0 BMW i3 Born Electric Guest Blogger: Meet Steven From The Netherlands

So Far we've had Andy from the UK , Hil from Holland , Toni from Belgium and Jan From Belgium. We'll now be traveling to The Netherlands to see what Steven has to say about his Laurel Grey i3 REx which he picked up on Valentines Day:

My name is Steven and I was Born Electric on Friday, 14th February, 2014. 

Love

Do I? Oh yes! BMW may not have delivered the alpha and omega of the motoring world, but boy, how good is it?

Every aspect to like has been covered in many a publication on many a different medium, but does this bombardment of information convey the feeling of ’togetherness’ of the finished product I have? I guess not, but I leave this for everyone to judge for themselves. Having driven 1600 km (around 1000 mi) the last week, of which 1230 km (765 mi) electric, my preliminary conclusion is that BMW has delivered something good here. And I’m not going to be talking about the performance, which is excellent, E-range, which is adequate, or about the battery, knowing that it could have been larger, but I will tell you a story about what you can do while having a nice conversation with your mother-in-law.

To begin with the latter: the effortless way the performance is delivered is absolutely fabulous. It is not just about sheer speed, there are faster cars, it is about acceleration with a creamy topping. This allows, for instance, for keeping up nicely, in this case up to 80 km/h (50 mi/h) in city traffic, with, say, a dark-blue 911 with spoilers extended and engine roaring. Whilst having a civilized conversation. With my mother-in-law, her being the least ‘brave’ of passengers one could imagine. Not a peep. At least not in the i3 :-) Just the subdued jet-airplane whine of its motor.

The same goes for decelerating. The recuperation is done very well, it comes naturally almost instantly. If one does need the footbrake, the transition is seamless. It is like the engine braking of a heavy diesel-powered vehicle and then some. Excellent !

To round it off, the comfort level is kept up nicely by the suspension and the road holding abilities are surprisingly good. The suspension is not soft, the wheelbase is on the short side, you’ll notice this on speed-bumps and short humps, but safe and comfortable it feels. It could be it is simply exactly to my taste and on par with my expectations. Just don’t ask me for an unbiased review then…

So, I like driving it. Almost as much as I like the interior now, for which I needed some time to get accustomed to the wild styling. We went for Lodge, being the light wool/leather combination. In our original order, we ordered the standard grey, but after driving our friend’s BEV with the white Loft interior, we changed our order on the very last moment. The light upholstery combines so much better with the interior design. Especially while ours is Laurel Grey on the outside. Not a topping, but a creamy center in this case. Nice. The feel and quality of it is absolutely on par with other BMW products, I am relieved to say, for we where a bit worried by the pre production cars we were presented with last year. It looks good, it feels good, even the doors sound fine now.

The ergonomics are ok. Some bonuspoints are not scored, some function follows form, as is the case in some other aspects of the i3, but if you are accustomed to other BMWs, you’ll get in and drive off. Also, the interior space is quite good. Everyone taking a ride is surprised the car is bigger than expected on the outside and roomier than expected on the inside. Fine for four adults not going around the world. When 1m90 (6’3”) though, it does get a little tight on the backseat. The ceiling is a tad on the low side for your average basketball-player. Also, the bootspace is, as widely written about, not ideal to cater for your basketball-team. It still is a small car, one needs to remember…

Finally, my take on the much debated exterior. It isn’t exactly pretty, but I like it a lot for all its quirkiness, what can I say ? The size is spot-on for me, with a length of 3999 mm (157.5”), the proportions render a sturdy image, the details look great in real life. Except the rear. It remains just too weird. But hey, nobody is perfect !

Lost

Love lost ? That is overstating it for dramatic purposes, but downsides there are. It feels like most of it is caused by form prevailing over function or, maybe, judgmental errors. For instance, the front windows seem to have difficulty coping with heavy gales. The top can leak air in this case. Also, the frameless windows cause a little turbulence around its rubbers on the B-pillar. The frameless windows could be a weight-saving measure and I am not against letting design rule over function, but I do question the decision to omit the window-frames.

Next issue: the charger. This is a big one. It is inexcusable BMW didn’t fit a three-phase AC charger. I really don’t get it, it is simply stupid. It could be that three-phase electrics aren’t common outside our little corner of the world, but north-western European customers could have benefited greatly having their AC charging times cut to one third. Let’s hope DC charging catches on…

Also high on my could-be-better list is the remote control. It is such a small part of the car, but you’ll handle it multiple times every day. It is a sort of plastic/metallic fob with buttons one can’t discern by touch, so it is not easy to press the right buttons unless looking while doing.

On top of this there are some niggles. The modulation of the heater could be better. And there are the caps (blind plugs ?) for the charge ports. Why ? And why the little hook for these to hang them from the flap ? It is all but useless. And why the rubber cord holding the two caps to the car (which I removed) ? And why is the flap covering the charge-port so big that I fear that somebody will break it off while walking past the car one day ? And why is there not a kind of courtesy handle for unlatching the security latch of the bonnet, like on our good old 3 series ? Oh well…

Born to live electric

What range do I get ? Perhaps the single most important question for battery drivers. This depends heavily on the driving style and top speed of course. My combined total is now around 17 kWh/100 km (62 mi) doing mixed driving and including road testing from me and my family members. I have observed a consumption of around 17-18 kWh/100 km (62 mi) when driving a hundred (62 mi/h), around 18-19 when driving one-ten (68), around 21-22 doing one-twenty (75) and around 24 doing 130 km/h (80). In not too cold weather (approx. 8 degrees centigrade (46 F)), and without too much wind and no torrential downpours.

