Category Archives: i3

BMW i3 (120 Ah) driven: little EV, bigger battery

December 3, 2018BMW, Electric Cars, i3, i3 120Ah, News, Reviews and CommentRepost

Another new i3?

Yup, another. In its brief life the i3 has had an improved battery, a facelift, and a warmed-over ‘s’ version. And now both the normal i3 and the i3s get a bigger-capacity battery again.

How big?

BMW calls it 120Ah. Twice the capacity of the original i3, and so roughly double the range, all done by improving the battery’s internals, at no increase to its size or weight. The Renault Zoe has done the same thing over the years, and the Leaf is about to.

But Ah (amp hours) isn’t a proper measure of the energy it can store, unless you know the voltage. What you need to know, then, is the gross energy storage, which is 42.2kWh (kiloWatt hours).

Sorry…?

You can compare that with a Nissan Leaf (40kWh) or Hyundai Kona Electric (64kWh in its top version). Think of those energy numbers as the size of the electric tank, just as you’d look at the size of the fuel tank in a combustion car.

But even that isn’t the whole story if you want to know the range. As with petrol cars, you need to know the efficiency too. Sort of electric mpg.

So how does the i3 really do?

It’s pretty efficient because it’s light – under 1,300kg is good for an EV – and aerodynamic and rolls on tall skinny tyres. Put all that together and you have an efficiency of around 4.4 miles/kWh.

That gives a range of about 180-193 miles WLTP. The i3s is the slightly less efficient one of the pair.

Enjoy it?

Yup. The new i3s is slightly more powerful than the i3, at 183bhp vs 170. Torque is up from 184lb ft to 199. Hardly enough of a difference to matter. What you will notice is it sits on a wider track and firmed-up springs, anti-roll bars and dampers.
The result is it’s the most fun to drive of all the affordable EVs. The Leaf is soft and gentle. The Kona is torque-steery and a bit ragged, if quick. The i3s is also quick – doing 0-62 with zero fuss in 6.9 seconds. And it’s quite a fun steer, its front wheels gripping decently (the original i3 understeered) and its rear ones getting the power down well. You can lean on it in corners and feel it working beneath you. Sure, it’s tall so it pitches and bobs around when it’s bumpy, but even so, I had a laugh.

Which did what to your range?

OK, tore a bit of a hole out of it. I got about 135 miles-worth out of a charge, driving like I stole it, so was doing only 3.3 miles/kWh. But be aware I’d earlier driven down the same road – in Portugal – in a new 320i and got about 20mpg. There are absolutely no straights, and absolutely no traffic, for endless mile upon fabulous mile. Hills, hairpins, tight esses, the lot.

BMW to cease production of the i3 Range Extender

October 22, 2018BMW, Electric Cars, i3, i3 120Ah, News, Reviews and CommentRepost

The i3 REx is forced into extinction in Europe due to the longer range possible from the latest pure-electric variant of BMW’s hatchback

The BMW i3 is now an electric-only model in Europe, as the range extender versions have been deleted from the line-up.

The range extender, which uses a two-cylinder 650cc petrol engine to provide additional charge to the drive battery, has effectively been made redundant by the improved, longer-range pure-electric version of the i3 unveiled at this week’s Paris motor show.

The i3’s battery has been boosted to 42.2kWh from 33kWh provide 193 miles of range under new WLTP cycle. That’s 34 miles more than the older version could manage and is sufficient, according to BMW, to negate the need for the range extender version, which offered a claimed driving range of 231 miles under the outgoing, less-accurate NEDC test.

In a statement, BMW said: “The Range Extender i3 will cease production and we will only sell the pure-electric version going forward. With the gains in pure-electric range, together with the increasing availability of rapid charging facilities we believe the customer demand is shifting to an pure-electric model.”

BMW i3 updated with more range and new trim options

October 13, 2018Electric Cars, i3, i3 120Ah, News, Reviews and CommentRepost

BMW i3’s new 42.2kWh battery pack unlocks up to 193 miles under new WLTP rules

BMW has once again updated the i3. The electric hatchback is now equipped with a denser battery pack, unlocking greater claimed ranges for both the base i3 and the more powerful i3s. BMW has also tweaked the model’s trim and finish options.

Cell capacity in the base i3 increases from 94Ah to 120Ah, meaning the battery pack capacity now stands at 42.2kWh. That’s almost double the size of the original model launched in 2014, which had a battery pack rated at 22.6kWh.

The new battery has been developed in partnership with Samsung and sits in the same housing as the previous pack.

Tested under new WLTP rules the 168bhp car now covers a maximum claimed range of 193 miles on a single charge – an increase of 34 miles over the previous iteration of the i3.

…

More tweaks include a new metallic beige and grey body colour, new interior upholstery options, the availability of adaptive LED headlights, and an updated iDrive infotainment system with a new menu layout.

