It includes the 22-kilowatt, 450-pound lithium ion battery

450/2.2 = ~205kg. 22kWh/205kg = 105Wh/kg, which is pretty poor.

And if the ReX doesn't get at least 50mpg, it'll be a f--king embarrassment.

 

I bet the cold weather package will also include the optional heat pump.

I'm very impressed with the standard equipment for the base price point of the i3. I think I'd be happy with a base i3 with the cold weather package and uplevel stereo. Less than $44k or basically exactly what my Volt cost. And a 7.4kW charger!! Squeeee!!

I'm very excited for an i3 test drive. I'm guessing the reason we haven't seen the '14 Volt pricing or the ELR's MSRP is that GM was waiting for this car's price.

Get ready for a $5,000 price drop on the Volt!

-Drew

 

I was thinking the same thing. The i3 really competes more directly with the Volt from a configuration standpoint (4 door hatch, etc.) than the ELR (2 door sports coupe) and MANY (not all, but MANY) of us could easily get buy with either a pure BEV or the range extender option ( I know I easily could, especially with the faster charge time). So, everyone has laid their cards on the table...BMW has shown the i3 and announced it's price, and both Nissan and Ford have lowered their prices. That is actually a nice place for GM to be...they know what the competition is doing and can price accordingly. They are also ahead of the game with the Volt since they will issue their version 2.0 while others are still on version 1.0 (The Leaf being the possible exception). With options and the Rex the i3 could easily touch $50K. The Volt may be at $35,000-$37,500 and look like a deal in comparison. Regardless, I think these two will be viewed as competitors...unless the Volt seriously decontents for version 2.0 in which case v1 becomes the classic good deal in the used car market. Heck, I saw a 2011 advertised in the low $20's the other day and thought "man, that's a decent deal in the used car market).

 

Looks like a contender in the electric city car category. I like the design.

 

Agreed, I think it could be a contender. I didn't see anywhere yet if it has blind spot monitoring, that's one of my disappointments with the options on my Volt. Also lets see if real world driving will get you double the Volts EV range as they claim 80-100 miles on a single charge. I know lots of peoples complaints about the Leaf are that real world driving barely gets them over 50. I'd need at least 60 to cover my daily commute. I also like the Sunroof and maybe the park assist. But the real test is can I talk to it and say "Play Artist.....Taylor Swift"?.....LOL.

 

I would consider this car. It is RWD, and a near 50/50 weight distribution. It will be a real fun car to drive.

 

Wow, it's hideous. I think the Leaf is more attractive, and it's one of the ugliest cars I've ever seen. Thank God for Tesla and the Volt, bringing some attractive designs to EV's. I think these car companies are being forced into making EV's, and so they come up with the ugliest design possible so customers won't buy them.

 

I don't mind the looks of it although it would look much better without the amusement park tea cup doors for the rear passengers. They should have kept them inline with the front passenger doors.

 

So without the ICE option, it stickers for about the same as the Volt, AER about the same as the LEAF. Well, if you like BEV, but dislike the Leaf's appearance, and want to pay Volt price, the i3 is for you. )

 

Well it's a mishmash of equipment that kind of overlaps the Volt and Leaf.

The Leaf has an EPA range of 75 miles and the i3 is predicted to have 90+. Most important, the BMW has a liquid battery cooling system like the Volt so the electric range is likely to remain useful for a very long time unlike the Nissan. This could be a huge selling point.

The i3 has the fastest charger this side of a Tesla. It has navigation and LED headlamps as standard. Based on the Voltstats.net histogram averages I'm thinking a 90-100 mile AER with a little range extender might be what really fits the market best.

What the market really seems to want is more electric range. PiP owners want it, Volt owners want it, ELR intenders seem to want it. Leaf owners want a battery cooling system so their cars don't degrade ten minutes after they drive them off the lot. The i3 might be a nice umbrella over a large swath of the market as far as features and specs go.

