Help! Would an i3 suit us??!

[GuyD]

Hello everyone. I am new to this site and i3's although an EV convert (will never buy an ICE car again) - sorry if I ask questions that have been well ventilated on this site at various times!

Background - live in South Africa in a very temperate area - no cold winters; seldom very hot. They have sold i3's here for a few years but there is virtually no EV movement here at all and few charging stations. We will charge from our own solar system. We are retired so would not use the car for commuting - just general running around BUT we live on a farm 25kms from the nearest town and 60kms from our main shopping destination. We get through a lot of diesel.....

This obviously means that any i3 would have to be a Rex version (much to my disgust...) to ensure getting home on all general jaunts - we will keep our ICE cars for a while yet to 'fill in'.

I have been gagging to get an EV ever since I discovered Tesla when the MS came out (2012) but Tesla won't be in S Africa for years yet. The iPace is a year away (and a bit costly); ditto the eTron/EQ. Hyundai Kona maybe but no announcement yet and I suspect it is years away too. We do need an SUV type car......

So I was thinking that I may be able to rid myself of the EV itch if we get a used i3 Rex to tide us over 2-3 years. Keep it or move onto a long range EV in a few years. It'll have to be 2-3 years old to avoid massive depreciation when we change over. (Having said that if it proves to be satisfactory we may not part with it at all!)

In most practical ways the i3 seems suitable for us so my question is:- Is an older i3 a good buy? What battery range can we expect if the car is 3 years old and has 20 000kms on it? Does the Rex work well or is it purely an emergency stop-gap to get home? How well do i3's age? (Our driving is almost solely on tar roads)

Any further useful information would be most welcome. We'd have to pay around $35k for a 2-3 year old car (similar to the UK)

Many thanks, Guy

 

[bwilson4web]

. . .
So I was thinking that I may be able to rid myself of the EV itch if we get a used i3 Rex to tide us over 2-3 years. Keep it or move onto a long range EV in a few years. It'll have to be 2-3 years old to avoid massive depreciation when we change over. (Having said that if it proves to be satisfactory we may not part with it at all!)

In most practical ways the i3 seems suitable for us so my question is:- Is an older i3 a good buy? What battery range can we expect if the car is 3 years old and has 20 000kms on it? Does the Rex work well or is it purely an emergency stop-gap to get home? How well do i3's age? (Our driving is almost solely on tar roads)
. . .

My experience:
https://priuschat.com/threads/why-the-bmw-i3-rex.165584/

1) Post the VIN and we can help decode what the car has.
2) Please identify the target city so we can check with PlugShare.com to see what sort of remote charging is available.
3) I'm seeing 72-80 miles EV range depending upon temperature and most recent driving style. Mine has 31k miles (~50km.)
4) After coding, the REx works great but your version may already come with 75% range enable.
5) My REx problems have been: no oil level or pressure gauge, and fuel pressure sensor.
6) The motor mount bolt broke probably due to me taking speed bumps too fast and only one wheel.

Bob Wilson

 

[jadnashuanh]

The 2018, which has a larger battery, would probably let you do your thing with just the BEV. The 2019 is likely to have yet again a larger battery. But, most 2017 models also have a larger battery than the original ones. At least in the USA, at the beginning of the 2017 model year, you could get the i3 with either battery, but that quickly changed to only the larger one...not sure what they did in other parts of the world. So, if you wanted to stay all electric, verses the REx version, you'd be limited to a fairly new model, and the prices may not be as good as you'd like. As opposed to many people, I bought mine shortly after they became available because my expected range requirements were well within the battery capacity and I have an ICE that mostly sits unused for those times when I need or want a larger vehicle with longer range. Personally, if I did a lot of longer range driving, I would not be happy with just the i3. Since there is almost no maintenance on the i3, with the plastic body panels, CFRP frame, and aluminum other bits, there's nothing likely to corrode or rust out, the car should last a very long time. I felt safe buying it, since depreciation will even out with the long life. Some must have the newest, but I do not need a larger battery...it appears that would be beneficial to you, which limits your choice somewhat.

