Q&A with BMW's Jose Guerrero at the New York Auto Show

Jose explaining the features of the concept i3 at the BMW i Born Electric Tour back in 2012

Having been in BMW's trial lease e-mobility program for five years, I've been able to get to know many of the program managers and engineers working at BMW i in North America. Jose Guerrero, Product Planning and Strategy Manager for BMW i, is one of only a few people at BMW of North America who has been a constant force in the program over the years. That's the nature of the auto industry though. People move around within the company, and often even leave to take on positions at competing OEMs.

So when I saw Jose's name on the list for available interviews at this year's New York Auto Show, I quickly reserved a half hour to sit down with him and talk about the i3 and the future of BMW i.

My i3's battery pack. It was removed from the car in less than an hour.

Future Battery Replacement

The first question was easy. There has been a lot of talk about recent comments by BMW's R&D chief Klaus Froehlich. Froehlich was recently interviewed by Automotive News Europe and asked if BMW would be offering a "more powerful powertrain" for the i3 or i8, and many took that as meaning better batteries once they become available. Froehlich said:  �I don�t think a retrofit makes sense. When better batteries are available, we could then offer models with a longer range or with the same range but at a lower price" and "replacing the batteries is very complex because they are integrated and bonded into the chassis." This didn't make sense to me because I know that any certified BMW i service center can drop the i3's battery and replace one or more of the eight battery modules and put the car back together in a couple of hours. In fact, I've personally seen it done on my car in less than a day. What would prevent BMW from upgrading these modules with higher energy-density cells once they are available in a few years? Here's what Jose had to say about that:

The underside of my i3 with the battery pack removed.

"The strategy of BMW i has always been focusing on sustainability, recycling and really maximizing the usage life of the car. I mean, first of all the car won't rust. It's made of carbon fiber reinforced plastic & aluminum so we are looking at how do we maximize the car for long usage. He didn't say it's not upgradable, but rather that at this point it doesn't seem to make sense. We really are investigating this and if it's possible, and it makes financial sense, why not? This would be in line with the BMW i philosophy. We haven't said we aren't going to do it, just that it has to make sense. A BMW i dealer can do a complete battery replacement in 3 to 5 hours so from a technical perspective it's clearly possible, we would just need to make sure it also makes financial sense. We are always getting asked, "Could you retrofit a navigation system, or Comfort Access into a car?" Yes, we could, but we'd have to rip the whole car apart. That isn't the case with better batteries once they become available, it just has to make sense. We are definitely investigating this, so if it makes sense we'll do it." Guerrero further went on to say it's conceivable Froehlich may have been misquoted or perhaps there was a translation issue because he certainly knows the batteries aren't "bonded into the chassis" as the Automotive News Europe's story indicated.

The Circuit

BMW i has recently launched a new online forum called "The Circuit". Would you like to explain why, and what exactly it is?

"We recognized these cars are different and customers will have questions that are unique to the i brand. We wanted to provide a forum where BMW i customers could communicate amongst themselves, share information and also ask BMW questions directly. There is an entire section called "Ask BMW" where customers can ask questions and get answers much faster than would have ever been possible before. It's direct access to BMW i personal that was not previously possible. We'll post information regarding technical updates, upcoming events, and all official BMW i news. It's our goal to use the forum to improve the BMW i ownership experience."

Hill Climb Assist

Late last year BMW had stated the i3 with range extender would have a software update in March which would add a new feature called "Hill Climb Assist." This was supposed to prevent sudden reduced power mode without warning while the REx was running and to make the vehicle more capable of climbing long, steep hills at highway speeds while in charge sustaining mode. Can you talk a little about this?

"This is something we are still working on. First, let me say the March 15th software update addresses part of the problem which was to provide information to help the driver avoid reduced power in these challenging driving conditions. A big gripe which the owners conveyed to us was they didn't have any warning before the vehicle reduced power. We've corrected that with a warning which comes on before the vehicle enters reduced power mode to warn the driver to alter their driving (basically that means to reduce speed) to hopefully prevent reduced power. Secondly, we've added a state of charge display so drivers can see the exact state of charge and monitor it more closely during these driving events. The the new state of charge display is also applied to the BEV i3s once they get the software update also.

An audible warning and this visual alert comes on when the state of charge drops to 3.5%, warning the driver that reduced power is possible, and giving them time to alter their driving to avoid it.  You can also see the new SOC display in the top left corner.

As for the Hill Climb Assist feature, we're still perfecting it. For the past four months we had a group of i3 REx owners beta testing Hill Climb Assist software and the feedback we got caused us to go back and redevelop it, creating an even more robust version. We are now testing a new version and once we're confident it is ready we will again give it to the beta test group for real world testing before we release it to the general i3 public. We are committed to getting this right and feedback from actual i3 owners is critical."

At this point I was shown a video of an i3 REx driving up a steep mountain climb at highway speeds in the snow. I was told this car had the new software and they were testing it in Vermont this winter on a closed road which was over 3 miles long, up steep hill at highway speeds in the snow. It should be noted that I am one of the people in the i3 REx customer beta test group which tested the previous Hill Climb Assist software. I reported back to BMW that it was insufficient, and it was my recommendation to re-engineer it before it was released to the public. I'm happy BMW agreed and look forward to testing the current version which I'm promised is more robust. I'll report on this new software once I have it on my car. It's not expected to have this new Hill Climb Assist software ready for the general public for another six months or so.

BMW i has a new North American Manager. What changes should we expect?

New Program Manager for BMW i

My last question was regarding the new Manager of Electric Vehicle for BMW of North America, Christine Fleischer. BMW i of North America hasn't had a permanent division manager since Jacob Harb left the post back in November. Prior to assuming the position at the helm of BMW i, Christine had been the BMW M & Individual Area Manager for North & South America.  I asked Jose what this means for the future of BMW i.

"Christine has now started her new role and we're all very excited. During Jacob's time here he was focused on the launch of the brand and we're now in a different phase. Now with Christine we're focusing on continuing dealer training and building sales. We're through the early adopter phase of i3 sales, and we now need to reach the early majority to continue to build sales. Dealer training is important and we'll continue to offer this specialized training so our sales force is prepared, and that's critical to maintain the sales momentum we've built. The whole team is excited to have Christine here for the next phase of BMW i."

The new North American BMW i manager, Christine Fleischer next to a 1M at the Canadian launch in 2011.
Photo courtesy of BMWBLOG

BMW i3: Understanding How Preconditioning Works

Setting the preconditioning feature from the i3's iDrive is simple, but not as intuitive as I believe it could be. You can set the time of departure for every day of the week and the i3 will be charged, preconditioned and ready, provided you're charging from a proper 240v, level 2 electric supply. 

In many ways electric cars are very similar to their internal combustion counterparts and that's by design. Most major OEMs are afraid to make something that's "too different" from what their existing customer base is comfortable with. However there are features in electric vehicles that are indeed drastically different. The first one that comes to mind is regenerative braking which allows the electric motor to convert the vehicle's kinetic energy back into electricity which in turn recharges the battery. This feature changes the driving dynamics of the car (some more than others depending on how aggressive the regenerative braking system is) and the operator needs to adjust to this when they first transition to an electric vehicle.

