An Aerospace Engineer from the UK Compares the i3 and the i3 REx

 

Lucas flying formation in the Crimea

Lukas Willcocks is a member of the BMW i3 Forum and when I noticed that he posted about having the opportunity to take both an i3 and an i3 REx each for 24 hour test drives I asked him if he wanted to offer his thoughts and comparing them here. What I didn't know was that Lukas is an aerospace engineer. A few of my friends are engineers and the one thing I've learned about them is not to ask a question about something without expecting an answer that involves thoroughly explaining every aspect of the subject. Well, I found Lucas is not very different from my friends! :) His response was about three times as long as any post I've ever put up here and below is actually the condensed version! Warning: We're going off into technical geek land here folks! Special thanks to Lukas for the time and effort he put into this guest post:

To REX or not to REX: 24h with the BMW i3 BEV and another 24h with the BMW i3 REX:

Greetings from darkest Lincolnshire in the English Midlands. Winter this year is mild but very very wet and windy! Educationally, my background is in aerospace engineering but long before that I helped my father fixing old Land Rovers in the Kalahari and later Fiat Twin cams and VW GTis in the EU. I'd always found rally and race cars exciting and in recent years had the privilege of racing in historic motorsports with a 1969 Lancia Fulvia HF.

Colin Chapman (of Lotus racing car fame) is quoted as saying to his engineers “add lightness!” In fact the quote is from Sir Geoffrey De Havilland who gave the world the amazing wooden composite Mosquito WW2 fighter bomber- a machine that could leave fighter aircraft for dead. He also pioneered the first Jet Airliner the DH Comet 1: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Comet

Aerospace is about efficiency and optimization for specific roles. Whatever the debate on the environment, the world is attempting to move towards more sustainable living. Only 8% of the planet is suitable for arable farming and we all hate traffic jams. Conurbations are increasing at an alarming rate. My old home of Gaborone Botswana had just 40,000 people in the 1970s – now it it has well over 250,000. That country (the size of Texas or France) had 10 miles of tarmac road. Now it has the Trans Kalahari highway!

No cyclist or pedestrian likes petrol or diesel fumes. Electric cars are seen as a way of improving air quality in built up areas. That's all well an good as long as folk don't claim they are emission free vehicles! Most countries still rely on coal fired power stations and acid rain and CO2 is still produced when an EV is used. Even California is not 100% Solar PV / Wind farm dependent.

What is the most efficient means of getting from A to B? An interesting question and much depends on the task – is it to transport 40 tonnes of produce to market 1000 miles away or 2 miles to the grocery store to pick up some tomatoes for lunch? I recall a study that said even cyclists put out at least 15g/km CO2 based on toast consumption!

Intro over!

My thanks go to Hamish of BMW Soper in Lincoln UK who provided the i3 BEV in white which was fitted with lots of toys! And also to Chris Whitmore of BMW Statstone Derby UK for the loan of the grey i3 REX.

So how did the BEV compare with the REX?

That is the ultimate question on most potential owner's minds. Interestingly both cars when fully charged used the same amount of energy on the 29 mile commute to work. The BEV was quick but it's advantage over the slightly heavier REX was not noticeable in normal use.  Both cars had the same tyres front and rear so there was no Cd advantage for the BEV either. Unless you go to the Drag Strip regularly, I very much doubt any driver would notice a difference between the BEV and REX in acceleration terms. If anything the REX felt a little more planted in the corners but this may have been subjective. The rear motor/RWD layout allows far more steering angle than a regular vehicle so the turning circle is very tight at low speed. In muddy conditions it is possible for the traction control to give up and the tail does wag a little if you are too enthusiastic with the go faster pedal.

The biggest change is when you get down to around 6 miles of range. In the BEV there is mild panic even in Eco Pro Plus mode. In the REX the motorcycle engine kicks in with an annoying drone but it is not really noticable above 40 mph.  Some were concerned about speed restriction reports when the REX gets down at lower battery charge levels. I tried 0-50mph max acceleration and this seemed unaffected but there was on screen advice to go easy on the throttle pedal to enable battery charge level maintenance. It could well be that 70 mph uphill on a freeway would not be sustainable at these lower charge levels. That said,  my return journey was with REX activated manually at around 30% SOC. It did not maintain it precisely but achieved around 27% SOC over the 29 miles. Refueling was done at the same Shell station with same grade of petrol - tank was topped off both before and after commute. Economy on REX is not that great but it is really there to get you home or to nearest fast charger.

My guess is the battery in a REX will be in a far better state than that of a BEV after 3 years of similarly hard use. The damage associated with running the LiON batteries to an absolute minimum are more likely to be avoided by the car that maintains charge at low levels.It should also be noted that when the doors are unlocked the charge goes down whether plugged in or not because displays and system heating are activated and run off the main battery.  This might be fixed by a BMW phone app for users who wish to configure for a trip whilst charging. Showing off all the gizmos to your work colleagues will also deplete charge! 

Overall I like the purity of the BEV and only wish it could better 60 miles in mild winter commute. If it could do 100 miles at 60 to 70 mph I would buy one right away. As it stands if committing to an i3, I'd have to go for the REX and downgrade on the options list.

Now for some thoughts on the i3 in general: 

What can we compare the BMW i3 with? Existing cars have come a long way since Henry Ford. On the other hand the past decade has seen an explosion in ULVs (unsuitably large vehicles) sold to consumers of a “super size me” culture. Now I am all for the old Range Rover V8 doing 16 mpg through deep Kalahari sands where a Ford F250 got just 8 mpg. However for the grocery store run?

