota Plug-In Prius (http://assets.climatecentral.org/pdfs/ClimateFriendlyCarsReport_Final.pdf). The greater amount of electric driving enabled by the REx (see point #5) makes it the more environmentally friendly choice than the combination of a BEV and an ICE vehicle in a great many places. The REx advantage is greater in areas of cleaner electrical generation (typically where a lower percentage of grid electricity comes from coal). If your solar array has excess capacity, the REx advantage is even greater.
  
  7. A BEV is limited to travel only between charging opportunities, making most trips outside of a roughly 30 mile radius inconvenient (3.5 hour wait to charge, although a 30 to 40 minute DC option is available to a tiny percentage of us), and many trips impossible (no realistic charging opportunity). A REx can travel pretty much from any point on a map to any other point on the map conveniently with only a few minute stop for fuel every hour or so.
  
  8. The REx offers the flexibility to change plans as situations change. An unexpected errand that would be impossible for a BEV to include in its planned range for the day would not even be a second thought for a REx
  
  9. Certified morons like myself occasionally forget to plug the car in at night. A REx would get me to work the next day with no issues, whereas doing the same with a BEV would cost me over $150 in cab fare.
  
  10. And from ironsia in the U.K.: REx owners who have a PV solar installation in a place with highly variable weather like the UK have an extra option. Faced with a low battery on a dull day with sunnier weather forecast soon, they can postpone charging till the sun shines. If an urgent need arises in the meantime Rex will rescue them. BEV owners in this situation would probably choose to charge immediately from the grid, at greater cost in money and carbon emissions.

From another post on the same thread:

• A decision to purchase a BEV would best be based on the minimum range requirement considering the worst case scenario, which would be the coldest temperature on the last day of either ownership or battery replacement.

RExInNJ eloquently summed it up - There are few things that better exemplify this old yarn than the REx: "Better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it."

tom10422 said:

I like the I3. However, after doing a test drive, the test vehicle (a BEV) was reporting only a range of 56 miles. I typically drive around 30 miles a day, so the range seems fine. However, about 3-4 times a year I drive about 120 miles one way and would only have 120V charging at the destination. After running through the numbers, it does not seem practical to keep my current gas car long term. Would an I3 with Rex actually work as a person's only car as I am not married to have a second car in the family? I generally travel into Maryland and as far as Williamsburg, VA.

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I would not rely on a limited range BEV like the i3 as an only vehicle. A pre-owned Tesla Model S 60 would give you at least double the range of an i3 at almost the same price after you tax and license to a new i3. Or, if you want to receive the $7,500 federal tax credit, you can purchase from the Tesla loaner car fleet which are titled as new cars, but are discounted by Tesla for having a small amount of miles. They are the best deal.

Thanks for all the replies. I finally decided to lease an i3 REX. Got the last one from Richmond BMW. It is Tera with everything but the 20" wheels. Do not have the stuff to code it here, so hope I can get it home.

AmpedRealtor said:

tom10422 said:

I like the I3. However, after doing a test drive, the test vehicle (a BEV) was reporting only a range of 56 miles. I typically drive around 30 miles a day, so the range seems fine. However, about 3-4 times a year I drive about 120 miles one way and would only have 120V charging at the destination. After running through the numbers, it does not seem practical to keep my current gas car long term. Would an I3 with Rex actually work as a person's only car as I am not married to have a second car in the family? I generally travel into Maryland and as far as Williamsburg, VA.

Click to expand...

I would not rely on a limited range BEV like the i3 as an only vehicle. A pre-owned Tesla Model S 60 would give you at least double the range of an i3 at almost the same price after you tax and license to a new i3. Or, if you want to receive the $7,500 federal tax credit, you can purchase from the Tesla loaner car fleet which are titled as new cars, but are discounted by Tesla for having a small amount of miles. They are the best deal.

Click to expand...

I read that since the introduction of the dual motor rocketship a lot of single motors have been traded-in in anticipation of deliveries of the new model. The late winter or early spring might be a good time to shop for a used single-motor Tesla if the dual-motor version becomes the most popular model.