During the winter months preconditioning in New Jersey not only means getting into a warm car in the morning, but it also adds valuable miles to the car's range by warming the battery cells up to their preferred operating temperature.

Another unique feature most modern electric vehicles have is the ability to precondition (warm or cool) the high voltage traction battery as well as the passenger cabin. This allows the driver to begin their journey with a properly heated or cooled battery and cabin, while still having the state of charge at or near 100%. Some conventional combustion cars also allow you to remotely start the vehicle to warm it up in the winter or cool it off in the summer, but the reasoning behind that is purely comfort-driven, and with EVs it goes beyond that. Since electric vehicles have shorter range and longer refueling times than their combustion counterparts, it's important to save the energy in the battery for its main purpose; to propel the vehicle, and not waste too much of it on ancillary power draws.

Warming the battery and the cabin uses a lot of energy, and doing so while the vehicle is plugged into the main power allows the driver to begin their trip with a properly warmed battery (which will increase the range) and still have a fully charged pack. This is very important for EV owners in cold weather climates. It is also useful to cool the car in hot ambient temperatures, but more frequently used by EV owners in the cold since a cold battery can reduce its range up to 30%. A hot battery won't reduce the car's range, but it can have an adverse effect on the longevity of the battery cells. Therefore preconditioning the battery in very hot climates is also advised, but for different reasons than doing so in the cold.

During the day my i3 is parked outside while I work. Accessing the preconditioning from my iRemote app is very useful as I don't have to go outside to the car to turn it on.

OK, so it's clear preconditioning is useful, but do you really know how it works on your i3? I'm afraid most i3 owners don't. In fact, judging by how many people have messaged me this winter asking for help with preconditioning, I'm thinking it's right up there with how to properly care for their battery as the top misunderstood items of i3 ownership. This is all new stuff, and even most dealers don't know all of the answers so it's no surprise the customers are a bit confused. This post should clear the air on most questions about how preconditioning works on your i3. I knew how most of the i3's preconditioning worked, but just to make sure I didn't have anything confused, I reached out to BMW's top electric vehicle technical services manager in the US to get answers to direct questions that I had previously received from readers:

Q. When Preconditioning via the iRemote app Remote Control menu is activated, only the cabin is preconditioned, not the battery, correct?

A. When triggering Preconditioning from the Remote Control menu, the answer is Yes, only the cabin.

Q. If you want to precondition the battery from the app, you need to set the departure time and then enable �preconditioning for departure," correct? 

A. Yes, provided the departure time programmed is at least 3 hours from the time when it is selected.
*Important: This is a very important fact that most i3 owners are not aware of. If you don't set the departure time at least three hours in advance the car is not performing battery preconditioning at all, only the cabin will be preconditioned.

Q. Can you precondition the battery without the vehicle being plugged in?
A. The HV battery, no. The cabin, yes.

Q. Can you precondition the battery while the vehicle is plugged into a 120v source or does it need to be connected to a 240v source?
A. 120V (Level 1/OUC) or 240V (Level 2) have the same effect in terms of Preconditioning. However, if charging on Level 1, the preconditioning consumption is higher than the charge rate, therefore potentially the vehicle will not be fully charged at the departure time.

Q. How early before the departure time will the vehicle begin to precondition?
A. When using the vehicle preconditioning menu, it will depend on temperature, but generally 30-40 minutes prior to the set departure time the cabin preconditioning will start, and the battery preconditioning will start 150 minutes prior to that.

Q. Will the car ever turn a battery warming on by itself if the battery temperature gets critically low. For example, the car is parked outside and plugged in and the battery temperature drops below 30 degrees, will the preconditioning turn on and warm the battery up without owner intervention?
A. No. User intervention is required for battery preconditioning. If the battery temperature is very low, it will be outside its normal operating temperature. As a result, the power output and usable energy of the battery will be reduced.

Q. How about if it gets critically hot � over 105 degrees?
A. If the battery temperature is higher than the optimal operating range and preconditioning is activated, the battery can be cooled. This is not very common due to the fact that the battery is such a high thermal mass, is located close to the ground, and is not exposed to direct sunlight.

Q. Why is it that sometimes after preconditioning (plugged in) the car is left at 97% or 98% SOC? Why doesn�t it fully recharge the car to 100%?
A. When preconditioning using a Level 1 charger, the car will always be below 100%. It could be about 80% or lower.(Because it uses more energy than the 120v source can provide) When using a Level 2 charger, the SOC could be slightly under 100% as the vehicle electrical load stays somewhat constant while the charger will switch off and on.

Q. Will battery cooling occur automatically while you are driving when the battery temp exceeds a certain set point?

A. Yes.

Q. When battery preconditioning is being performed, what is the battery temperature that the vehicle is attempting to achieve?
A. The battery is warmed or cooled to bring it close to or within the optimal operating range of 25-40C (77-104F)

I'm certain that the vast majority of i3 owners are not aware that the car does not initiate battery preconditioning unless they set the departure time at least three hours in advance. Also, based on feedback I've received here, many i3 owners aren't aware that they aren't preconditioning the battery if they initiate precon by pressing the small fan icon at the bottom of the main state of charge screen on their iRemote app. By doing so, that only initiates cabin warming or cooling. In order to precondition the battery as well as the cabin from the app, you must set a departure time at least three hours in advance and then slide the preconditioning tab to "on." Don't feel bad if you own an i3 and didn't know all this, most client advisers at many BMW dealerships don't know it either. It's a little confusing at first, and honestly I think the app could be made a little more intuitive, but once you understand how it works, it's easy to set. You can also set the departure times and precon from the iDrive in the car.

Using the "Activate Climate Control" app feature on the left only preconditions the cabin. To precondition the battery as well as the cabin, use the "set departure time" feature which is accessed by pressing the small clock tab on the top right of the state of charge display screen. Once you set the departure time, you also need to slide the precondition tab to the "on" position.

Living in northern New Jersey I get to experience a range of temperature extremes and using the preconditioning feature is definitely helpful. We just finished the coldest month I can ever remember and it seemed just about every day I was leaving the house in the morning with temperatures in single digits or below zero. One day it was actually minus eleven degrees Fahrenheit when I began my morning drive. Even though my car is parked inside my garage, when it's this cold the battery temperature drops to levels that severely impact its performance and the range is reduced. I noticed I could add as much as eight to ten miles to my range if I used the preconditioning on the coldest days. It's also nice to get into a warm car, and this enables you to turn down the cabin heat a bit, which additionally helps extend the range. I found that if I allowed the preconditioning to warm the cabin, I could then lower the cabin heat, or even turn it off for a while and just use the heated seats which use much less energy than the cabin heater. 

I hope this helps i3 owners understand a little more about preconditioning. If you have more questions, please leave them below in the comments section and I'll do my best to answer them.

BMW i3 PSA: No, There is Nothing Wrong With Your Battery!

As the temperatures drop, so will your range. That's life with an electric car, but there are ways to minimize the effects of the cold.

I remember back to my first year in the MINI-E program. It was 2009 and there weren't many electric vehicles on the roads, especially outside of Southern California. About five months into the MINI-E Trial Lease program there was a rush of participants bringing their cars to their MINI dealer for service, telling them something was wrong with their cars. This occurred in late October...