That might be acceptable in Arizona but on cramped narrow British roads with passing places in hedgerows or London's residential road width restrictors? Bigger normally means heavier and less aerodynamic so the term gas guzzler still applies. How is it that in 40 years fuel consumption has not really improved significantly? Part of the answer is heavier structures and crash worthiness regulations but that's often an excuse. Take the Fiat X 1/9 2 seater 1970s mid-engine sports car – it featured 50 mph impact bumpers and roll over protection for the US market – they even rammed one with an AMTRAK ! It passed but then the Feds reduced the regs and Fiat lost out. However that small car was tough (apart from on UK salt laden winter roads) yet still much lighter than today's machines: http://www.sportsvogn.no/x19reg/story.html

A few visionaries still exist. VW developed the 3L cars – 3 litres of fuel for 100 km of travel. They produced the shortened Polo and called it the Lupo 3L with magnesium and Aluminium panels. Audi developed the all aluminum A2 which many have cited as an influence on today's BMW i3. The 3L version of the A2 was designed to carry 4 German sized adults and their luggage from Munich to Turin over the Alps with minimal fuel cost and low emissions. It had a Cd of just 0.25 – the same as the original 2 seater Honda Insight hybrid and weighed just 855 kg.

This has been my everyday transport for some 190,000 miles over the past 12 years: http://www.greenconsumerguide.com/audi_a2_tdi.php Sadly the car was poorly marketed compared with the less efficient Toyota Prius and productionceased in 2005. But not before an H2 and electric variant were prototyped. In 2010 DBM Energy claimed their modified Audi A2 could travel 375 miles at 55mph on batteries alone.

http://www.plugincars.com/claiming-battery-breakthrough-electric-audi-drives-375-miles-55-mph-without-recharging-99966.html

Sadly the factory and prototype burnt down.

VW have moved on into the extremely expensive ECO car with their impressive XL1 – but it's no longer a Volks-Wagen (people's car) at £100k !

http://www.topgear.com/uk/photos/vw-xl-1-we-drive-the-future-2014-02-03

Others have compared the i3 to Tesla. A bit like comparing a 1 series with an Aston Martin.

This review will look at basic everyday practicality and make some suggestions for BMW's further i3 development.....

External Colour choices:

Not a lot of choice. Mostly greys, silvers and one for the Dutch : orange. I don't mind the

contrasting black panels. One dealer suggested the i8 Protonic Blue might become available next year.

The biggest downside if you want orange is the extra you have to pay to upgrade the interior. Someone should tell BMW to have a look at Irn Bru (Scottish Soda – orange, black &blue can work!). Not such an issue in USA.

Interior space:

Many reviewers have posted that the i3 has an airy feel – at least from the front seats. I would agree that the large sloping front windscreen and uncluttered dashboard appears to offer more light and the high seating position reduces any bathtub parallels by giving a more commanding view of the road ahead. However, whilst the i3 is around 15cm wider than the A2, in the rear it has almost 4cm less headroom, 20cm less foot room and just under 7cm less elbow room. The larger rear side windows help to mask the latter somewhat.

The white i3 BEV had a white LOFT interior – nice if you never drive in the real world. The white carpets soon became muddy grey brown! The REX had the standard interior which was very practical.

I like the futuristic flat screens that appear to hang in space over the dash.

Whatever your view on the construction material, the anti reflective properties of the dash work well with the black bonnet rather like a 1960s Rally car.

The driving position is very comfortable and has a good degree of adjustment. The seat height shift is a little awkward compared to rival cars where body weight has to be lifted on the steering wheel before raising.

The seat heating is a very worthwhile option for winter driving and means you can save energy on interior heating.

Side bolstering of the front seats is minimal. Had the car been designed with conventional rear doors and without forward tilt on these front seats, maybe BMW could have gone for a fixed back sportier option like a Recaro Pole Position (just 7kg!).

Load space:

One disadvantage of RWD with rear Motor placement is the much high than normal load area and reduced volume.

(litres seats up /litres seats down)

i3: 260 / 1100 litres

A2: 390/1085 / and approx 1400 litres with rear seats out

A3 Coupe: 365 / 1100 litres

A3 Sportback: 380 / 1220 litres

A1 Coupe: 270 / 920 litres

Quite a bit of space is taken up with American sized Soda Cup holders between the seats!

Weight Saving:

BMW has made much about the lightness of the underlying CRP structure on the i3. They are to be congratulated for bringing this to a sub £26k (base model with £5k UK grant) production car.But it is still a heavy car even making allowances for the EV battery pack.

One wonders whether 19 or 20” wheels are more about style over substance – certainly a larger diameter spinning mass has a greater effect on vehicle dynamics. It would be interesting to know what each wheel design/tyre combo weighs.

Areas where lightness could be added:

1. Make it a 3 door or go for conventional rear doors with CFRP B pillar.

2. Go for 1 front wiper blade with full sweep. Remove rear wiper mechanism and install

better rear tailgate with aero screen cleaning. (NB: the front wipers DO NOT sweep up to 90 degrees so there are a couple of unswept patches either side at eye level).

3. Make rear seats removable like briefcase design in A2 and front seats fixed back like Audi TT Quattro Mk1.

5 Doors or 3 door with Access panels?

In terms of accessibility we have already seen reviews of the difficulty in releasing rear occupants with driver or front passenger in place. The suicide rear doors are a design statement more than a practical solution to rear seat entry/egress. Such an arrangement in a UK Supermarket parking space with an SUV either side, it could get too tight to let the kids out of the rear seats. In some ways a 3 door hatchback or Coupe might have an advantage, although those front doors tend to be longer. It seems odd that the designers made the front seats forward tilting and indicates that a 3 door option may have been in mind.

