...and talking about degraded performance, the U.S. spec REX reportedly will engage only when the traction battery's SOC reaches 5% or below. At that point, the REx operates as not much more than a trickle charger, struggling to maintain that 5%, maybe a little higher under the most optimal driving conditions. So forget about climbing those long hills and passing traffic. This was apparently done to meet California emissions and CARB requirements, which also means that all U.S. bound i3 REXs will operate this way.
The biggest concern I have is the effect on the traction's battery's lifespan. From what I've read, the sweet spot for and EV's SOC is between 80 to 20 percent if you're looking at keeping the battery's capacity to last as long as it can. However, if the American REX is designed to engage only when SOC reaches below 5%, then its basically contributing to battery degradation and eventual loss of capacity. And because the REx will try to maintain 5%, the deep cycling that results in battery degradation keeps going & worsens (whereas in the pure BEV, this can't possibly happen, obviously) until the engine is shut off. So, if used regularly, it looks like you're looking at a battery that may have the same loss of capacity in a few years or less, just like typical electronic mobile devices which get used & abused all the time. That sounds hard to bear on a $50,000 car as opposed to a $100 celphone. I hope they change the REx settings on the U.S. version before it lands at dealerships.