BMW i3 v Nissan Leaf v VW Race round race track

[sasman]

Just watched this video The BMW i3 managed 28.3 Km before it stopped....


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkU5OjMw0Os

 

[I33t]

They didn't say how far the VW went!

Pretty significant difference between the 19 km of the Leaf and the 28 km of the i3

 

[BoMW]

Lets not forget how the i3 won the drag race from the off, that sort of acceleration and continued hard driving would always reduce the range.

 

[I33t]

What would be interesting, given that the VW eUp! was both the slowest car and had the best range, would be to have the Leaf and i3 drive along behind the VW and then see which car runs for the most km.

Edit: This doesn't look like a proper test between the three cars: They all started showing 99 or 100km range rather than 100% battery. We know that the km distance display on the i3 will change depending on driving habits, and possibly the other two would do this as well.

Retest!

 

[Surge]

Wow… so at the start the range was predicted to be 100 km, and the i3 only managed 28% of that?

That's quite concerning!

I realize that hard driving will decrease the range, but by almost 75%!? Yikes.

 

[I33t]

Calm down Surge

This will only be a problem for you if you drive your car to work and back like it was on the racetrack.

Same thing happens to a petrol car, if you thrash it, fuel economy is out the window.

 

[Piekepuk]

They all started showing 99 or 100km range rather than 100% battery. "

In the beginning of the video you can see that the load indicator of the BMW only has 3 bars lit, so it is only 75% charged.
Also, on a 99km prediction for 75% charge the previous runs of the car were clearly very economically.

Our real life range with the Rex is appr. 100 km on a full charge in comfort setting, airco on and spirited driving. In Eco Pro without airco we manage 120 km.

 

[ultraturtle]

It would be difficult to imagine how they could have designed a more meaningless comparison. The predicted range each vehicle started with was based on previous driving behavior. Any of the vehicles driven like a complete lunatic previously would start the "test" at a much higher battery charge state (potential range) than any other that had previously been driven at a constant 25 mph in ideal weather conditions.

 

[TomMoloughney]

It would be difficult to imagine how they could have designed a more meaningless comparison. The predicted range each vehicle started with was based on previous driving behavior. Any of the vehicles driven like a complete lunatic previously would start the "test" at a much higher battery charge state (potential range) than any other that had previously been driven at a constant 25 mph in ideal weather conditions.

Agreed. First they reduce the SOC so the predicted range is 100 miles. Then they drive on a closed track at near top speed. It's unrealistic to imagine anyone ever being able to this on public roads and if you were actually racing the car you would have it charged to 100% when you start.

It would still be close to meaningless but have been a lot better if they just let them all begin fully charged. At least that way it would tell the full range if you drove it to the max.

 

[I33t]

It would still be close to meaningless but have been a lot better if they just let them all begin fully charged. At least that way it would tell the full range if you drove it to the max.

Yes, and the other thing they could do would be to drive them from 100% charge together around the track at normal speeds until they run out of battery. Hopefully someone who can speak Dutch might make that suggestion on the youtube video.

 

[GMac67]

It would still be close to meaningless but have been a lot better if they just let them all begin fully charged. At least that way it would tell the full range if you drove it to the max.

Yes, and the other thing they could do would be to drive them from 100% charge together around the track at normal speeds until they run out of battery. Hopefully someone who can speak Dutch might make that suggestion on the youtube video.

Happy to do so, but most Norwegians can't read Dutch, and unfortunately I can't write Norwegian. :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

 

[I33t]

It would still be close to meaningless but have been a lot better if they just let them all begin fully charged. At least that way it would tell the full range if you drove it to the max.

Yes, and the other thing they could do would be to drive them from 100% charge together around the track at normal speeds until they run out of battery. Hopefully someone who can speak Dutch might make that suggestion on the youtube video.

Happy to do so, but most Norwegians can't read Dutch, and unfortunately I can't write Norwegian. :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

lol. :?

 

[I33t]

And here's our own Tom doing an Active-E vs i3 range test.

http://bmwi3.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/real-world-range-test-bmw-i3-vs-bmw.html

Nice work Tom!

 

[ecoangel]

Come on folks, whilst its easy to criticize the Scandinavian test, it was good fun and we have to admit that despite the futuristic looks of the i3 it is NOT a very aerodynamic car nor is it geared for top speed.

If the final drive ratio in the Up! or the Leaf were the same as the i3 the acceleration would be very similar and the top speed range greatly reduced in both cars.

However, much as a BMW driver is unlikely to like it, the Up! would still win in aerodynamic drag and weight terms:

At 93 mph the i3 requires 42.14 BHP (31.44 kW) just to push the air out of the way. The standard i3 has CdA of 0.713 and weighs in at 1270kg (DIN).

The e-Up! weighs 1139kg in EV form. Can't find the Cd of this version but it is likely to be similar or lower than the petrol one which is 0.32 and frontal area is 2.07 so CdA = 0.67. Also the e-Up top speed is restricted to 81mph so energy use due to drag will be just under 26bhp (19.37kW).

So it's no wonder the e-UP! endured longer than the bigger, heavier cars. Even if the e-UP were allowed to get up to 93 mph it would use less energy than the i3.

Diesel cars are less affected by hard use than gas/petrol versions. A hard driven Polo TDI does not lose 75% of it's range when racing! Even my 1960s Racing Lancia Fulvia gets 20 UK MPG on the race track cf 35mpg on the road. The A2 1.2 TDI managed 66 UK mpg at an average of 91mph on the autobahn down from 93mpg on the EU cycle but that is a very low drag vehicle.

With EVs: it's all down to how you drive them and how you look after the battery pack over the years.

 

[Gonville]

Do we need to be deploying gaffer tape as per the Ford Transit on the Nurburgring Nordshcleife with Top Gear? Surely aero is king?