Some commentators have made comparison with the Mazda RX8. In both cases these sucide doors have had to be strengthened considerably and fitted with larger closing mechanisms and hinges to cope. From a weight and energy saving perspective this is a little absurd. Matters are made worse if a child seat is fitted in front without ISOFIX. Note the weight limit is just 18kg (40lbs) for an ISOFIX attachment so heavier children will require the seat belt attachment. This makes it impossible to open the rear door on the pax side if the child seat is up front.The deeper rear windows are good for rear seat occupants but do not open – not even to a vent position. Again why bother with rear doors? Make it a 3 door Coupe like the orange prototype or offer a CFP B pillar / Avant version with normal rear doors and hidden handles ( a la Alfa Romeo 156).

Aerodynamics - What a Drag!

The i3 has a closed front grill / kidney emblem and commendably flat under tray free of the usual incursions. But for an ECO minded car it is somewhat surprising that BMW did not strive to improve the Drag Coefficient or reduce the frontal area of the i3.

If you never go over 40 mph (London UK inside the M25) this isn't going to affect you. But most London workers live outside due to ever spiralling house prices and will likely need to use the Motorway (Freeway) network. Greater aerodynamic efficiency (and hence lower battery consumption) could have been achieved by replacing the BMW X5 like wing mirrors with VW XL1 rear view cameras or at least more compact examples. The Cd is 0.3 (about as bad as a 1992 Toyota Camry or 1993 Subaru Impreza). The i3 is much wider than most pure 4 seaters and the MPV styling and battery floor makes it quite tall. Frontal Area of 2.38 m2 x 0.3 results in a CdA of 0.714.

Compare this to a 2001 Audi A2 1.2 TDI : CdA 0.544 or 2013 VW XL1: CdA 0.279.

At 100km/h (62mph) the i3 BEV creates 326 Newtons of drag. The REX model a little more at 336 Newtons. The A2 a mere 257 Newtons.

More meaningful to the average punter is BHP absorbed by drag. Here we are not considering the drag from the drive-train / single gear or tyre friction and this is for a flat road with nil wind.

At 40 mph the i3 consumes a minimum of 3.33 BHP (2.5kW) in drag alone. Not a lot! But accelerate to 60 mph and it goes up a factor of 4 to 12.5BHP (9.317kW). Get on the freeway in Montana or de-restricted Autobahn and at 93 mph the i3 requires 42.14 BHP (31.44 kW)!

It is no wonder that i3 test drivers have noticed a massive reduction in range when driving on faster roads. If you add in tyre resistance, wheel well turbulence, and a less than optimal gear ratio (optimised for acceleration rather than cruising then expect about 60 mile range from a BEV and a bit less all electric from the REX).

What if BMW had optimised just the Aero side?

40mph:

A2: 2.54 BHP(1.894kW),

XL1: 1.30 BHP(2.54kW)

60mph:

A2: 9.52 BHP (7.10kW)

XL1: 4.88 BHP (3.64kW)

93 mph:

A2: 32.1 BHP (24kW)

XL1: 16.5 BHP (12.28kW)

The i3 could be improved by careful modification of the front profile (which could include improvements to pedestrian safety), an extension or redesign of the tailgate and a longer rear spoiler, vortex generators at the rear (perhaps incorporating the trademark aerial) and more ducting air dam style under the car to improve wake and add almost drag free down-force. The door alignment and rear wheel arches could be improved to lessen drag.

Noise:

The i3 internal SPL is actually about 2dBA louder at 50 mph than the diesel Audi A2 due to wind noise. But at lower speeds the ICE can't compete (except with Start Stop at the lights!).

Driver Technology:

The BMW i brand is all about connectivity and city mobility. This test drive did not spend much time in the City. It is not possible to test the iphone/Android app without making a purchase as it is linked to the vehicle's VIN number. I was able to link my phone via Blue Tooth and play music through the radio functions. This worked 90% of the time. Both cars had standard audio which is of reasonable quality. The other 10% there was electronic signal distortion.

The layered menus were not as intuitive as a touch screen app. The iDrive handwriting recognition didn't work for me as a Right handed scribe in a RH Drive car ! My other cars are LHD!

The start up procedure could be simplified. It's not a get away car! Unlike the A2 that tells you to put your for on the brake pedal before start, the i3 makes that assumption. The electronic handbrake took some getting used to but when trusted it seemed to work OK even on hill starts. NB the CFRP Alfa Romeo 4C has a traditional handbrake and is the lightest car in it's class.

Unlike other EV manufacturers the battery regen mode is all about the accelerator pedal. The sweet spot for freewheeling downhill is hard to find with the small text on the Tacho indicating minimal kWh/100km use. This could be corrected with a Head Up Display or peripheral coloured lights to aid the driver to drive more efficiently. Similar displays tell pilots about optimum wing angle of attack in flight.

The white i3 BEV had all the goodies in terms of rear view camera and automatic parking. This worked well 4 times out of 5. The 5^th was the same spot as the 4^th but for whatever reason the car refused to park itself once it found the spot. One issue is the position of the camera which is right on the rear bumper (fender) where it gets covered in road muck. A better spot might be behind the rear glass within the wiper's swept zone.

The large centre screen was a delight if a little distracting on the move. It is especially good in the rear view camera mode (with a clean camera!). But you must still scan between screen and real world to avoid pedestrians who can't hear the i3!

