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yariso

New member
Joined
Feb 20, 2015
Messages
4
Hello,

I have taken the i3 Rex for a test drive and really enjoyed it. I have a longer test drive booked this weekend to properly test the range. My round trip to work is 40/50 miles, 30 of those miles are on the motorway. If i am going to buy the car i want to be sure that the majority of my journeys to work are going to be on pure electric. I dont mind the odd day going onto the rex, but not every day.

What i have been surprised about is that a lot of people have extended their range by driving in eco pro and doing things such as driving with no heating and gloves! If i buy a £40k BMW i dont want to drive with no heating/ air con or radio! I want to drive to work in comfort. I also dont want to have to be filling up with petrol every second day.

I suppose I have 2 questions, why do people buy such an expensive car to drive without luxuries when you could buy buy a cheaper car with worse economy, drive it to the max and for it still be cheaper a month? My second question is will the car manage my regular commute of 40/50 miles, on pure electric at 70mph, with everything (heating/ aircon/ stereo/ lights/ heated seats) turned on? I will be able to test the second question properly this weekend, but i was wondering about people's experiences.

Thank you
 
yariso said:
I have taken the i3 Rex for a test drive and really enjoyed it. I have a longer test drive booked this weekend to properly test the range. My round trip to work is 40/50 miles, 30 of those miles are on the motorway. If i am going to buy the car i want to be sure that the majority of my journeys to work are going to be on pure electric. I dont mind the odd day going onto the rex, but not every day.

Welcome! Glad you liked your first impression. Hopefully the extended test drive will be even more enjoyable.

yariso said:
What i have been surprised about is that a lot of people have extended their range by driving in eco pro and doing things such as driving with no heating and gloves! If i buy a £40k BMW i dont want to drive with no heating/ air con or radio! I want to drive to work in comfort. I also dont want to have to be filling up with petrol every second day.

I suppose I have 2 questions, why do people buy such an expensive car to drive without luxuries when you could buy buy a cheaper car with worse economy, drive it to the max and for it still be cheaper a month?

I think for many prospective i3 buyers, and certainly for me, one of the required criteria is a vehicle that has a minimal impact on the environment. Therefore, a car with worse fuel economy is not a consideration. For me, a vehicle that burns gas is not a consideration; I want an all-electric car.

yariso said:
My second question is will the car manage my regular commute of 40/50 miles, on pure electric at 70mph, with everything (heating/ aircon/ stereo/ lights/ heated seats) turned on? I will be able to test the second question properly this weekend, but i was wondering about people's experiences.

You didn't mention in your profile where in the world you are. This can have a great impact on the answer to this question, because batteries work less well in cold weather, so in winter your range could be decreased, possibly significantly. Check out the handy graphic in this blog post: http://insideevs.com/bmw-i3-winter-range-reduction-tips-offsetting-cold-weather-impact/

The EPA estimated range for the all-electric i3 is 81 miles per charge. The EPA estimated electric range for the i3 with range extender is 71 miles per charge. How far you can actually get will depend on your driving style, the temperature, and probably other factors as well.
 
Thanks for the reply.

I live in Derby (UK) and travel to Nottingham via the A50, M1 and A610 everyday. The journey is 50 miles, unless i go through derby city centre which is 40 miles. I too want to reduce my carbon footprint, but i also have to take account of the monthly cost of the car per month, the fuel economy and the driving experience.

Through my work the cost of the car, pretty much fully loaded is £450 per month (12000 miles on a 36 month contract). This includes insurance, tax, servicing, repairs (including tyres) and the car.

My head says go for the i3, its a beemer, modern tech and a great drive. However, from what im reading the range wont extend to 50 miles with my driving style and all the gadgets turned on.
 
50 miles round trip in the Derby area even in a 'normal' English winter should be entirely possible just on electric with the car in comfort mode. Your driving style will adapt to get the best out of the electric range but you shouldn't need gloves, no air-con, no heating, etc.even to begin with.
 
janner said:
50 miles round trip in the Derby area even in a 'normal' English winter should be entirely possible just on electric with the car in comfort mode. Your driving style will adapt to get the best out of the electric range but you shouldn't need gloves, no air-con, no heating, etc.even to begin with.

Agreed. The only thing you might need to consider is cruising speed: essentially the slower you go, the more range you'll get. I'm currently getting around 65 miles driving on dual carriageways at around 60 mph, so you should be able to go a bit quicker and still easily do 50 miles.
 
Right i have just picked her up and done 47 miles (with 11 left). I actually drove in eco pro and didnt notice anything that was significantly different. I drove 45 of those on motorway/ dual carriageway and was at 70+ for most of the way. I had heated seats and low air on to keep the windows clear.

I'm happy now, it certainly will do my commute to work because my motorway drive is not as much as i just did. Unfortunately i haven't got a charger at home, so i'll have to wait 8 hours for a full charge.

:D
 
Congratulations on the new car.

Miles/kWh is the i3 metric I pay most attention to when it comes to range (anxiety). You can find it in the onboard computer on the instrument display or the trip computer.

I can't wait for this winter to be done.
 
yariso said:
Hello,

My second question is will the car manage my regular commute of 40/50 miles, on pure electric at 70mph, with everything (heating/ aircon/ stereo/ lights/ heated seats) turned on? I will be able to test the second question properly this weekend, but i was wondering about people's experiences.

Thank you

In a word yes. :mrgreen:
 
If you precondition the car, the lower heat output available on EcoPro mode may not be an issue at all to you. But, getting into a cold car, if you want the cabin warm, Comfort mode does it faster. EcoPro+, on the other hand, won't activate the heater except to clear the windows.
 
I think the answer depends on the outside temp. If its above 10 deg C then yes. Between 5 and 10 deg C maybe but below 5 deg C probably not!
 
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