Born Electric Guest Blogger: Meet Harold From California

My name is Harold and I was born electric on August 19^th, 2014. 

There are two parts to my story here. The first is about my path to selecting and buying the i3, and the second is about my experiences owning and driving the i3.

PART 1:  

�IF YOU�RE NOT PART OF THE SOLUTION, THEN YOU ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM.�

When it comes to global warming, I�m embarrassed to say that for far too long my wife and I were part of the problem.  We�re a two car family, and over the years we�ve driven a series of big, luxury, premium fuel guzzlers. As recently as 2007 we each had one of the full-size Range Rovers. Yikes, and yuck!

I gradually realized this was not tenable, but I found it very, very hard to give up the comfort (I�m 6�3 and don�t fit in most cars) and sportiness of a big luxury SUV. The very thought of shoehorning myself into the ugly and painfully boring Prius hybrid was enough to make me puke.

So my first tentative step in the right direction was to sign up to make annual contributions to one of those carbon-offset charities. I even got vanity license plates that said �I OFFSET.� Wow, how big and how brave of me!

Then BMW came out with a diesel version of their X5 so I dumped my Range Rover in favor of that on the theory that at least I would be burning a lot less fuel. As nice a car as the X5 was, it ended up only getting about 16mpg, and I also came to understand that the diesel wasn�t as clean as I had thought it might be.

Meanwhile, there were more hybrid cars coming on the market, but all still seemed to frumpy for me.  I�m sorry, but I live in California and I spend a ton of time in my car and I want it to look and feel great!

And then Audi launched their stylish little Q5, and I dumped the X5 in favor of this smaller, more fuel efficient vehicle. But even that only got around 20mpg. 

So about a year ago I started the search for my next car. I did my first exploration of EV�s. The RAV4 was too clearly a Toyota. The Leaf, which a neighbor of mine happily drives, drove like a turtle to me.  The Volt was claustrophobic � and a Chevy to boot. The Tesla was way cool, but I actually don�t fit very well in it and, at least in the San Francisco area, driving one has already become interpreted as a sign that you are an obnoxious snob.

So, I had resigned myself to getting the new edition of the X5 diesel, which promised to deliver significantly better � and cleaner � mileage than the original one. And then one day while I was checking out the new X5 on one of the BMW forums, I saw something about the coming of the i3. It looked weird as hell in the photo, but it sounded intriguing. I started to follow stories about it. 

I went to a car show in San Jose to see it in person. I fully expected to discover that I could not fit in it, but when I sat down in the model on display I discovered that it had more head room and leg room and better visibility than my Q5. (Of course at this point, BMW was showing it with a sunroof � more about that later�.). Plus, the interior design was stunning. And the exterior, while weird, was weird in a sexy way.  So I was hooked.

When the test drives started happening in the Bay Area, I went to them at three different dealers.  Driving the car was a total blast (all the more so with the sunroof open�..) and I had to have one. I went to my dealer and said I�m willing to pay MSRP for one of the first ones you get, I just need to get two key options � the sun roof and the REX. Can you arrange that please?

And then things started to fall apart. For one, it turned out the sunroof was not going to be offered in the US.  No reason for this has ever been provided, but that alone was enough to put me off.  I�m claustrophobic, and I always felt I needed a sunroof to have the feeling of openness they give. And then some negative stories started to appear about the REX � a review in Europe said driving with the REX was like driving in limp-home mode, and then it was revealed that the REX was being modified in the US in ways that made it seem even less desirable.  And,  being new to EV�s, I was at that point too chicken to go the full BEV route.

So, I abandoned my quest for an i3. I signed off of the i3 forums and facebook group. I went back to my dealer and started haggling over prices on the X5 diesel again. But the x5 diesel remained in hot demand,  and I couldn�t get what I thought was a reasonable price. And then the i3�s actually arrived. I saw two in one day �in the wild.� I went behind my dealer�s back and went to another dealer to test drive an i3 again.  I found that even without the sunroof it still felt very open. And it was just as fun to drive as I had remembered. 

So I went back to my CA, said you�re not going to believe this, but I want the i3 after all. He laughed very heartily. We worked the numbers for a while. I ended up doing the two year version of �owner�s choice.� (Went with owner�s choice vs. lease to get the full advantage of the federal tax credit,  and went two years rather than three just because I expect the EV technology is going to advance pretty rapidly over the next couple of years and I may want to move to the next edition sooner rather than later.) And within just a few weeks I was driving my new Andesite Silver Terra i3, loaded up with everything except for the 20� wheels.  And, surprise surprise, I even got over my fear of running out of juice and went with the BEV instead of the REX.

PART 2: 

�WHO SAYS MEDICINE HAS TO TASTE BAD TO BE GOOD FOR YOU?

As I mentioned earlier, a key factor that kept me from switching sooner to a more environmentally correct car was that they all just seemed too ugly, too uncomfortable, and too boring. I wanted to do the right thing for the planet � but I wanted to still be able to enjoy driving at the same time.

Thankfully, my i3 has solved all three of those problems for me. 

While I will admit that the exterior is a bit of an acquired taste, there can be no denying that the interior is stunning. Yes, the materials are all very environmentally friendly, but more important to me � they are gorgeous. The design is very fresh,  very high tech,  and yet very simple. Among the features I like most are the floating high definition screens (one for the instrument cluster stuff, one for the navigation and multimedia stuff) and the eucalyptus dash. I also really appreciate the openness of the cabin and the great sight lines.