My preferred mode of operation is using EcoPro with the climate control excluded and set to 19˚C (66 F), without A/C, the fans on the lowest setting and seat heating for driver and passenger activated as needed. This gives us a nice balance between comfort and consumption, for I don’t like the EcoPro implementation for the climate control. It is a very good thing one can exclude the climate control from EcoPro.

In real use, I haven’t used my REx all last week, doing 1000 km (621 mi) on electricity, I am pleased to say. For instance, we did a full-electric roundtrip to Germany yesterday of 290 km (180 mi) with a stop to and fro at a DC fast-charger and charging in Germany during our shopping expedition without a problem. One has to be careful to feather the throttle, even in EcoPro modus, and one has to keep Vmax at around 110 (68) for best results. I admit I couldn’t keep myself in check all the time, driving is supposed to be fun at times, right, so I used a little more than I could have used, but there was no problem reaching our designated charging stations. Driving like a granny is no prerequisite for driving off your kitchen socket….

Detail: BMW i3 Born Electric Guest Blogger: Meet Steven From The Netherlands

0 BMW i3 Born Electric Guest Blogger: Meet Jan From Belgium

A while ago I announced that I would be starting a new series here called, "I was Born Electric on...". The series will be featuring readers who are i3 owners and who are willing to share their thoughts on the car after owning it for a while. They will begin the post by introducing themselves and stating the date they were Born Electric, which is when they picked up their i3. Andy from the UK kicked off the Born Electric series and we then visited Hil from Holland and Toni from Belgium. We will be staying in Belgium for this next installment as we hear what Jan has to say:

My name is Jan and I was Born Electric on Wednesday, 30th January, 2014. 

How did I get to know the BMW i3?

Well, by coincidence. I saw the small car on the Brussels car show/exhibition (Autosalon) last year in January. It was presented there as concept car which would be available very soon to the audience, as kind of a car of the future which one could buy now. When I saw it I couldn't make up my mind: Did I like this car, or not? It was so special I couldn't turn my eyes off it. I had to see it closer. I asked a salesman if I could enter the closed area to have a look inside. Then was the moment when I fell in love. This car was so unique in a pleasant kind of way. The interior looked like the interior of a small science-fiction spaceship. The exterior was so special yet attractive looking in every kind of way.

I must say I had many questions before starting this adventure. I had never driven an electric vehicle before. The salesman could answer most of my questions. What made me take my decision to consider this BMW i3 as our next second car were not only the unique looks of this car, but also all the advantages which came with it: it was for 120-150% tax reductible, it doesn't spill any CO2 whatsoever, no taxes when the car needs to driven first (it has a name 'inschrijvingtax' 'registration taxes?'), the lowest yearly driving taxes since it is full electric. All this just looked too good to be true.

I came home and told my wife 'Yes! I have found the perfect next car for you!' Yes, this car is for purpose as a second car to us. It is the car my wife uses to drive to her job on a daily base which is only 10km away, and to drive my son to his gym training four times a week which is about 30km far away. So, there really wasn't any real range anxiety to the story either. For long distance driving we have our other bigger family car. All I needed to do now is to convince my wife, which didn't seem to be as hard as I thought. She seemed to like this strange little car on first sight too!

The waiting:

As from this moment I checked out everything what there was to be found on the net about electric driving in general and the BMW i3 in particular. That's when I soon became a big fan of your specialized blog. Already in February I had told the BMW salesmen I showed a big interest in this car and if any news would be still as positive as all that I had read until then, I would like to be one of the first who would drive the full-electric BMW i3 in Belgium. BMW kept me posting on regular intervals. I could download the BMW I electric app on my smartphone and calculate my daily traffic to see there was no need in range anxiety at all. I was invited in an exhibition of the BMW i3 in the summer. Each time I got more convinced I was going to make the right decision. I was kept waiting until end of October to actually register me for a confirmed interest in buying this car, and finally the first week of January I signed the contract and closed the deal. The car would arrive 4-5 weeks after...

I was Born Electric On...

Wednesday 30th of January! Finally the car had arrived. It had taken less time as predicted, but still I am an impatient man. I was very curious of how it would look like, because I had never seen the car in the combination I had ordered it: BMW i3 Advanced in Ionic Blue Silver with Loft interior design. And I must say: I loved the looks! I have been the lucky one to own the first BMW i3 in our state. It all makes it even more special.

I think these colours are just the real deal for this car. It is extra-ordinary looking, special and shiny. It contrasts greatly with the black toppings and with the (electric) blue stripes beneath the doors. (The colour showing here doesn't really add up to it, but there are plenty more better pictures to be found to show the perfect match of this color for this car).

 I am very excited of the choice of my interior: Loft. It just ads up to the uniqueness of this car. It just fits. It makes it so much more space-like and futuristic looking. It is light, spacious looking and yet thrilling due to the electric lines fitting of the car seats and the blue lines which contrast nicely in details. One can tell that a whole team of enthusiastic decorating engineers have worked on this here. 

 The dashboard just like so great! Spacious, nicely shaped. I love the look of the darker dashboard going down under the console. It isn't the eucalyptus wood. That was nice too, but I thought it kind of disturbed the futuristic looks of the dashboard, making it a more ordinary car. Well, everyone has it taste, but I am happy with my decision. The big center screen which one can module along one's taste: here shown with the electric features and the entertainment details with a nice big picture of the song that is playing. 

The supercool startup-close status of the car. When one closes the car with the key, the insides of the car glow blue, the lights in the door handle turn on. This really ads a nice touch to the futuristic space-oddity of the car! (only available if LED packet is taken). You can be sure there are lots of amazed faces when these lights are set on on a public parking lot at night.

