EV and advice from any users please!

[mjheathcote]

Ever since covering the South wing in Solar panels, I've had an unhealthy appetite for humas and wearing saddles, and not giving too much back to national grid so the neighbours get my excess but get billed heavily for using it.
Rather than replacing the M140i I'm thinking of swopping out the Pinin for an i3 instead. I'm using the Pinin for local journeys which is great, however doing so using mostly 'free' energy from the roof does appeal greatly.
Business journeys I would do in either the i3 or M140i depending on the distance.
I've never really got bored of the M140i after four and a half years and 65K miles, more so after not using it for a few days, which would be the case if I bought an i3. The rex version with the larger battery pack appeals, rather than the pure EV with the biggest battery, both being a similar price. However with a choice of vehicle to use, the simplicity of the pure EV may be better?
Of course, blow the bank and just buy an i8 is always at the back of my mind...
Non of the newer EVs appeal.

 

[Alan Surrey]

I like the extra range and convenience of the Rex. If I'm out and about and getting short of range, I just tank up at any filling station I find on the route.
Actually, now I think about it, it's more the principle that I like. To date I have been sufficiently organised - to the extent that I have never yet been short of range. However I have had occasional planned use of the Rex. For example, today I was out for a 120 mile round trip and, as intended, used the Rex for the last leg. And now that I am back home, the car is quietly charging from the 3 pin mains .

 

[Oneball]

Im experimenting with the traction off on the i3, it actually feels like a 3200.... with the traction on

Is the i3 RWD?

 

[Alan Surrey]

Yes it is RWD. And the electric motor and the little petrol engine are both at the back too. Traction battery is in the middle.

 

[Alan Surrey]

Skinny little tyres should help in the winter.

 

[Oneball]

Does the petrol engine drive the wheels or just charge the battery?

 

[mjheathcote]

Does the petrol engine drive the wheels or just charge the battery?

It charges the battery.
However as I understand it you can't buzz down the motorway at 70mph using just the generator to feed the battery>electric motor as it doesn't produce enough to sustain the current required at high speeds. I think it needs to cut in early so you have a blend of stored energy and generator energy to extend the range in such a scenario.
I find it a fascinating car, with its light weight construction, compared to many that a simply converted ICE cars in construction.

 

[RodTungsten]

It charges the battery.
However as I understand it you can't buzz down the motorway at 70mph using just the generator to feed the battery>electric motor as it doesn't produce enough to sustain the current required at high speeds. I think it needs to cut in early so you have a blend of stored energy and generator energy to extend the range in such a scenario.
I find it a fascinating car, with its light weight construction, compared to many that a simply converted ICE cars in construction.

One of mine had one and loved it- ideal for the city. Had range extender (lawnmower engine) in the back. I especially liked the door arrangement with suicide rears. Did develop ‘issues’ with warning lights so went in the end as higher range also needed -Tesla. He had Alfas and Fiat Barchetta so some sense of style! If you need a London Architect PM me.

 

[safrane]

The best used electric cars to buy right now

Suddenly feeling the urge to go green? It needn't be as boring as you think...

www.pistonheads.com

 

[Alan Surrey]

It charges the battery.
However as I understand it you can't buzz down the motorway at 70mph using just the generator to feed the battery>electric motor as it doesn't produce enough to sustain the current required at high speeds.

I've done this in mine. It was perfectly ok for 1 1/2 hours at 70 mph on the motorway powered by the Rex engine (charging the battery.) Perhaps it would not ascend an alp for 1 1/2 hours on the petrol engine; I haven't tried it because we're short on alps in Surrey, but for the same reason, it doesn't bother me.

 

[Swedish Paul]

I've done this in mine. It was perfectly ok for 1 1/2 hours at 70 mph on the motorway powered by the Rex engine (charging the battery.) Perhaps it would not ascend an alp for 1 1/2 hours on the petrol engine; I haven't tried it because we're short on alps in Surrey, but for the same reason, it doesn't bother me.

I thought the alps in Surrey were to do with class mobility and the chance to move up

 

[Tallman]

I've done this in mine. It was perfectly ok for 1 1/2 hours at 70 mph on the motorway powered by the Rex engine (charging the battery.) Perhaps it would not ascend an alp for 1 1/2 hours on the petrol engine; I haven't tried it because we're short on alps in Surrey, but for the same reason, it doesn't bother me.

As long as you get up you’ll be fine, by the time you’re down again the battery will be fine again with the harvesting. Saves the brakes too. I live on a mountain side and it doesn’t do anything to my “economy” to traipse up and down to town.

