BEV i3 or REx i3? Which one to choose?

I have had quite a few people reach out to me recently and ask my opinion on whether or not they should get the range extender option. It obviously all comes down to your personal driving needs, whether or not you have access to a 2nd vehicle for longer trips, EV public charging infrastructure in your area, etc but I put together a post with some of the advantages and disadvantages of the range extender for those interested here:

http://bmwi3.blogspot.com/2014/01/to-rex-or-not-to-rex-that-is-question.html

Tom,
Hold out for the BEV i3. You will have the Range Assistant and Drive Modes to ensure you make those last few miles each day. My wife's commute is 42 miles each way, 84 round trip and I am not getting her the REx, she is going to have to figure out how to make it work. She may get stranded a couple of times but that will give her extra incentive to watch her Range Assistant and maybe even plug in at work for a charge bump if she needs to.

Your commute is only a couples of miles further than hers and you are a seasoned Pro.

Just say no to REx ; )

Yiiikes said:

Tom,
Hold out for the BEV i3. You will have the Range Assistant and Drive Modes to ensure you make those last few miles each day. My wife's commute is 42 miles each way, 84 round trip and I am not getting her the REx, she is going to have to figure out how to make it work. She may get stranded a couple of times but that will give her extra incentive to watch her Range Assistant and maybe even plug in at work for a charge bump if she needs to.

Your commute is only a couples of miles further than hers and you are a seasoned Pro.

Just say no to REx ; )

Click to expand...

Yiikes... Does she have access to charging on the far end of her commute?

The range offered on the chemistry that BMW uses degrades after a bit of miles. I really notice it now that I've passed 50,000 on my Active E and I'm nearing the end of Month 23 of my lease. Since I buy cars, if I were to opt for the i3, I will probably have to get the REX.

Additionally, it also depends on how cold/hot your location is. You didn't fill out your locale info, so if you live in milder climates your winter range shouldn't be affected as much.

Hi Tom, guys,

one important reason (next to needing the added range at least once a week) for me to have ordered the REx is the fact that the i3 will be my girlfriends main mode of transportation (I can fall back on my ICE equipped car if needed). I simply want her to be able to return home from wherever, without the need to charge @ night along the way. Even while it is perfectly safe here, I wouldn't like the idea of her needing to wait next to an imobilized or charging vehicule on her own. Call me stupid and/or cautious, but lugging along ye olde ICE is a good trade for a good nights sleep IMHO...

Greetings, Steven

PS: anxiety here while range < ~300 real km. Expect and want >300 in our next BEV in 5 yrs.

Yiiikes said:

Tom,
Hold out for the BEV i3. You will have the Range Assistant and Drive Modes to ensure you make those last few miles each day. My wife's commute is 42 miles each way, 84 round trip and I am not getting her the REx, she is going to have to figure out how to make it work. She may get stranded a couple of times but that will give her extra incentive to watch her Range Assistant and maybe even plug in at work for a charge bump if she needs to.

Your commute is only a couples of miles further than hers and you are a seasoned Pro.

Just say no to REx ; )

Click to expand...

That's some tough love Yiiikes! If she cannot plug in at work - even 120V, she is going to have a lot of difficulty and fall short on many days, especially if you live in an area where the temperature drops below 50 degrees F. I believe I may have a lot more experience driving an i3 than you do, for your wife's sake, please reconsider.

TomMoloughney said:

Yiiikes said:

Tom,
Hold out for the BEV i3. You will have the Range Assistant and Drive Modes to ensure you make those last few miles each day. My wife's commute is 42 miles each way, 84 round trip and I am not getting her the REx, she is going to have to figure out how to make it work. She may get stranded a couple of times but that will give her extra incentive to watch her Range Assistant and maybe even plug in at work for a charge bump if she needs to.

Your commute is only a couples of miles further than hers and you are a seasoned Pro.

Just say no to REx ; )

Click to expand...

That's some tough love Yiiikes! If she cannot plug in at work - even 120V, she is going to have a lot of difficulty and fall short on many days, especially if you live in an area where the temperature drops below 50 degrees F. I believe I may have a lot more experience driving an i3 than you do, for your wife's sake, please reconsider.

Click to expand...

I agree with Tom.

Buying BEV without Rex is simply asking for trouble.
I just had the car for one full day - Rex gave me so much peace of mind even though I was able to manage most of my journey without Rex.

Especially if it is your wife's car it makes it even more prudent to have Rex.

Just a thought.

regards,
ken

That post was really very tongue in cheek. But we do live in southern California (I finally updated my location) so tempertaure will not be a factor - it's 75 here today. Also she works in downtown LA and we referenced AFDC a while back and there are multiple charging stations within 3 blocks of her office so she will be okay. : )

I am sure she appreciates your concern though!