Demand for used electric vehicles continues to rise

October 11, 2018BMW, Electric Cars, i3, i3 94Ah, Model S, Model X, News, Reviews and Comment, Renault, Sales, Tesla, ZOE, ZOE Z.E. 40Repost

Strong demand for electric vehicles (EVs) saw values rise 0.9% in September, while average used values remained static, says Cap HPI.

Particular strength has been seen for pure battery electric cars with values increasing for as diverse models like the Renault Zoe, BMW i3 and Tesla Models S and X.

At three years and 60,000 miles, average used values didn’t move in September, while newer cars have increased by a negligible 0.1% at the six month and one-year points. Older cars have dropped slightly, but the 0.3% decrease at five-years-old is again negligible.

BMW says EV owners can turn i3 into ‘cash cow’, use more solar power

October 1, 2018BMW, Charging, Electric Cars, Energy and Climate Change, i3, i3 94Ah, News, Reviews and Comment, Solar PowerRepost

Over the past 3 years, BMW has been running a trial of its ‘ChargeForward’ program with BMW i3 owners willing to automatically delay the charging of their vehicle at the request of their local electric utility, PG&E, in order to offset peak demand.

BMW is presenting the results of the trial and says that electric car owners can turn i3 into ‘cash cow’ and use more solar power with controllable load technology

The idea is quite simple. Under the program, PG&E can request BMW to delay the charging sessions of BMW i3 owners by up to an hour in order to reduce the load.

Instead, the owners are incentivized to charge for cheaper when renewable energy production is higher.

In return, owners are compensated for the possible inconvenience. For the first trial run, owners received a $1,000 “gift card” at the launch of the program and they were able to get up to $540 more based on how their charging sessions were affected. BMW is actually reducing the rewards for the second round, presumably because they realized that it was a lot of money for what they were asking of the i3 owners.

It’s important to note that owners can easily temporarily opt out of the program before starting a charging session if they absolutely need to charge. But if your car needs to charge, but it’s not urgent, you plug it in and if PG&E needs to offset demand, they will delay it and your car will take up to one more hour to charge.

The Three Horsemen of the Apocalypse

September 24, 2018Audi, BMW, Electric Cars, i3, i3 94Ah, Mercedes, News, Reviews and Comment, Opinion, VolkswagenRepost

By the middle of the next decade, the world as we know it will end. This end is not written in stone, it was not predicted by the Mayans, and it was not foretold by UFO religions.

This end has been sung in the past few years in press releases, statements and interviews. It is the prophesied end of the internal combustion engine. And its killers, the three horsemen of the apocalypse, are finally here, waiting for the fourth to join them.

Until September 2018, the electric car segment has been one of marginal delight, laughter, and discord. Caught between the flamboyant statements showing the impressive sale figures for the Nissan Leaf, the pot-smelling tweets of Elon Musk, and promises made from all over the industry to go all electric, the world watched in amusement and amazement what until now amounted to nothing more than good television.

But no more. The big boys came out to play this month, and their way of playing the game will change the industry. As Turkish used to say, Ze Germans are here. And they are here because they saw something they like.

The three heralds of doom are Daimler, BMW, and Volkswagen. All three, be it in their own name or that of some of their subbrands, revealed in the past two weeks the three horsemen that will shape the future: the EQC, the Vision iNext, and the e-tron SUV.

How will they end the ICE world? Through sheer strength, numbers, and services.

Strength. The three are the biggest players in the automotive industry, period. Combined, their power – read sales numbers, financial figures, pretty much everything – dwarfs any competition.

And it is power that gets noticed. Try as it might, Tesla is incapable of single-handedly change centuries of habits and patterns, of changing rules and regulations, of getting enough government support. But when the likes of Daimler, BMW and Volkswagen step into the room, everything changes.

Numbers. Daimler plans to have on the roads ten different all-electric cars by 2022. BMW has 12 of them in the works, all to be released by 2025. Volkswagen shames both of them with plans to launch 80 new models across its brands by the same year.

185,000 Plug-In Cars Were Sold In Europe In First Half Of 2018

August 21, 2018BMW, e-Golf, Electric Cars, i3, i3 94Ah, Leaf, Mitsubishi, Model S, Model X, News, Reviews and Comment, Nissan, Outlander PHEV, Renault, Sales, Tesla, Volkswagen, ZOE, ZOE Z.E. 40Trevor Larkum

June was the second-best month all time for plug-in electric car sales in Europe with more than 38,000 units put on the road.

With year-over-year growth of 37% in June, market share jumped to 2.4% (2.2% for the first half of the year).

The total sales in the first six months nearly hit 185,000 (43% more than a year ago) and it’s expected that more than 400,000 is possible in all of 2018.