Driving experience:

I am really, really impressed by the fun driving experience of this little car. Also my wife, who isn't into cars at all, loves this one all the more. The first time she drove this car together with the kids my daughter said: mom, this thing is propelling like a rocket. She had just left our parking lot and stepped on the pedal; after merely 100 metres she was flying at 60 miles per hour. Which is kind of dangerous, because judging by the quietness in which this car boosts off, you really can't tell how fast you are driving. I love the sound of the car when I give full throttle. It's actually more like an electric train than a car. No roars, just power whistling.

And if you are driving at slow pace, you really can't hear the car is running, not at the inside, neither at the outside. The onboard entertainment system is just great also. Lots of options, lots of possibilities, all pleasantly and clear shown on the big central screen. Another great feature which works great is the full automatic parking. It all adds to the ease of use and to the futuristic impression one gets driving this car. Also the very small turning circle is quite impressive and it makes this car very easy and agile to drive.

About the range anxiety, I have to be honest, that's something I still got to get used to. I always am quite focused on the remaining range, especially when I have taken the highway, since the range goes down quite steadily and fast. Especially if one is driving vividly, it really can be seen on the remaining range. But that's a choice everyone makes for his own. I personally enjoy this car's potential too much for now, to drive it in a real eco pro mode. (But I am sure it will come eventually). I love to stand next to a fast car (yes, mostly BMW or Audi) at the red lights, then step on it when it turns green, and enjoy to see the amazed faces in the rear mirror as my car sprints before them without any effort!

Of course it means that the battery has to be charged more often, and it means also that we - for the first time- have to somewhat plan our trips with this car, because where I liked to use my first car in the past to do the shopping and stuff, I also take this car now because hey - it's cheaper, it's more fun and it's ecologic.

And it means that sometimes we just have to wait and don't take this car because it's not yet charged enough to take the trip. However, I have to be honest that I have not already installed a wallbox and am still charging the car on our regular home electricity network. I have chosen to go for the Wallbox Pro - which is a real supercharger - but it will only be available second trimester of this year. I will surely let you guys know what's the difference with the ability to fastcharge. I am sure we will use the car even more then.

Another not so pleasant thing is that I have been trying to install the Connected Drive system for more than four days now, and it just doesn't want to work. The problem is that my registration to Connected Drive on the net isn't transferred to the car, so I don't get a confirmation code in the car to finish the connection. It's an internet portal problem, they said at the local Connected Drive center in Belgium, so they have to manually fill in an application and send it over to Germany. It will take about a week before it will be solved. Which is kind of disappointing because I really wanted to try out the BMW i Remote app on my smartphone right away. I will keep you posted too when this is installed and working too.

But besides that, it really is a superb car to drive. As an owner of a BMW i3, you will have to get used to all the looks of amazed and sometimes confused faces. I just come back from a restaurant, and while I sit inside, I see people stopping by the car and taking pictures. I have never experienced something strange like this. And returning from a great meal at the restaurant, driving this unique car, fast and agile in total relaxing silence, while playing 'Life's for the Living' of Passenger out loud like you are in a concert hall on the first row; there's only one thing I can say: Sheer pleasure and happiness!

A little about range:

I have been driving the car for about a week now and I come to understand the calculation of the estimated range a little bit better now. I have noticed that the car calculates the maximum range after a night's charging depending on the driving style and circumstances of the last drive. So, when fully charged the maximum distance can vary from about 113km (70 miles) to about 135 km (84 miles)  in comfort mode.

On a morning when fully charged, and when the day before the car had purely driven in the city (meaning lower speeds) the battery indicated 135 km (84 miles) in Comfort mode, 137 km (85 miles) in Eco Pro-mode, and 150 km (93 miles) in Eco Pro+ mode. I think this must be about the real maximum range one can get with this car, stating that the car is driven in the city in an average driving style, lower speed, and frequent stops to recharge the battery while driving. However, if I step on the pedal and drive more sporty (and I must admit it is difficult not to do this, because it's just sooo much fun! ) and certainly if I drive on the highway, meaning speeds of about 130 km/h ( 80 mile per hour), you can't really depend on these figures anymore.

To give an example I have noted precisely a trip I have driven: 

The trip goes from my home to the sportshall where I drop my son off. It's 28 km in total (18 miles), of which about 18 kms (11 miles) on the highway, where I usually drive about 130 km/h (80 miles per hour). After a night charging the range meter shows 113 km (70 miles). So normally when the calculation would be absolute there would still be 85 km (52 miles) left on the counter when I arrive at my destination. However, when I arrived at my destination the counter only showed 53 km (33 miles) left! Which is kind of scary, because a big part of the battery range seemed to be lost there!

However, when I get back in the car to come back to home, it's another story: The meter now shows 59 km (36.5 miles) left. So normally when I arrive at home there should be 31 km (19 miles) left. However when I arrived at home the calculator still showed 33 km (20.5 miles), which was a gain of 2km. So it was actually quite perfectly measured. It seemed to really have taken into account the weather conditions, the road ahead, the driving style, the maximum speed etcetera.

To sumarize: If one drives always into the same pace and always into the city at lower speeds I really think that 130-140 km (80 - 87 miles) is quite a realistic estimation of the effective driving range. However if one like to drive sportive and quite some distance on the highway doing higher speeds, I think 100 km (60 miles) would also be a realistic estimation as the maximum range. 

Detail: BMW i3 Born Electric Guest Blogger: Meet Jan From Belgium

0 BMW i3 Born Electric Guest Blogger: Meet Toni From Belgium

A while ago I announced that I would be starting a new series here called, "I was Born Electric on...". The series will be featuring readers who are i3 owners and who are willing to share their thoughts on the car after owning it for a while. They will begin the post by introducing themselves and stating the date they were Born Electric, which is when they picked up their i3. Andy from the UK kicked off the Born Electric series and we then visited Hil from Holland. We'll now be traveling to Belgium to visit with Toni and his new Capparis White i3:  

My name is Toni and I was Born Electric on Monday, 27th January, 2014.