There is no SOC on the BEV which is a shame. The REX has it hidden away on a “hold state of charge” menu.

The vehicle pre-conditioning menu takes some finding but worked on both BEV and REX. It's important to realise the extra electricity you will use to get the car up to temperature in winter. I set 16 deg C for an 0715z departure time on both cars. The mistake with the BEV came when I tried to charge at work using a 13A socket. The car did not charge because the menu had a timer setting (for cheaper home night tariffs). In the end I managed to cancel that and got just an hour's worth of charge.

Breakdown cover:

The i3 has no jack, no spare wheel, no wheel brace. Back in 2003 I learnt the hard way that tyre gunk doesn't work as advertised. In fact I had bought a full set of winter wheels and tyres for the A2 but had left these at home on the daily commute. One of the skinny Bridgestone B381 Eco tyres gave up the ghost at 60 mph. There was no drama and no wheel damage but it was a busy road . Had I had a spare I could have used the underfloor tool kit and Alloy jack to get back on the road within 20 minutes. Instead it took over 4 hours to get a recovery truck out and go home to change wheels.

The i3 cannot be towed in the conventional fashion and must be lifted onto a low loader! I would rather carry a spare. But 19 or 20” in that small boot (trunk)?!

In Germany a full set of Winter 19” rims can be had for 900 Euros. In the UK BMW are charging almost double! LED lights: The BEV had the optional LED headlamps for normal (dipped) use. This gave a pleasant blue / white light. The adaptability was not noticed on country lanes. Main beam was still halogen and no better than other vehicles. The mix of blue and yellow light is a little odd.

How does it drive?

Short answer: Very well!

In fact it is great fun to drive and the novelty of silent startup and acceleration to 40+ mph is superbly smooth. The downside of fun is the temptation to use the available torque. Only once did my free hand reach for a non existent gear stick! Yes I would have liked a second cog for more efficient highway motoring.

The bar graph (approx SOC indicator) goes down like fuel gauge in an English Electic Lightning!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5dvT-G7JNs

For a newcomer to EVs it feels very odd to start moving in near silence. This requires even greater lookout and anticipation than normal in built up areas as pedestrians do not hear you coming. That is a positive aspect that should re-energise driver skills.

The acceleration is excellent – the REX was not noticeably more sluggish than the BEV. I spent most of the time in ECO PRO mode (with a maximum of 70 mph set for motorways). ECO PRO + was used to get from work to the dealer in Lincoln with a depleted battery. The car felt much more fidgety on the twisty B roads than in Comfort or EP. Perhaps the stability electronics and throttle/extra regenerative braking response has this effect.

Visibility from the driver's seat was better than expected and very similar to the A2. The driver just has to move their head around the thick A pillars when approaching junctions. The grip from the 155 front and 175 rear standard tyres is more than adequate for dry road cornering at speed. The rear tyres did struggle when there was a little mud on the tarmac and the traction control flashed on these occasions. Winter tyres offer a good 3 times the grip and much shorter stopping distances so it would be interesting to compare in winter conditions.

I was surprised that the BEV had 175 section rears and this may have added drag to match the REX. Apparently the REX has a slightly narrower rear track. Steering feel was good even if not direct (servo assisted). Narrow tyres bring steering benefits and

the turning circle impressed all who witnessed it. The cruise control was very good. Neither car had the lane keeping/auto braking technology.

Conclusions:

First off BMW deserves credit for bringing the i3 to market. It offers an alternative approach to EV design and manufacture. The blue sky thinking maybe went a little overboard in the style over substance department.

However, the looks grew on me. Even the cheap looking interior panels! The car drove far better than a car of this mass deserves. In practical terms it is not as good as it could be. BMW could learn a lot more from a similarly sized car built with practicality, ECO credentials, lightness and aerodynamic efficiency that is 15 years older. The aluminium Audi A2 (especially the 1.2 model). One thing they did far better than Audi was in marketing the i3 more aggressively like Toyota did with the Prius.

Improvments: If I were responsible for product development on the i3, for 2015 I'd introduce tat least some of the following:

1. Three door version like Coupe concept

2. Aero optimisation

3. Further weight reduction programme.

4. HUD option with SOC indication

5. More obvious ECO / Freewheel indication

6. More colour choice not linked to interiors

7. Lightweight Biodiesel or CNG REX options

8. More practical 5 door version with B pillar, removable rear seats and FWD to improve rear load space and traction in snow.

9. Better seat raising design.

10. Full LED lighting

11. RH iDrive for RHD and LH iDrive for LHD markets

12. Fairer winter wheel/tyre pricing

13. Better rear camera positioning

14. ICE FWD option without EV for long distance commuters in countries without decent electrical network.

15. Spare wheel/ jack options as alternative to tyre gunk.

16. Better Driver info menus

17. Better English translation of manual

18. Work with Solar PV controller manufacturers to offer old i3 batteries as storage and the likes of “Immersun” to offer Solar PV charging.

19. Encourage Fast DC network expansion in all markets – like FastNED.

Special thanks to Lucas for the in depth review!

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Strong US i3 Demand Expected, Says CEO Willisch

Predicting demand for electric vehicles has proven to be a difficult task. Both GM and Nissan had admit to not hitting their sales predictions when they first launched their respective electric vehicles. Tesla, on the other hand seems to have their sales constricted by battery supply issues and not by a lack of customer demand.