Suddenly, the cars couldn't go as far as we were used to, and the range drop off seemed to happen very quickly, without notice and without reason, leaving many people to assume their car was malfunctioning, and perhaps had a bad battery. Some of the people even swore the range drop coincided with their last service visit, so there had to be something done at the dealership that caused the loss of range. I had read quite a bit about electric cars before getting mine, and knew there would be some range degradation in the cold winter months of Northern New Jersey, but I really didn't know how much the range would drop. Evidently many of the other participants were completely in the dark about what to expect once the winter months arrived. Some were so put off by the range degradation, they insisted that BMW take the car back and allow them to leave the program. I remember one particular person tell me that drop in range meant they could no longer make the round trip to work every day, so the car was of no use to him for three months of the year.

48 miles was all I could muster before my range extender turned on last week. My battery is fine, it's just cold!

When the MINI-E program ended in 2012 I joined the BMW ActiveE lease program. By then some of the participants were aware of the effects the cold weather has on EV batteries since mainstream EVs like the Nissan LEAF and Chevy Volt had both been available for over a year. However there were still quite a few ActiveE drivers who were caught off guard by the loss of range once winter rolled around, and this became a major topic of discussion among the ActiveE discussion forums. Just as with the MINI-E drivers, many believed their car was experiencing some kind of battery problem, and couldn't believe the range would be affected so much by the cold weather.

With temperatures in the low 20's, my predicted range is usually in the low 50's for a fully charged battery.

So here we are in 2014 and not much has changed. The i3 launched in May in the US, and the vast majority of owners have never owned an electric vehicle before. Many of those who live in cold weather regions are now finding out firsthand how much the range can be affected by cold weather. I am the admin in the i3 discussion forum over at mybmwi3.com and the reduction of range has been widely discussed of late. Just as with the MINI-E and ActiveE programs, there are people who are convinced that there is something wrong with their car. I suppose there could be an issue with someone's car, so I would recommend to anyone concerned to take their car in for service to have it checked out, but I'm sure most everybody is going to get a clean bill of health, and at that point they are going to have to come to grips that the reduced range is due to the temperature, and learn how to live with it.

With temperatures in the 40's, I was averaging 60 to 65 miles of range per charge.

I must say I am a little disappointed in BMW for not offering better educational information for new owners. It wouldn't have been too difficult or expensive to prepare an information card which helped new owners understand how temperatures can effect their range. I've had a couple dozen i3 owners reach out to me already for information about this, many concerned they have a problem with the car. I think BMW should make a "Battery 101" information card and hand it out to all new owners at the time of delivery with their other vehicle documents. This could cover temperature issues as well as tips to help extend the life of their battery, offer advice for long term vehicle storage and offer a brief explanation on how the battery system works. I believe owners would appreciate this kind of information. It feels a little like Groundhogs Day with the same questions about range coming up every winter. There has to be a better way to prepare the customers for this before it becomes a problem.

This range chart is used by BMW for dealer training. It should be incorporated into a retail version to hand out to the customers upon delivery. This kind of information would be very helpful to the end user and often doesn't get passed along from the client adviser. Hat tip to Eric Loveday for reminding me about this dealer document.

That said, there are techniques to help offset the effects the cold weather has on the battery. Here are some of my recommendations to help get you throughout he winter:

Precondition: Use the precondition function as much as possible. The i3 will preheat the battery and passenger cabin so you leave with a fully charged and heated battery, plus a warm cabin. By doing so, you will use less of the stored energy in the battery for these functions, which will allow that energy to be used for its main purpose, to propel the vehicle. You can set the preconditioning to begin every day at a set time so your car is ready for you. Make sure the car is plugged in while you precondition because you want to draw energy from the grid to do this, not drain down your battery.

Cabin heat: Limit the use of the cabin heater as much as possible. The BEV i3s are equipped with an advanced heat pump which is much more efficient than the resistance heater used for the REx i3s. However it still can use a fair amount of energy and will indeed cut into the range. If your i3 is equipped with heated seats I highly recommend using them as much as possible. By doing so you can use the cabin heater less which saves energy since the heated seats use less energy than cabin heater; heat pump or not. If you simply dress a little warmer and use the heated seats you can really cut down on the use of the cabin heat, and this will definitely have a positive effect on your range. If you are wondering why i3s with the range extender do not have a heat pump, there are two main reasons. First and most importantly, the actual heat pump on the BEV i3 is located where the gasoline tank is on the i3 REx, so there isn't room for it. Secondly, squeezing every mile possible out of the battery isn't quite as important with the REx i3, since you can still continue driving once you exhaust your battery. With the BEV i3, those extra 3 or 4 miles the heat pump may add might make the difference in you getting home or not on a cold night. 

Properly inflated tires: Tire pressure falls as weather turns colder. Some tire experts say that for every 10 degrees of temperature drop your tires can lose 1-2 lbs of pressure. Under-inflated tires create more road friction which will reduce efficiency. Some EV drivers I know actually add  four to five pounds of pressure to all of their tires before the winter months begin. Always make sure to check the recommended and maximum pressure for your tires, as that's different for every tire and car. 

Park inside: Whenever possible park the car in garages, especially if they are heated. If you park outside for an extended period like while you work, you should find a spot that will be in direct sunlight for as much as possible. By parking in direct sunlight you�ll have a warmer cabin and battery when you return to your car later.

Slow down: Besides preconditioning and conservative use of the cabin heater, driving a little slower is perhaps the best way to extend your range. This is true regardless of the ambient temperature, but during the winter months driving a little slower can help offset the range you lose to the cold. If you do knock off a few miles per hour on the highway, make sure to move over into the right lane so you don't hold up traffic. Also, try to accelerate slowly form a standstill. Jack-rabbit launches are definitely fun with the i3 but they do consume a lot of energy. 

Charging times increase: While you're charging, the thermal management system will also be working to warm the batteries. This takes some of the energy that would have gone directly into the battery and uses it for the TMS. On really cold days I've noticed it takes my car 30 to 45 minutes longer to fully charge. Knowing this you may have to adjust the delayed charging setting on the car and allow for more time before you can unplug.

Use Eco Pro Modes: The i3 has two Eco driving modes to complement the default "Comfort" driving mode; Eco Pro and Eco Pro+. Both modes reduce power supplied to the motor and energy consuming features like the cabin heater. Most features work fine in Eco Pro mode, but Eco Pro+ restricts the power so much to them that some no longer even function. Another benefit to using Eco Pro and Eco Pro+ in the winter is by reducing the power to the motor the car accelerates slower and helps to reduce the possibility of wheel spin. I definitely recommend using Eco Pro mode whenever driving on ice or snow covered roads.

99 miles of predicted range was the most I have ever seen on my i3. This of course was months ago when the temperatures were in the low 80's. I've never actually been able to drive 99 miles before my range extender turned on though. The most I've ever driven was 90 miles once. I've learned that the Guess-o-Meter can be overly optimistic at times!

Below is an interesting chart prepared by FleetCarma. It compares the effects of the cold on the fuel efficiency of an electric car and a gasoline car. It isn't exactly what I'm discussing here today, but it helps to see how both gas cars as well as electric vehicles are effected by the cold. It's interesting to see that the cold affects the EV more, but the actually energy cost of the reduced efficiency is less on the EV. So while it may be a greater inconvenience for the electric car driver, the cold weather inefficiencies actually costs the gasoline car driver more money.