The interior is also quite comfortable. I was initially skeptical about the thinness of the seats.  As a veteran business road warrior, I have equated the steady thinning down of airline seats over the years with an equally steady decline in the comfort of those seats. Well, I can only hope that the designers at Boeing and Airbus get to drive an i3 soon so they can see how to make a thinner seat super supportive and comfortable.

And as for the driving experience, well, I haven�t had so much fun driving a car since the very first one I owned.  First comes the peppiness. As the folks at BMW are fond of saying,  the i3 is the fastest car they make from 0 to 30 mph.  And I believe them now!  Zipping in and out of city traffic is as easy as can be � aided by how tight the turning radius is. Likewise, accelerating on to freeway ramps and passing at freeway speeds is also quick and easy. When we had a meet up of Bay area i3 drivers recently,  I had t-shirts printed up for everyone that carried this message: �I drive a BMW i3.  So you can eat my dust, not my exhaust. You�re welcome.� Trust me, the message is appropriate: this car hauls ass.

It's hard to see in the picture, but the blue T-Shirts everyone is wearing are the shirts Harold made up for the Crissy Field i3 meet. He was even gracious enough to send me a couple in the mail. Photo credit: Dino Ignacio

The steering is also very tight. I�m sure it has some degree of electronic assistance, but it doesn�t feel in the least bit mushy or vague. If anything it�s too responsive � you have to be attentive or it�s a bit too easy to oversteer.

The ride is firm, but in a good, BMW way. If you don�t want to feel the road at all, then this is not the car for you. But if you like to get some feedback from your driving, you should like this.

I really like the quietness of the car. If you keep the windows rolled up, it is super quiet; there is of course some wind noise at higher speeds, but I have not found it to be objectionable. And, at the same time, if you drive with the windows open, you can actually hear the sounds of nature!

I�m still learning all the fancy new tech tools.  Love the Harman Kardon stereo, love being able to use apps like Pandora and TuneIn. Appreciate that iDrive has gotten clearer and more manageable, though it still requires a learning curve. Love the collision avoidance system and the adaptive cruise control.  Haven�t yet tried the self-parking thing � but haven�t felt the need either, as this is the smallest car I have driven in ages and I would feel like a total wimp if I couldn�t park it by myself.  : )

As for downsides of the i3, anyone who buys this car has to accept that they are on the bleeding edge of technology and that things may go wrong. And they have for some of the early owners. But, knock on wood, after just about 1,000 miles, the worst thing that has happened to me so far is that one morning while I was driving along a nearly empty six lane freeway a warning message popped up on my screen that said something about �Danger � objects detected in roadway.� There were no objects to be seen, so I ignored the message and kept on driving and the message ultimately disappeared.

Also, if you choose as I did to go with the BEV instead of the REx, you will probably find yourself being more than a little bit paranoid about monitoring how much charge you have left. I have been running somewhere around 75 miles per full charge � a little less than what the EPA says, but then I drive with a bit of a lead foot and I leave the AC on all the time. So far I�ve only once gotten the dreaded verbal warning �you have 15 miles of range left,� and thankfully that happened when I was only about a mile from my house.

One other downside is that, to my way of thinking, the i3 is not practical as a family car. The �suicide�  doors (aka coach doors) make access to the back seat just too awkward for regular use, especially if you are trying to cope with child seats.

OK, so the i3 is good looking, it�s comfortable, and it�s fun to drive. But how does it do on my original overall reason for getting it, which is to help address the problem of global warming?

Well,  for one thing I have not been to a gas station since I got the car. And will never have to go to a gas station with it. Take that, Exxon and BP and the rest of you big oil companies! (The vanity plates I have on order for my car will read: �I86DGAS�) And, at least according to the i3 mobile app, so far I have already saved 530 pounds of CO2 from being pumped out into the air.

So,  in sum, thank you BMW for giving birth to the i3 so that I can at last do my part for solving global warming � but do it in a way that fits my own selfish needs for style, comfort, and fun!

PS- The i3 may not be right for everyone, but there are now plenty of EV�s on the market � surely one of them will be right for you!
_________________________________________________________




Thanks for participating Harold! If you drive an i3 and want to share your Born Electric story here, just send me an email and we'll set it up! tom.moloughney@gmail.com

BMW i3: The Emperor of Efficiency

After a recent 62 mile round trip I finished with a 5.0 mi/kWh consumption rating. I've never achieved such a low consumption rate on any other EV that I have driven. This translates to an astounding 200 Wh's per mile!

When the EPA range and efficiency figures were announced couple months ago, the i3 became the most efficient vehicle available in America. Here in the US, the EPA uses "MPGe" as its official efficiency metric to compare the energy consumption of alternative fuel vehicles. That stands for "miles per gallon equivalent", and unfortunately most people don't really understand what it means or how that really translates to what the vehicle will cost them to operate. The consumption rate, or how many miles the car will travel on one kilowatt of electricity, (mi/kWh) is a metric that I, and many other electric vehicle owners prefer to use.

i3 BEV EPA ratings

Wikipedia describes the MPGe rating as follows:
"The ratings are based on EPA's formula, in which 33.7 kilowatt hours of electricity is equivalent to one gallon of gasoline, and the energy consumption of each vehicle during EPA's five standard drive cycle tests simulating varying driving conditions."
The BEV i3 received a combined (city and highway) MPGe rating of 124 miles and the i3 REx (like I have) achieved a combined score of  117 miles. I'm not a huge fan of this rating system because all it really does is compare the efficiency of my car to the energy in a gallon of gas. One of the problems with that though, is gasoline engines are very inefficient, and only around 25% of that energy is harnessed to propel the vehicle. The rest is simply wasted. The MPGe metric isn't completely useless though. It does offer a standard rating system to compare all electric cars side by side, and it also calculates the energy use of the vehicle including the charging losses, meaning it is a true "wall to wheels" energy rating. So for a comparison tool, it has its merits.