BMW has been very quiet with regard to talking about sales targets for the i3. It has been reported that BMW will have the ability to make 30,000 i3's per year and could possibly push that up to 40,000 if the demand warrants it. However that isn't right out of the gate. The first year of production will most certainly be much lower than 30,000 regardless of the demand.  Because everything about the i3 requires a completely new manufacturing process it's going to take a little while for BMW to work out any initial kinks in the assembly process. Plus, BMW can only make as many i3's as they get battery cells for. Yes BMW does assemble the battery pack in-house at their Landshut plant, but they do get the cells from a supplier (Samsung) and will be limited to what Samsung can supply.

The i3 battery pack consists of  8 modules, each consisting of 12 individual cells. Pictured above is one i3 module with an individual cell positioned in front.

Initial European orders have been very strong which is good for BMW and a good sign in general for the EV industry, but may squeeze i3 availability for the US market. BMW North American CEO Ludwig Willisch recently told the Automotive News that he believes BMW will sell every i3 allocated to US dealers and wouldn't comment on volume any more than saying  the US would get "more than a few thousand". In 2011, the first full year of US sales for the Volt and the LEAF, they sold 7,345 and 9,655 units respectively. The market for electric vehicles has matured a bit since then which is an advantage for the i3, but the i3 is also much more expensive than either the Volt or the LEAF so that will certainly be a sales-restricting factor in itself. Throw in the fact that we don't know how many i3's BMW can supply the US in the first year and it really is difficult to even guess how many will be sold in 2014. Maybe that's why Willisch and the others at BMW are reluctant to offer any real sales prediction other than to say "strong demand"; or perhaps it's because they watched Nissan and GM fall short and have to address their mistakes and eat a little crow. My guess is it's the latter.

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DC Quick Charge: Better Than a Bigger Battery

A BMW i3 charges at the first public SAE CCS quick charge station open in the US. 

The first public DC quick charger in the US that uses the SAE-endorsed Combined Charging System (CCS) opened this week in San Diego, CA. It's located at the Fashion Valley Mall and uses a dual connector quick charger called a "Freedom Station" by EVgo.

The i3 will have a DC quick charge option that the customer can elect or pass on. The price has not been set yet but the speculation is it will cost somewhere between $750 and $1,000 extra. Having the option will allow you to recharge the car to 80% in about 20 minutes. This is an incredible advantage to have in an EV, since charging times are really what limit EVs like the i3 from being able to cover hundreds of miles without much inconvenience. Of course you can get an EV with a huge battery like the Tesla Model S which will allow you to drive a couple hundred miles between charges, but to be able to really cover long distances without much inconvenience, DC quick charge (or battery swap ability) is really needed. 

Standards War

SAE & CHAdeMO side by side

Tesla understands the absolute need for quick charging on pure electric vehicles and is rolling out their own network of DC quick chargers they call Superchargers. Since Tesla uses a proprietary connector nobody other than Tesla customers will be able to use their network. Nissan uses a different connector called CHAdeMO (short for CHArge de MOve or charge for moving) which was developed by Tempco (yeah, the power utility that runs the Fukushima nuclear power plant) for quick charging electric vehicles in Japan. When Nissan came out with the LEAF, the SAE hadn't yet endorsed a DC quick charge connector for the US so Nissan had no other option but to use the CHadeMO connector on the LEAF for quick charging, not that they wouldn't have anyway. Then, once the SAE endorsed the CCS connector, BMW, along with Audi, Chrysler, Daimler, Ford, GM, Porsche all agreed to use it on their plug in vehicles, when they eventually make them. I'm not going to go into why one is better than the other, or why some manufacturers chose one over the other here. There are plenty of articles on the internet that discuss this at nauseam; just do a simple search and you'll find them. I will say that I've talked with a few BMW engineers about this and they all basically told me there was no decision to be made. That the SAE CCS system is so technically superior to CHAdeMO, especially for future applications, that they wouldn't have even considered it. 

Personally, I really don't care which "standard" my EV has, as long as there are chargers out there for me to use. I've held both and even plugged both into cars and the SAE is a little lighter and less bulky and you only need a single charge port on the car so I tend to favor it, but honestly, I would be fine using CHAdeMO if there were chargers installed in my area and there aren't. At the i3 premier in July a BMW program manager asked me how much would I be willing to pay for the DC quick charge option. I suspect the price for the US market hadn't been finalized yet. My response was, "That depends" eliciting his curiosity. I followed it up by saying right now I won't pay a penny for a DC quick charge option because there are no chargers within driving distance of my home. However let's say there were a couple here and there in my general area, then I'd pay about $500 for it. And if there were a couple dozen of them in northern New Jersey I'd be willing to pay $1,000 for it. 

 
I know we are many years from having DC quick chargers in accessible, convenient locations like gas stations but I also believe that day will eventually come. The West Coast has a huge head start over the rest of the country and probably has as much as 70% of the Superchargers, ChadeMO and now CCS stations installed in the entire country. Plus, with the recent NRG settlement California will get 200 more DC quick charge stations, most being dual connector (CHAdeMO and CCS) units. Tesla currently has 24 Superchargers installed and an aggressive plan to cover the rest of the US in a few years. Nissan meanwhile has committed to installing hundreds of CHAdeMO stations in the US although they haven't delivered much on that promise yet. Outside of California's NRG settlement the future is unclear how and when we'll get the SAE CCS stations installed. Without any clear plan for the area you live in, I think it would be foolish to pay up to $1,000 for the option if you don't even know if you'll ever be able to use it. I have a friend that bought a LEAF in 2011 here in New Jersey and paid for the CHAdeMO option but nearly three years later he has never been able to use a CHAdeMO station because there are none within his range. 