-Drew

 

Unfortunately, I will still be keeping my Volt. It's my only vehicle so I can't afford to not have long distance ability. It's a good option for folks who want a full BEV thou although I wouldn't completely ignore the much cheaper Spark EV as well when it comes to the rest of North America.

 

I like this car. And a sunroof option, what a concept!!

 

WHAT is up with the front bumper? It makes the car look like it has a severe case of underbite.

 

Surprise it does not have $20k extra tagged on its price ..just for the name plate? BMW missed it? Damn

 

I love the interior. Very Danish Modern. If the exterior was as nice I might be tempted, but the fact is the exterior is still a horror. I have a Leaf, which is bad enough. This thing is worse.

The other big obstacle for me is that the price is way too high for limited range and performance in the Spark EV class. Rather than spending so much on carbon fiber BMW would have been better off stuffing a bunch more cells and a bigger motor into it. Strikes me as a science project. The seats are really cool though. Those I'd pay for.

The ELR should be faster (the 0-60 time for the i3 goes up pretty dramatically if you add the range extender) and have full performance when the generator kicks in. You can actually take it more or less anywhere. You do lose some EV range but for me 40 miles is usually OK or I need 100+. The Cadillac seems a much better deal if GM keeps the price within reason.

 

I'm OK with the looks. Much better than the LEAF IMHO.

As far as performance the ELR won't be faster. The info so far indicates it is faster than the 7.6 sec Spark EV.

Electric only(?): http://insideevs.com/bmw-releases-all-the-details-on-the-i3/
0-62 (100kph) - 7.2
0-30mph in 3.5 seconds, 0-60mph in approximately 7.0 seconds (preliminary).

REX: http://insideevs.com/bmw-i3-range-extender-to-offer-up-to-87-more-miles-decreases-performance/
Performance:
0-62 mph: 7.9 seconds (7.2 all-electric)
0-37 mph: 3.9 seconds (3.7 all-electric)
50-75 mph: 5.5 seconds (4.9 all-electric)

 

Another EV by a uber trendy manufacture can't be bad. I have mixed feelings over the exterior styling, love the interior and just don't know enough about the i3's power train when outfitted with the range extender.

Maybe this is why GM has held off releasing any info on the 2014 Volt. A price drop now seems more likely considering I doubt there will be any new technology or feature/equipment.

 

Scott, no way is the i3 nicer looking than the Leaf. At least the Leaf is ugly and weird looking. The i3 is just ugly. Plus the Leaf is $27K not $57K.

The Spark is faster than the i3 and I'd be willing to bet that the ELR will be faster as well. I don't buy the crazy stuff that the ELR will go 0-60 in under 5 seconds, but the engineers should be able to get it a few tenths below 8. That will be faster than the i3 with range extender, whose official time is 7.9 seconds 0-60 (actually 0-62). As you point out, the times sans extender are faster but I don't feel those are relevant. Like BMW, which thinks 80% of i3 buyers will add the extender, I don't see many people spending $50K for a small car that only has 75-85 miles of range. With the range extender in the i3 at least you get ... a crippled Volt with a really nice interior!

 

.. a crippled Volt with a really nice interior!

I can assure you that given equal pricing I 'd take the cripple. At least 14, 000 of our miles are within a 105 mile range and my commute's 41.4 miles. That would be severe reduction in gas consumption.

 

What kind of charge port will the i3 have? In the first video, they show someone plugging in a plug that is NOT the SEA combo J1772. Does this mean the i3 is not compatible with J1772?

 

View attachment 27914 View attachment 27922 View attachment 27930
What kind of charge port will the i3 have? In the first video, they show someone plugging in a plug that is NOT the SEA combo J1772. Does this mean the i3 is not compatible with J1772?