Tom,

That was the best and most fair article I have read about BEV vs BEV+REx. As you know I really liked the i3. I thought it was one of the best EV designs that I had seen from a major manufacturer. I like the light weight design. People who have never driven light weight cars will simply wont understand how much different they are to drive.

I have to keep a milage log and know that I would exceed the Range of the BEV i3 two or three times a week. I also know that I do not always know when that might happen as I am some what at the mercy of my customers needs. So I would have to have the REx version. It is quite frustrating in that I also know that when I do exceed the range is is usually only by 5-40 miles with most situations in the 5-10 mile range. If the i3 had a 150 mile EPA range, it would be perfect for me.

However, I just could not stand to get the i3 with the REx when I knew that there was an alternative that would cover 100% of my daily driving needs and had enough extra capacity so that I would not have to worry about battery loss over a reasonable amount of time. I also knew that the EV Range on the REx i3 is likely to be 70 miles or less due to the extra weight. I also worried that I would constantly be deep cycling the battery thus shorting it's life even faster. I was further frustrated by BMW's lack of information about the recommended use of the REx.

Of course, I ordered the 85Kwhr Tesla Model S. I can afford the car, but feel it is stupidly expensive. However, I do get a $5,000 state tax credit that I would not with the Rex i3. With this car, I get a pure EV and will only cycle it down to about 60% of it's capacity on my worst daily drive. I also find the supercharger network to be fascinating. It also has 58 cubic feet of internal storage (Not counting the Frunk). It can carry demo equipment that I would have to use my truck for even with the REx i3. Of course nothing is perfect and the Mode S is not as comfortable as the i3 and is harder to get in and out of in addition to being stupidly expensive. It was a very difficult decision for me.

Tom,

I am also on the fence about which to choose, however, I am leaning toward getting the REx. Having leased a LEAF for a year now and driving it within my town's limits (but not beyond), I definitely want my i3 to be able to take me out of town occasionally. The REx will be a big advantage for the i3, i think, provided the financials make sense. On the other hand, I really want to know more about the car share/long trip vehicle deal and how much it will cost!

It's a conundrum.

I love the fact BMW is embracing EVs and have enjoyed supporting that effort so far, and would like to support that effort in the i3.

I hate the fact they keep dropping the range (MiniE -> ActiveE -> i3), and instead "solve" that problem with an ICE instead of better batteries.

I like the i3-BMW has done great things with reducing weight in order to increase the efficiency, and thus the range.

I hate the fact they didn't put enough batteries in it to meet my needs in the cold and after a few years of degradation. I cannot fathom after removing all that weight why they would then also remove enough kWh to lower the range below 100 miles. If they kept the ActiveE's battery size, I'd guess the i3 would get about an additional 30 miles of range over the AE. THAT would be an EV worth buying, even at the higher price point. Something to compare with the (no longer available) 40 kWh Tesla, not the LEAF.

The obvious solution is get the REx...which lets BMW think its okay to make a short range EV, thus creating a false impression that their decision to lower the range was okay if they offer the REx. To me it isn't.

No matter how much range an EV has, there's always someone on the edge. Adding more range just moves the edge to someone else. I get that--but having lived the pure BEV life, going back to ICE seems wrong. That the i3 has less range than the ActiveE makes me sad. Last night in 9F cold I made it home in the ActiveE after a 63 mile day with 3% SOC and "1 mile" on the GOM. These days happen. REx is insurance. 8 more kWh would be the insurance I'd rather pay for instead, had I been offered the option.

Sigh.

--Woof!

I don't ever expect to turn the REx on. But I'm getting one.

Why? So I never have to think about state of charge.

I have a Plug-in Prius. I spend a stupid amount of time and attention thinking about how best to allocate my 11 miles of EV range. I berate myself every time I push the pedal down far enough to turn on the engine in a passing or freeway entrance situation.

I call this condition "range neurosis."

The cure for this condition is a REx i3.

(Contraindicated for those who normally drive over 70 miles between charges. Of limited therapeutic value to geeks who can't help obsessing over range and state of charge. If symptoms persist, consult your Tesla dealer.)

I choose the Rex version as the distance to the office is 95 kms (with charge points there). I need extra range as I also need to visit customers located further.
I will try to avoid using the rex, we will see how we succeed with that.

This will complicate the REx discussion in California

http://insideevs.com/bmw-i3-rex-reportedly-doesnt-qualify-for-white-hov-sticker-in-california/

Yiiikes said:

This will complicate the REx discussion in California

http://insideevs.com/bmw-i3-rex-reportedly-doesnt-qualify-for-white-hov-sticker-in-california/

Click to expand...

Wow!

This deserves its own discussion. I will quote you in this new thread.