I had the opportunity to talk with a BMW manager at the i3 premier about DC Quick charge infrastructure and one of the questions I asked was will the BMW i dealerships be required to install a DC quick charge station. I thought that would be a great way to at least begin the roll out of compatible DC quick chargers for the i3 so customers will at least have their local dealerships to fill up quickly at. They could also look for BMW i dealerships along the route of their long trips and since most dealerships are on highways, the locations would probably be good ones. Unfortunately that isn't going to happen. The dealers will not be required to install DC quick charge stations, but they will be "encouraged to." Personally I'd like to see BMW "encourage" them by offering to supply them with the DC charging station for free, as long as they pay to install, maintain it and have it available for use even when the dealership is closed. The dealerships will however be required to install multiple level 2 charging stations though which is a start, but really doesn't help out with longer road trips.

"Quick" Level 2 Charging

Is there such a thing as quick level 2 charging? While level 2 charging (240v) isn't necessarily quick, some cars do charge quicker than others. The Model S is the king (in the US at least) of L2 charging as it can charge at a rate of up to 20kW with optional dual onboard 10kW chargers. However the real L2 charging champ is only available in Europe. The Renault ZOE's onboard "Chameleon charger" can charge at up to 43kWs! On the other end of the spectrum is the Chevy Volt that is restricted to 3.3kW charging. However since the Volt has a much smaller battery than a Model S, it can actually fully charge in about the same time as a Model S can with it's massive 85kWh battery. The i3 will be able to charge at up to 7.4kW, and since it has only a 22kWh battery, it can fully charge in under 3 hours. This delivers a rate of about 30 miles of range per hour when charging from a 240v 30 amp level 2 charging station. That's a good improvement from my ActiveE, which returns only 15-18 miles of charge per hour. BMW is quick to point out how fast the i3's battery can be replenished while charging on L2, and while it is better than any non-Tesla EV here in the US, it still pales compared to the 80 miles of range you can get in 20 minutes on a DC quick charger.

Bigger battery vs DC quick charge 

The i3's 22kWh battery will allow for 80-100 miles or range in every day driving conditions, and up to 125 miles if the more efficient ECO-Pro+ driving mode is selected (Says BMW). So if range is so important, why not just slap a 40kWh battery in there and call it a day? The i3 would get about 200 miles of range and you wouldn't need quick charge, right? Wrong. Tesla uses enormous battery packs and they still realize they need a DC quick charge network to really make their electric cars viable to the broad public. Even with 200 to 300 mile range their customers want to be able to quickly recharge so they can drive long distances. The truth is, no matter how big your battery is and how far you can drive on a single charge, people will always want more range and quick charging. This is way BMW is offering the range extender on the i3. They know that it's going to take years for a comprehensive DC quick charge network to be built out, so until we have a robust infrastructure in place, the range extender will be a very popular option and will allow the owner to drive as far as they need on the few occasions they need to travel long distances. For daily use they won't use any gas, as the ~100 mile range should be more than enough for the vast majority of the time, yet they still have the flexibility of being able to cover hundreds of miles should the need arise. I believe the range extender becomes obsolete once we have adequate quick charge infrastructure in place. In fact, large Tesla-sized batteries won't be necessary either. Why carry the additional weight around and pay for a huge battery pack when you can use one half the size and just charge it quickly when the occasional need arises? The main reason EVs cost more than conventional powered vehicles is the cost of the battery pack. A smaller pack combined with readily available quick charge is clearly the way to go, however getting the infrastructure in place is the 800 lb gorilla in the room. It's not just going to happen without the support of the manufacturers. Tesla and Nissan seem to be doing their part, will BMW and the others that have signed up to use the SAE CCS standard do their part? Only time will tell.
 

The BMW EV infrastructure team was well represented at the grand opening event for the first public CCS quick charging station. Will they continue to be involved in assisting CCS station deployment, or wait by the sideline and watch?

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BMW i3 Production Video Series

BMW released a four part video series which shows in great detail the construction process of the i3. From carbon fiber manufacturing, to battery pack construction and full vehicle assembly on the production line at Leipzig. It's rare that a manufacturer allows such a detailed look at how they make a car. There's over an hour of combined video in the four part series below. If you are an i3 enthusiast, or even just a car person, this is definitely worth watching.

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BMW i3 Wheels: Efficient & Effective or Skinny & Skidding?

You get a better view of just how tall and thin the tires on the i3 without the body in place.

One of the features on the i3 that have had many BMW loyalists cringe when see them is the tires. They are tall and thin, and look more like you would expect them on a Toyota econo-box, than from the engineers in München.  The standard rubber on the i3 will be custom made for the car, low-rolling resistance 19-inch Bridgestone Ecopia tires, sized 155/70 R19. They are mounted on  featherweight 19" x 5" wheels, weighing only 15lbs. There will also be a 20" wheel option, but BMW hasn't disclosed the exact size of that wheel of the tires that they will mount on them. 

The stock 19" wheels

I suspect many potential i3 buyers will get past the thin, underwhelming look of the tires as long as they perform admirably. After all, they only look bad from the from or rear; when looking at them from the side it's difficult to see how thin they actually are. But what do I mean by perform admirably? That may be different for different people. Low rolling resistance tires typically aren't good for the "ultimate driving experience" the rubber is hard and doesn't usually offer premium grip for cornering. Sticky high performance tires usually deliver bad fuel economy because the rolling resistance is high. I suspect many i3 buyers will be most concerned with efficiency and range in which they would probably favor efficiency slightly over performance. But let's face it they still expect it to perform like a true BMW, and that's something BMW has promised will be the case with the i3. 