See this document. In the USA the core (top AC) is the SAE 1772, In Europe it is the ISO/IEC 15118 mennekes for the top AC. The lower pins on the bottom are the "same" DC connections.

http://electricdrive.org/index.php?ht=a/GetDocumentAction/id/32215

The charging communication between vehicle and charger is standardized in ISO/IEC 15118 in close cooperation with SAE.

 

If available, I would buy one today. I'm OK with the funky exterior. The BEV range is perfect for me, and the REX addresses range anxiety better than Tesla's superchargers IMHO. Bummer tank is so small, but a 5 min gas stop every 100 miles is not the end of the world for me in an edge-case scenario (versus Tesla).

Also bummer that the rumored performance is only for the non-REX version. Kind of false advertising.

I was happy to hear that the REX will behave sensibly in a CS + buffer mode, which should put to rest early concerns that REX mode would be crippled. I assume it will have a Hold / MM for the "climb big mountain just as REX was gonna kick in" edge case.

Seems like a nicer car than Volt overall, and not too much of a premium, I think this is the mainstream future moreso than the Tesla approach. Full BEV for mainstream use implies long range, which implies big battery, which implies high cost, which implies luxury pricing to generate enough gross margin dollars to make the math work. Barring dramatic reductions in cost and weight of batteries, I think the "Mini-REX" approach is the best balance.


I expect that CS mode efficiency will be worse for i3 than Volt, but the point is to rarely use the REX. If you have to burn a lot of gas, get a Prius.

 

The stops will be more like every 80 miles (at about 65mph) on fairly level terrain and less at altitude and significantly changing elevations. I do like their 25kw RE selection but the tank basically says they didn't design it for trips and don't expect it to be used that way. Not sure why they made this decision and neutered it with such a small tank. IMO, the 85kwh Tesla is much more practical for longer drives where supercharging is available, with 400+ miles of driving with one 30 minute stop.

 

I think this color looks alright.

 

Am I the only person that likes this body style? I definitely like it more than my 2011 Leaf SL.

Ian B

 

I continue to be less than impressed with the 34 hp range extender. I can only imagine the i3 will operate in "reduced propulsion" mode all the time when using the range extender...

 

The point of the REX is not to RELY on it. It's there in case the 80-125 mile range on battery isn't enough. Remember, the REX is an OPTION, not an integral part of the vehicle or platform. IMHO, it's like a Leaf with a small generator onboard, for when the 76 mile range just isn't quite enough.

An i3 with the REX would do pretty well for me. Practically ALL of my driving could be done on electric only, except possibly when I go down to visit my parents. It's ~80 miles round trip, and if I'm only getting about 80 miles in Comfort (come on, I live in Texas... AC is NOT OPTIONAL), that little extra assurance completely REMOVES range anxiety.


As for the design, I like the interior a lot. I love how they kept the whole thing very 'concept' like. The screens on stands instead of being molded in is pretty cool. The exterior... well... it looks like a 3 Series and a Honda Element got busy after a Depeche Mode concert and a few too many bong hits. It could grow on me, tho. My roommate, who has a 335i and a SLK350, actually likes the i3 quite a lot. I told him if he wanted to get one, we'd wire up another L2 charger for him, but that's at least a couple years out.

So as a primarily BEV, the i3 with the REX will be pretty damn perfect for city dwellers who almost never have to exceed the rated range. Heck, they can get it without the REX as well. But for the best all-around drive-it-as-far-as-you-want type car, the Volt is still on top.

 

everybody that thinks a volt is too expensive is going to have a heart attack when they figure out a base stripper bmw is 42,275.00..... my white pearl volt has every option you could get and it's msrp was 46,250.00 and my black one was 45,250.00.... a stripper bmw with a motorcycle engine is going to cost that much before any options and it's smaller than a leaf..... it's a city car....... this is going to be fun to watch when the public figures out what this thing costs..... gm will hold the price of the volt where it is..... you can bet on it.

 

Is BMW really serious about going electric? If the design of a vehicle doesn't appeal to me I will look no further. I'm sorry but I do judge automobiles by its cover.