Two days of combined driving with no real effort to drive efficiently at all. About 60% highway @ ~70mph and 40% secondary roads, with the air conditioning on the entire time and driving in comfort mode.

I've only driven about 1,500 miles so far, but I'm seeing energy consumption figures that I have never achieved on any other electric vehicle that I have driven (And I've pretty much driven them all by now!). Overall, I'm averaging about 4.5 miles per kWh and can easily attain 5 miles per kWh if I make an effort to. Five miles per kWh translates to an extremely low 200 Watt-hours per mile! For comparison, I averaged about 3.6 miles per kWh in my ActiveE under the same driving conditions and ambient temperatures under which I have been driving my i3. I had to really try hard to average 4 miles per kWh with the ActiveE, and with the i3 I would have to intentionally try hard not to do so. Based on the EPA figures I knew it was going to be a tremendously efficient car, but seeing it first hand has been an eye opening experience.

I'm sure I can push the consumption rate up to around 6 miles per kWh if I drive in Eco Pro+ mode, watch my speed and use the regenerative brakes to their full potential. But for now I'm having too much fun getting to know the car. Mashing the accelerator and feeling the instant torque every now and then is difficult to refrain from, but at some point I'll do a real efficiency test and see how low I can go. Now that I've had the car for about a month, I'm starting to get some followers message me ask what I like and don't like about it. I just want to say I have indeed been compiling a "likes and dislikes" list and I have just about enough info for a comprehensive initial review. That will most likely be the next post here so stay tuned. :)

"Monroney Hold" Has Hundreds of Range Extended i3s in Limbo

i3s lined up at the port in New Jersey

For a little over a month now, cargo ships from Bremerhaven, Germany have been arriving weekly at the port in New Jersey to unload anywhere from dozens to hundreds of shiny new i3s. My i3 arrived last week on the Fedora, which left Germany back on April 30th. Back when I learned it was booked on the Fedora and would arrive here on  May 15th, I assumed that by the 20th or 21st of May, I'd be at the dealer signing the paperwork and driving my i3 home. I was wrong.

The BEV i3s Monroney label

I now have no idea when I'll be getting my car, and neither do the hundreds of other people that ordered an i3 with the range extender and whose cars are currently here in the US sitting at a port somewhere. Officially the holdup is a "Monroney Hold" - the fact that the EPA certification has not been completed so BMW doesn't have a Monroney label (window sticker) to post in the window before the car leaves the port, which is required by law. The range extender option changes (shortens) the car's electric range, and also requires an official MPG rating so BMW couldn't use the same Monroney label as they did for the all electric i3. The i3 REx would need to be fully tested and certified as a completely different car. To make matters worse, the majority of i3's sold in the US have the range extender option. For example, my client adviser Manny Antunes of JMK BMW has sold thirteen i3s so far and only two of them are the BEV version. Eleven of the thirteen have the range extender and his clients are beginning to call him frequently now, wondering when they can expect delivery. He has no information to offer other than he'll contact them as soon as he hears something from BMW - or a truck somehow magically pulls up to the dealer with a load of i3s with range extenders!

Where's mine?

BMW is indeed delivering i3s to customers now, but all of them sold so far have been the fully electric BEV i3. The i3 RExs keep arriving in the US alongside their BEV brothers, but they cannot be released and trucked to the dealerships until they have the EPA Monroney label. BMW isn't communicating the exact reason for the lack of EPA certification, but it appears to be a combination of BMW providing the EPA with the required information a little late, and the fact  that the i3 REx is different than anything the EPA has certified before so they are taking their time to make sure they get the certification right. The closest thing to the i3 REx would be the Chevy Volt, which for most of the time the gasoline engine is running is a series hybrid and only charges the battery. However under certain conditions the gasoline engine of the Volt does indeed directly power the wheels, and in those conditions it is a parallel hybrid, like a Toyota Prius. The i3 REx is the first (second actually. The Fisker Karma was also a series hybrid - thanks to reader Andrew Chiang for pointing that out to me. Fact is, I've tried to block out all memory of the Karma!) true series hybrid the EPA has ever certified and the range extender will only serve to charge the battery. I don't see why that would be a problem because to me it seems like the Volt would have been even harder to certify because it is both a series and a parallel hybrid depending on the driving conditions. In any event, BMW claims to have furnished the EPA with everything they need for certification and are cooperating with the EPA in an effort to get this issue resolved as quickly as possible.

