2017 i3 Weight Increase

[alohart]

Weight is the enemy of efficiency and something that BMW fought when designing the i3 by using light but strong construction materials. However, the 2017 i3 has gained weight, apparently at least partially because of heavier battery cells. One indication of this weight gain is slower acceleration times compared with pre-2017 versions.

But how much weight has the i3 gained? The 2016 version of the BMW USA Website included this weight information for the BEV:

"Weight, unladen, according to DIN/EU      2634/2799"

The current version of the BMW USA Website included this weight information for the 2017 94 aH BEV:

"Curb weight - Automatic transmission (lbs)      2961"

I found the following definitions:

Curb Weight = Weight of Car with standard accessories, full fluids, no driver
Unladen EU Weight = Weight of Car with 90% fuel, 68 kg driver, 7 kg cargo
Unladen DIN Weight = Weight of Car with 90% fuel, no driver, no cargo

With no fuel weight, it would appear that the BEV's Curb Weight and Unladen DIN Weight might be identical, or at least, with a difference of a very few pounds. If so, the weight of the 2017 BEV has increased by 327 lb, a 64% increase in its battery pack weight if battery cell weight is the only difference.

While the 2016 Website includes a maximum permissible load of 937 lb, no such information is available on the current Website. Has the maximum permissible load decreased for the 2017 BEV or has the suspension been beefed up to maintain the previous maximum permissible load?

If the BEV's weight has increased to just short of 3,000 lb, that's disappointing to me. The mostly steel, larger 5-passenger Bolt with a battery pack capacity 80% larger than the 2017 BEV's battery pack weighs only 619 lb more, yet is almost as efficient. Hopefully, BMW is working on a more efficient motor and control electronics that can match or exceed the efficiency of what Chevy/LG has included in the Bolt.

 

[alohart]

The BMW international Website, btw.com, includes the unladen EU weights of both 2017 60aH BEV:

"Unladen weight in kg (EU)      1,280
Max. permissible weight in kg      1,630
Permitted load in kg      425"

and 94aH BEV:

"Unladen weight in kg (EU)      1,320
Max. permissible weight in kg      1,670
Permitted load in kg      425"

The equivalent curb weight or unladen DIN weight (EU weight less 68 kg driver weight and 7 kg cargo):

60aH BEV: 1,280 - 75 = 1,205 kg = 2,657 lb
94aH BEV: 1,320 - 75 = 1,245 kg = 2,745 lb

This indicates that the 94aH version weighs only 88 lb more than the 60aH version, and that the 2017 60aH BEV is only 33 lb heavier than the 2016 version, maybe because of additional standard equipment being included in the 2017 version. That makes more sense to me than the 327 lb increase listed at bmwusa.com unless something else was added in addition to slightly heavier battery cells.

The international Website also indicates no reduction in the maximum permitted load from 2016 to 2017, and for the 94aH version compared with the 60aH version, both of which are good, if true.

Unfortunately, discrepancies between the international and U.S. Websites makes it difficult to determine which, if either, is correct.

 

[janner]

Check what is now standard that wasn't before - DC charging plus others.