What may be the 20" optional wheels

When discussing the tall, narrow tires with Georg Kacher of Car Magazine, Ulrich Kranz of BMW said "It’s not rocket science. All that matters is the size of the contact patch. The 19-inch tires may be skinny, but their tall height generates the same contact patch as a low-section 16-inch MINI tire"  Kacher then went for a ride in a pre-production i3 and wrote this about the handling: "This is extraordinary. The i3’s most awesome dynamic talent is its incredible grip. The made to measure tires are about as narrow as those of a 125cc motorbike, yet they hang on almost as tenaciously as BMW’s latest DTM racer... The car zooms towards the apex, kisses the cobbles and flies out onto the short straight. There is very little lean considering the considerable pace, and I don’t recollect more than a faint trace of front end pitch and no yaw at all. This i3 appears to handle like the best BMWs."
 

The original i3 concept wheels

Then Michael Specht from the Automotive News wrote this after driving an i3 a couple days ago: 
"BMW's i3 electric car looks set to be a winner. I drove it recently and I can only say: Wow! Whoever drives this car will want one immediately. I can't remember when I was more surprised by a car's driving dynamics. One of BMW's marketing slogans is "sheer driving pleasure." BMW was keen that this should apply to the automaker's new electric vehicles sold under the "i" subbrand and the company has succeeded with the i3."

The i3 concept coupe's 20" wheels

However Autoblog had less than total praise for the i3's handling: "The test cars were fitted with skinny, rock-hard and low-rolling resistance 19-inch Bridgestone Ecopia tires, sized 155/70 R19. After just a single spirited lap of the set course in 93-mph v-max Comfort mode, it was clear that we were driving the i3 in a style for which it was never designed. If you try to make the i3 live up to the well-honed definition of "Ultimate Driving Machine," you are categorically missing the entire point of the i3." That's not what the majority of potential i3 buyers want to hear - me included. Don't tell me I'm missing the point if I buy a BMW and expect it to handle like a real BMW! I don't care what type of fuel it uses or whether it's a hatchback or sedan, it's a BMW!  However this is the only article I've seen that criticizes the handling and I've probably read about a dozen that have said they were impressed. The final verdict for me will be when I get behind the wheel of on myself and I urge everyone else to do the same thing. It's nice to see car reviews but let yourself be the judge when you are purchasing a car. After all, it's your money and you'll be driving it!

BMW has done everything they reasonably could to cut the weight of the i3. This allowed them to use a smaller battery and still get their tareted range of 80 to 100 miles with the i3.With the battery being the most expensive component of an EV by far, it's not surprising they are so obsessed with weight savings. However what is the perfect balance of efficiency and performance? No doubt the car would handle even better with wider, stickier tires on there which would need wider wheels, which would then weigh considerably more. Finding the perfect balance was BMW's task, it's just up to us to drive and enjoy the car. I hope they got this one right because the i3 won't be the Ultimate Driving EV if it isn't fun.

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BMW i3 Press Release

BMW NA sent out a press release today titled " The Ultimate Driving Machine in a new era of mobility" It's a pretty comprehensive press release and a bit long to post in its entirety here so I'll provide the link HERE and let you read it direct. 

Some notable highlights:
~0-60mph in approximately 7 seconds (woo hoo!)
~The range extender has no effect on luggage capacity.
~Navigation system will be optional.
~The high-voltage battery consists of eight modules (each with 12 individual cells), which together produce a rated voltage of 360 volts.
~It achieved a .21 kilowatt hours per mile rating on the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC). This cycle is less strenuous than the EPA test. 
~The 22kWh battery weighs about 450lbs
~When plugged into a public DC fast-charging station (50 kW) it only takes about 20 minutes for the battery to reach 80 percent capacity.

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BMW i3 Spotted Again During Hot Weather Testing

Autocar recently posted the latest pictures of an i3 during what is described as hot weather testing somewhere in Southern Europe. It would seem from the pictures the car had some kind of mechanical failure because they appear to be trying to recharge or 'jump' the 12 volt battery.

The car is still very well disguised and even the interior shots show they have everything covered to prevent anyone form getting real images of what they are working on, but a couple things do stand out. The steering column is long and really comes a long way from the dash, just like it does in the concept i3. The car also has basically the same display panels as the concept i3, with a small rectangular display on top of the steering column and a larger display in the center stack, however both had a fabric cover over them. After seeing changes in the body style in all the test cars for over a year, now every new set of spy photographs show the same thing, so I think it's safe to say they have the final production form decided. With the car 12 months away from it's rumored launch, I suspect they would have to have that set in stone by now so they can begin to get the production molds/stamps ready.

This is the first time I've seen a picture of the hood open. It shows what looks like a small storage area or 'frunk'. I've been told there will be some storage space under the front hood, but that it will be a small compartment. What I'm not sure about is whether the REx version will house the engine up there though, in which case the REx option would eliminate any storage space you may have in the frunk. It's also clear to see from the pictures the headlights are not production, and just there to make the test car street legal. The one thing I found particularly interesting in the photo I posted on the top was that it looks like the car may have a B-pillar. That is something I wasn't expecting as the concept didn't and the BMW program managers seemed to proudly talk about how the car was so easy to get in and out of without the need for a B-pillar. It's hard to tell and what I'm interpreting as the possible B-pillar may well be the weather stripping from the coach door seal so I'm going to hold off an saying the car does have a B-pillar until I get better photographic proof. You can click on the picture to enlarge it and tell me what you think.

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How Much Would You Pay For An i3?