Battery log sheet courtesy George B

This is clearly an example of a "first world problem," but those who have been waiting patiently for their car are growing anxious as the days pass and their car is simply sitting at the port and waiting for the label. Some have even wondered what the state of charge of the cars are, and if by sitting so long (some have been sitting at the port for over a month now!), have the "vampire loads" reduced the charge level to dangerously low levels? Personally I don't believe this is an issue, and I'm sure BMW is monitoring them. BMW ships the cars with only about 25% state of charge and charges them up at the port. All of the cars used for test drives had a battery log sheet in the glove box which shows BMW is certainly monitoring the SOC of all the cars from manufacture to delivery. Plus, if the i3 is anything like the ActiveE, then the car will hold the SOC very well when not in use. My ActiveE would only lose about one percent per week when sitting unused. I doubt sitting for a month or so will have any noticeable reduction in charge and unless the cars arrived with less than 10% SOC and weren't monitored and charged I doubt there is anything to worry about. However, let's hope this "Monroney Hold" gets resolved soon and BMW can begin deliveries of the i3 REx cars that are already here and waiting - and mine in particular!

BMW i3 BEV vs REx: Your Purchase Matters

On REx models the i3's range extender sits next to the electric motor above the rear axle.

Many people considering a BMW i3 are a bit torn between the full electric version (BEV), and the range extended version (REx). What they may not know is their decision will indeed help BMW decide what electric range their future EV offerings have.

Now that the EPA range rating for the BEV i3 has been announced at 81 miles per charge customers can finally decide if they BEV i3�s range will suit their needs. If it doesn�t and they still want an i3, their only choice is to fork over the extra $3,850, and get the range extender. There are electric vehicle enthusiasts that consider this unacceptable because they don�t ever want to put gasoline in their electric vehicle, it just seems wrong to them. Others don�t mind, since they will be driving on electric the vast majority of time and using a little gas is OK with them.

Basically there are four main groups of perspective i3 purchasers:

1)      They are interested in the i3 but the 81 mile EPA rating is just too low for them and the range extender is out of the question. They walk away from the car and consider their other electric vehicle offerings.

2)      The 81 mile range works for them. They get the BEV i3 and understand its limitations.

3)      They really wanted the BEV i3 but the range rating was too low for their comfort so they reluctantly ordered the i3 REx. (I fit in this box)

4)      They really liked the idea of the range extender from the start and wouldn�t have bought an i3 without it. The ability to drive primarily on electric but have the range extender there for the few times they need more range is perfect for them. Not ever worrying about getting stuck on the road because they ran out of charge or a public charger was broken or blocked is paramount for these people.

Of course there are other factors, like local incentives and especially HOV access in California, but these are generally the four boxes the typical potential i3 customer will fit in. It will be interesting what the percentage of BEV buyers to REx buyers are, and don�t think BMW isn�t watching that very closely. I have personally spoken to BMW mangers that have said the breakdown of BEV to REx sales will give BMW a clear indication of what range people are comfortable with. If BEV sales dominate, BMW will take that as verification that the range they gave the i3 was right for this vehicle and perhaps consider future low-range EV's. Conversely if the majority of i3s sold are range extended versions, or if sales in general don�t meet expectations they have a clear message: The potential customers didn�t believe 81 miles per charge was enough, especially for premium brand EV and they are more likely to make the next EV they offer have a longer range. In other words, your purchase is your vote. Buying a BEV i3 is telling BMW that 81 miles is fine, and buying a REx i3 is telling them it�s not.

Hopefully BMW will break out the sales of the BEV i3s and the REx i3s in their monthly sales reporting instead of just including them in one group. That may just help to give us a better idea of what to expect next from the i brand.

US i3 Deliveries Begin!

i3s sitting at a port in the US awaiting vehicle carriers to take them to dealerships

BMW of North America issued a press release today confirming that US i3 deliveries have begun. Not such a surprise since as of yesterday dealers across the country began taking in i3s.

BMW of North America's CEO Ludwig Willisch said of the i3 launch: �Today marks a big day at BMW of North America � What started out as a dream for an innovative sustainable vehicle under the BMW i brand can now be found on streets across the U.S.�

There are currently hundreds of i3s in the US, either at the port, dealerships or en-route to the dealership. However only the BEV i3 is being released at the moment. The range extended version (REx) is still being held up at the port for what is assumed finalization of the EPA certifications. That is expected to be finished very soon and the REx vehicles can then begin shipping to dealers also. 
And so it begins...

Breaking: BEV i3's Arrive At Dealers Monroney Label Revealed

As expected, the i3 is officially the Most Efficient Car in America. The 81 miles per charge range is a bit disappointing though.

BMW has just now released the BEV i3's from the ports and they are en-route to dealers. The i3's with range extenders have not been released and will remain at the ports a little longer. The common belief it that the EPA range certification for the REx hasn't been finalized yet so the REx cars need to wait a little longer at the port.

The BEV i3 is rated at 81 miles per charge, which is somewhat of a disappointment, but the efficiency figures are off-the-charts good. 138 MPGe City, 111 MPGe Highway and 124 MPGe Combined. That makes the BEV i3 the most efficient automobile on the road in America, and by a good margin. More on this later, I just wanted to get this up as it was breaking.

Below are the top 10 most fuel efficient automobiles for 2014 as listed by FuelEconomy.gov

How Much Does it Cost to Charge an Electric Car?

There are many reasons for considering making an electric car the next car you buy or lease. Besides the many environmental benefits, the promise of energy security, the silky-smooth driving experience with instant torque available without delay and low maintenance, one of the best characteristics of electric vehicles is how little they cost to operate. I've covered this topic here before, but this is something that really needs to be driven home. While Electric cars are currently more expensive than their conventionally-powered counterparts, the total cost of ownership over time can certainly be less, and in some cases much less.

