A longer look at the very popular BMW i3 REx, an electric car with a petrol motorcycle engine stuffed in the back to extend the range. Thankfully some accurate maths supplied by the Fully Charged maths advisor. / bobbyllew
i3 BEV owner here - I debated getting the ReX model but figured that I'd probably only *need* the range extender one or two days a year. Instead I decided to really commit to the philosophy and get battery only. (BMW USA has a program where i3 owners can borrow a gas powered car for up to 14 days a year if you get the itch to go on a road trip - that sealed the deal) Otherwise, as I describe the car to people, it's a total dork mobile on the outside but absolutely beautiful on the inside. I spend more time on the inside looking out so that suits me just fine :-)
Just a couple of points: yes, it's a long way down the menus to get to the screen that toggles the REx on and off, but (unless it has been reprogrammed) you could probably have turned the REx on with key 8 on the centre console. Those keys are all programmable in the usual way for a car, just long press to store the current radio station or whatever, but in the i3 the 'whatever' includes most functions buried deep in the menu system and (at least on my car) key 8 was programmed to REx when I collected it. Also lightly touch the keys and the screen will tell you what they're programmed to do. The other point was the pain of selecting an address in the sat nav. Your car was using the standard satnav, there's also a 'professional' version with a larger screen which has a touch sensitive panel on the control knob so you can just write the postcode or whatever with your finger. Of course some people complain that the right hand drive version can then only be driven by left-handed people but they're just picky. I've got the standard nav just like you showed but 9 times out of 10 I don't use the control knob to select a destination: if I know in advance where I'm going I use Google maps in a web browser while I'm sat at home and Google's 'send to car' option means the destination is sitting there waiting for me next time I get into the car (in the system messages section so I can send a bunch of addresses and then scroll through them to select one).
Thanks for another excellent review Jonny ... I have an i3 REx and like you, I absolutely love it ... the look remains very futuristic and it really is such a fun car to drive ... my REx option is almost never brought into play but it's very reassuring to know you have unlimited range as long as there's fuel available every 120km ... in other words there is zero range anxiety. It's the perfect driving machine.
Hey Robert, I love the new format of your show very nice layout and graphics, more infos and realistic use of vehicle is here to stay as a format of the show You are doing what other cars channels are not doing for eVs. Keep it up!
Thank you for doing this, I seriously considered getting one of these, the design and engineering seem years ahead of everyone else, comfortable and spacious, they would have cleaned up the taxi/Prius market if it had been a 5 seater but they missed out and in the not too distant future the Tesla Model 3 will be top of the shopping list for the private hire industry, thanks again, keep up the excellent work!
I want to thank you Mr. Llewellyn and your crew for producing such an informative and positive channel. Information concerning electric vehicles is woefully inadequate here in the United States. News stations hardly ever report on the state of EVs and if they do it's only ever the Volt/Bolt because they are domestic or Tesla because they are sexy. We even have state governments that have passed laws forbidding Tesla to sell their product direct to consumers in their states because it threatens the car dealership status quo. I think most Americans would be quite surprised to know just how much progress and variety there exists in the field of electric cars and so I recommend your channel at every opportunity I can. I also have to admit that in addition to all the other points in their favor I have entirely selfish reasons for wanting to see an all electric revolution on our streets. One day I want to be able to roll my windows down on the highway to catch the breeze without choking on exhaust fumes.
Loving the way the world is going. I'm seeing so many solar farms, wind turbines and electric cars around. Makes me feel really happy. Great as usual Robert.
Robert is spot-on, this is a perfect "transition vehicle" for those who are considering moving to an electric vehicle but are worried about "range anxiety", which is eliminated with the i3
The visual quality of your video is stunning; just as good as a HD car channel on TV! Love your channel! Would love to see some sort of special on the Tesla Model 3 :)
What a lot of comments - you must be doing something right. Keep it up. Letter from BMW in the post today announcing the new version with 50% increase in range. We're 18 months and 25.000 miles into our i3 REX ownership and I am not sure if it would change our minds about having the REX. Almost all of our charging is at home but there are days and trips when it is just great to have some extra range.
