What range do you all get on the pure electric i3???

[fferro09]

I got the pure-electric i3. I LOVE the car, it fits me, it has everything I'd ever want. But the battery is not what I expected based on other owners' reviews and EPA's "realistic" 81-mile range. I'm getting about 50 miles per charge, despite all the reviews I've read of people getting a typical 80 to 100+ miles on a charge.

Today, I drove 5 miles to get my car home from the nearest free charging station (I don't have one at home, only at work); it was at 75% when I left. When I got home, it was at 70%. Climate control was turned off, and I was driving efficiently, but in comfort mode. Is this what you guys get? It was like 50 degrees Fahrenheit outside. Then I drove about 3 miles each way to go to a grocery store, heat was on low, now it's at 56% -.- ugh, whyyy.

Another example. Last night, I drove from Northern Virginia to downtown Washington DC, about 17 miles each way... for most of the trip, the heat was on low or turned off, and it was about 30 degrees F outside, and the battery drained from 97% to 18% when I got back... so 35 miles took away almost 80% battery O_O

I really hope that this particular instance of the i3 is defective (or that I'm doing something wrong), and that this isn't an i3-wide problem -.- 50 miles per charge is not what I read from all the reviews out there, and the EPA and the NEDC. If 50 miles per charge is what all of you guys get, then I guess I'll just have to suck it up, and realize that I need a charging station at home. I live in an apartment building and the board will not approve building charging stations here...

 

[elptex]

The most important detail you haven't discussed is HOW you are driving those miles. Accelerating moderately versus accelerating with vigor. That is the single biggest factor on battery usage. For my daily commute, I get 75 miles range (REX) because I drive it very carefully because I need to cover that distance. On the weekends I'm on short trips and don't care about range--so I pretty much floor the accelerator at every opportunity. Driving like that, I barely scratch 50 miles range.

If this is your first electric vehicle, it will take some time for you to figure out how to drive it efficiently. I could hypermile my old car (2006 VW Passat; EPA rated at 36 mpg) to 70+ mpg, but that took me 2-3 years to figure out all the perfect little things to do to achieve that. None of those 'perfect little things' translate to an electric vehicle though, so I'm learning the nuisances of how to drive really efficiently in an EV. Everyone has to go through this learning process.

 

[mindmachine]

I got the pure-electric i3. I LOVE the car, it fits me, it has everything I'd ever want. But the battery is not what I expected based on other owners' reviews and EPA's "realistic" 81-mile range. I'm getting about 50 miles per charge, despite all the reviews I've read of people getting a typical 80 to 100+ miles on a charge.

Today, I drove 5 miles to get my car home from the nearest free charging station (I don't have one at home, only at work); it was at 75% when I left. When I got home, it was at 70%. Climate control was turned off, and I was driving efficiently, but in comfort mode. Is this what you guys get? It was like 50 degrees Fahrenheit outside. Then I drove about 3 miles each way to go to a grocery store, heat was on low, now it's at 56% -.- ugh, whyyy.

Another example. Last night, I drove from Northern Virginia to downtown Washington DC, about 17 miles each way... for most of the trip, the heat was on low or turned off, and it was about 30 degrees F outside, and the battery drained from 97% to 18% when I got back... so 35 miles took away almost 80% battery O_O

I really hope that this particular instance of the i3 is defective (or that I'm doing something wrong), and that this isn't an i3-wide problem -.- 50 miles per charge is not what I read from all the reviews out there, and the EPA and the NEDC. If 50 miles per charge is what all of you guys get, then I guess I'll just have to suck it up, and realize that I need a charging station at home. I live in an apartment building and the board will not approve building charging stations here...

Make sure to check your tire pressures. I took delivery of my i3 on Sept 4, 2014 and the tires were under-inflated by 10%(both front and rear). I usually run my tires over the recommended pressure by 1 or 2 psi. In the winter you need to add air to your tires since when the temperature drops you cold tire inflation pressure does to. Correct tire pressures have a rather large impact on rolling resistance and hence efficiency. We are experiencing temps in the 20 deg F mourning's to 30 F in the afternoon and I am getting 72 mile range predictions and I drive in comfort mode all the time. I do however limit my use of heating to either the heated seats or the heater fan on the lowest setting. You can watch the range prediction jump when you turn off the heat.