Just as with gasoline cars some EV's are more efficient than others, but the average EV needs about 30 kWh�s of electricity to power the vehicle for 100 miles. For example, the EPA rating for the Nissan LEAF is exactly 30 kWh�s per 100 miles. A Tesla Model S 60 is rated at a combined 35 kWh�s per 100 miles and uses a little more energy since it�s heavier and more powerful than a LEAF, while the Chevy Spark EV has a combined consumption rating of 28 kWh�s per 100 miles. The BMW i3�s EPA consumption ratings haven�t been announced yet, but since the i3 is likely to be wear the �most efficient EV� crown, I expect it to be rated somewhere around 26kWh�s per 100 miles. The consumption for all electric vehicles can be viewed at the US Department of Energy�s website: www.fueleconomy.gov

According to Researchers at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, the sales-weighted average fuel economy of all new vehicles sold in the United States in 2013 was 24.8 mpg. The average cost for a gallon of regular gasoline in the US over the past three years was $3.53/gallon. By using 15,000 miles as the average amount of miles a person will drive in a year, the annual cost of gasoline for the average car will be $2,135 per year, using the average cost of gasoline from 2011 through 2013.

Electricity rates vary much more than gasoline across the country, but the cost is much more stable. Unlike with gasoline, there aren�t huge spikes in electricity rates if a refinery has a problem, and neither does the price skyrocket when there is political instability in one of the large oil producing countries as we have seen lately, since all of the electricity we use in America is domestically produced. The average cost of electricity in the US is 12 cents per kWh. Therefore the average person driving an average EV 15,000 miles per year pay about $540.00 per year to charge it. As mentioned, the cost of electricity can vary greatly depending on where you live, but in order to equal the price of the average gasoline car�s fuel costs, the price of electricity would have to be four times the national average, and cost 48 cents per kWh. Nowhere in the US does electricity cost even close to that much. So the average American would save roughly $1,600 per year in fuel alone, and that's if gasoline prices remain around $3.53 per gallon. Gasoline prices do frequently spike up and down, but in the long run they always goes up. Electricity costs do eventually increase also, but not nearly at the pace of gasoline. Plus with fewer moving parts, EV's cost much less to maintain. If you combine the fuel savings with the reduced maintenance costs, it's clear to see an EV will cost you much less in the long run, even if the vehicle costs a little more up front.

Another great thing about electric cars is that you can easily reduce your electric bill by $40 to $50 per month just by being more efficient, and therefore completely eliminate your transportation fuel cost! You really can't use less gasoline unless you drive less or buy a more efficient car, but you can reduce your electricity usage at home and still drive as much as you always have. Simple measures like a programmable thermostat and the use of compact florescent or LED light bulbs can make a big difference. In fact, five 100 watt light bulbs left on continuously for a year use nearly the same amount of energy as it takes to power an electric car 15,000 miles! Here's how: five 100 watt light bulbs use 500 watts per hour. In 24 hours they use 12,000 watts or 12kWh. In 365 days they use 4,380kWh�s. A typical EV that uses 30 kWh�s for every 100 miles will use 4,500 kWh�s to drive 15,000 miles. Simply by turning unnecessary lighting off at your home, you can drastically reduce or completely eliminate your annual transportation fuel cost. Try doing that with a gasser!

Is The BMW i3 "Too European" For the US Market?

It's been called edgy, futuristic, polarizing, ground breaking and even flat out hideous. It has funky lines, rear coach (suicide) doors that can't be opened unless the front doors are and rear windows that are permanently closed. The nose has a pronounced "underbite" that any respectful orthodontist would love to correct and the tires are so skinny they look like they should be on something coming out of BMW Motorrad, and certainly not on a proper BMW automobile.

The internet is full of extremely harsh criticism of the i3's exterior styling. However most seem to praise the interior for it's modern, stylish and open feel, especially for such a small car. I don't think I've read a single article where the author didn't at least approve of the interior design, while most gave it very high marks. The term "Scandinavian loft" has been used frequently to describe the modern, open feeling the i3's interior offers.

But then there's the unconventional exterior styling that many people just can't get past. I have to admit, I didn't love it when I first saw it, but I never actually hated it. Then I felt a lot better once I saw it in person and got to drive it. The styling has definitely grown on me and I genuinely like how it looks now.  Others don't fell the same way. In fact, the i3's unique appearance has been discussed ad nauseum since its introduction. Here are a few examples:


On this message board, one person asked the question: Did they try to make it ugly?

Brad Berman of plugincars.com: Did BMW screw up the visual design of i3 electric car?

Perhaps one of the most offensive stories was from The Slate when they wrote: BMW i3 review: Electric car is a cheap, ugly Tesla Model S with an SUV on the side

Would this Citroen be popular in the US?

Then I started thinking about all the criticism and began to wonder if it is mostly driven by American opinions. BMW has consistently maintained the i3 is a "city car". Unlike Europe, city cars just haven't been accepted here yet. The European roads are full of small cars that would certainly appear "unconventional" to American motorists. Take smart for instance. There are smart cars everywhere you look in Europe, yet smart can barely sell a few hundred cars a month in the entire US. Also, many of the cars there look a bit more modern than what you typically find on American roads. Are Europeans just more accepting of new ideas and styling that pushes the limits of acceptability? Is form following function an easier sell to the European car buyer than it is to their American counterpart?

John Voelcker, editor of Green Car Reports and one of the industries most respected journalists covering the green car and alternative powertrain scene recently wrote this: 

"I'd agree that the BMW i3 is the best city car yet developed. Which is fine for Europe. The problem is that in North America, virtually no one has ever said, "Honey, we need to go buy a city car!"