Great episode again! Just a brief reminder, last year you promised to show more of the cars in the new series, particularly the boots of cars. Can you please pick up on that promise?! After all, cars are about utility, not just about lugging people around, but stuff, too! I'd generally like to see/learn more about trunk space, and when you're testing non-EV specific cars (i.e. hybrids or EVs that were built upon a ICE car model), it would be good to know if manufacturers are sacrificing boot space , leg room etc for fitting their hybrid drive systems, motors, and batteries. Big thanks and keep up the good work!
I got one too. I'm the type of person who dislikes run-of-the-mill cars that are indistinguishable from all others on the road. I personally love the individual quirkiness of the i3, both external & internally and appreciate the unique design and construction of this iconic car, same applies with the i8.
@@David-bl1bt Now that Teslas are becoming a common sight the i3 has an individuality that draws attention. Plus, I get to look DOWN on Tesla drivers.... (because the driving position is higher ;)
Really professional review Robert, I loved the quality of the camera work (with all the multiple angles), the audio and the commentary, and the little interview with the maths expert was great! Exciting to hear the i3 has been given a 50% range boost (now 33kWh battery), I can sense the electric car competition is hotting up! So the question is, what should I get when my 2 year PCP ends in June 2017 on my 24kWh LEAF ... I'm thinking the 30kWh LEAF at the moment, but who knows where the EV market will be in a years time! Looking forward to the next episode and I'm proud to be a supporter of these videos on Patreon :-)
Thanks for your great show! If noone hasn't done it yet, I just want to underline, that the "BMW Welt" is not a part of the factory you talk about. "BMW Welt" is more like a museum and a place for events. Moreover people get invited to there to catch their new cars, if they bought it at BMW.
It is so wonderful to have content on this channel again. My withdrawal pangs have now eased. On the top makers of EVs, it could be argued that Nissan and Renault are the same company, both lead by Carlos Ghosn, a visionary that really got this going imo. (Gotta give Toyota some credit for not crushing all the RAV4EVs too - NiMH still on the road in California.)
Not sure if somebody mentioned it but you can close the front door, while seating in the back. You have to fold down the front seat's back rest - which most people don't even know is possible because you can sit in the back seats without doing it and because the handle is very discretely hidden in the back of the headrest.
Might be worth an update video for this one as this model has been upgraded with a better battery now. The standard battery is now 33kWh, so the range had increased dramatically. We've only had ours for a month, but we absolutely love it!
Nice review Robert. Not sure I agree with your opinion that the Rex is quiet and hardly noticeable. One pulled up next to me at an Ecotricity charger not long ago and I honestly thought it was a petrol lawn mower. It was so loud! I guess it solves the problem of pedestrians not hearing the car as it approaches. Although they would probably think they were about to be minced between the blades of Qualcast...
We love our i3 - great runaround/city car. Only issue we have found is the tiny thin tyres are very weak so living in the countryside we are on our fifth flat tyre in 18 months :(
About the navigation system, you can use voice control and it performs very fast by looking for the destination and the route fast. No need for the dial nob.
I drove an i3 last weekend for the first time and was...(how´s the english word?) overwhealmed. Floating with the traffic, no breaking necessary (at traffic lights) and gainig energie by doing this! But the most impressing: I had to do a quick overtake once and it felt like riding a motorbike... Accelaration was beyond any car i ever drove. That convinced me about the electrical concept. When did i ever need the high speed of a car... In the all day traffic jam? And its not all all about ratio...try one by yourself!
Wow! 6 years later and just seen the 'expensive' motorway petrol was £118.9 a litre. Today it'll be over £2.00. Still a great review and i3 still a great car.
A little bit of constructive criticism. You never really compared it to other EV's directly. How does it compare to a leaf? I wouldn't mind if you got a little more detailed in your reviews. Stuff like speaker sound quality. Wind noise/tire noise. Visibility and cargo space. Foldable seats? Under the hood shot. Build quality inside the car. Stuff like that. More B roll of the outside of the car (sitting still) when you're talking would be nice. Also, I'd be very surprised if you're right about inductive charging. It's wildly ineffective compared to plugging in a cable. It's really not that inconvenient to plug in a cable if it's going to cost you 40%+ more to charge. Either way thank you for taking the time to make these videos. Keep it up!
