Car & Driver Magazine "Air Conditioner is miserable"

[sasman]

Just read the October issue of Car & Driver Magazine BMW I3 Vs Mercedes B class electric drive...

They say " the A/C is miserable at its job"...Is this true?..Do they mean its not cold enough or is it the power of the Fan?

Does the I3 have poor A/C?.. Does any one know the actually power of the A/c unit..

 

[pdurham]

I saw that comment too, and I was puzzled by it. As you can see, I'm in Tucson. We got our i3 at the beginning of June, so we've been driving it in our typical summer weather with high's a bit above or below 100º F. True, the car has the most heat-rejecting window tinting I could find (3M Crystalline), including 70% on the windshield, spends most of its time in a garage, and is often preconditioned before being driven. But I have no complaints about the A/C. Well, maybe one small one--with no vents in the back seat, it helps back seat passengers to be comfortable if you keep the car cooler than you might otherwise and direct the center dashboard vents to send air to the back seat. Then it works fine, and our car, like most cars, carries one or two passengers most of the time anyway. I suppose maybe the air coming out of the i3's A/C might not be quite as ice-cold as our ICE car ( ), though any difference is small enough that I hadn't really thought about it before now, but if I can be comfortable driving our i3 around Tucson in the summer, then the A/C is just fine. Car and Driver is usually good; they're out to lunch on that one.

 

[jackt]

Perfectly fine, sometimes it seems slower to cooler down than other cars - but I have put that down to having a black car absorbing more heat when standing.

Its not as cold as the volvo which remains the best aircon i have had in a car, but that was way towards the other extreme - you could keep ice-cream in the footwell :lol:

 

[ultraturtle]

Some sample variations apparently (maybe due to different software loads?) My wife's i3 (currently in the shop) does not cool as well as the i3 loaner we're currently using. Both cars are the same color.

 

[i3atl]

Some sample variations apparently (maybe due to different software loads?) My wife's i3 (currently in the shop) does not cool as well as the i3 loaner we're currently using. Both cars are the same color.

Is there any chance one is a REx and one is BEV?

All of my test drive time so far (aside from the brief "Drive the Future" events) has been in REx models, and the a/c has done really well - no issues at all, which was a nice surprise after reading some of the comments about it. We're planning to purchase a BEV, so I hope the a/c isn't inferior in that version for some reason.

Edit: My drives have mostly been in 80-95F temps.

 

[Surook]

I've found that at highway speeds, when the air circulation is off, my i3 has difficulty cooling the outside air quickly enough.

It's also possible that they didn't figure out that you can change the fan speed even while the A/C is on auto at the 60° F setting. I know that it took me a week to get that.

 

[mindmachine]

Well I am in the Midwest, high humidity is the norm and with temps in the 90 deg F range I am just fine. Maybe Car and Driver were in Ecopro or Ecopro+ mode and did not realize that impacts the AC output. LOL :lol:

 

[ultraturtle]

Is there any chance one is a REx and one is BEV?

Nope. Both RExs.

 

[RRi3]

Is it possible that Car & Driver had Eco Pro or Eco Pro+ driving modes engaged? Those will certainly reduce/eliminate the cooling.

I've only had my i3 for two days but I haven't noticed any problems with the A/C.

-RRi3

 

[GeorgeJ]

I also noted in their testing they clocked 0-60 mph in 6.5 seconds. GJ

 

[jadnashuanh]

Personally, I like the fan speed a little faster than full auto mode provides, but other than that, it keeps up in Comfort mode. Eco Pro purposely limits that performance, and Eco Pro + disables it except for when it detects the windshield getting fogged up. So, depending on the mode they were running, it may just have been doing what it was supposed to...maximizing the miles/Kw it uses.

As noted, if you precondition the vehicle before leaving while on the EVSE, you may find you can comfortably then run in EcoPro mode in the hot, but that would depend on the car and your personal comfort levels. All black leather interior would be different than the wool/leather, or the all fabric, too.

 

[sasman]

I also noted in their testing they clocked 0-60 mph in 6.5 seconds. GJ

I was happy to see 0 to 60 in less than 7 seconds..... UK autocar tested the I3 REX 0 to 60 in Only 8.1 seconds ..

I read a few peoples posts saying they couldn't tell the difference between a rex and bev...

Those figures make the Bev pretty nippy 1/4 mile Results = Bev 15.3 seconds vs Rex 16.7 That might not sound a lot but on the road that makes a big difference....and my girlfriend likes the fact that it will be as fast or faster than her Cooper S...

 

[nostatic]

My complaint is the vent placement. Excellent for cooling your hands while on the steering wheel. One disadvantage to a low dash.

 

[i3Alan]

I have a BEV in Phoenix. The AC even in EcoPro mode is plenty strong. My complaint is the way BMW implements climate control. It could be that the i3 has two degree settings, or it might just be that it doesn't hold temps as tightly as my other cars have (Lexus, Toyota & Volvos). The i3 has no problem cooling down quickly when it is 100+ outside while driving into the sun without ant tinting on the windshield. Other than clicking the temp or fan speed up or down one setting every few miles or so, the AC works great. I am spoiled by my Lexus which pretty much is set once and forget for at least four months.

 

[jelloslug]

Once I figured out how it works I have had no issues with the AC.

 

[user 1096]

I'll add that my Rex is faulted for not permitting cool ambient air to really flow through the vents, forcing me to open windows (and turbulence) and run the fan on high, just to admit outside air. I'm wondering if that auto filter/recirculating system is to blame? It's trying to filter everything rather than letting cool air in.

And yes, the AC is puny in my estimation. Which raises a further point: the BEV has a heat pump; what does the Rex have (beside limited ventilation?) for heat and cooling?

 

[Recycledoug]

Much of the discussion is regarding the A/C system of the I3.... Is the I3 a typical A/C unit or is it a heat pump like in the Leaf.... The heat pump is quite an efficient system...

 

[kevinb61]

Much of the discussion is regarding the A/C system of the I3.... Is the I3 a typical A/C unit or is it a heat pump like in the Leaf.... The heat pump is quite an efficient system...

Rex - Conventional
BEV - Heat Pump

 

[Bunter]

Much of the discussion is regarding the A/C system of the I3.... Is the I3 a typical A/C unit or is it a heat pump like in the Leaf.... The heat pump is quite an efficient system...

Rex - Conventional
BEV - Heat Pump

Not completely cut and dried - in some countries (e.g UK) heat pump is an option on a BEV.

Bill

 

[Boatguy]

My guess is that the C&D had a car without the software update and the AC wasn't working at all. When the AC is working, it works just fine!