There are a lot of questions still unanswered about BMW's first production electric car, the i3. Various sources have reported it will launch in September 2013 as an 2014 model, and BMW has gradually released technical information like the battery size(22kWh's) the motor specs (130kw, 184 lb-ft torque, 170 hp) and dimensions (151" long, 60" high, 101" wheelbase and 2,756lbs). However the only thing anyone from BMW has said regarding the price is that it will cost "less than a BMW 5-Series sedan", which starts at about $48,000US.

Which brings us to this poll today. How much would you be willing to pay for a BMW i3? Before you answer the poll, please read the specifications of the other available and soon to be available electric cars. This may give you a better understanding of where the i3 fits into the electric vehicle scene.

BMW i3 ???
Four passenger hatchback to be sold 3rd quarter 2013 as a 2014 model.
130 kW motor: Top speed 93mph: 0-60 in under 8 seconds
Rear wheel drive; 7.7kW level 2 charging standard, SAE DC quick charge optional
Active liquid thermal management battery system
22kWh battery, Carbon fiber passenger cell & aluminum frame (dedicated EV platform)
Range: EPA 92 miles per charge (estimated)

Nissan LEAF $35,200(SV) $37,250(SL)
Five passenger hatchback currently available
80 kW motor: Top speed: 90mph: 0-60 9.9 sec
Front wheel drive; 3.3kW level 2 standard, CHAdeMO quick charge optional(standard on SL)
Passive thermal management system
24kWh battery, conventional construction(dedicated EV platform)
Range: EPA rated 73 miles per charge

Coda Sedan $37,250
Five passenger sedan currently available
100 kW motor: Top speed 85mph: 0-60 9.5 sec
Front wheel drive; 6.6kW level 2 standard, no DC quick charge option available
Active liquid thermal management system
31kWh battery, conventional construction(dedicated EV platform)
Range: EPA rated 88 miles per charge


Ford Focus Electric $39,995
Five Passenger hatchback currently available
100 kW motor: Top speed 84mph: 0-60 9.5 sec
Front wheel drive; 6.6kW level 2 charging standard, no DC quick charge option available
Active liquid thermal management battery system
23kWh battery, conventional construction (converted ICE platform)
Range: EPA rated 76 miles per charge

Tesla Model S $57,400
Five Passenger hatchback(with 2 optional rear-facing child seats) available early 2013
Motor and performance figured not available, but expected to be good.
Rear wheel drive;10kw level 2 charging standard, no DC quick charge option for 40kW base Model S
Active liquid thermal management battery system
40kW battery, EV platform: "skateboard" battery design & extensive use of aluminum to reduce weight.
Range: 125-130mile EPA rating (estimated)

As you can see, the i3 motor's power, charging rate, top speed, 0-60 and range is better than all the currently available EV's but will in all likelihood be less than that of the Tesla Model S 40kW once Tesla releases that information. I believe this points to the fair market value of the i3 to be somewhere between the Model S and the other less expensive EV's. I have therefore listed the poll pricing options to be in between the Model S and the others.

Please vote fairly. Obviously, everybody would like the price to be as low as possible, but I'm asking for you to vote for what you would pay based on what you think is a fair price in the market for the i3. In my opinion, there is absolutely no way the car will list for under $40,000 but I put that in a a choice anyway. Of course all these vehicles qualify for the $7,500 federal tax credit, so your final cost will be $7,500 less than the listed prices provided you qualify for the tax credit.

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A Look At The BMW i3 Instrumentation

The display featured on the concept i3. The production version is thought to be very similar to this.

The 2013 BMW i3 will be a revolutionary vehicle. It will be be the first mass produced car that has an aluminum frame and a body made just about entirely out of carbon fiber reinforced plastic. It will use a modern version of body-on-frame design with the aluminum drive module made completely separate from the passenger cell with the latter bolted and glued to the frame near the end of the production line. It will be the first all electric car that the BMW group offers for sale and it will be one of the most efficient vehicles ever offered for sale by any major automobile manufacturer.

It will also, have one of the most advanced and connected electronics and display systems. There hasn't been much written about the i3's electronics, but from the photo's that have been leaked so far, it is obvious BMW is working hard to make the driving experience custom tailored to then needs of an electric car driver. Built in navigation system that will list all charging station within your driving range and destination routing that even includes the part of your trip after you leave the car to use public transportation.

One thing that is interesting is there seems to be two numbers offered as the driving range based on your current state of charge, one that is based on normal driving and one based on the use of the Eco Pro mode which will reduce power to the motor and other energy using devices like cabin heating and cooling system. By doing so the car will use less energy and the range will be extended. The Eco Pro mode will undoubtedly give the car a less spirited driving experience, but when your cutting it close with your available range, believe me you will gladly trade off a bit of acceleration to make your destination. By displaying both estimated ranges, it will help the driver to decide which driving mode is best for that given destination.

Besides in car electronics, the i3 owner will have the ability to perform many functions in the car by the use of a smartphone. You'll be able to precondition the battery and cabin to the desired temperature. You'll be able to plug in a destination and the application will tell you if the car can make it there based on it's current state of charge or suggest charging stations to stop at along the route. It will also alert you once a pre-selected state of charge is attained. This can be very useful. Let's say you plugged in and then went off to run some errands while the car reached a certain state of charge necessary for you to make it home, the car will then send you a text message when that percentage is met, alerting you that it's safe to return to the car and begin your journey.

It going to be really interesting to see just what BMW is working on here, but judging from what is currently leaked, I'm thinking it will be pretty useful (and cool!).

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