+Nooooooooooooooooooo! I suppose you are right. I say 'I suppose' because I never set out to present car reviews in the way of traditional automotive jounralists. I'm not, as may be obvious, particularly interested in cars in the way you suggest. I'd be happy to drive along in an incredibly ugly slug shaped purple and pink car with rubbish sound system if it: 1) used the minimum amount of fuel of any sort per mile 2) did not leave a trail of toxic gas in its wake 3) did not rely on a fuel that only comes from one source 3) warm in winter 3) dry in the rain 4) is used by a community and not owned by an individual 5) all the materials can be used again when the machine comes to the end of use. So Fully Charged isn't a car review show, it's a technology review show that is trying to present the siesmic shifts in transportation, energy generation and ownership. All that said, I do take your point and it wouldn't be hard to list all those things and show more of the cars I get to drive, soI will write a list and try and cover all those aspects.
Would love to see that BMW promo at the very end of this video in its entirety, but can't seem to find the full version online. Anyone know what it's called or where to find the full version?
A good point Robert, about the difference between rapid charge connectors. I'm wondering when the AM's at the Welsh Assembly will get off their backsides and actually publically back and support the charging infrastructure in Wales, especially CCS of which there are only 2 points in the whole principallity. Worcestershire CC have more at there HQ than all of Wales. I wrote to Ecotricity to ask them when they would upgrade the my local chargers to CCS and got a completely pointless reply that upgrades are being undertaken on a usage basis. So if you can't connect to a rapid charger because it doesn't have CCS then it can never see any use and thus presumably won't be scheduled for an upgrade.
Regarding turning on the Range Extender at 1:47 - you can preset one of the dashboard numbers to turn the range extender on/off when pressed (just like you do with a preset radio station). Not a sophisticated solution but it works well.
i3-Rex is very precise (bmw!), very comfortable, flexible, and very, very fast. We almost leased one but eventually went with an e-Golf because of these i3 downsides: - only has four seats - so light and tall that it gets shunted about by gusty winds on the Interstate/motorway - no hold mode in the US version! - slightly silly rear door and looks a bit weird (to some people) - e-Golf was almost 50% of the cost over 3 years (note: 2016 e-Golf SE only has 3.6 kW charging and no cruise) Having said that, hats off to BMW: the i3 is a really nice car; we would have leased one if the e-Golf SE lease had not come along!
By the way: You can program any function onto the 10 numbered buttons. Just set the cursor on the desired function, then push and hold the numbered button to assign the function. No need to walk through the menus every time.
Hi, I have a question. I think with a bigger tank this could actually be a first car. How long would you be able to drive it, with hold range mode on, at 120 km/h without fully depleting the battery? I saw somewhere that the Rex can only take you to 110 km/h on a flat road. Not that I will be buying in the next few years but would really like to know. Many thanks
I agree the iDrive and menu system is far from perfect, but as far as turning on/off the range extender, it's very common for REx owners to set one of the 8 hot keys to toggle it on/off. It can be set to any, but normally, it's number 8, as the lower numbers are often used by people for radio station presets. The range extender runs at several different fixed rev settings dependent on the generator/load requirements and is generally fairly quiet. Load increases are most noticeable with speed, hills and strong headwinds, so it can become noticeable in some situations. If the charging infrastructure was more reliable and had greater coverage I think you'd find a sizeable proportion of of current REx owners would have gone for the pure electric version instead. But for now, a generator type (serial hybrid) is an ideal vehicle for many people who want to drive as many electric miles as possible.
Absolutely awesome design, inside and out and a joy to drive- the only thing i really hate about this car is that I don't own one... yet... When I drove the Tesla Model S, it made me want the i3 even more :)
Having driven this car multiple times in the US as a loaner I can tell you - It's a really nice car, good acceleration, fun quality fit-and-finish. If you like getting on the accelerator the battery doesn't last much past 40 miles. A version comes with auto-parallel parking. With all the cameras, and driver assists it's a gimmick. If you can't parallel park this car (or any modern BMW) you probably shouldn't be driving. Driving moderately aggressively around curves the wheels let you know they're incredibly narrow, and the car overall starts feeling like it's going to come unplanted at any moment. Also, the rear boot is too short to hold standard USA sized grocery bags. You'd have to fill them 2/3 of the way and crush the top, or put them in the back seat. Overall I loved it, and would have considered buying it if the thing didn't cost so much, and could hold a grocery-bag in the rear trunk.