The first time I realized that there was an alternative to fossil fuels for propelling a car was in early 2012, when I came across an electronic brochure about the Opel Ampera, the European sibling of the Volt. The more I read about it, the more I was convinced that my next car had to be an electric one.

The reason why I didn't go for the Ampera back then was stupidly financial : 50.000€ for a car was way above what I was willing/able to pay. 

Of course, there were other more affordable electric cars out there. But maybe I was not ready for the leap of faith into electro-mobility yet. Range anxiety was clearly an issue I had to deal with while I waited for my savings account to be able to take the hit of a new car.

Three years later, things had clearly evolved. Both on the EV market and in my personal situation. In the latter, I had enough spare funds to afford a reasonable down payment on a premium car. Moreover, the extensive immersion into electric car literature helped me to come to the conclusion that I did not really need a range extender since more than 95% of my daily commuting could easily be covered by a BEV. The question was then : which car was going to be the one. Ampera/Volt? No, though it definitely is a fantastic car, it still has a tail pipe and I did not want to buy an end-of-cycle model. Tesla? No, too big and too expensive, I did not want to take out a mortgage for the sake of buying a car.  Nissan Leaf? Er, no.  

The BMW i3? Well ... I must admit that my first impression was negative. Not because of its design; actually I am fond of its looks since the very first concepts that appeared in 2012.  But rather because it is a BMW! I never liked BMW. I always considered that BMW was making cars to suit arrogant petrolhead jerks (with all due respect, of course!).

And then I test-drove it. And fell in love.

Was I ready to overcome my prejudices and become a BMW driver myself?  Definitely. Biases are wrong, the car drives like a breeze, the technology inside is outstanding and I too can be a jerk sometimes. : )

So, in order to do penance for my past biases, I decided to devote this blog post to crushing some preconceptions that have been floating around the i3 in some reviews.  And I'll do that from the authoritative position of being the happy owner of a "Shamu Edition" (Capparis white & black - think Shamu the whale)

It is a city car:

No, it is not. Though the car handles incredibly well in an urban environment, it has nothing to be ashamed of when cruising at highway speed. It is fast and responsive. Steering is precise and forgiving at 130 km/h (80 mph).  Overtaking on motorways is a feast. It is a BMW after all, is it not?

The i3 is particularly noisy at high speed:

No, it is not. My first extended drive of the i3 has been the trip back home after delivery at my iAgent dealership. 50 km (30 mi) from Waterloo (Brussels area) to the Mons area where I live. Since the battery was almost fully charged, I decided that I could afford the luxury of squandering away precious kWh's on the E19 motorway. In addition to discovering the driving dynamics described above, I was also curious to put to the test the recurrent criticism I read about unpleasant airflow noises.  I can confirm that in-cabin noises are like taste; there is no accounting for them. I, for one, was not inconvenienced by the airflow at all. I even enjoyed it.

The trunk is too small and the suicide doors are a hindrance:

The question is : Compared to what? 

I am a small car guy. Before the i3, my car was a Mini Cooper. Before that, I owned a Mercedes A-Class (2004 model). Before that, a (discontinued) Rover 220sdi. I know what a small car is. And the i3 is no small car at all by my standards. The trunk offers enough space to generously accommodate the weekly shopping for a family of four. There is plenty of space for my Victorian longbow, arrows included, or for my eldest son's guitar, amp included. 

As for the coach doors, once again it all depends on where you come from. Compared to the coupé-style doors of my Mini, the i3's "antagonist" doors, as they are called in French, are a major step forward in terms of ease of access and comfort. Or to put it in my youngest son's words : "Sooo cooool!".

Materials used for interior trims do not feel "premium":

That was a tricky one.

As I said, price was an important parameter for me, as it surely is for most of us. Given that I accepted the idea of disbursing 40.000+ € for a car, the outlook of spending my driving time in a sleazy environment was distressing me. Of course, I did have the opportunity to feel, touch, smell the interior materials a couple of times before I ordered the car. But assessing the quality of a dashboard or of a leather upholstery is like testing a spring mattress at the mattress store.  No matter how long you try to figure it out, the only way to be sure is to turn the lights off and literally sleep on it.

Though I have not slept in my car (yet), now, I know. The interior is largely up to the price paid. Comfy, stylish, extremely well finished down to the most minute detail. I am almost ashamed of having doubted.  By the way, my i3 has the Lodge interior (Giga world). 

The i3 is just an overpriced Zoe: (I've been reading this one a lot in the French-speaking press).

For the non-European reader, let me first explain that the Renault Zoe (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renault_Zoe) is a sort of cute good looking Nissan Leaf, with a French touch.  Don't get me wrong; I think that the Zoe is a nice little car but, c'me on! 

How can a professional journalist put the i3 and the Zoe on the same footing.  How can you compare the past to the future? A car made of steel to the first mass produced car made of aluminum and carbon fibre?

I wish I were an engineer and be able to explain why and how a car with a CFRP body drives so much better than a conventional one. But I am just a linguist and you'll have to bear with my poor description : in the i3, you're just in control!  

The rigidity of the thing makes you feel that there is nothing the car won't take.  You feel light and super secure at the same time.  If you don't believe me, just arrange your own test drive.

Considering the technology, range is unimpressive:

My take on that may sound unconventional.

More range would have been inconsistent with the concept of “great driving experience in a sustainable way”. If my average daily need is 40, why should I store in my car 4, 6 or even 8 times the energy and resources that are necessary?  

In all fairness though, I must confess that I am still struggling with an instinctual range anxiety.

