Getting DC fast charging option?

[Rower]

As I look at the available i3's most of the BEV's don't have the DC charging option.

In fact the one I like best for the price doesn't have it.

I only plan to lease the car for 2 or 3 years.

Given there aren't many CCS stations do you still recommend getting the DC option? Is it w must? Even needed?

Use is in SF and the Bay Area.

Thanks.

 

[i3atl]

As I look at the available i3's most of the BEV's don't have the DC charging option.

In fact the one I like best for the price doesn't have it.

I only plan to lease the car for 2 or 3 years.

Given there aren't many CCS stations do you still recommend getting the DC option? Is it w must? Even needed?

Use is in SF and the Bay Area.

Thanks.

There's no way I would consider a BEV without DCFC, but that's because I use the car for 150-170 mile trips from time to time. It's just too convenient to have that option, even if you're only keeping the car for 2 years.

We only have one CCS station in Atlanta, but 11 more are coming soon. You guys are in much better shape due to the NRG rollout, so it's even more of a useful option for you.

If you only plan to use the car for short trips and charge at night, then maybe it's not significant for you. On the other hand, you'll likely enjoy driving it so much that you might regret being unable to use the car for longer trips due the lack of DCFC.

 

[DAZ]

I have it on my i3 BEV. It's a $700 option and will be well worth it once DC Fast Charging stations are in place. Especially on the East coast. With leasing, much cheaper than $700, and being on the West coast, get it if you can. Who wouldn't want a 80% charge in 30 minutes, especially if you're on the go.

 

[Rower]

I will have an ICE car too.

My dilemma is the discount on a non DC equipped car is really attractive do the option will cost me thousands and a less desirable color!

 

[Rower]

Are thee many DC stations in the Bay Area?

 

[i3atl]

I will have an ICE car too.

My dilemma is the discount on a non DC equipped car is really attractive do the option will cost me thousands and a less desirable color!

Why not order a car the way you want it?

Also, dealers can pull cars from the port or another dealer. Many will do this for no additional charge, so don't settle for a car you don't want just because it's on the lot - there's plenty of inventory out there. You should be able to get the same discount either way, worst case you might end up paying a few hundred dollars for shipping from another dealer.

 

[tiburonh]

As I look at the available i3's most of the BEV's don't have the DC charging option.

In fact the one I like best for the price doesn't have it.

I only plan to lease the car for 2 or 3 years.

Given there aren't many CCS stations do you still recommend getting the DC option? Is it w must? Even needed?

Use is in SF and the Bay Area.

Thanks.

Hi Rower- The answer to the question of whether or not to get the DC option depends largely on your anticipated driving patterns. The fast charger really only would get used if you were going on trips that take you out of the base range of the car (roughly 80 miles for the BEV). And even then those would need to be trips where you wanted to get going again within 20 to 30 minutes -- as opposed to a trip to an office where you could charge at a slower rate during the work day before heading back home.

And then there is the added issue of, even if you were on trips where you would want to do fast charging, would there even be a fast charger that was readily accessible along your route. BMW keeps saying the fast chargers are coming, but it seems to be happening at a glacial pace!

I live in the Bay area (Tiburon) and have a BEV. I did get it with the DC option, but now (I've had the car for two months and about 2,000 miles) I think I wasted the money on the DC option. In part because I just don't do trips that require it -- in fact, so far I have never charged my car any place other than in my own garage. And in part because the closest fast chargers in the area seems to be in Belmont and Mountain View- not very useful to me.

Anyway, regardless of which way you go, it's a great car and you will love it.

 

[dlass0123]

did all of you purchase the fast charger for your home

 

[nowtta60]

Yes most people do if you mean the high output AC wall boxes. But these are only 7kW (max) sometimes 3kW, as opposed to the 50kW DC public chargers.

 

[jadnashuanh]

The max DC fast charge the i3 can currently handle is 50Kw. But, the new unit BMW is pushing is a 25Kw unit, partly because it's a lot less expensive (about $10K verses $30K for the 50Kw units currently available), and because it is smaller, it's easier to provide power to it, making it more attractive to make the plunge. But 25Kw is still lots faster than the level 2 ac charge the car can take. And, if you're looking for a full charge, because the car must taper off the charge rate, the heat from the 25Kw unit may not actually take that much longer to get a full charge...the 50Kw unit will get you to 80% faster, though.

 

[mjk]

Given there aren't many CCS stations do you still recommend getting the DC option? Is it w must? Even needed?

Use is in SF and the Bay Area.

I have a Leaf with quick charge port and ultimately found I didn't want to use it to travel from Silicon Valley to San Francisco relying on quick charge stations because, a) there aren't that many; and, b) the cost of getting even a partial charge via QC has made my cost-per-mile higher than my other car—a Plug-In Prius.

Since my Leaf lease is ending soon, I decided to trade in my Prius on an i3 with range extender. I did this last Monday after taking the 3-day test drive. I took the test vehicle, fully charged and with a full gas tank (all 1.9 gallons!), from Santa Clara over to Santa Cruz, Capitola, and back, and the range extender kicked in about 3 miles from home.

Yesterday I took my new i3 to SF. I grabbed about 2 hours of charge in a garage downtown and would likely have needed the range extender for the last few miles of my return trip, but since I have the DCFC option and free fast charging through 2015 I opted to top off to 80% at a grocery store while I shopped.

So I suggest at the very least getting the DCFC port. At $700 for the option it is a bargain compared to the Leaf's ~$2,500 for the CHAdeMO option. But if you plan to travel around the Bay Area and use the i3 as your primary car, I'd strongly suggest considering the range extender.