I have an idea for you, for new video.... You really should show how Cheap USED EVs/PHEVs are and what an amazing value.. I drove the i3 and loved it and honestly I didn't understand how the Chevy Volt worked until the BMW salesman said.. this is a electric car, with a generator like the volt... so.. I drove a few volts and fell in love with not only the car, the freedom it provides, the electric ride with long range if needed and... because I bought a used 2013 model certified by Chevy.. it was super super cheap! (about 1/3the price of a new i3)
Really good video! A shame you got one without the Professional Navigation package, that's why the Sat Nav shown sucks so much :) I've had mine 3 weeks and absolutely love driving it!
I really like the i3. When you look at the skateboard underneath the car there is plenty more room for batteries where the Rex fits, even if you don't select that option. Couple that with the advances in batteries in the last three years since the car launched and I would like to think ~200 miles would be achievable with the largest pack that will fit. There are some rumours that apple are interested in basing their car on the i3 as CEO Time Cooke has visited the plant a few times. I think it could be a good venture for both Apple and BMW for the obvious increase in demand for BMW and the tested and cheaper base unit for apple. Having a 4 seater car would be something apple would do too haha.
This maybe the perfect car for everyday situations. Particularly if you live in a large urban environment. Well done BMW i! Just i would personally get the all electric model.
Great episode as usual. There seems to be some magic about a range of 80 miles or more - it satisfies the vast majority of driving needs. I've really come to like the view of the giant wind turbines turning. It's very graceful and powerful. Your show is a bright view of the future.
What spec is that I've just ordered one (UK car & yesterday) I didn't have volcano orange nor just black leather as options.... Is this a 2015/16 model not the updated 2016/17.... Shame as I'd loved a VC paint job and black leather grrrr.
Yeah... with Al Gore as the God father... Tiny little detail: he still uses 25 x more energy then the average energy consumption in the USA. Besides that: I'd love to own a Tesla some day. Beautiful car, great design, excellent driving range and so on.
Great video Robert on the new BMW 3. I drove the old one and didn't like it one bit. Loved the insert with the kid explaining some maths to you! As a matter of interest how do you do the graphics on the that section? We're getting a new Tesla Model S later this month. You must plan a Tesla meet up!
You can put it in charge hold mode so it will use the REx only. It has a 9l tank only, and ~6l/100km consumption. So 150 km per full tank, you would have to fill 4 times. I think it should have a bigger fuel tank, but regulations don't let it...
Another great video Robert but worried that you did not stop to use the BMW knob thingy - surely it's dangerous to use while driving ! - eyes of the road in front of you etc etc just saying All the best
I drove one at Gilles villeneuve the other weekend I'm 6 4 as well had plenty of space and nothing obstructed my view. You realize there's way more electric range right?
As much as I am an investor of Tesla Motors, I admire BMW's effort in making the "World's Greenest Car" - the i3. It is 95% recyclable and can be ordered in Vegan Style.
+Hatagashira Oh come on! p.s. electric scooters are currently moving several million people around Chinese cities with no urban air pollution. kinda useful?
xchopp Electric scooters are super useful and if i wasn't working on getting a motorcycle licence, i'd TOTALLY replace my loud stinking 2 stroke with an electric scooter as soon as it dies. (which will probably be within the next 2 years). But i can't justify an i3, especially if that means being stuck in traffic and paying 10x as much. I'm immune to rain like all other mammals and sitting in a chair for more than 8 hours a day like most of the western world so... just f'in get something on two wheels for city driving, you don't need to be in a dry heated box with a reclining seat for those 55 minutes a day. That's my not so humble opinion. Yes, i do also have a bicycle, no, i don't run red lights, and i don't have a beard or a ponytail either. Go me! (sorry if that sounded sarcastic because it wasnt)
By the way BYD do have petrol only cars. It is how they started and they still sell them. On their website they have a section called gasoline vehicles
If you run out of petrol you can walk to a garage and buy a plastic can of petrol to get out of trouble. What if you run out of electric? Range anxiety is understandable, hence our choice of the R-Ex. When the charging infrastructure is more comprehensive and the range of these cars greater we'll plumb for an all electric. Great video as ever!
There should be more electric cars with small range extenders. It will keep the total weight down and reduce cost. And with synthetic fuels it will be completely CO2 neutral.