Keep in mind that the i3 is a serial hybrid, and one of the only cars out there with this type of propulsion. Pretty much all others are parallel hybrids, and as a result, also tend to have a larger ICE in them. Many people bought the i3 REx, and then essentially never end up using the REx...I felt I'd be one of those, and thus decided on the BEV version. Less maintenance, weight, and cost both upfront and long-term. I haven't regretted my decision. 120Km on the original battery might be pushing your luck, but that should be fine with the larger one unless the trip has high road speeds or lots of elevation changes, which suck power from the battery . Battery degradation on i3's has not been shown to be a major concern, at least so far. BMW was quite conservative on how much of the battery you could actually use and then the thermal management techniques, as opposed to say the Nissan Leaf, which has and continues to be impacted by hot temperatures. Even the newest Leafs won't let you take a long trip with DC fast charging and just keep going...their battery temperature management can't handle the temperature rise of a fast DC charge and then pick up and go more than once on a trip...things just get too hot and it takes quite awhile (maybe never if it's really hot out) for things to cool off enough. Most companies use liquid cooling for their batteries, Nissan does not. The newest Nissan Leaf has nearly a 300km range, but personally, I didn't like it.

 

[GuyD]

Thank you for the helpful replies - the local BMW dealer has a 2016 model (with only 9k kms) for about $37k which they are bringing over for a test run.

We'll keep you posted!

 

[GuyD]

Done some more 'research' and have decided to get a post 2017 94aH car as it will do most (all?) of our local travel. What can I expect as the normal range with 'easy' driving and temperate weather - 250kms/150miles?

The price of the early 2017 cars with low mileage is only about 15-20% more so it is worth it and well now leave it to later in the year and the prices will drop a bit more - currently around $40k for a 2017 94aH car. No subsidies here (yet)…..

Then we can keep it indefinitely!

 

[jadnashuanh]

Temperature, terrain, and driving technique are the biggest components of range variations. Not much you can do about cold unless you can park it where it will stay warm, but preconditioning and setting a departure time does help. Lots of short trips where it cools off in between are probably your worst scenario. Once it's comfortable, it's easier to keep it there than to try to get it back to that condition. Drag goes up at least with the square of the velocity, so cutting your cruising speed even a little can make a significant change in available range. In moderate temperatures, avoiding the HVAC helps. FWIW, BMW tests say that avoiding a/c as a range enhancer and opening the windows only works up to about 25mph...go faster, the increase in drag is more than the loss caused by running the HVAC. Ideally, you'd be comfortable with the windows closed and only rely on ambient air without conditioning it.

The last thing is climbing hills...you will never recover all of that energy spent in climbing a hill on the other side coming down, but you can recover some of it...it's better than an ICE in this respect. WOrst thing is charging up steep hills at high speeds with the HVAC cranking out at full capacity. Moderate any of those things, and your range will increase.

The EPA (USA) and Euro estimated range calculations are by no means the same, meaning that for practical terms, the USA's EPA test procedure has proven to be closer to what a typical user can achieve verses the inflated results from the Eurozone testing. I don't remember the latest EPA range estimates, but it is easily found on their website...just note which test, and maybe compare to the BMWUSA.com website. You should be able to meet those numbers if you're careful and don't have one of the power hungry situations I mentioned. Some do quite a bit better, but it can take some practice.

 

[alohart]

Done some more 'research' and have decided to get a post 2017 94aH car as it will do most (all?) of our local travel. What can I expect as the normal range with 'easy' driving and temperate weather - 250kms/150miles?

Smart decision!

The 60 Ah i3 BEV is rated by the U.S. E.P.A. at 81 mi/130 km range. In our ideal EV climate in Honolulu with no high-speed driving, relatively flat terrain where I tend to drive, and moderate temperatures, I can drive 100 mi/160 km. The U.S. E.P.A. rates the range of the 94 Ah i3 BEV at only 114 mi/183 km which many feel is a very conservative rating. Under gentle driving conditions, 135 mi/217 km should be easily attainable, but 150 mi/250 km is probably possible only when hypermiling at very slow speeds on level roads in mild temperatures.

 

[Nyken]

I have a 2017 Rex with the 94 Ahr battery. Yesterday I had an unexpected round trip of around 190 miles. The range extender came on at around 128 miles (the temperature was 75 degrees F and the road was basically flat).

When I returned home, the i3 display showed 14 miles still available for gas and 6% battery.

Total range on electric and gas would be around 210 miles.

BTW I have not coded my car so I have whatever BMW keeps as reserve in the gas tank.