PS: I have a Rex.

 

[fdl1409]

Temperatures here have been between 32°F and 45°F this week.
Charged the day before yesterday after 123km ( 77 miles ) with 14% SOC remaining. Streets were wet and a lot of hills. That is with a REx. In the summer I can go over 100 miles.

Frank

 

[jelloslug]

I have gotten as high as 100 miles and as low as in the mid 40s in my BEV. It really depends on driving style, climate control usage and outside temperature. My usual running average is in the 80 mile range.

 

[i3Alan]

The most important detail you haven't discussed is HOW you are driving those miles. Accelerating moderately versus accelerating with vigor. That is the single biggest factor on battery usage. ....

Actually, and completely non-intuitively, acceleration has minimal impact on range. The four big hitters are temperature, speed, braking, and regenration.

1) Very cold temps seriously reduces range due to battery limitations. The effect becomes most noticeable in the 40s and below
2) High speeds seriously reduces range. The effect becomes most noticeable above 60.
3) Braking (with the brake pedal) from speeds over 5 mph is wasted energy.
4) As non-intuitive as this sounds, decelerating from regeneration is recouping some energy, but loosing some due to the inefficiency of the battery charge/discharge losses, and also the smaller motor/generator losses. Coasting to nearly every stop means no excess energy was needed during all of the accelerations since the last stop.

Only small amounts of additional energy is needed to get to any given speed quickly rather than accelerating slowly to the same speed, and that difference is due to resistive losses from higher currents (which are very small). The real controllable losses are from wind resistance from going fast, and from braking/regen rather than coasting as much as possible to a stop.

 

[DeJay58]

My record is 134 miles. When it's warm outside about 120 miles is easy to get for me on my daily route to work.

 

[Bunter]

That's impressive. What sort of speeds and roads is that on?

Bill

 

[DeJay58]

That's impressive. What sort of speeds and roads is that on?

Bill

I have made a video some month ago. This is my daily route. 110 to 120 miles were always possible. No aircondition was used.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EMMG8ir5Mw

To the record of 134 miles I also have some date. I'm going to post it later (dinner is ready now )

 

[Bunter]

That's impressive. What sort of speeds and roads is that on?

Bill

I have made a video some month ago. This is my daily route. 110 to 120 miles were always possible. No aircondition was used.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EMMG8ir5Mw

To the record of 134 miles I also have some date. I'm going to post it later (dinner is ready now )

Thanks. Very interesting. How do you decide when it is best to use N and when is best to use D and regenerate power?

Bill

 

[DeJay58]

Honestly? Intuition...
It is a kind of hobby or sport for me. I won many fuel saving competitons some years ago and there always was a kind of talent for that.
I could try to explain the techniques but after all you have to feel it as a foltball player feels when to start running if you know what I mean.

 

[Bunter]

Honestly? Intuition...
It is a kind of hobby or sport for me. I won many fuel saving competitons some years ago and there always was a kind of talent for that.
I could try to explain the techniques but after all you have to feel it as a foltball player feels when to start running if you know what I mean.

Gotcha but I wondered if over the course of repeat runs over the same journey whether you had obtained data which had guided you at all.

Bill

 

[jadnashuanh]

There is absolutely NO need to switch the transmission to neutral to coast...just watch the driver's display and keep the indicator in the center with your foot...no power in, no power out - i.e., you're coasting, and will have instant access to power if you need it - much safer.

 

[Boatguy]

In Comfort mode with no adjustments in driving style (the i3 is really zippy!) and maybe 60% freeway driving, I'm averaging 4.1mi/kWh which is a little under 80 miles. In practice the guess-o-meter usually says somewhere in the 70's, but sometimes it's grumpy and says high 60's.

Yesterday I was in a fair bit of traffic and ended up with 4.4mi/kWh which would be a little over 80.

But in practice, I rarely drive more than 60. If my destination is more than 25-30 miles away, I take the ICE diesel which has range of about 700 miles!