Will America warm up to the unconventional BMW i3?

This does make sense but I'd argue that while it is a "city car", it is just as well served for the outlying suburbs of the big cities, making it a great commuter car for the daily grind, while still offering the spirited driving experience many want for the weekend joy ride. Which leads to the next questionable decision BMW made which is likely part of the reason so many people have been critical and that's the range. You can't go too far on that weekend cruise unless you paid the additional $3,850 and got the range extender. The EPA range rating hasn't been announced yet but it's widely expected that the i3's electric range will be officially pegged at about 80 to 85 miles per charge. America's a big country and with gasoline relatively cheap compared to the average price in Europe it's common to drive hundreds of miles at a clip here. I believe if BMW would have increased the i3's range a bit, so the EPA range rating was 100 or more miles, they would have eliminated a lot of the negativity surrounding the car so far. Of course the Europeans would like more range also (who doesn't?). It just seems less important there since they are likely to drive less than we do in the US and some would argue that European customers look at a car purchase more pragmatically in many cases.

BMW CEO Reithofer introduces the i3

Will the "unique" styling and short range conspire to limit the i3's success in the US market? Only time will tell. There will certainly be an initial surge of orders but once they are filled will the i3 continue to attract eco-conscious buyers to the brand. According to BMW, i3 ordering has been robust and they have over 11,000 orders in the bank worldwide. US ordering has just recently begun and the first deliveries are due here in only a few weeks but BMW hasn't said how many of the 11,000 orders have come from American customers.  BMW must be happy with i3 sales so far though because they recently ordered two more Engle molding machines that make i3 body shell components. They are only about six months into production so if they need to buy more production machinery already, that is likely a good sign.

Ready or not America, here i come!

What do you think? Do you like the i3's appearance? Do you hate it or are you in the middle? Will it be more accepted by European customers or will it have universal appeal? Let me know in the comments below.

To REx or Not To REx, That is The Question: Part 2

To REx or Not to REx, that is the question many potential i3 buyers are struggling with now

Back in September of 2011, only 6 months after I started this blog, I wrote a post titled "To REx or Not To REx, That is The Question". At the time, very little was known about the i3, and even less was known about the range extender; other than it would be available as an option and would appear sometime after the initial i3 launch.

The sign at the New York BMW i Born Electric Tour claimed a 100 mile range for the i3. It's looking like the EPA range rating will fall short of that.

My conclusion back then was if the BEV i3 had a real 100 mile range I would probably pass on the REx, but if the range was closer to 80 miles and the REx was only about $3,000, then I would probably go for it, providing I didn't have to wait too long after launch for the REx to be available. As it turned out, my fears about the range were justified. Even though I don't have proof of the EPA range rating yet, I feel confident by now that the range will be less than I had hoped, and that the i3 will have an EPA range rating that is somewhere in the 80s. I drive a lot and that's just cutting it too close for me. At 90-95 miles per charge I could probably do it, realizing that after 2 or 3 years the range will likely be in the high 80s anyway. A 100 mile EPA rating would have absolutely eliminated the need for the REx, but no company outside of Tesla is offering that on a real EV (one that is available across the Country). So at $3,850 the REx is a little higher than I would have liked it to be, but it's not astronomically overpriced, considering the utility value of having it on board and ready when you need it. 

So after bouncing back and forth a few times, I've decided I'll be getting my i3 with the range extender. After about five years of driving pure electric, I'll be back to hauling around an ICE. I don't love the idea, but I'm not hung up on "pure EV" dogma either. The goal is to use less gas and if the range extender allows me to drive on electric the vast majority of the time, yet still have the utility I need on the days I need to drive farther, than the goal is accomplished. The i3 simply won't have the necessary all electric range that's necessary for me personally but that doesn't mean it's not enough for many others. As you can imagine I'm not alone with the struggle to decide which version of the i3 to get. Now that the i3 is available to order in Europe, and only weeks away from being available in the US, I'm reading posts in the i3 forum and in our i3 Facebook group where others are grappling with the decision of if they should go BEV or REx.

I'll try to outline the pros and cons here. If you think I miss something please feel free to add your reasoning in the comments section. Here are my top six reasons for and six reasons against the range extender:

Why go for the range extender:

The added utility. Not having to plan out your mileage or look for public chargepoints if you know you'll be pushing the range on a particular day will be a welcome feature to many people. You won't have to think twice if your plans change and you need to drive more miles than you planned that day, and on days you know you'll be driving far you won't have to use the other family car, borrow a gas car or use a car sharing or rental service. With the exception of extremely long drives (hundreds of miles) that will take you up extended long mountainous routes the i3 with the REx can take you wherever you need to go without worry. Also as the car ages, the battery will lose capacity and your range will shrink. A new i3 with an 85 mile range may only be able to comfortably deliver 75 miles after 3 or 4 years. The REx means the car will always deliver the same utility regardless of how old it is and what shape your battery is in.