Mountain Climbing With an i3 REx

Loveland Pass, Continental Divide, Colorado. Elevation 11,990 ft

A few weeks ago Don Parsons of Denver, Colorado took his i3 REx on a 128 mile road trip from his house to Loveland Pass (Continental Divide, Colorado). On his way up to the 11,990 ft elevation of Loveland Pass he stopped at Beau Jo's Pizza for lunch and to charge on their public ChargePoint EVSE where his i3 REx accepted 8.9kWh's of juice to help with the rest of the climb up the mountain. 

The car showed 18 miles remaining at the top of Loveland Pass, and he nearly made the trip entirely on electricity when 62 miles later the range extender kicked on and he was only 2 miles from his home. 

The trip summary: 
-64 miles each way
-8,960 feet of climbing, 2329 Feet of descending on way out
-2329 feet of climbing, 8,960 feet of descending on way back

Having heard about this Continental Divide conquest, I asked Don if he wanted to write a guest blog post about the trip, but he offered to do one better. His next challenge was to take his i3 REx up to the summit of Mt Evans which is the highest elevation paved road in the US. The trip would take him over 14,000 feet above sea level and would most certainly push the range extender beyond its limit. This was not the kind of road trip BMW envisioned people taking the car on when they designed the REx, but nonetheless they have to expect some people like Don would do just that. So what happened? Read Don's words below to find out:

I�ve had my BMW i3 REx for almost two months now and haven�t really used or tested the REx engine.  Before today, I�d driven about 1750 miles total with only about 10 miles using the engine.  I decided to drive from my house in Denver to the top of Mt. Evans and return without stopping for gas or topping off the charge.  Using the REx engine in the mountains can be tough because the output of the small engine can�t really put out enough power to go both highway speeds and climb uphill.  However, the road to the top of Mt. Evans is pretty narrow, has steep drop-offs, no guardrails and a lot of cyclists sharing the road so you really don�t want to go much faster than 35 mph.  For this reason, I thought the small engine could hopefully handle the climb.

For those that don�t know, Mt. Evans is the highest paved road in North America with an elevation of 14,130 feet above sea level!  I live in Denver which is at 5,280 feet above sea level.  It�s 63.5 miles from my house to the top Mt. Evans.  With some up and down hill climbing, the total ascent is 12,446 feet and the total descent is 3,686 getting to the summit.

I set the car into Eco Pro+ and set out on city streets of Denver, then I-70 west up the mountains to Idaho Springs.  Mt. Evans highway winds its way south from Idaho Springs to the Mt. Evans summit in 28 miles.  When I originally entered the destination into the navigation system, the guess-o-meter said 61 miles of range.  I tried to keep the cruise control set to about 5 miles over the speed limit.

I was surprised to find that the Rex engine didn�t turn on until about 52 miles into the drive (about 10 miles from the summit) with a total trip average mi/kWh of 2.8 when the REx kicked on.  However, about 1 minute after the REx turned on I got a Brake error message that ended up making the brake pedal feel stiff and pretty much unusable.  Fortunately, I was still heading uphill and the regen seemed to be working normally.

I could hear the engine speed up during the straight parts of the switchbacks and as I slowed down for the sharp curves, the engine almost immediately slowed down as well.  I never really wanted to travel faster than 35 mph so I didn�t notice any performance hit until near the summit.  On the last few switchbacks, I put my foot to the floor and couldn�t get the car to travel faster than 26 mph.  At close to 14,000 feet of elevation, the engine was probably severely limited from its usual output at sea-level.  I�ve heard people say that an ICE reduces power output by 5% for each 1,000 feet of elevation.  In any event no other cars were traveling any faster than 25 or 30 mph so I didn�t feel unsafe.

I finally made it to the top at 14,130 feet!  The temperature had gone from 68 degrees in Denver to 35 degrees and quite windy.  This road usually shuts down for the winter sometime in September so they will be expecting snow to start accumulating up there pretty soon!

As I was getting ready to head down, I was worried about whether I would have any use of the brakes since I had turned off the car and walked around the summit for about 5 minutes hoping the error would reset but it didn�t and I still had a stiff brake pedal.  Since it was 35 degrees up there, I was pretty cold and didn�t feel like waiting any longer so I thought I would start to head down and see how well the regen worked to keep the car in control.  You can imagine how happy I was to have such a high regen rate because I felt like I was in complete control all the way back home.

During the descent from the summit down to Idaho Springs I was excited to see that the regen had built up a full 25% of the battery SOC and the guess-o-meter said as high as 28 miles of range on the battery.  I drove home significantly on battery but the REx kicked in a few times where there was some climbing.  It also stayed on once I got out of the mountains but I was easily able to maintain 75 mph on the highway leading east back into the city.

Here's a screenshot of the elevation and speed of the whole trip

Some stats on the whole trip.  I traveled 127.6 miles and averaged 4.9 mi/kWh and average speed was a total of 39.6 mph.  I used a little over a quarter of the rex tank which I think is pretty minimal for traveling almost 130 miles! As you can see from the picture, the brake error was still in place when I arrived home.  However, after being on my EVSE for a little over an hour, everything was cleared out and a quick trip to grab lunch showed that everything was back to normal.

I should point out that I haven�t gotten any software updates yet as I haven�t been able to set aside the time.  Until this trip, the only error I�ve seen from the car is the Check Engine Light, which remains illuminated. There is a software update that will eliminate this waiting for me at my dealer, so I guess it's time to get the car into the shop for the updates.  Hopefully the brake error is related to the 12v battery issues that others have discussed and will also be fixed with the latest software version I'll be getting. 

When I thought about getting the i3 Rex, I figured that I would use the battery over 95% of my driving miles.  So far, it seems like I�m using the battery over 97% of my miles.  That said, I�m still happy to have the Rex as it completely takes away any range anxiety when I�m traveling in the flats of the front range of Colorado.

What about the mountains?  I was concerned about using the i3 REx in the mountains and still believe that having a REx hold mode similar to the European version of the i3 or the Chevy Volt would make this an even more enjoyable car in Colorado.  That said, a couple CCS fast chargers placed strategically off I-70 would go a long way to helping the issue.  Locations in Idaho Springs, Silverthorne (where the 8 Tesla Superchargers are located) Copper Mountain, and Vail would be ideal spots to get a quick top-off and be truly useful in the mountains.  I�ve also kept my 335xi for long distance ski trips since it has all wheel drive and is still a great car. However, even without the fast chargers I was able to make it to the summit and home without a problem.

I�m very happy with the the i3.  The performance, handling, smoothness, and quietness all contribute to a great experience.  Like others have said, it�s hard to go back to a regular internal combustion engine after experiencing electric!

BMW & Tesla Taking Different Approaches But Will Ultimately Face Off

Horatiu Boeriu of BMWBLOG recently did a piece titled "BMW vs. Tesla - Which Company Is A Bigger Innovator?" in which he mentions that while both companies are competing in the premium automobile segment and are committed to electric mobility, they are taking different paths to achieve success.