The idea with the range extender is to keep charge whilst you still have some battery left, so when the fuel is finished you still have enough battery to get to where you need to be. Having said that, I’ve never had to use mine so far.

 

[Alan Surrey]

I agree. I think it helps to be intentional about the use of the Rex (Range Extender petrol engine that charges the battery - no mechanical connection to the drive wheels) rather than just running the battery down and letting the car turn on the Rex for you. I regard the car as dual fuel. It will run on electricity from the 3 pin mains or on petrol from the filling station. Electricity is cheaper, but petrol is more readily available on journeys. I have not yet and do not plan to charge up with electricity during a journey - topping up the petrol tank is convenient, quick and filling stations are everywhere yet the kind of chargers you find at filling stations are expensive and still take longer than tanking up.
So I plan my journeys so that the battery doesn't get below about 25% (so that there is always a bit of contingency range in case I turn on the Rex and don't pass a filling station in the 80 or so miles the Rex tank provides (I know. Conservative attitude here, isn't there.)
None of this is a big deal, because I hardly ever need to use the Rex: Usually I get back home and recharge from the 3 pin mains overnight before I have used the 80 or so miles in the battery, never mind the 150 or so if you include the tank of fuel for the Rex.
Although there is no problem with doing 250 miles + per day frequently in the i3, I think I would regard the car differently if that was the case for me.

 

[safrane]

Learned how to take an app screen shot... now over 68mpg.

 

[Alan Surrey]

 

[Felonious Crud]

I agree. I think it helps to be intentional about the use of the Rex (Range Extender petrol engine that charges the battery - no mechanical connection to the drive wheels) rather than just running the battery down and letting the car turn on the Rex for you. I regard the car as dual fuel. It will run on electricity from the 3 pin mains or on petrol from the filling station. Electricity is cheaper, but petrol is more readily available on journeys. I have not yet and do not plan to charge up with electricity during a journey - topping up the petrol tank is convenient, quick and filling stations are everywhere yet the kind of chargers you find at filling stations are expensive and still take longer than tanking up.
So I plan my journeys so that the battery doesn't get below about 25% (so that there is always a bit of contingency range in case I turn on the Rex and don't pass a filling station in the 80 or so miles the Rex tank provides (I know. Conservative attitude here, isn't there.)
None of this is a big deal, because I hardly ever need to use the Rex: Usually I get back home and recharge from the 3 pin mains overnight before I have used the 80 or so miles in the battery, never mind the 150 or so if you include the tank of fuel for the Rex.
Although there is no problem with doing 250 miles + per day frequently in the i3, I think I would regard the car differently if that was the case for me.

What sort of consumption do you get when using the REX, Alan? I do quite like those i3s.

 

[Alan Surrey]

I did a rough and ready calculation early in my ownership experience and it came out at around 40mpg on the motorway, where consumption is at its highest. (The i3 is at its best against conventional cars around town where it benefits from regenerative braking and they suffer from never getting into top gear.)
Thank you for prompting me. I'll do a better calculation over the next few days, using the additional data I have collected now and post here again.

 

[Alan Surrey]

Oh, and to compete with the i3 on electricity, a petrol car would have to do about 125 mpg. I just love it.
Do drive one if you get the chance.
I find it entertaining and I love the off-your-guard bit: it looks like the kind of thing Noddy and Big ears might drive, yet if you are so minded it can leave almost anything behind at the lights. However, I find that mostly I drive it smoothly with big, safe gaps between me and the car in front so that I can make best use of the regenerative braking when the one in front slows down. Its almost a competition with myself to never touch the brake pedal. It is also low waisted, with plenty of glass. Like driving a greenhouse, visibility is so good. Dead easy to reverse park. Quite unlike my QP in that respect, and the better for it.
So do drive one and let us know what you think.

 

[Alan Surrey]

Ah. My records turn out to be good for electricity consumption but variable for petrol consumption, the latter because it is necessary to record the mileage at which the Rex is started and this always happens whilst I am driving and therefor badly positioned to write anything down. But, with confidence, I can say 46 mpg over 225 miles.

 

[Zep]

Ah. My records turn out to be good for electricity consumption but variable for petrol consumption, the latter because it is necessary to record the mileage at which the Rex is started and this always happens whilst I am driving and therefor badly positioned to write anything down. But, with confidence, I can say 46 mpg over 225 miles.

That’s interesting, my 330e will do 42-45 mpg on a journey starting with a flat battery (so mostly engine, only regen going into the battery) but averages something like 60 mpg over 500ish miles (one tank of petrol). The most I have seen is 82 mpg from one tank and a lot of recharges.