Ultra-low emission registrations up 386% on first quarter of 2014 (Image: OLEV) — Ultra-low emission registrations up (Image: OLEV)

The top five best selling models in Europe – for the year are:

Nissan LEAF – 3,377 and 17,944 YTD
Renault ZOE – 3,425 and 17,016 YTD
BMW i3 – 2,002 and 11,301 YTD
Volkswagen e-Golf – 1,447 and 9,796 YTD
Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV – 2,174 and 9,662 YTD

Renault ZOE this time managed to beat Nissan LEAF and close the gap a little bit in the race for the best selling model.

As usual, the last month of the quarter brings some decent numbers from Tesla – 2,105 Model S and 1,829 Model X in June and 7,699 and 5,600, respectively for the year-to-date.

Renault Zoe Climbs To #1 In Germany

August 7, 20182 Series Active Tourer PHEV, BMW, Cooper Countryman PHEV, e-Golf, Electric Cars, i3, i3 94Ah, MINI, News, Reviews and Comment, Renault, Sales, Volkswagen, ZOE, ZOE Z.E. 40Trevor Larkum

The German plug-in electric car (PEV) market grew 23% in June, to 5,709 registrations, with plug-in hybrids (+25%) and fully electric cars (+21%) growing at a similar pace. In 2018, all-electrics are reaching 1% share, while plug-in hybrids have also grown their share to 1%, resulting in a total PEV share of 2%.

But the most interesting story on the fuels mix is the Titanic-like drop of diesel vehicles sales. In June, their sales sank 16%, to the benefit of all other kinds of fuels. Diesel now represents only 31% of the market. At this pace, diesel sales could be tot in this market by 2021. Inconceivable? Well, in 12 months, diesel lost 9% share, going from 40% to 31%.

Looking at June best sellers, BMW had a 1–2 win, with the i3 scoring 509 units, a new year best, while the 225xe Active Tourer registered 500 units, a new record for the German MPV.

The Renault Zoe was 3rd, while the surprise of the month was the #5 Mini Countryman PHEV. With 300 deliveries, it had its best result ever in Germany.

Just outside the top 5, the VW e-Golf registered only 290 deliveries, its worst performance in 11 months. Is the German brand already starting the sunset mode of its BEV hatchback?

The taxi service that’s free… as long as you keep singing

July 11, 2018BMW, Electric Cars, i3, i3 94Ah, News, Reviews and CommentTrevor Larkum

Do you enjoy singing in front of strangers in a confined space? Like the interior of a BMW i3?

Are you going to be in Finland next month and want a free ride to a music festival?

The i3 on our drive (Image: T. Larkum) — BMW i3 (Image: T. Larkum)

Well, if you can say ‘yes’ to all of those increasingly obscure questions, then you are in luck – a Finnish clean energy company is providing a taxi service to the Ruisrock festival that is free, as long as you keep singing.

The Fortum Singalong Shuttle is a taxi service that only accepts singing as payment – as the company says, combining ride sharing with Carpool Karaoke – and only uses pure electric BMW i3 BEVs.

BMW i3 facelift launched with 181bhp i3s range-topper

September 29, 2017BMW, Electric Cars, i3, News, Reviews and CommentJo

BMW has unveiled the i3s – an updated version of its three- year-old electric-powered hatchback featuring a more sporting appearance, added reserves and an upgraded wheel and tyre package.

It heads a new four-model strong facelifted i3 line-up that’s on display at the Frankfurt motor show. Sales have kicked off now, with prices for the range starting at £34,070. The i3s starts at £36,975.

Central among the changes brought to the new i3s is a more powerful synchronous electric motor. With 181bhp and 199lb ft of torque, the rear mounted unit is tuned to deliver a subtle 13bhp and 15lb ft more than the in-housed produced motor used by the standard version of the facelifted i3, which continues to produce 168bhp and 184lb ft.

Both new i3 models deliver drive to the rear-wheels via the same a fixed ratio gearbox. But while the standard i3 runs restyled 19-inch wheels shod with the same 155/70 profile low rolling resistance as the original model launched in 2014, the new i3s comes with larger 20-inch alloys and wider 195/50 profile rubber.

With the larger wheels and greater levels of standard equipment, the i3s tips the scales 20kg above its standard sibling at 1265kg. However, its added power and torque sees it post a faster 0-62mph time at 6.9sec versus the claimed 7.2sec for the standard i3. The new range topping i3 model also reaches a higher limited top speed of 100mph against the 93mph of its less powerful sibling.

In a bid to improve its agility, BMW has provided the i3s with a 40mm wider rear track. It is combined with a sport suspension featuring a 10mm lower ride height than the standard i3, together with uniquely tuned springs, dampers and anti-roll bars. Further changes are concentrated at the dynamic stability control system, which receives new software that is claimed to provide it with faster and improved response to a loss in traction.