I'm not going to try to analyze who has it right or who is a bigger innovator, but it's clear that both companies have chosen to focus on different aspects of their respective vehicles. With Tesla, it's all about the batteries. Unlike every other automobile manufacturer, BMW included, Tesla's approach isn't for their electric cars to complement their lineup of gasoline and diesel offerings since they don't have any. Instead, it is to render gasoline vehicles from their competitors obsolete. In order to do so, their cars have to be at least as good or better than most features of competing gas cars; and that includes range, performance and utility. BMW on the other hand doesn't need to necessarily worry about making everything better. They can focus on specific needs of certain customers and make a vehicle that is better than any other at a specific set of tasks, without cannibalizing sales of other vehicles in their lineup. If you accept that premise, it's not difficult to understand why we have the Model S and the BMW i3.

Tesla knew they had to knock it out of the park with their first high volume vehicle offering. They knew they had to offer a car that could stand its ground against all of the top luxury sedans while offering a range long enough to allow for road trips enabled by the Supercharger network. Even though that was an enormous task, and one that few automotive analysts really believed they would pull off, they did just that and the Model S is a smashing success. No disrespect to the sexy styling or the fabulous performance of Model S, but the heart and soul of what the car is can be attributed to the enormous battery pack it uses, filled with industry leading, high energy-density batteries. Tesla is all about the batteries. Even though the Model S uses batteries that have a higher energy density than any other EV manufacturer, they still aren't satisfied. They aren't waiting for the market to bring them better, cheaper cells for their future cars. Instead they are in the process of building what will be the first of many Gigafactories, which will be the largest lithium ion battery manufacturing plants in the world. This will drive down costs, guarantee that they have the supply that they need, and allow them to constantly upgrade to better cells without needing to wait for battery manufacturers to retool production facilities to produce them. The key to Tesla's success is having the best batteries available, and to manufacture them for less than what their competitors are paying for comparable cells. It's the only way to offer large battery, long range electric vehicles and be able to price them competitively.  It's Tesla's edge, and perhaps their only hope to compete and actually beat the large, established automakers.

BMW's not in the battery business and is unlikely to follow Tesla's path as such. As mentioned above, since they didn't need the i3 to do everything better than any other gas offering as the Model S had to, BMW could focus on a specific set of goals with their first electric vehicle. The i3's code name was the Megacity Vehicle and the goal was to develop a car that would be the perfect electric vehicle for the increasing populations within the megacities of the world. They also wanted this car to represent a departure from traditional manufacturing processes with an emphasis on sustainability.  They set out to make the most efficient production car available today and they achieved that goal. The extensive use of carbon fiber reinforced plastic and aluminum allowed BMW to shave 400 to 500 lbs off the car which played a primary role in its efficiency.

Will BMW leave Tesla in their rear view camera? That doesn't look very likely at present.

I believe the i3 is as much of a learning experience for BMW as it is their first electric vehicle. Every step of the manufacturing process was rethought and redesigned for the i3. In fact, the i3 uses 70% less water and 50% less electricity to manufacture than a comparable-sized conventional BMW would. In addition, the Leipzig manufacturing plant where the i3 is made is now completely powered by wind-generated energy. So as much as the i3 is an important vehicle to BMW today, the lessons learned bringing it to market today will pay dividends when future i cars are made. The i3 indeed paved the way for the rumored i5 and other models from the i brand. You can expect larger battery, longer range electric cars from BMW i in the not-so-distant future. I suspect by the time Tesla releases the Model III, BMW will have an electric offering which is comparable size, range and price, and that will be good news for the consumer.

My i3 had a visit by its big brother. I'm one of the few lucky people outside of some select journalists who have driven an i8 on public roads. The future is definitely looking electric!

BMW knows that by focusing on a specific set of needs (efficiency, performance, sustainability) rather than long range, the i3 isn't as well suited for road trips as the Model S. They knew that every kWh of battery that they added would sacrifice efficiency and increase the cost of the car. I still maintain that if BMW had indeed used a slightly larger battery and delivered a true 100-mile EV, it would have been much better received, but that's a pointless argument now. While it does have a shorter range, the i3 does have features that are not even available in the Model S, such as adaptive cruise control, collision avoidance with automatic braking and self parking. As you would expect from BMW, the i3 is an extremely fun car to drive, and a great addition to the current lineup of EV offerings. I think it fits in well situated directly between the Model S and the LEAF in price.

My i3 at home

BMW did realize some customers would want a longer range so they offered the range extender as an option. It's really a great option to have and while I personally like how well it works, it isn't for everybody. Many have argued that the REx ruins the purity of an EV, and while I can agree with that, I can't agree that it shouldn't be an option. If such a feature allows more people to buy a plug in car, then I think that's great. I see the range extender as a temporary fix until batteries get better, lighter and cheaper, but a necessary evil at present. Obviously BMW agrees with that and unlike Tesla, they will wait for the market to bring them improved battery tech while Tesla has decided to bring improved battery tech to the market. Different approaches, different cars and I don't think either is right or wrong. They are both working on bringing cutting edge technology to market today with the promise of even better things to come. BMW and Tesla aren't going head to head in the EV space right now, but they certainly will. Competition is good because it forces innovation. Maybe Horatiu was onto something after all.

One last point: If Nissan does deliver on the rumors that the next generation, 2016 LEAF will have a 150+ mile range, and they can deliver it for a reasonable price, then both Tesla and BMW should be concerned, very concerned...

BMW and Tesla going nose to nose in the premium electric vehicle market is inevitable.

Will an Optional "High Power" Battery For the i3 Be Available Soon?

I was tipped off by an anonymous follower here that the Spanish i3 online configurer has a not-yet-available option called "Bateria de mayor potencia" which Google Translate will tell you means "battery more powerful" in English. There isn't a picture for the option and you can't order it - yet. I checked the other BMW models on the site to make sure this wasn't just some kind of phantom option or mistake that was listed on all the BMW cars on the site and it isn't. It was in fact only listed on the i3 options page.

An inside look of  i3 Battery module

So I reached out to a contact I have in Spain that is well connected in the electric vehicle community there to look into this and see what they can uncover. Could the Spanish BMW site have inadvertently tipped us off as to what will soon be available? Maybe this is as innocuous as an optional, more powerful 12v battery? However I've never heard of an optional 12v battery being offered in any i3 market yet and I'm not sure why would they would need it? The 12v battery doesn't need to do very much on the i3 the first place. The car is already equipped with a cold weather package in cold-climate markets and there is no mention of a more powerful battery in that package. I would think if BMW thought the standard 12v battery was insufficient they would have just made all the cars standard with the more powerful one in the first place.

i3 Battery pack

There have been rumors that BMW is already field testing higher density batteries and that they will be available in the not-too-distant future. BMW has always maintained that the i3's battery pack is easily replaceable and that it's likely down the road when a customer determines it's time to replace their pack the replacement pack will be more robust, allowing for a greater range than the original battery did when it was new. Could that be available sooner than we anticipated?

Battery tech is constantly evolving. Tesla for example is rumored to be replacing the current batteries they use with higher density cells in the very near future and will soon open the Gigafactory(s) to manufacture them. Over in the BMW ActiveE Facebook group we recently had a fellow ActiveE driver say he had the opportunity to ride in a test MINI-E at BMW's Technology Center that was fitted with BMW's next generation of batteries and the car had about a 200 mile range. This cannot be confirmed but I have no reason to doubt his claim.