 

[stumbledotcom]

Perhaps my experience will help your decision. I leased a 2014 60Ah BEV for three years then switched to a 2017 94 Ah BEV one year ago. My driving pattern is probably one of the worst for total range because the majority of my trips are under 5 mi/8 km, up and down very steep hills, and ambient temps that rarely approach the battery pack’s ideal 85° F/30° C. With the 2014, I never came close to the EPA estimates. Typically saw a range estimate of about 68 mi/109 km on a full charge. In contrast, the 2017 with the same driving pattern usually beats the estimates, showing 114 mi/183 km. To illustrate the impact of a short trip, the guess-o-meter had 75 mi of range this morning as I pulled out of the garage. I went around the block (maybe .2 of a mile) and parked, turning off the i3 completely, to wait a few minutes for my better half. When I restarted, the range had dropped to 73 miles. I attribute the loss to the battery pack heating/reheating because the air temp was 59° F/15° C. Even though most of my driving is on city streets where speeds rarely top 40 mph/65 kph, I see significantly better range on the odd freeway trip at 65 mph/105 kph. Using ACC and EcoPro, I feel confident I’d easily exceed 120 mi/193 km on a full charge.

 

[GuyD]

Thanks - that is useful advice.

We will only do longer runs - once we leave the farm it is 25kms minimum trip usually.

We drop down to the coast (about 250m) and then level to next town on a 100kmph freeway with 80/60kmph sections. Usually mild weather and little wind - 18-25 deg C so should get good range. Only two of us (and maybe the dogs!) Longest round trip would be 150kms.

The demo car we drove impressively increased its range down the hill and once we'd returned to the top it'd only used 5kms range for 14kms driving......If these figures were accurate - seems incredible.

Does the i3 condition its battery automatically when it is charging to improve range - pre-heat/cool?

The used cars here that we are looking at vary in spec in that some have the glass roof and the park assistance with rear camera - which extras are really worth looking for?

They're mostly white so we may wrap to get the colour we want - with all the black, there's not a lot to wrap!

 

[viking79]

Yes, if you set a departure time the i3 will condition the battery before travel to optimize range, at least on L2 charging. It is my first year with the car so I am curious to see how it works this winter.

 

[jadnashuanh]

FWIW, I put a volt/amp meter inline with my EVSE so I can monitor things. It is not uncommon in the winter to see the thing drawing 20A at 240vac (nearly 5Kw) on a fully charged battery during the preconditioning when setting the departure time. The actual battery heater is a 1Kw device, so the rest is going to heating up the interior or refilling the battery (charging doesn't start as soon as the SOC drops...it has to drop a bit first). Now, it doesn't hold at that level all that long, but if you consider that the OUC supplied in the USA is limited to 12A at 120v, or 1440W, that's a long ways short of keeping the battery fully charged while performing that task. Even the units sold running on 220vac would be hard to keep up...you need one providing at least 5Kw or so for full advantage in the winter. Summer, you may not need to warm the battery at all, so it would only be the a/c system. Remember, power=volts*amps, and the max most i3's can handle is about 7,400W (some, 3-phase systems can handle more).

 

[GuyD]

OK we have now bought our i3!

Rex 94Ah 2017 demo - 6000kms - mint. From BMW agent - white and black with many options - rear view camera and park assist; glass electric roof; Harmon Kardon sound system; fancy 20" wheels etc.

Paid just under $40k - not cheap but a good deal for here in Africa with no subsidies. Also the only suitable EV for us and it'll tide us over till we get a bigger SUV EV in 2-3 years (iPace or Tesla Model Y - maybe Merc EQ)

Hope not to use the Rex in our usual travels but it reassures my wife who does not want to be stranded as we have no public chargers here yet...…..

I was just not prepared (after 5 years) to wait any longer so this is an OK compromise and if it suits local travel it'll stay with us for years.

Thanks for all your helpful info and I'll report back in due course.

Guy

 

[graememwl]

Congratulations and welcome to i3 ownership!

 

[Nyken]

Nice deal. Congrats!

What are you planning to do for a level 2 charger? When I got my 2017 rex, I used the level 1 charger which came with the car for three months before I installed a level 2 charger. I found the level 2 charger to be a game changer: while my daily commute is only 30 miles round trip, getting a full charge in just a few hours caused me to use the i3 for more than just a daily commuter. It's now my primary car for everything except the rare long trip.