And this is where technology comes to the rescue. The amount of information that comes through the screens is just impressive. The dynamic range assistant, the Eco-route guidance, the graphics, everything has been thought and designed in order to alleviate whatever range fear that I still could have. And it works. On top of that, the resolution quality of the 10.2" screen (professional nav) is remarkable.

I know that there is a bit of controversy as to why BMW did not include a State Of Charge reading in the i3 as in the ActiveE or the Mini E.  Since I never had the chance to drive an EV with a SOC, I guess that my point of view may be considered as neutral on that.

The i3 is an expensive high-tech toy for tree-hugging geeks:

Yes.

It is.

But it is much more than that at the same time.

It's a car.

With all the features, functionalities, looks, behavior, style, technology and feel of a great car.

And yes, it is electric.

So is my i3 living up to all of its promises?

Not quite all of them, for the moment at least.

In Belgium, some of the much anticipated 360° Electric services have not been fully rolled out yet. The Add-On-Mobility (Access or Alternate Mobility program as it is called on other markets) is still largely undefined and the ConnectedDrive services are having a bumpy debut.  Nevertheless, the local BMWi team is working hard on it.

As far as the actual car is concerned though, I can happily report that I haven't found the least flaw yet.

My i3 is the second BMWi to have been registered in Belgium.

And I am very proud to be among the first owners. 

2/5/14 EDIT:
Toni has had a few people ask him about the range since this post went up so he asked me if I could add these words to the post to cover what he has observed so far:

Hi, thank you all for the the nice words!

As for the range, I haven't pushed it to its limits yet. And I doubt I'll ever try to; I'd rather do away with my range anxiety in a non-traumatic way :)

Apart from the maximum range, I think you have to consider the "comfortable" range the car is giving you. By "comfortable" range, I mean the distance you can cover without ever bothering about modes, driving style or even outside temperature and this includes short highway portions. In the case of the i3 (BEV), my experience of the "comfortable" distance is ~62mi (100 km) on one charge.  Remember that, within this range you can drive the way you want. Of course, this "comfortable" range can be jeopardized by a particularly aggressive and non-responsible driving. But, as far as I know, only anti-EV journalists are capable of driving this way.

If your daily commuting includes larger highway portions and/or represents between 62 and 80 mi (100 to 130 km), then I recommend using ECOPRO. Mind you, ECOPRO is not a sub-standard COMFORT mode. The car behaves much like it does in COMFORT mode with only slight differences. Most of them remain unseen by the driver. The only one you do notice is the max speed capping. This speed capping works much like a speed limiter on a conventional car, i.e. you can adjust it in the settings and override it by pressing the right pedal down to "full throttle" when overtaking or in case of emergency. For Europe, ECOPRO default setting is 110km/h (~68 mph).

If you really need to go much farther than 80 mi (130 km) on one charge in a consistent way, you'll probably have to master hypermiling techniques and accept that the ride may become stressing sometimes :)
In this case, I'd recommend going to for the REx version.

If you own an i3 and would like to participate in the Born Electric series here, you can email me at: tom.moloughney@gmail.com

Detail: BMW i3 Born Electric Guest Blogger: Meet Toni From Belgium

0 BMW i3 Born Electric Guest Blogger: Meet Hil from Holland

My i3 was delivered to my home on a flatbed truck, more than 300 kilometers (180 miles) from my i Agent. Traveling that distance in an i3 BEV on one charge isn’t possible and the i3 being my first EV, we agreed that the car be delivered! As it stands, I’m probably the first i3 owner in Fryslân, Holland and I’d like to report on my first month’s experiences!

A while ago I announced that I would be starting a new series here called, "I was Born Electric on...". The series will be featuring readers who are i3 owners and who are willing to share their thoughts on the car after owning it for a while. They will begin the post by introducing themselves and stating the date they were Born Electric, which is when they picked up their i3. Last week we had the pleasure of kicking off the series with a post from Andy, who lives with his new i3 in the UK. We'll now be hopping over to Holland to visit with Hil and his new Ionic Silver i3:       

    Hello, my name is Hil and I was Born Electric on Monday, December 30th 2013. 

My recent BMW history
My BMW before the i3, was a 5 door 118i (F20) which I bought for it’s economy and comfort. It was less the sports car than the Z4M Coupe I had before it, but with more room and an adjustable suspension, it meant super daily driving pleasure! Just after the “1” came, BMW launched their ActiveE program with a preview of the concept i3 and i8 in Rotterdam. With my eldest son Tom (also a motor head!) our short, snowy test drive in the ActiveE sold us to the i concept!

The big wait...
This past summer, BMW made production slots for the i3 available in Holland. An i3 in the autumn? Great! In early September the i3 was ordered and after a few glitches in the ordering process (an other color and not fully optioned!), the i3 turned up in the early winter, on snow tires, in Ionic Silver (which is more blue than silver) and with it’s cool Adaptive LED headlights.

Daily Use:

I use the car mostly for local trips, from one village to the next.  As a rural Family Doctor, it’s great to do my rounds in the pre-warmed comfort of the i3! To now the only EVSE I use is the standard socket plug-in, delivered with the car. It charges at 3.4 kW which is fast enough for my daily trips. Occasionally I make a longer trip to meetings, for post-grad education or visits to family and friends.  Those trips are between 100 to 140 kilometers (60 - 87 mi), but according to my i Agent (and BMW), form no problem to the all-electric i3! For on the road charging, there’s also a growing network of quick DC chargers in Holland, thanks to Fastned!