So this may be nothing, a simple mistake or misunderstanding on the BMW i3s Spanish website. Or maybe not...

An Aerospace Engineer from the UK Compares the i3 and the i3 REx

 

Lucas flying formation in the Crimea

Lukas Willcocks is a member of the BMW i3 Forum and when I noticed that he posted about having the opportunity to take both an i3 and an i3 REx each for 24 hour test drives I asked him if he wanted to offer his thoughts and comparing them here. What I didn't know was that Lukas is an aerospace engineer. A few of my friends are engineers and the one thing I've learned about them is not to ask a question about something without expecting an answer that involves thoroughly explaining every aspect of the subject. Well, I found Lucas is not very different from my friends! :) His response was about three times as long as any post I've ever put up here and below is actually the condensed version! Warning: We're going off into technical geek land here folks! Special thanks to Lukas for the time and effort he put into this guest post:

To REX or not to REX: 24h with the BMW i3 BEV and another 24h with the BMW i3 REX:

Greetings from darkest Lincolnshire in the English Midlands. Winter this year is mild but very very wet and windy! Educationally, my background is in aerospace engineering but long before that I helped my father fixing old Land Rovers in the Kalahari and later Fiat Twin cams and VW GTis in the EU. I'd always found rally and race cars exciting and in recent years had the privilege of racing in historic motorsports with a 1969 Lancia Fulvia HF.

Colin Chapman (of Lotus racing car fame) is quoted as saying to his engineers �add lightness!� In fact the quote is from Sir Geoffrey De Havilland who gave the world the amazing wooden composite Mosquito WW2 fighter bomber- a machine that could leave fighter aircraft for dead. He also pioneered the first Jet Airliner the DH Comet 1: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Comet

Aerospace is about efficiency and optimization for specific roles. Whatever the debate on the environment, the world is attempting to move towards more sustainable living. Only 8% of the planet is suitable for arable farming and we all hate traffic jams. Conurbations are increasing at an alarming rate. My old home of Gaborone Botswana had just 40,000 people in the 1970s � now it it has well over 250,000. That country (the size of Texas or France) had 10 miles of tarmac road. Now it has the Trans Kalahari highway!

No cyclist or pedestrian likes petrol or diesel fumes. Electric cars are seen as a way of improving air quality in built up areas. That's all well an good as long as folk don't claim they are emission free vehicles! Most countries still rely on coal fired power stations and acid rain and CO2 is still produced when an EV is used. Even California is not 100% Solar PV / Wind farm dependent.

What is the most efficient means of getting from A to B? An interesting question and much depends on the task � is it to transport 40 tonnes of produce to market 1000 miles away or 2 miles to the grocery store to pick up some tomatoes for lunch? I recall a study that said even cyclists put out at least 15g/km CO2 based on toast consumption!

Intro over!

My thanks go to Hamish of BMW Soper in Lincoln UK who provided the i3 BEV in white which was fitted with lots of toys! And also to Chris Whitmore of BMW Statstone Derby UK for the loan of the grey i3 REX.

So how did the BEV compare with the REX?

That is the ultimate question on most potential owner's minds. Interestingly both cars when fully charged used the same amount of energy on the 29 mile commute to work. The BEV was quick but it's advantage over the slightly heavier REX was not noticeable in normal use.  Both cars had the same tyres front and rear so there was no Cd advantage for the BEV either. Unless you go to the Drag Strip regularly, I very much doubt any driver would notice a difference between the BEV and REX in acceleration terms. If anything the REX felt a little more planted in the corners but this may have been subjective. The rear motor/RWD layout allows far more steering angle than a regular vehicle so the turning circle is very tight at low speed. In muddy conditions it is possible for the traction control to give up and the tail does wag a little if you are too enthusiastic with the go faster pedal.

The biggest change is when you get down to around 6 miles of range. In the BEV there is mild panic even in Eco Pro Plus mode. In the REX the motorcycle engine kicks in with an annoying drone but it is not really noticable above 40 mph.  Some were concerned about speed restriction reports when the REX gets down at lower battery charge levels. I tried 0-50mph max acceleration and this seemed unaffected but there was on screen advice to go easy on the throttle pedal to enable battery charge level maintenance. It could well be that 70 mph uphill on a freeway would not be sustainable at these lower charge levels. That said,  my return journey was with REX activated manually at around 30% SOC. It did not maintain it precisely but achieved around 27% SOC over the 29 miles. Refueling was done at the same Shell station with same grade of petrol - tank was topped off both before and after commute. Economy on REX is not that great but it is really there to get you home or to nearest fast charger.

My guess is the battery in a REX will be in a far better state than that of a BEV after 3 years of similarly hard use. The damage associated with running the LiON batteries to an absolute minimum are more likely to be avoided by the car that maintains charge at low levels.It should also be noted that when the doors are unlocked the charge goes down whether plugged in or not because displays and system heating are activated and run off the main battery.  This might be fixed by a BMW phone app for users who wish to configure for a trip whilst charging. Showing off all the gizmos to your work colleagues will also deplete charge! 

Overall I like the purity of the BEV and only wish it could better 60 miles in mild winter commute. If it could do 100 miles at 60 to 70 mph I would buy one right away. As it stands if committing to an i3, I'd have to go for the REX and downgrade on the options list.

Now for some thoughts on the i3 in general: 

What can we compare the BMW i3 with? Existing cars have come a long way since Henry Ford. On the other hand the past decade has seen an explosion in ULVs (unsuitably large vehicles) sold to consumers of a �super size me� culture. Now I am all for the old Range Rover V8 doing 16 mpg through deep Kalahari sands where a Ford F250 got just 8 mpg. However for the grocery store run?

That might be acceptable in Arizona but on cramped narrow British roads with passing places in hedgerows or London's residential road width restrictors? Bigger normally means heavier and less aerodynamic so the term gas guzzler still applies. How is it that in 40 years fuel consumption has not really improved significantly? Part of the answer is heavier structures and crash worthiness regulations but that's often an excuse. Take the Fiat X 1/9 2 seater 1970s mid-engine sports car � it featured 50 mph impact bumpers and roll over protection for the US market � they even rammed one with an AMTRAK ! It passed but then the Feds reduced the regs and Fiat lost out. However that small car was tough (apart from on UK salt laden winter roads) yet still much lighter than today's machines: http://www.sportsvogn.no/x19reg/story.html

A few visionaries still exist. VW developed the 3L cars � 3 litres of fuel for 100 km of travel. They produced the shortened Polo and called it the Lupo 3L with magnesium and Aluminium panels. Audi developed the all aluminum A2 which many have cited as an influence on today's BMW i3. The 3L version of the A2 was designed to carry 4 German sized adults and their luggage from Munich to Turin over the Alps with minimal fuel cost and low emissions. It had a Cd of just 0.25 � the same as the original 2 seater Honda Insight hybrid and weighed just 855 kg.

This has been my everyday transport for some 190,000 miles over the past 12 years: http://www.greenconsumerguide.com/audi_a2_tdi.php Sadly the car was poorly marketed compared with the less efficient Toyota Prius and productionceased in 2005. But not before an H2 and electric variant were prototyped. In 2010 DBM Energy claimed their modified Audi A2 could travel 375 miles at 55mph on batteries alone.

http://www.plugincars.com/claiming-battery-breakthrough-electric-audi-drives-375-miles-55-mph-without-recharging-99966.html

Sadly the factory and prototype burnt down.