 

[GuyD]

Hi Nyken,

Yes this is an issue I am struggling with and maybe there are people here who can offer some advice - there are none here as South Africa has virtually no public charging points yet...….

Yes we will start with the Level 1 charger as supplied but we too could do with rapid charging as we will be charging from solar so no night charging which is fine as we don't go out every day (retired!) but will limit us if we need to do two consecutive day longer trips.

We should be able to charge from our panels at about 8 -10kw so that would pull a full charge down to 3-4 hours but we are unsure how to do this.

Any advice would be welcome. The solar system installers did mention DC charging straight from the panels?

 

[alohart]

Yes we will start with the Level 1 charger as supplied but we too could do with rapid charging as we will be charging from solar so no night charging which is fine as we don't go out every day (retired!) but will limit us if we need to do two consecutive day longer trips.

I assume that South Africa has 230 V residential electrical service. If so, the included EVSE (the charger is in the car) would charge about twice as fast as the 120 V EVSE included with North American i3's. That charging speed might be sufficient for your needs.

 

[jadnashuanh]

The maximum most i3's can handle is 7.4Kw, or 32A. You'll only get that level with a level 2 device. No idea what EVSEs might be readily available to you there, but in the USA, they can range from about $400-1000 USD or more, depending on features and capacity. That doesn't mean you need either excess capacity or things like internet connections, etc...a basic one works just fine for many people. All of the big international companies make them: Siemens, Bosch, GE, and other, mainly domestic companies, just not sure what is available there or how much of a hassle importing one might be if you can't find it locally. They are available to hardwire or with a plug pigtail. Many of them are identical, and it's just the addition to a plug on the pigtail verses running the wires into an electrical box.

 

[bwilson4web]

Rex 94Ah 2017 demo - 6000kms - mint. . . .

Excellent choice. Just a couple of suggestions:

• Enable REx early - when going on a trip where the REx will be used, enable it early while you still have battery energy to return. IF the REx is being difficult, you won't be stranded in a bad place.
• Practice oil check - there are no oil gauges and I was surprised when low oil caused the REx to not run. Then check the oil every 3-6 months just for peace of mind.

In the USA, we're not strict about tire air pressure. I run mine at the max sidewall and though the ride may be rougher, I like the lower tire wear rate. They are expensive tires. You might ask the BMW service center to do a 4-wheel alignment before any abnormal wear patters show up. This will also encourage avoiding potholes and 'sleeping policeman' at high speeds.

There are somewhat expensive, windshield treatments that put a polymer coating on the windshield. If something should hit the windshield, the coating will block air and water until you can get a replacement.

There is a BMW specific cover that can keep direct sunlight from the front cabin. Be careful if using the windshield wiper as the blade can slip off and crack the windshield. Regardless, if shade is in short supply, a great way to avoid the cabin oven.

There is also a tow receiver hitch. Check your local regulations but it can be a great way to carry more 'stuff' or a light-weight trailer.

GOOD LUCK!
Bob Wilson

 

[GuyD]

Really helpful and useful info - thanks.

Yes South Africa has 230v domestic so I will be charging on a 15amp 3-pin plug for now. I have contacted the company that is doing the trickle out of chargers here to ask what they can offer.

We have currently borrowed a 64Ah Rex (2016) i3 from the local dealer and did a long run (140kms) today which kicked in the Rex for the last 15kms (all uphill to home!) Generally the range was in accordance with spec. The Rex was far quieter than we expected - a pleasant surprise!

Still fathoming out how to operate most stuff and the cruise control is totally different to our old Jeep. Adapted to regen easily and quickly - love it. The brakes will surely last forever...…

One issue that I need clarity on is noise levels. Obviously the i3 is silky quiet at low speeds with mainly tyre noise and a little wind noise above 50mph. But this car has an unpleasant thrummy/booming noise (like an open window) above about 50mph which really distracts from the pleasure.

Is this typical or could it be specific to this car or the tyres? If it is usual are there any suggestions to dampen it down when we get our car next week - recommended tyres or sound deadening material somewhere. Maybe the post 2017 version is better (when I understand BMW revised the car) . Any thoughts??

Thanks, Guy