Tested - 2017 BMW i3 with bigger battery and range extender

Let the test begin

 
The other day, BMW of Bloomfield in Bloomfield NJ - ask for Chris Chang - offered to allow me to test the new 2017 BMW i3 with the bigger battery and range extender. Color was fluid black.  Let me think about that....ok guys!!  Thank you!!

I jumped at the chance because this was not just a quick run around the dealer block, this was to be a full real world test on the open road over a couple of days.  My open road can consist of quick jaunts that tally 8 miles to the daily commute to my daughter's school totaling 88 miles round trip across some of the worst highways our country has to offer to 100s of miles into the deep NJ wilderness and back.

I chose the middle scenario as this is what racks up the most miles overall on my current 2014 BMW i3 REx or range extender.  My Daughter's school is a haul, it is the only Japanese school close enough to us so we do it.  It is nearly 88 miles round trip, and starts in a beautiful area of NJ and ends up at the George Washington Bridge, all during rush hour and 80% of it on the highway.  A safe, comfortable and economical car is paramount.  We try and drive the i3 as often as possible, especially during warmer weather when range is the best.  Winter we switch to our all wheel drive car which is not an EV.

With our current i3 if we really try we have occasionally made the round trip without the REx kicking on, no mine is not coded and no plans to do so. Getting this range of course is during good weather with a nice flow of traffic. Halley's comment happens more frequent and because of that we usually get a boost at a known spot near the school or stop at one of the DC Fast stations half way back.  Of course, this is why we have a REx, so we can do this without the stress of eeking out every electron and spending hrs at chargers, we focus on going all electric but sometimes time does not permit that.  Can the new bigger battery in the 2017 change that?

Bigger battery - 33kWh

Enter the 2017 BMW i3 with bigger battery.  This battery is 33kWh where our 2016 and earlier i3s were 22kWh - now I'm not going to get into all the technical details of battery chemistry, charge rate, etc, I'll leave that to other reviewers. I'm going to just talk about real world use.  How far can we go and what is it like to drive, and not just me but the Wife and kid too.  After all my current i3 is the family car.

Looks really good in Fluid Black

I'll jump to the chase, I can tell you with confidence this is a 125 mile EV.  I had the family in the car, we had the heat set to 72 and was on eco-pro with one seat heater on, outside temp was low 50s.  I drove 65 to 70 mph and still had oodles of range left.  Just look at the pic below. We were all impressed especially because we usually have 45 miles left after just one way in our current i3, how about that!?

One should easily get 125 miles regularly

How does it drive, well, glad you asked.  The pure electric i3 or BEV is the lightweight being under 3,000 pounds, add the range extender and you've added more weight, like another passenger but the i3 still felt nimble and light.  This 2017 i3 with larger pack and REx is the heaviest of all since you have a denser pack which adds weight, it is also like another passenger.  More weight is not always a bad thing as we soon found out.

With that said, this is not as tossable as my 2014 i3 REx and not as quick off the line or scoots when you punch it, but still plenty quick.  I also noticed the brakes work harder but still grab and regen is less pronounced but only slightly - all due to weight.  I live in an area with lots of hills and twisty's so the tires were definitely working harder on those curves. Range also dipped once on the hills after coming off of the highway, that was new to me since range would increase after exiting the highway on my old i3.   With that said on the highway it was a dream.  That extra weight makes it glide.  It felt more planted on the bumps and whoop-de-doos, my daughter even commented that it was more comfortable for her and my Wife said the same.  The weight has made this more of a GT than sprinter.  Huge plus for a family like us with a long highway drive.

I am also pretty certain BMW added some more sound deadening in places.  With the windows up this is a quieter i3 than mine, it just sounds and feels more cocoon like.  The doors even close with more of a thud - when you are at the dealer try one.  This test car had the optional sunroof.  I have mixed feelings on it, it has a beam in the middle almost like a T-Top.  It does let light in though cuts down on the head room, it is nice to tilt it up for some extra air but it only slides back half way.  The sun shades I also find to be a mixed bag, they are manual and independent of each other.  The ceiling, even with the sunroof, is high, my Wife would not be able to reach up to close the passenger side sunshade while driving if it were left open. The roof is not carbon fiber on the outside, at least in the US with the sunroof.  Overall I would most likely still want this option so I am glad to see it.

Sunshades are independent of each other and manual

Interior is basically the same except for updated iDrive buttons, the knob also felt a little more robust. I did notice that the KENAF fibres along the dash and door panels seemed to have a thicker clear coat on them giving it a smoother feel than my 2014 and less 'Earthy' - I like 'Earthy' - moving on.

iDrive buttons and knob have been upgraded

I even had the opportunity to try it out on a 50kW charger, I am on the $99 all you can eat ChargeNow/EVGo program which gives me 30 min prepaid sessions on many of the 50kW chargers.  It is a bigger battery so the 30 mins did not get me to 90% from close to empty like my older i3 but who cares, it got me over 100 miles ;)  Additionally, while I had the car the REx did go through a maintenance cycle - because it had been sitting at the docks awhile - felt the same and sounded the same.