VW have moved on into the extremely expensive ECO car with their impressive XL1 � but it's no longer a Volks-Wagen (people's car) at �100k !

http://www.topgear.com/uk/photos/vw-xl-1-we-drive-the-future-2014-02-03

Others have compared the i3 to Tesla. A bit like comparing a 1 series with an Aston Martin.

This review will look at basic everyday practicality and make some suggestions for BMW's further i3 development.....

External Colour choices:

Not a lot of choice. Mostly greys, silvers and one for the Dutch : orange. I don't mind the

contrasting black panels. One dealer suggested the i8 Protonic Blue might become available next year.

The biggest downside if you want orange is the extra you have to pay to upgrade the interior. Someone should tell BMW to have a look at Irn Bru (Scottish Soda � orange, black &blue can work!). Not such an issue in USA.

Interior space:

Many reviewers have posted that the i3 has an airy feel � at least from the front seats. I would agree that the large sloping front windscreen and uncluttered dashboard appears to offer more light and the high seating position reduces any bathtub parallels by giving a more commanding view of the road ahead. However, whilst the i3 is around 15cm wider than the A2, in the rear it has almost 4cm less headroom, 20cm less foot room and just under 7cm less elbow room. The larger rear side windows help to mask the latter somewhat.

The white i3 BEV had a white LOFT interior � nice if you never drive in the real world. The white carpets soon became muddy grey brown! The REX had the standard interior which was very practical.

I like the futuristic flat screens that appear to hang in space over the dash.

Whatever your view on the construction material, the anti reflective properties of the dash work well with the black bonnet rather like a 1960s Rally car.

The driving position is very comfortable and has a good degree of adjustment. The seat height shift is a little awkward compared to rival cars where body weight has to be lifted on the steering wheel before raising.

The seat heating is a very worthwhile option for winter driving and means you can save energy on interior heating.

Side bolstering of the front seats is minimal. Had the car been designed with conventional rear doors and without forward tilt on these front seats, maybe BMW could have gone for a fixed back sportier option like a Recaro Pole Position (just 7kg!).

Load space:

One disadvantage of RWD with rear Motor placement is the much high than normal load area and reduced volume.

(litres seats up /litres seats down)

i3: 260 / 1100 litres

A2: 390/1085 / and approx 1400 litres with rear seats out

A3 Coupe: 365 / 1100 litres

A3 Sportback: 380 / 1220 litres

A1 Coupe: 270 / 920 litres

Quite a bit of space is taken up with American sized Soda Cup holders between the seats!

Weight Saving:

BMW has made much about the lightness of the underlying CRP structure on the i3. They are to be congratulated for bringing this to a sub �26k (base model with �5k UK grant) production car.But it is still a heavy car even making allowances for the EV battery pack.

One wonders whether 19 or 20� wheels are more about style over substance � certainly a larger diameter spinning mass has a greater effect on vehicle dynamics. It would be interesting to know what each wheel design/tyre combo weighs.

Areas where lightness could be added:

1. Make it a 3 door or go for conventional rear doors with CFRP B pillar.

2. Go for 1 front wiper blade with full sweep. Remove rear wiper mechanism and install

better rear tailgate with aero screen cleaning. (NB: the front wipers DO NOT sweep up to 90 degrees so there are a couple of unswept patches either side at eye level).

3. Make rear seats removable like briefcase design in A2 and front seats fixed back like Audi TT Quattro Mk1.

5 Doors or 3 door with Access panels?

In terms of accessibility we have already seen reviews of the difficulty in releasing rear occupants with driver or front passenger in place. The suicide rear doors are a design statement more than a practical solution to rear seat entry/egress. Such an arrangement in a UK Supermarket parking space with an SUV either side, it could get too tight to let the kids out of the rear seats. In some ways a 3 door hatchback or Coupe might have an advantage, although those front doors tend to be longer. It seems odd that the designers made the front seats forward tilting and indicates that a 3 door option may have been in mind.

Some commentators have made comparison with the Mazda RX8. In both cases these sucide doors have had to be strengthened considerably and fitted with larger closing mechanisms and hinges to cope. From a weight and energy saving perspective this is a little absurd. Matters are made worse if a child seat is fitted in front without ISOFIX. Note the weight limit is just 18kg (40lbs) for an ISOFIX attachment so heavier children will require the seat belt attachment. This makes it impossible to open the rear door on the pax side if the child seat is up front.The deeper rear windows are good for rear seat occupants but do not open � not even to a vent position. Again why bother with rear doors? Make it a 3 door Coupe like the orange prototype or offer a CFP B pillar / Avant version with normal rear doors and hidden handles ( a la Alfa Romeo 156).

Aerodynamics - What a Drag!

The i3 has a closed front grill / kidney emblem and commendably flat under tray free of the usual incursions. But for an ECO minded car it is somewhat surprising that BMW did not strive to improve the Drag Coefficient or reduce the frontal area of the i3.

If you never go over 40 mph (London UK inside the M25) this isn't going to affect you. But most London workers live outside due to ever spiralling house prices and will likely need to use the Motorway (Freeway) network. Greater aerodynamic efficiency (and hence lower battery consumption) could have been achieved by replacing the BMW X5 like wing mirrors with VW XL1 rear view cameras or at least more compact examples. The Cd is 0.3 (about as bad as a 1992 Toyota Camry or 1993 Subaru Impreza). The i3 is much wider than most pure 4 seaters and the MPV styling and battery floor makes it quite tall. Frontal Area of 2.38 m2 x 0.3 results in a CdA of 0.714.

Compare this to a 2001 Audi A2 1.2 TDI : CdA 0.544 or 2013 VW XL1: CdA 0.279.

At 100km/h (62mph) the i3 BEV creates 326 Newtons of drag. The REX model a little more at 336 Newtons. The A2 a mere 257 Newtons.

More meaningful to the average punter is BHP absorbed by drag. Here we are not considering the drag from the drive-train / single gear or tyre friction and this is for a flat road with nil wind.

At 40 mph the i3 consumes a minimum of 3.33 BHP (2.5kW) in drag alone. Not a lot! But accelerate to 60 mph and it goes up a factor of 4 to 12.5BHP (9.317kW). Get on the freeway in Montana or de-restricted Autobahn and at 93 mph the i3 requires 42.14 BHP (31.44 kW)!

It is no wonder that i3 test drivers have noticed a massive reduction in range when driving on faster roads. If you add in tyre resistance, wheel well turbulence, and a less than optimal gear ratio (optimised for acceleration rather than cruising then expect about 60 mile range from a BEV and a bit less all electric from the REX).

What if BMW had optimised just the Aero side?

40mph:

A2: 2.54 BHP(1.894kW),

XL1: 1.30 BHP(2.54kW)

60mph:

A2: 9.52 BHP (7.10kW)

XL1: 4.88 BHP (3.64kW)

93 mph:

A2: 32.1 BHP (24kW)

XL1: 16.5 BHP (12.28kW)

The i3 could be improved by careful modification of the front profile (which could include improvements to pedestrian safety), an extension or redesign of the tailgate and a longer rear spoiler, vortex generators at the rear (perhaps incorporating the trademark aerial) and more ducting air dam style under the car to improve wake and add almost drag free down-force. The door alignment and rear wheel arches could be improved to lessen drag.