Adventurous Start:

True to the EV pioneer calling, on New Years Eve, the family traveled with the i3 to our traditional  New Years celebration at good friends. They live 103 kilometers (61 miles) away.  At the start, the i3 gave me a range of 120 kilometers, more than enough! But beware,  this figure is based largely on previous driving habits and I had only driven 70 km! But 120 km should be enough! We left at 6 pm, outside temperatures 5 degrees Celsius with a stiff southwesterly headwind and 3 adults in the car with the trunk packed. My normal ICE driving style is to limit my freeway speeds to 115 kmh (70mph) and on two lane roads, I drive 100 kmh (60mph). That evening I set out to copy my 118i driving style to see how the i3 fared. After 40 km (26mi) the battery had just 50% charge left! What??? Total i3 range as claimed by BMW to be 130 km (80mi) per charge, not a scanty 80 km (50mi)! At this rate we’d have to walk 20 km to our friends house. What now? Turn back and take the reserve ICE car or charge up somewhere?

I knew of a quick charger along the freeway nearby, so we decided to drive on! In the confusion we took the wrong exit and drove an extra 10 km to get back on track.  My first encounter with a public EVSE was a disappointment. Fumbling in the dark with wind and weather. the quick charger didn’t charge! I called the ANWB help desk number (=AAA in the US) who told me that there was a working charging point 30 km ahead on my route. The question again: press on or turn back? Well, we decided to "Go (South-) West"!

By now I had become a bit more EV savvy and after studying the settings and menu of the i3,  it seems I had started out in the standard, uneconomical but sporty “Comfort” mode! In “EcoPro” mode (EP) the range sprung from 55 to 65 km and in the EcoPro+ (EP+) mode, all of a sudden I could go 81 km! I kept it at EP+ and drove on with the Southwesterly storm at full head. On the freeway ahead, a Motor Home drove a leisurely 85 kmh (50mph) so I slid behind it and slipstreamed further. Meanwhile my hands and feet had turned to ice, as had everyone in the car! EcoPro+ is a spartan experience, with no heated air or seats, but it got us to our friends house, with 3 km to spare. We had become true pioneers on New Year’s Eve!

A Second Go…

The next week I had a meeting in Utrecht, at 138 km (84 mi) from home. After the cold experience on New Year’s Eve you might think that I wouldn’t consider an even longer trip. But that’s not what EV pioneering is all about my friends, and to be honest, the first trip turned out fine! But for this trip, I prepared myself. To ward off the cold, I took a hot water bottle along, put it on my lap, covered with a fleece blanket. From the start, I drove moderately (max. 100kmh=60mph) in EP+ mode and strictly followed the EcoPro route chosen by the BMW Navigation. It takes you over roads with lower maximum speeds but the route is shorter. My planned 1st destination was a public charging station 10km (6mi) from the meeting place and I had a folding bicycle in the trunk (yes it fit!) for the last leg. But the range expanded as I drove! I left with a calculated range of 124 km (77 mi) and after the first 25 km (15.5 mi), still had 119 km (74 mi) left! With this kind of magic the i3 grew on me! Once on the freeway I hit headwinds, so chose a truck to slipstream behind at 93 kmh (58 mph) on the cruise control.  Except for some wind buffeting I really enjoyed my radio in the quiet of the cabin! I reached the meeting venue at 138 km (86 mi) without the wayside charge! Range anxiety is a thing of the past!

DC Quick charging at 50kW's on a Fastned CCS Quick Charge Station

In the parking garage there was an EVSE which only charged at 3.4 kW instead of the expected 7.4 kW. After 2.5 hours the state of charge increased from 5 to 27%, not enough to get home! But I had enough range to get to the nearest Fastned DC 50kW quick charger, 40 km away. Within 30 minutes I had more than 90% of charge, enough to get home comfortably. When the Fastned network is expanded from the present 5 to the planned 100 stations at the end of 2014, cross country trips in Holland with the i3 will be no problem! At the end of 2015 the projected planning even calls for 200 stations, one for every 40 to 50 freeway kilometers!

EcoPro EcoPro+ and Comfort:

The difference between Comfort and EcoPro modes is purely performance. The i3 Comfort mode would be the Sport mode in an ICE BMW mainly because of the incredible acceleration! EcoPro differs from EP+ more because in EP+ the Seat and Main Heaters are turned off.  In cold seasons, choosing EP+ mode makes the cabin icy cold, even with a hot water bottle and fleece blanket!

My lesson is: when range is at issue, put the i3 in EP mode but turn the heater off with the dashboard button. The seat heater still works and hardly reduces range, but keeps you warm! If the windows fog, the heater rapidly clears them and when done, switch it off until needed again.

In Conclusion:
Yes, the i3 is the future of mobility, now! It’s quick, quiet, economical and clean! Range anxiety is unnecessary if you drive the i3 according to your purpose (range or fun!) and because this car also happens to be a BMW, that fun begins on your driveway!

 

The future has never looked brighter

Big thanks to Hil for sharing his experiences and thoughts here! If you own an i3 and would like to participate in the "I was Born Electric on..." series here email me at: tom.moloughney@gmail.com and I'll get you in the queue.

Detail: BMW i3 Born Electric Guest Blogger: Meet Hil from Holland

0 I Was Born Electric On...The First BMW i3 Owner Review:

 

A while ago I announced that I would be starting a new series here called, "I was Born Electric on...". I'll be featuring readers who are i3 owners and who are willing to share their thoughts on the car after taking possession. They will begin the post by introducing themselves and stating the date they were Born Electric, which is when they picked up their i3. Without further ado, I bring you Andy from the UK, our first i3 owner & Born Electric guest blogger:

 

Hi, my name is Andy and I was Born Electric on Saturday, January 11^th,  2014.