Got to try it on a 50kW DCFC

Other than that this is the same i3 we have all come to love, but with more range and smoother highway ride - the family approves.  I also want to point out I'm pretty confident even in winter we could make this trip on all electric and still have some miles to spare.  I did nearly 130 with the heat on, it was not 20 out but with proper pre-conditioning round trip should be possible.  This is an i3 game changer

Family approves of the new 2017 with bigger battery and smoother ride

 
So, should you consider one?  What about the new EPA rated 238 mile Bolt?   Shop them, I will but I am pretty certain I will be leaning toward the i3.  The range is not 200 at least not EV only but I am pretty confident the Bolt won't drive like the i3 and the interior in the i3 is higher quality, it is a BMW and feels like one.  I'm a car guy, I like driving the i3 tremendously and so does my family.

So yes, the new 2017 i3 with bigger battery is on our list, I'll probably still opt for the REx since I still do those 100s of miles into the wilderness drives - more on that later.

You shall be missed...for now

BMW i3 REx real world use

Today I got to experience the REx in the wild.  What I mean by that is I actually needed it.  I experienced the REx twice before but those were not when I needed it.  One was driving around town and letting the battery drain low enough for the REx to fire up because I wanted to see how it would perform.  The other time was a maintenance mode that the i3 runs during long periods of inactivity.

This time was different.  This would be about a 100 mile trip with 90% of it being highway and the car would be full of family and stuff.  Some might say 100 miles....maybe I could make it on electric alone, well nope.  With extra bodies it weighs the car down and the biggest draw is I would have to use the climate control so everyone was comfortable and I don't mean just a little ;) .

Off we go, I put the car in Eco Pro+ but of course right away I was asked to roll the windows up and turn the AC on so back to Eco Pro since in "+" mode there is no climate control.  On the highway I kept my speed to 65mph to extend the range as much as I could.  Things were looking good...I was driving well enough to do about 90 miles guessometer.  I was pretty pleased with myself and began to think of i3 REx EV masterfulness where I might actually reach 100 miles in EV mode.  Then one glitch, with about 30 miles left I pulled over to make another stop so the family could pick up some food.  I turned the car off for about 10 minutes.  Once everyone was back in the car I turned it on and range dropped to 20, I lost 10 miles just like that...I'll explain what happened there in just a moment.  With this event I really wished for that State of Charge (SOC) readout that for some reason BMW decided to remove from the US version.  Our ActiveEs had it and it was much easier to determine actual range.  This guessometer in the i3 is truly guessing.  BMW bring back the SOC, this is the ultimate driving machine not the ultimate guessing machine.

Ok...so those lost miles...as mentioned a few sentences earlier I parked, turned the car off for 10 mins then back on and noticed the guessometer showed 10 miles less.  I was not running the AC, doors were closed and it was not hot, so what gives.  Well it seems the navigation is tied to the guessometer.  During that 10 mins of parking I programmed in my final destination, the nav calculated hills and speed along the highway and adjusted.  Confirming this...umm feature....this morning I was on my way to Tom's i3 gathering and my range showed 92 miles...I punched in Tom's address, chose start navigation and right before my eyes the range dropped to 77.  Ok, now I stop navigation and we are back to 92 range.  Not really liking this, though I get what BMW is doing, with that said please let us disable this.  I looked and could not find a way to turn that off..bummer.  So here is a thought, if the nav says a shorter range but I turn it off and I have more range...will the REx stay off longer or will the guessometer adjust near the end....to be determined.

Nice of Serenity to warn me but I have a REx

I did take a look to see what would pop up and there we have Tom's

Back to the story.  As we drove along the miles ticked away, down to 4 left and 82 miles of electric the REx kicked in.  There was a slight vibration, I felt it because I was waiting for it, my family noticed nothing.  We were burning fuel, it just felt odd, I noticed no reduction in power and the AC ran fine.  I did notice the battery bar start to drop below 5% or at least best I could tell.  When that happened the little 2 cylinder revved up, now we all could hear it even on the highway.  It was not bad but it was there.  That little motor revved until the blue bar moved a bit right to reach the upside down grey triangle then it quieted down.  Each time that blue bar lowered it revved back up, it was working to maintain a level of between 5% and 7%.

Again the REx was not loud, when revved up you could feel it though not bad and keep in mind an EV has no vibration so everything feels enhanced, it was odd to hear a little put put going on from an EV.  Of course that sound is much better than the sound of my family complaining we are stranded.

Once off the highway the REx relaxed a bit and at stop signs or red lights turned off.  We did about 16 miles with the REx and my overall miles/kWh for the trip was 4.6.  Not bad for highway and AC running.

