n3ckf said:
I spent some time at the display of the I3 at CES last week in Las Vegas. I *didnt* drive one.
However i did talk to an engineer, look inside extensively etc.
The price i was quoted was $42K btw. So competitive.
The 80-100 mile range (with a 24KW battery btw)
...
Why didn't you drive it? I was at CES and test drove it 2x (lined up twice).
As for "24KW battery", http://www.bmw.com/com/en/newvehicles/i/i3/2013/showroom/technical_data.html says "Capacity of lithium-ion battery in kWh 18.8", which I assume is usable capacity, not total (Leaf's is ~20 kWh usable out of 24 kWh).
As for range, I wouldn't expect its EPA range to be significantly more than the Leaf's. It'll likely be real similar, possibly slightly less.
See below (partly quoted from one of my posts):
Re: '13+ Leaf 75 mile EPA rating and the 80% and 100% averaging, see http://insideevs.com/2013-nissan-leaf-rated-at-75-miles-but-84-miles-using-the-old-system/.
Re: not getting one's hopes up about the i3 not having significantly more range than the Leaf, see below:
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=312272#p312272
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=312327#p312327
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=13264&start=30 (remember that "200 km" ("124 mile") Leaf is the same car that is EPA rated at 75 miles, just the 200 km is on very inflated European test cycles.)
'14 Leaf's EPA range "increased" :roll: due to Nissan apparently ditching the option to charge to 80% :roll: : http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1089545_2014-nissan-leaf-electric-car-84-mile-range-aroundview-standard.
Anyway, the i3 is quite fast and definitely faster than my Leaf (just as the acceleration times I've seen vs. the Leaf would suggest). Didn't have a chance to test out its handling much but it was definitely a lot better than I'd expect for its skinny tires. RWD means no weight transfer off the driving wheels when accelerating hard. I'm sure you Rav4 EV owners have seen how easy it is to light up the front tires on hard acceleration and experience torque steer.
BMW is putting in some serious Euros into the i3 effort w/the CFRP and purpose-built chassis. Let's hope that they've fixed all the problems w/the ActiveE, which is notoriously unreliable.