I came to the EV party a bit late in the day, as I was a typical petrolhead and dismissed electric cars as an irrelevance - underpowered, no range, ugly, the usual stuff - and even when I first saw the i3 concept, it looked weird & the projected price seemed way too high (I think a projected £40,000 base price was mentioned at the time).  So I ignored it and carried on driving my gas guzzling M3, even though I wasn't enjoying the daily grind in it: mainly in traffic, 40+ miles a day, costing me around £350 a month in petrol. The only times I really got to enjoy the M3 was on my drives with the guys at Petrolhead Nirvana, who arrange trips to Scotland, Wales, the Alps, and elsewhere - amazing places where you can give a 400hp car a bit of stick. More about them later.

Then the i3 proper was launched in August, and at seemingly sensible prices (c£25,000 after the UK grant), with leasing costs at around £350 a month.  Hey, that number looked familiar - an idea began to formulate in my mind... and a few days later, early August 2013, I was putting down a deposit. My man-maths (or man-math for our American cousins) told me that the fuel saving, together with fewer miles on the M3 meaning lower depreciation, less tyre wear & fewer services, could make the i3 a “free” car!  A quick spin in an ActiveE in September blew me away and confirmed my thoughts that I was doing the right thing, then an actual i3 test drive in early November really sealed the deal.  Except the demo car was loaded with extras which I had a chance to play with, so my originally bare bones car ended up, if not fully loaded, at least three-quarters loaded. On top of the gadgets like Parking Assist & Driving Assistant, I liked the wood on the dash, but I also liked a darker interior that wouldn't show the dirt so much, so the Suite (Tera in US) interior was added in too. Suddenly my arithmetic wasn't adding up quite so well, but too late now!

Delivery was scheduled for late January, but you'll have gathered that I was hardly racing to be the first owner of an i3; I figured there had to be many UK buyers who'd been more far-sighted & quicker off the mark than me. So I was really surprised to be the first in the UK - or at least, the first in the UK on the mybmwi3 forum - to take delivery of an i3.  As I write, 10 days after, it seems there have been no more deliveries still, and there's even talk of further delays, so I don't know how mine beat the blockade, but I'm glad it did!

The Wallbox

Before the car was due at the end of January, I had to get one fitted at home, so after a fair bit of chasing, I took a call on Monday 6th January booking me in at short notice for the following Thursday - "we'd better get on with it as your car's at the dealers". Wait, what?! A quick trip down there after work confirmed there was a car matching my order exactly, sitting there quietly - but the dealer at first denied it was mine!  A bit of pushing from me finally established it was mine, but also that there was a mistake on my invoice, putting the dealer's £5,000 grant from the government in potential jeopardy. So while it was all sorted out, my car sat there doing nothing, just out of my grasp, and I eventually took delivery on the Saturday. Frustrating - but in light of the delays others are experiencing now, I should've been more patient!

It turned out my house, built around 1900, had electrics that weren't much newer, so neither the supply to the house nor the cable to the garage were up to the job of charging at the full 7.5kW. I've ended up with half that, but that's plenty to recharge the car from almost flat to 100% overnight. The BMW wallbox is a big ugly thing though, and I wish I'd gone for the smaller & cheaper option made by Polar, or one of its competitors. I think for the charging rate my house will support, it would've been free in fact.

My first few miles

My first day as an EV driver was spent going round friends & relations, and blowing their minds. I'm sure this is old news to all you current EV drivers, but the whole experience is so alien, yet so pleasurable, that a huge grin is inevitable the first time you try it, whether driving or as a passenger. It’s a fantastic talking point too – friends, clients, even strangers are all eager to know more about what the future of motoring holds for us all.

My first long trip. Range Anxiety - what's that then?

Each month, Petrolhead Nirvana (the guys who organize the long distance driving trips) hold a meeting at the Ace Cafe, a famous venue for car & bike owners in northwest London.  January’s meet was only two days after I'd taken delivery, but I was keen to take my new toy to show off to my pals there, although it wasn't quite in the spirit of the occasion - people usually bring their Ferraris & Lambos, M-cars & 911s. I was fairly sure they wouldn't kick me out, but there was another hurdle for someone with a 2-day old pure electric car (I'd avoided the REx on cost, performance, and purity grounds - lugging a petrol generator around everywhere seemed to spoil the whole idea, and with a bit of planning, didn't seem necessary, for me anyway) - the Ace is about a 70 miles round trip, and at that stage of my ownership, a whole week ago, I really wasn't sure if I'd make it.  I know better now! A cold & slow EP+ drive up there left me with plenty of range (especially after borrowing some electricity from the cafe manager, thanks Nick!) to give some rides to my Petrolhead mates, all of whom raved about it - the more demo cars BMW can get out there, the more they'll sell, definitely - and to drive home in Comfort mode, and in comfort, with the heating on and a heavy right foot. I figured that if the range remaining got close to the distance to home, I could soft-pedal and knock it back to EP or even EP+ mode and still get home. Using this method, I had a fantastic fast drive back through London and made it home with 6 miles to spare - a close call, but I really didn't feel worried at any stage.

Range Reduction vs Miles Traveled

Since my epic(!) trip, it's been the usual commute for the last week, and as I know I'm going to do around 50 miles a day at the most, I drive it without thinking about economy at all. As a result, my iPhone's been telling me I have 75 miles at the start of the day (100% SOC), but then my spreadsheet tells me that my range reduces by about 13 miles for every 10 miles I drive, even though the car's had a few days now to predict it accurately. So if I drove normally (for me), I'd be stranded at about 60 miles. Don't be alarmed though - if I needed to go further in a day, I'd drive differently,  and get maybe 90-100 miles. I don't know for sure yet though, as driving economically is next week's experiment! 

As it is, one thing I'm enjoying immensely is coming home, plugging it in, and knowing that a few hours later I’ll have a full “tank” for minimal cost.  I'm certainly not missing my frequent visits to the petrol (US: gas) station, and it feels strangely liberating each time I drive past one. If you haven’t experienced it yet, you'll love it.

