Today I drove from Huntington Beach, California to San Diego--a roundtrip of 211 miles. It was an exciting prospect to see how my i3 would perform, and I was looking forward to it with a child-like excitement.
My plan involved charging at the new EvGO Freedom Station in San Diego's Fashion Valley. Happily I first contacted EvGO to find out if the station was up and running. First, I emailed EvGO but did not receive a response for three days. When I did, the email informed me that the station was out of service and would not be up and running in time for my trip. A disappointment! Before I got the email response, I called EvGO and learned that the station was operational. Shortly after being reassured I received the disappointing email. Thus, I called EvGO one more time. The nice lady on the other end of the line informed me that the station was up and running. I then pushed the subject, telling her about the email. After a few minutes as she investigated this issue and I held on the line, she returned to tell me that, after all, it was not in service. EvGO is clearly not easy-go and needs to get its act together. Service and reliable information is more than half the success of any company whose product requires direct interaction with the public.
The ride to San Diego was enjoyable and easy. My car was occupied by three large men--each over 200 pounds and one considerably over. We made it to Carlsbad before the car switched over to the REx leaving us about 36 miles to our destination. I started off the drive in Echo Pro but the air conditioning was just not strong enough to cool the cabin so I switched to Comfort mode which gave me a better stream of cooling air. I am a spoiled Southern Californian and don't intend in this regard to alter my way of life. The a/c performed as I hoped it would in Comfort and the three of us happily motored our way to my San Diego meeting.
Once in San Diego one of my companions took the i3 for a charge while I attended a meeting. The meeting ended early and he only got about 30 minutes on the charge as a result of which we picked up one bar on the guess-o-meter. This barely amounted to much given the time it took for him to get to a ChargePoint station and back, fundamentally exhausting the amount of the charge.
The ride home was mainly fueled by the REx's charge to the battery. On the way to San Diego we encountered a couple of longish inclines driving on the REx. After all the horror stories I read on this blog about how the car will slow to a crawl on the freeway, I was anticipating the worst. I was pleasantly surprised--we never slowed from our speed which was generally between 68 and 73 mph. On the way home, it was a different story. On one particularly long incline, the vehicle began to slow precipitously. We went in a matter of seconds from 73mph to 31mph, regaining speed once we made it to the top of the hill. During this process, other than moving to the right lane of the road, the three of us broke out in hard laughter, unable to contain ourselves until the car picked up speed again. We knew this might happen, but knowing it and experiencing it are two very different things. I could have taken another route without the hills and next time I will certainly do so. BMW, in future iterations of the i3, please give us manual control over the REx as in Europe or allow the REx to automatically turn on when the battery has more juice, say at 25% or charge.
What lesson did I learn from today? In the past when I wanted to go to San Diego or any other location, other than fueling my car, I would get into it and drive, not giving a second thought to other considerations. If you plan a long journey in the i3, planning is necessary including a little research to make sure that you have the necessary charge stations and routing for an efficient and enjoyable trip.
My trip in the i3 REx was otherwise a pleasant experience, reaffirming my decision to purchase the vehicle. I had to fuel the REx leaving San Diego and again half way home, but the time it took to fuel and the cost of the fuel by comparison to what my old Lexus required was a thought that sustained me through some of today's ups and downs. Most of my trips will be in the 80-120 mile range, a cake walk for this car. But when I need to make a lengthier drive, I will do so without trepidation but with considerable more planning than I put into my drive today.
My plan involved charging at the new EvGO Freedom Station in San Diego's Fashion Valley. Happily I first contacted EvGO to find out if the station was up and running. First, I emailed EvGO but did not receive a response for three days. When I did, the email informed me that the station was out of service and would not be up and running in time for my trip. A disappointment! Before I got the email response, I called EvGO and learned that the station was operational. Shortly after being reassured I received the disappointing email. Thus, I called EvGO one more time. The nice lady on the other end of the line informed me that the station was up and running. I then pushed the subject, telling her about the email. After a few minutes as she investigated this issue and I held on the line, she returned to tell me that, after all, it was not in service. EvGO is clearly not easy-go and needs to get its act together. Service and reliable information is more than half the success of any company whose product requires direct interaction with the public.
The ride to San Diego was enjoyable and easy. My car was occupied by three large men--each over 200 pounds and one considerably over. We made it to Carlsbad before the car switched over to the REx leaving us about 36 miles to our destination. I started off the drive in Echo Pro but the air conditioning was just not strong enough to cool the cabin so I switched to Comfort mode which gave me a better stream of cooling air. I am a spoiled Southern Californian and don't intend in this regard to alter my way of life. The a/c performed as I hoped it would in Comfort and the three of us happily motored our way to my San Diego meeting.
Once in San Diego one of my companions took the i3 for a charge while I attended a meeting. The meeting ended early and he only got about 30 minutes on the charge as a result of which we picked up one bar on the guess-o-meter. This barely amounted to much given the time it took for him to get to a ChargePoint station and back, fundamentally exhausting the amount of the charge.
The ride home was mainly fueled by the REx's charge to the battery. On the way to San Diego we encountered a couple of longish inclines driving on the REx. After all the horror stories I read on this blog about how the car will slow to a crawl on the freeway, I was anticipating the worst. I was pleasantly surprised--we never slowed from our speed which was generally between 68 and 73 mph. On the way home, it was a different story. On one particularly long incline, the vehicle began to slow precipitously. We went in a matter of seconds from 73mph to 31mph, regaining speed once we made it to the top of the hill. During this process, other than moving to the right lane of the road, the three of us broke out in hard laughter, unable to contain ourselves until the car picked up speed again. We knew this might happen, but knowing it and experiencing it are two very different things. I could have taken another route without the hills and next time I will certainly do so. BMW, in future iterations of the i3, please give us manual control over the REx as in Europe or allow the REx to automatically turn on when the battery has more juice, say at 25% or charge.
What lesson did I learn from today? In the past when I wanted to go to San Diego or any other location, other than fueling my car, I would get into it and drive, not giving a second thought to other considerations. If you plan a long journey in the i3, planning is necessary including a little research to make sure that you have the necessary charge stations and routing for an efficient and enjoyable trip.
My trip in the i3 REx was otherwise a pleasant experience, reaffirming my decision to purchase the vehicle. I had to fuel the REx leaving San Diego and again half way home, but the time it took to fuel and the cost of the fuel by comparison to what my old Lexus required was a thought that sustained me through some of today's ups and downs. Most of my trips will be in the 80-120 mile range, a cake walk for this car. But when I need to make a lengthier drive, I will do so without trepidation but with considerable more planning than I put into my drive today.
