2014 i3 Range Survey (No REX)

[daoasis]

Hi Everyone,

Could you please post the most range you've gotten out of your i3 Non REX. Please post your battery size or model year along with your maximum non REX range.

I have a 22kWh 2014 and 160km is the maximum in Eco Pro Plus, driving on flat paved road in 22 Celsius weather, with the wind behind me at 90km/h the entire route.

Thanks so much!

 

[alohart]

When we did our extended test drive in November, 2014, in a 2014 BEV, we drove 99 miles circumnavigating the Hawaiian island of Oahu without stopping to recharge. This was our requirement to replace our 2012 i-MiEV which could not drive around our island without recharging. After completing this test drive, we had a remaining range estimate of 5 miles. We drove in Eco Pro with ACC on and the climate control system off. We drove an indicated 5 mph over the speed limit which varied from 35 to 60 mph with a large percentage of the drive at ~45 mph. The circular route had one gradual ~1,000 ft. ascent at 65 mph and descent at 50 mph with little elevation changes during the remaining drive. The ambient temperature was in the low 80's with typical trade winds and no rain or wet roads.

Our 2014 60 Ah BEV has similar range under similar conditions.

 

[justanotherdrunk]

62 mph steady flat ecopro+

 

[jadnashuanh]

There are four things that can radically affect your actual range:
- temperature
- speed
- terrain
- the nut behind the wheel

There's others, but much less (usually), and that's proper maintenance, mostly tire pressure and load.

If a person is conservative, minimizes use of the HVAC system, accelerates and limits top speed, the range can dramatically be higher than someone that either doesn't care, or is not paying attention. It's a personal tolerance thing on what you are willing to allow to attain maximum range. Community average as indicated by the app is 4.1m/Kw. Given that, and on the 2014 a usable capacity (not the full capacity since the computer won't let you use it all to help maintain the life) is around 19Kw, so 19*4.1=77.9. The documentation implies about a 10-20% increase by moving to Eco mode, and about the same amount to Eco Pro. Some people use those modes, some don't, and if you are careful, you can approximate those enforced restrictions even in Comfort mode, but you have to watch what you're doing more closely - the computer does it better. It's harder to maintain that average in the winter than in the summer unless (probably, since I don't live there) maybe someplace like Yuma, AZ, where it gets so hot for so long. It's hard (and maybe unhealthy) to limit your a/c use, so that can take a fair hit on your range along with the battery's need to cool itself if pushed.

 

[alohart]

Not to be pedantic, but we all need to use the new-to-ICE-vehicle-drivers power (kW) and energy (kWh) units so that confusion will be minimized.

Community average as indicated by the app is 4.1m/Kw.

Community average as indicated by the app is 4.1mi/kWh.

Given that, and on the 2014 a usable capacity (not the full capacity since the computer won't let you use it all to help maintain the life) is around 19Kw

Given that, and on the 2014 a usable capacity (not the full capacity since the computer won't let you use it all to help maintain the life) is around 19kWh

 

[archieb]

The maximum I have ever driven on a single charge is 101.3 miles, or 163 km. I still had 12 miles left when I arrived home. This was on a warm summer day and the i3 had less than 6 months of use.

The highest range indicated on start up was 129 miles, again back when the i3 was almost new.

The i3 is now 3 years old and the range is normally in the 106-110 mile range at start up. I still routinely drive 80-90 miles on a single charge.

Winter range drops 20-25%. A range of 80-85 miles on start up is normal.

Archie

 

[daoasis]

Thanks very much all.

Did any of you purchase your i3's in Canada and before Dec 2014? In Canada, BMW advertised the range as between 160km in comfort up to 200km in Eco Pro Plus.

In Dec 2014 they changed their website to say the range is 130km in comfort up to 160km in eco pro plus.

 

[jadnashuanh]

One thing that can get messy is that in Europe, with a different test procedure, the range on any EV, will be inflated based on the USA EPA testing procedure. It may be that they were initially using the value from the Euro test, and later, updated it to the local values. So, you'd have to check very carefully to see if there's a disclaimer indicating which test cycle they were using in the advertising. FWIW, the USA test cycle (not sure what Canada uses), the range on an EV is 20-30% less than that same vehicle sold in Europe. The USA test cycle, while not perfect, is closer to reality than the Euro test.