No range anxiety. There is some over lap with the first reason, but this really is another issue in itself. There is a difference in not using the car one day because you know the range wouldn't be enough, and miscalculating your total miles because your route had a detour, or your life had a detour that day. It happens. You  can plan your day all you want but things come up and you often need to drive farther than you thought you would have to. Usually the extra range you have is enough to get you home, but there are those days where you just come up short and can't make it. The last few miles you are gripping the steering wheel a little tighter and looking down at your range gauge every minute or so. I've been driving electric for nearly 5 years now and I can honestly say these kinds of issues don't happen often, in fact they are very rare. However when they do happen, it isn't fun. I can remember walking home at 2am last summer and thinking about how great it would have been to have that little REx motorcycle engine on my ActiveE. On that night, I ran out of charge about a quarter mile from my house. What made it really interesting is I live in a very rural area of New Jersey. There are no streetlights on my street and it's really pitch dark at 2am. Add to that I saw a bear walking on my lawn a few weeks earlier so as I was walking home I couldn't help but think of the headline, "EV advocate gets mauled by bear walking home because his electric car ran out of charge." I don't know if that is range anxiety or bear anxiety, but I could have really used the REx that night. I know some would say just get an EV with a bigger battery. No matter how big the battery is there could always be occasions when you miscalculate your range or drive farther than you planned and come up short. The range extender virtually eliminates any range anxiety unless you live in an extremely remote area where there aren't charge points or many gas stations where you drive. If that's the case, perhaps an EV isn't the best choice for you right now anyway.

Resale value. There isn't a lot of empirical data since modern EVs haven't been available long enough to really establish how much a pure EV will depreciate as compared to an EV with a range extender. Now that the earliest LEAF and Volt lessees are beginning to return their cars that were on three year leases, I believe in a year or so we can properly gauge if there is much of a difference. I suspect that electric cars with range extenders will fare much better in the second hand market. I know if I were looking to buy a three year old i3 I'd be much more concerned about the condition of the battery if it didn't have the REx. After three years there will be range degradation, there is no way around it as the battery ages. Will a three year old BEV i3 still have 90% of its original range? How about 85%? We simply don't have the answer yet. That uncertainty really hurts the value of the car. The potential new owner won't really know how far it can go until they buy the car and live with it for a while. However if the used i3 has the REx, then the all electric range isn't nearly as important. The buyer can still do anything they want with the car. They can drive it as far as they want to and the only negative they have is they may use a little more gas than when it was new because of the lower electric range. If it's a pure BEV they also have to worry about how many more years they have with the car until the range really impacts the cars utility - the REx removes that concern. Of course if you lease the car this isn't your problem and one of the reasons I recommend leasing if you are in the market for an EV today.

When will this be commonplace?

Lack of infrastructure. If there were level 2 charging stations in every parking lot, and finding a place to plug in while you work, dine and shop was without hassle, then daily life with a ~80 mile BEV would be simple. If we also had a robust DC quick charge infrastructure then long distance travel would be easy, even if it meant stopping more frequently then you would have to for a gasoline car. However we just aren't there yet. Outside of certain areas of California and a couple other progressive areas, charging infrastructure is still in its infancy. It's going to take a while for EV charging to be ubiquitous. I do believe we'll get there, but not for a while. There will be a lot of growing pains and I believe the number of EV's sold will greatly outpace the number of public charge points installed. For most people outside of a few select areas, I fear finding available EVSE's will be very difficult for the foreseeable future.

My ActiveE battery was frequently drained

Damage from frequent deep discharges. This may be a minor concern, but since the REx will turn on at about 6% state of charge, the battery won't be run down to very deep discharges. There is about 10% buffer when you drain the i3's battery completely so when the REx turns on the real state of charge is actually about 15%. The buffer is there so you don't do really deep discharges which would damage the battery. However I can't help but think if you are a high mileage driver like I am with a BEV i3 and frequently roll into your garage with the state of charge below 5% of the available capacity, the cumulative effect of doing this frequently will have negative effects on the battery. With my MINI-E and ActiveE, there were many times I drained the battery well under 5% and even drove them until they just stopped and wouldn't go any farther a few times. This isn't good for the battery, but since these were test cars that would be taken out of service after two or three years there was really no reason to pamper the battery. However if you shell out $45,000 for a new i3, you will want to take good care of your battery, as it's the most expensive component of the vehicle to replace. Frequent deep discharges can bring on early degradation which will mean less range and perhaps even cause more deep discharges and accelerate the early capacity loss of your pack.  

My ActiveE preconditioning in the snow

Cold weather range degradation. If you live in an area that gets cold during the year this is something you need to be very cognizant of. Even with a sophisticated thermal management system like the i3 has and the ability to precondition the battery and passenger cabin, the range of an electric vehicle is less when it's cold outside. The combination of the need to use energy to power the cabin heater, the seat heaters, the defroster, etc, plus the fact that the batteries simply cannot store and use the same amount of energy as efficiently as they do when it's warm conspire to cut into the range. Without having thoroughly tested the i3 in cold conditions, I still feel confident saying you can expect at least a 20% range reduction in temperatures below freezing, and that number could quite possible as much high as 30%. So lets say the i3 gets an EPA range rating of 85 miles per charge. I wouldn't expect the average driver will get more than 60 - 70 miles per charge when they are driving at or below freezing, and even less as the temperature drops much lower than that. It should be noted that this isn't permanent range degradation, like I was referring to above.  As soon as the temperature rises back up again, so will your range, but that could mean for 3-4 months a year you have to live with an EV will less than 70 miles per charge. With the REx all this means is you may use a little gas, but you won't have to change your driving style, find secondary roads to your destination so you can drive slower or wear a hat and gloves so you don't need to use the cabin heater.

Reasons against getting the REx:

Do you mind if I smoke?