The red flag on the upper left means we won't make it on electricity alone

I probably could have made it with the pure electric i3 - it has slightly better range being lighter but it would have been white knuckle driving wondering if we would make it, I've done that before and it is no fun. Added I'd slow down and get off the highway and turn off the AC making the trip longer and less comfortable which my family would not be happy with.  There are no convenient public EVSEs along the route and that adds to the stress.  When winter arrives there would be absolutely no way I could have made it without the REx, the REx did its job, it added mobile convenience as well as peace of mind.

I took a whole half gallon and paid with cash

Do I wish the i3 had more battery range....of course...but it doesn't so the REx is a viable option.  It works and with that I will be driving my EV more which is a good thing, as well as letting my family take it out on runs.

After 1,000 miles, fun, usefulness and an i8

I'm just past the 1,000 mile mark in my i3 and I'm really enjoying the car, it has not been all EV bliss though as I have had some software glitches along the way, like a rolling reboot.  With that said I have no regrets and I'm confident these software issues will be taken care of soon, either way I'll blog about them.  Having an EV has opened up a whole world of cars to me and not just EVs....a recent ride in a BMW i8 the other day was icing on the cake, read on for more of that.

Onto the fun....I went to another Cars and Croissants and once again my i3 drew a crowd.  This car is truly a magnet, people chase me on the highway, if I'm at a light they either talk to me from their car or they leave the safety of their sidewalk for a chat.  It is daily....my family is like 'not again'....I really don't mind.

A little Cars and Croissants

At Cars and Croissants with other NJEAA members

Tesla Roadster, BMW i3, Honda Fit EV and two LEAFs

Hard to tell but we are pretty close in color

The i3 is a magnet

People really love the i3

As I mentioned the i3 attracts attention anywhere it goes.....if I park somewhere it does not take long before people are around it looking and taking pictures.

Number 6 in less than 1 hour...actually a slow day

The i3 is not just all looks and glamour....it is useful too, it hauls stuff.  The seats fold flat.  That EV jeep fit in with room to spare.

Not bad...not bad at all

I chose the BMW i3 REx (range extender with the 2 cylinder generator) because I did not want to worry about getting stranded with my family or cutting our trip short, or worse, not using climate control.  Yes, I've been told to get a Tesla, fine, then give me the extra $40k to get one.  I've also been told my REx is a hybrid, well whatever.  EVs with range extenders under $50k with a range of 40 to 100 miles spur adoption, so how can this be wrong?  I'll probably only use the REx 10% of the time, if that, and it will be probably during winter.  I still have a 2nd and 3rd car, the 2nd for long trips and carrying more stuff, the 3rd for fun but really is never driven.  Our EV gets the majority of the use because we enjoy it the most as a family.  When DC fast chargers are more common place then our i3 may take much longer and frequent trips.

With that said, the i3 has done pretty well maintaining its range of 80 to 90 even with AC blasting and hot days along the highway.  My ActiveE would not have fared as well.   On the day we go and check out the BMW i8 we encountered some serious heat but the range held fast and when all was said and done I was over 90 miles all electric, eco pro, AC running high, and most of it was highway.  My i3 was loaded with family...not bad.  Granted I stuck to 65mph or less but still good.  The AC worked well up front, the back not so much and that is because there are no rear vents....an oversight.

Range holding has impressed - yes that is the CEL light (engine warning) you may have heard of - software glitch

Now...what I'm sure you've been waiting for.....the BMW i8.  I've seen them up close before but never have sat in one, this time I did more than that, I got a ride and with my family.

In a word 'wow'.  The car is amazing inside and out.  The ride, and this one was a pre-production, is not punishing and yes it is fast.  In EV mode it is not as quick as my i3 but is louder, you can hear the electric motor very well.  It drives the front wheels and has more weight to lug around plus the power is reduced...so it is somewhat quick in EV mode.  Once the 3 cylinder engine is engaged it is an entirely different story, things come alive.  The car moves and it is not quiet, it roars.  BMW enhanced the exhaust note, it does not sound like a 3 cylinder and that is not a bad thing.  However they did it-they nailed it...it sounds great...no it is not pure but once you hear it you will like it.  EV mode for about 20 miles and combined mode 0-60 in low 4s with AWD - I'm sure that is conservative....want.

You have to see one in person....amazing inside and out

Love those doors and they open from inside with the push of a button

Interior is typical BMW....good

Not sure I could smile any bigger

Check the video below for the sound the 3 cylinder in the i8 makes

I recorded the sound the i8 makes

Almost forgot, while I was in the i8 my i3 was getting a DC quick charge boost...got 84% in just over 20 minutes....we really need more of these around.  Unfortunately this one is not for public use.

The % was clicking away nearly every 30 seconds

Big plug produces big energy

Driving an EV has proven to be, over the past 5 years, a wonderful experience.  There is no turning back.