Noise:

The i3 internal SPL is actually about 2dBA louder at 50 mph than the diesel Audi A2 due to wind noise. But at lower speeds the ICE can't compete (except with Start Stop at the lights!).

Driver Technology:

The BMW i brand is all about connectivity and city mobility. This test drive did not spend much time in the City. It is not possible to test the iphone/Android app without making a purchase as it is linked to the vehicle's VIN number. I was able to link my phone via Blue Tooth and play music through the radio functions. This worked 90% of the time. Both cars had standard audio which is of reasonable quality. The other 10% there was electronic signal distortion.

The layered menus were not as intuitive as a touch screen app. The iDrive handwriting recognition didn't work for me as a Right handed scribe in a RH Drive car ! My other cars are LHD!

The start up procedure could be simplified. It's not a get away car! Unlike the A2 that tells you to put your for on the brake pedal before start, the i3 makes that assumption. The electronic handbrake took some getting used to but when trusted it seemed to work OK even on hill starts. NB the CFRP Alfa Romeo 4C has a traditional handbrake and is the lightest car in it's class.

Unlike other EV manufacturers the battery regen mode is all about the accelerator pedal. The sweet spot for freewheeling downhill is hard to find with the small text on the Tacho indicating minimal kWh/100km use. This could be corrected with a Head Up Display or peripheral coloured lights to aid the driver to drive more efficiently. Similar displays tell pilots about optimum wing angle of attack in flight.

The white i3 BEV had all the goodies in terms of rear view camera and automatic parking. This worked well 4 times out of 5. The 5^th was the same spot as the 4^th but for whatever reason the car refused to park itself once it found the spot. One issue is the position of the camera which is right on the rear bumper (fender) where it gets covered in road muck. A better spot might be behind the rear glass within the wiper's swept zone.

The large centre screen was a delight if a little distracting on the move. It is especially good in the rear view camera mode (with a clean camera!). But you must still scan between screen and real world to avoid pedestrians who can't hear the i3!

There is no SOC on the BEV which is a shame. The REX has it hidden away on a �hold state of charge� menu.

The vehicle pre-conditioning menu takes some finding but worked on both BEV and REX. It's important to realise the extra electricity you will use to get the car up to temperature in winter. I set 16 deg C for an 0715z departure time on both cars. The mistake with the BEV came when I tried to charge at work using a 13A socket. The car did not charge because the menu had a timer setting (for cheaper home night tariffs). In the end I managed to cancel that and got just an hour's worth of charge.

Breakdown cover:

The i3 has no jack, no spare wheel, no wheel brace. Back in 2003 I learnt the hard way that tyre gunk doesn't work as advertised. In fact I had bought a full set of winter wheels and tyres for the A2 but had left these at home on the daily commute. One of the skinny Bridgestone B381 Eco tyres gave up the ghost at 60 mph. There was no drama and no wheel damage but it was a busy road . Had I had a spare I could have used the underfloor tool kit and Alloy jack to get back on the road within 20 minutes. Instead it took over 4 hours to get a recovery truck out and go home to change wheels.

The i3 cannot be towed in the conventional fashion and must be lifted onto a low loader! I would rather carry a spare. But 19 or 20� in that small boot (trunk)?!

In Germany a full set of Winter 19� rims can be had for 900 Euros. In the UK BMW are charging almost double! LED lights: The BEV had the optional LED headlamps for normal (dipped) use. This gave a pleasant blue / white light. The adaptability was not noticed on country lanes. Main beam was still halogen and no better than other vehicles. The mix of blue and yellow light is a little odd.

How does it drive?

Short answer: Very well!

In fact it is great fun to drive and the novelty of silent startup and acceleration to 40+ mph is superbly smooth. The downside of fun is the temptation to use the available torque. Only once did my free hand reach for a non existent gear stick! Yes I would have liked a second cog for more efficient highway motoring.

The bar graph (approx SOC indicator) goes down like fuel gauge in an English Electic Lightning!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5dvT-G7JNs

For a newcomer to EVs it feels very odd to start moving in near silence. This requires even greater lookout and anticipation than normal in built up areas as pedestrians do not hear you coming. That is a positive aspect that should re-energise driver skills.

The acceleration is excellent � the REX was not noticeably more sluggish than the BEV. I spent most of the time in ECO PRO mode (with a maximum of 70 mph set for motorways). ECO PRO + was used to get from work to the dealer in Lincoln with a depleted battery. The car felt much more fidgety on the twisty B roads than in Comfort or EP. Perhaps the stability electronics and throttle/extra regenerative braking response has this effect.

Visibility from the driver's seat was better than expected and very similar to the A2. The driver just has to move their head around the thick A pillars when approaching junctions. The grip from the 155 front and 175 rear standard tyres is more than adequate for dry road cornering at speed. The rear tyres did struggle when there was a little mud on the tarmac and the traction control flashed on these occasions. Winter tyres offer a good 3 times the grip and much shorter stopping distances so it would be interesting to compare in winter conditions.

I was surprised that the BEV had 175 section rears and this may have added drag to match the REX. Apparently the REX has a slightly narrower rear track. Steering feel was good even if not direct (servo assisted). Narrow tyres bring steering benefits and

the turning circle impressed all who witnessed it. The cruise control was very good. Neither car had the lane keeping/auto braking technology.

Conclusions:

First off BMW deserves credit for bringing the i3 to market. It offers an alternative approach to EV design and manufacture. The blue sky thinking maybe went a little overboard in the style over substance department.

However, the looks grew on me. Even the cheap looking interior panels! The car drove far better than a car of this mass deserves. In practical terms it is not as good as it could be. BMW could learn a lot more from a similarly sized car built with practicality, ECO credentials, lightness and aerodynamic efficiency that is 15 years older. The aluminium Audi A2 (especially the 1.2 model). One thing they did far better than Audi was in marketing the i3 more aggressively like Toyota did with the Prius.

Improvments: If I were responsible for product development on the i3, for 2015 I'd introduce tat least some of the following:

1. Three door version like Coupe concept

2. Aero optimisation

3. Further weight reduction programme.

4. HUD option with SOC indication

5. More obvious ECO / Freewheel indication

6. More colour choice not linked to interiors

7. Lightweight Biodiesel or CNG REX options

8. More practical 5 door version with B pillar, removable rear seats and FWD to improve rear load space and traction in snow.

9. Better seat raising design.

10. Full LED lighting

11. RH iDrive for RHD and LH iDrive for LHD markets

12. Fairer winter wheel/tyre pricing

13. Better rear camera positioning

14. ICE FWD option without EV for long distance commuters in countries without decent electrical network.

15. Spare wheel/ jack options as alternative to tyre gunk.

16. Better Driver info menus

17. Better English translation of manual

18. Work with Solar PV controller manufacturers to offer old i3 batteries as storage and the likes of �Immersun� to offer Solar PV charging.

19. Encourage Fast DC network expansion in all markets � like FastNED.

Special thanks to Lucas for the in depth review!