 

[stumbledotcom]

Just checked the i Remote app. It currently shows charge level at 100% with the car still plugged in and a predicted range of 86 miles. Pretty typical. It also calculates my average consumption as 4.0 mi/kWh, which works out to be 75 miles—if my dubious math skills can be trusted. Essentially all my driving is in Comfort and full-auto climate control. Haven't seen much variation over six months of ownership. Then again, I'm lucky enough to live in a place where the average high temperatures span all of 13° F.

I have no idea what the range is in actual miles because I've never pushed the battery to its limit. I pretty much ignore the estimate and use the four-bar charge meter like a fuel gauge. When it drops to 50% or so, I'll plug in for an overnight charge. I'm getting by with a level 1 charger at home (condo with deeded parking in multi-story garage; the estimates for having level 2 installed are not for the faint of heart) so this tactic ensures I'm back at 100% the next morning.

 

[fferro09]

Thanks for all your feedback. I just tried putting in more air in the tires, since the car's PSI sensors said 32 in the front and 37 in the back... apparently they should be 33 front and 41 back.

BUT! When I used the mechanical tire pressure gauge while filling the tires, I got them to where the gauge read 33 and 41... but the car's built-in sensors are still saying 32.5 and 39.7??? Which one is right, the pressure gauge I have or the car's built-in sensors?? There's a discrepancy of about 2 PSI -.-

Anyway, now that the tires have more air, it looks like the mile range meter is going down slower than before... but I haven't driven it enough yet to know for sure.

 

[alohart]

There is absolutely NO need to switch the transmission to neutral to coast...just watch the driver's display and keep the indicator in the center with your foot...no power in, no power out - i.e., you're coasting, and will have instant access to power if you need it - much safer.

The need to watch the driver's display could be distractive and thus somewhat unsafe as well. Yes, a situation where sudden acceleration is necessary could occur, but I can't recall ever experiencing such a situation. The need to brake suddenly would be much more likely. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that in N, regen braking is still available. My surprise was based on the experience with my Honda Insight hybrid in which regen braking isn't available in neutral.

It's very difficult to coast perfectly in D by manipulating the accelerator pedal whereas in N, coasting is perfect, so efficiency is maximized.

 

[jadnashuanh]

FWIW, I've found it fairly easy to achieve coasting while still in drive, but each of us is different. You can actually feel it without constantly looking at the display, it just takes a bit of practice.

As to the TMPS, three out of four of mine agree with my gauge, one is off. I'd probably use the gauge, then, try to remember which one was which on the display. The car looks for changes to make an alert, so it only looks at the starting point when you do a reset.

 

[BMW4Me]

Hi fferro09,

I'm in the DC Metro area too and noticed that with this recent cold spell the car's mileage really dropped. Some days the car was really cold sitting in the office garage all day, so I had the heat on, anywhere from 68 - 72. At 68, when the outdoor temp is in the high 30s or low 40s it makes the car feel cold inside. Anyway I too am trying to figure this out. I didn't see such drastic consumption since I took delivery in May, and this is with running the A/C on most all of the time (if not for cooling for dehumidifying).

I most always drive my car in Comfort mode, though occasionally switch to EcoPro if I feel I'm starting to get low and don't have any charging options close by. I like to drive the car in spirited manner since it has such wonderful and linear acceleration and braking regeneration. I'm not sure how others on this thread are driving, but given some of the extremely high mileage posts, I'm assuming a gingerly drive without much fuss. Personally, having owned 7 BMWs previously, I'm not into this "econ max" mode of driving. This is a BMW and it is an incredibly fun car to drive!

I'm thinking that the heating consumes considerably more energy than the A/C did. I've tried the heated seats trick which helps when first getting in, but the cabin and steering wheel still remain cold. How I miss my heated steering wheel!

 

[jadnashuanh]

Do you have the REx or the BEV? The BEV has a heat pump as standard (at least in the USA), and at moderate temperatures, isn't all that much different in efficiency as using the a/c when it's toasty. It's when it needs to turn on the resistance heaters in any way (heated rear window, cabin heating, mirrors, etc.) that it can suck up watts. Without a heat pump, one watt out generates one watt of heating, but with the heat pump, you can get as much as 3 or sometimes even more watts of heat for one watt in.