275km trip: advice needed

[user 2331]

I'm intending to do a 4 year lease of an i3 REx if the price is right but I have one major concern...

Most days this will be used as a city car and the odd trip to visit family within 120km of home. But I will also need to make trips on summer weekends to a family cottage. That trip is 275km from home at highway speeds. The terrain is generally flat to very moderately sloped in places. Will the Rex get me there without too much concern if I leave on a full charge? I can plug in at the other end on L1 for 24 hours so I would depart for the return trip with a full charge.

Advice? Thanks in advance.

Ps I am in Ontario Canada where we have no L3 chargers to speak of.

 

[spinball]

I just took my REx on a 320 km (200 mi) trip without stopping at any chargers. It went like this:
- I started on full charge
- Used EcoPro+ on the way there, EcoPro on way back
- Enabled range extender hold at 75% SoC until the gas tank was nearly empty
- Filled the tank (hilariously quickly)
- Used EV mode while in cities.
- Disabled hold mode on the way home once the nav predicted I had enough electric range to make it.

This was my first significantly longe-range test of the REx and it worked perfectly. Not sure about Canada but in the U.S. we have to code the car to get the full tank and hold mode.

 

[TomMoloughney]

I did a 700+km (round trip) drive from New Jersey to Vermont with no problems. I kept the cruise control set @ 70 mph and the car was able to drive the whole way without any issues other than stopping three times for gas. I did a detailed post about the trip here:

http://bmwi3.blogspot.com/2014/12/462-mile-rex-road-trip-new-jersey-to.html

 

[user 2331]

Just to be clear, in Ontario we have the same issue with not being able to turning the Rex manually.i could try coding but I would assume on a lease that's a bad idea. Tom thanks for the link. Looks like the Rex only came on for you when the battery was drained?

 

[jadnashuanh]

If you're not driving fast or up a long grade, and you are sure you can find a gas station before you run out, as delivered in NA, the Rex should keep you going without modifications. But, the REx won't turn on until you're at 6% SOC, and if you're in a stressful situation, you can be using electricity faster than you can make it. Under normal circumstances, it can keep up.

L3 isn't a valid description, although sometimes incorrectly used. There are L1 (110vac), L2 (220vac)) and CCS (dcv) ways to recharge the i3, if you have the optional CCS DC fast charge option (standard in 2015 in the USA, not sure about Canada).

 

[user 2331]

If you're not driving fast or up a long grade, and you are sure you can find a gas station before you run out, as delivered in NA, the Rex should keep you going without modifications. But, the REx won't turn on until you're at 6% SOC, and if you're in a stressful situation, you can be using electricity faster than you can make it. Under normal circumstances, it can keep up.

L3 isn't a valid description, although sometimes incorrectly used. There are L1 (110vac), L2 (220vac)) and CCS (dcv) ways to recharge the i3, if you have the optional CCS DC fast charge option (standard in 2015 in the USA, not sure about Canada).

I'm looking at having a dc fast charger model. Only one doc fast charger in a public location in Ontario right now unfortunately. I think I'll take a small gas jerry can with me the first time I do the trip if I get the car to be safe!

Thanks for the advice. I'd welcome learning about the experience of others also.

 

[spinball]

I could try coding but I would assume on a lease that's a bad idea.

Many BMWs under lease are coded, not just i3s. I've not heard of any problems and it's rather common. Go look at F30 forums and search "coding". It's just that i3s locked out of the full gas tank size and hold mode are more severely limited than other BMWs where the code options are more along the lines of personal preference.

Think of it as toggling switches already built in by the manufacturer, not like "hacking". All software updates completely reset the switches you set back to default.

 

[FrancisJeffries]

I posted this last year, which might help to reassure you that long distances are not to be feared:

In the UK, I have the benefit of being able to switch the Rex on (and off!) whenever the battery is at or below 75%. My long-range (and the longest so far is 700 miles!) modus operandi is now to switch the Rex on ASAP after 75% battery is achieved. Then run until it's empty (or almost empty) and drive to the next service station on battery and refill. On motorways that seems to be every 90-95 miles at 70-75mph.
Remember to switch the Rex back on again as soon as you leave the service station!

On a 700-mile round trip I never recharged the battery at all, and never had any range anxiety. In fact, on the way home, I deliberately switched off the Rex so I could find out what happened when it got to the USA 6% mark: it simply switched the Rex back on and I'd used as little petrol as possible. I feel really sorry for our American colleagues, because they have bigger hills than we do in the UK, so the lack of Rex control can really hurt the i3's attractiveness.

Using the car this way doesn't please the purists but it avoids me having to have a second, ICE, car just for longer journeys, and I can enjoy the i3 all the time.

I've done several long trips using that method. Nowadays I recharge the car at the hotel (they are fascinated to participate in 21st Century technology, and never charge for it!) Also, I try to switch the Rex off when the battery will just get me home so I do the minimum possible mileage using fuel.