Performance - the i3 vs M3 race

You've probably seen this video of the drag race at Brands Hatch from the UK launch, where the i3 storms ahead of the M3 before finally being overtaken at maybe 50mph. After driving the i3 for a week, and being in the fortunate position of having both cars, I thought it didn't quite seem right, and once the weather improved enough to get the M3 out of the garage, I fired up my Dynolicious app (no, this wasn't going to be a properly scientific test!) and set off - to a test track near me, obviously.  The i3 was very easy to measure consistently – just put your foot down. The M3 needed a bit more finesse, and it was strange having to get used to driving it again after only a week. It turned out that, surprise surprise, the i3 was quick, but not as quick as an M3. To its credit, it was only a second off at 50mph (5.5s vs 4.5s), but then I wasn't really trying in the M3 as it was a bit damp and I had to be careful with the throttle.   If the M3 was properly driven by someone who knows what they're doing, the gap would be much wider I'm sure. Click on the pictures to enlarge:

Tech Stuff

I guess I’m a bit of a geek, although I don't profess to be any kind of computer expert. I do enjoy fiddling with technology though, and that's one of the things that attracted me to the i3 - I'm especially enjoying stuff like the Driving Assistant, almost making my commute enjoyable, and the Parking Assist just makes passengers laugh! The voice control is very good, much better than the old iDrive's in the M3, and the phone call sound quality over Bluetooth is much better too, helped by the quietness of the car I guess.  And coming down to a toasty car with a clear windscreen on a frosty morning is superb!  However, I somehow imagined the quiet peaceful surroundings of the car, and using the Active Cruise Control, would get me to work completely relaxed and happy, but that was expecting too much: it still takes me just as long, and there are just as many idiots on the road, after all.  Even an i3 can’t magic them away! Some of the tech is pretty tricky to figure out, even for a geek like me, and I wonder if BMW will lose some of their potential audience - people who aren't tech-savvy but who would otherwise be perfect for an EV might get scared off.

Problems

There's also stuff that doesn't work so well, including both the things I've just praised. The Active Cruise Control, part of the driving assistant, intermittently (but quite often) switches itself off, saying it's outside its working parameters - even when it's in the same conditions it was working fine in a minute ago. I'm not sure if it’s a design “feature”, or if my car has a fault. The Parking Assist threw a fit last night too, just when I was showing it off to someone, naturally. As it began to reverse, it lost track of where it was and slammed on the brakes (it sounded like the ABS came on, even though we were going slow), with dire messages appearing on-screen about the system being broken and insisting the car be taken to a dealer ASAP.  I turned it off and on again (see, I do know about computers) and it worked fine.  I've dropped it in to the dealers today though, and they're sending the diagnostic report off to BMW to see what they say.

The rear doors can be closed quite gently before you close the fronts - but if you do, a warning appears on the dash as you drive round corners saying they're open! A proper slam to close them does the trick; the dealer's looking into that too. Finally, some of the connected drive stuff is pretty poor (not unique to the i3, I realize); Facebook & Twitter don't give you enough of each post to be useful, email doesn't work at all unless you have a Blackberry apparently, and the apps like Napster & Audible are very clunky to operate.

Summary

So, it's fair to say that overall I'm really pleased with my i3. It's quick, interesting, cheap to run, well made (niggles aside - but it feels solidly put together), and superbly designed inside. I'm still not 100% keen on the exterior looks, but she's growing on me. The Andesite paint looks great in some lights, a nice technical shade of grey, possibly with a very slight hint of brown to go with the dark brown leather interior & the wood on the dash - and in other lights it just looks like old man's beige! I rather wish I'd gone for a different colour, but unlike Tom, I like the contrasting black hood & roof, so the dark greys are out. And I don't like white or silver - so bright orange is what I should've gone for. Next time, eh? For now, I'm looking forward to many happy miles in this futuristic vehicle which seems to get everyone talking.  I might be a latecomer to this particular party, but hey, I’ve got the perfect ice-breaker!

If you own an i3 and would like to participate in the Born Electric series here, you can email me at: tom.moloughney@gmail.com

Detail: I Was Born Electric On...The First BMW i3 Owner Review:

0 BMW i3: I Was Born Electric On...

It's been about a month and a half now since the first BMW i3's destined for retail customers rolled off the assembly line in BMW's Leipzig plant. Recent reports claim BMW delivered 400 i3's in November but we haven't got word of how many were delivered in December as of yet. So what do the new owners have to say? The point is, the i3's are out there now, and customers are driving them. I'm sure a lot of people would like to read first hand reports from actual owners.

I searched but I couldn't find a single detailed report from an actual i3 owner so I reached out to a few of them and asked them if they wanted to be part of a new series I'm going to have here called "I was Born Electric On...". I'm going to allow i3 owners to write guest blog posts to tell us about their thoughts on the car. What they love, what they hate, and everything in between. Of course they'll provide pictures- hopefully cool ones that show their i3 near some of the interesting sites where they live. We'll start the post with "Hi, my name is______ and I was Born Electric on _____.

I already have a few commitments from the UK, the Netherlands and Germany but I'd like more so please email me if you have an i3 and are interested in being featured on this blog, the more the better! Don't worry if you don't write in perfect English, or if your not a polished writer, the readers here don't mind (obviously not because I make a lot of mistakes!) and if it's really difficult to understand I'll just make small corrections that only clarify what you are trying to say. Don't be shy, the readers would love to hear your thoughts.

My email address is: electric.is.better@gmail.com

Thanks and have a Happy New Year everyone. Be electric in 2014!

Detail: BMW i3: I Was Born Electric On...