It's an electric car! - You don't want really want to put gas in it do you? The whole reason for going electric is to get away from gas, right? Well there are lots of reasons for going electric while not needing to buy gas anymore is definitely one of the top ones. The way I see it, my goal is to use as little gas as possible. My EVs are mostly powered with electricity generated from my solar array which really makes them as close to true zero emission vehicles as possible. I don't feel bad if I end up burning 10 or 20 gallons of gas in a year with my REx i3, after all I used to use that much gas every four days when I commuted in my SUV. Still an electric car that burns gas can leave a foul taste in your mouth as the exhaust pipe does when the REx is running

This stuff shouldn't pour out of an EV!

ICE complexity means added maintenance. One of the great aspect of electric cars is their simplicity and
extremely low maintenance. Slap an internal combustion engine as a range extender in there and you just complicate things. Now oil changes, tune-ups, filters, mufflers, etc are all part of ongoing maintenance again, just when the electric car promised to put all that in your past. The only redeeming aspect is since you'll likely only use the REx occasionally, the maintenance schedule will not be nearly as intensive as it is on a normal ICE car. Still - this is a major drawback in my opinion.

The added weight of the REx reduces the cars efficiency and performance. The i3 is the most efficient electric vehicle on the road. Everything BMW did while designing it was centered around lower weight and increasing efficiency. The REx adds 265lbs of dead weight to the car, which has to be lugged around everywhere you go. Even if you don't use the REx for a month at a time, every mile you drive you'll be carrying it with you. The efficiency will take a hit and you'll be using slightly more electricity to power the car whenever you drive it. It's kinda like going hiking and carrying 30 water bottles in your back pack every time you hike, even though you usually only need 1 or 2 of them for 95% of your hikes. Plus, the added weight robs some of the performance. The all electric i3 will go 0-60 in about 7.0 seconds, while the REx i3 will need about 7.7 seconds. Still pretty quick, but if you're driving a REx i3 and a BEV i3 pulls next to you at a streetlight, kindly decline the invitation for a race.

It takes a little away from the cool futuristic feel of the car. Driving electric is a blast. It's a different driving experience that most will tell you is actually better than driving ICE. There is also a really cool feeling that you are really driving the future. The ultra silent vibration-less cabin, the instant torque and feeling that you are almost being pulled along by a string instead of the car providing the propulsion really lets you know you are definitely not driving something from a past generation. Add to that the i3's futuristic architecture, advanced electronic features, extensive use of carbon fiber for the passenger cell, aluminum for the frame and thermoplastic for the outer skin and this is indeed a car of the future that you can drive today. Do you really think an internal combustion engine that's vibrating and belching pollutants into the air as you drive along really belongs there? Of course it doesn't.

It will complicate your conversations: I've been driving electric for nearly five years now and I still get people asking me about my cars all the time. I can't go to a car wash without someone asking me about it and often when I return to my car parked in a lot at a shopping center there is someone there looking at it and wanting to ask me about it. With a REx i3 I can no longer say, "Yeah, it's all electric and I love never buying gas!" like I do now. I see the conversation going something like this:

Them: That's an interesting car is it electric?
Me: Thanks, yes it is.
Them: Wow! Cool  - so it's all electric?
Me: Well it's not all electric, but 99% of the time I drive it is all electric. It has a small gas engine that is used to recharge the batteries if I need to drive farther than the electric range will allow.
Them: Oh, so it's a hybrid. My neighbor has a Prius and loves it.
Me: (Groaning under my breath) No, it's an electric car with a range extender.
Them: So it's not like Prius then?
Me: Well it's not like the old Prius, but there is a new Prius now that is a plug in Hybrid and it's kinda like that but the i3 has a much greater electric range.
Them: So it's kinda like the plug in hybrid Prius, but it's not a hybrid you say?
Me: Have a nice day. (Drives off mumbling)

I've driven the i3 a few times now, and the distinctive styling attracts a lot of attention. If you buy an i3 expect a lot of curious people asking you questions about it and the range extender definitely makes explaining the car more difficult.

Cost: The range extender option costs $3,850.00 in the US and that's a lot of coin. There is also the concern that in some states getting the REx option will then disqualify the car for the zero emission tax exemption. If that is the case, the range extender will end up costing them closer to $7,000 because the sales tax will add another $3,500 or so to the price. However I don't think this will be the case because I know BMW has been working very hard behind the scenes to get the i3 REx classified as a zero emission vehicle under the CARB BEVx rule. Hopefully we will get clarity on this soon because I know states like NJ, Washington and Georgia (possibly others also) all have tax exemptions and/or other state incentives for zero emission vehicles, but not plug in hybrids. Still, even if it only costs the $3,850, that is a significant additional cost.

Ultimately you have to decide what best suits your needs. I would hate to have someone buy a BEV i3 and then realize they can't live with the limited range and struggle with worrying about running out of charge. However I also don't want to give the impression that the BEV i3 wouldn't work for a lot of people. I happen to drive much more than the average person. I drive between 33,000 and 35,000 miles per year and average around 85 miles per day so for me the REx i3 makes more sense. However as I've said, I have lived the past 5 years with pure EVs and really didn't have too many instances when I wished I had a range extender. Only you know what's best for you. That reminds me of one of my favorite Dr Seuss quotes: 

�You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...� 

This one has the REx

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You're on your own, and you know what you know. And you are the guy who'll decide where to go.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/decide.html#rPcLldjpa2jFvQDb.99