I was impressed to see many of my reasons show up in this: Review: What I learned after driving BMW’s electric i3 for 4 days | KSL.com I started to quote the sections I agree with but soon discovered it was pretty much the whole article. It is easier to identify the weak areas but reviewers often lack engineering skills. They write good English and poor engineering and I went the other way. His charger descriptions are a little light. Also, he didn't delve into the lease vs purchase of used options. Regardless of the technical limits, this article does a fine job of describing the positive aspects of the i3. Bob Wilson
' once i got my own car back, however, the familiar exhaust note, and sight of the tachometer racing was heavenly'.
Yeah the sound of powerful engines was kinda cool for a while, then I turned 13. Obvious from the article he drove the pure EV and not the REX version of the i3. I've always liked the i3 and the engineering behind it. "Committing to an electric car means planning ahead and always having a plan B." Wow, imagine thinking about your driving, like you have to be in the driver's seat and being constantly aware. That's my biggest fear for electric cars, regular people driving them who do not think. Of course it may be the perfect 1st car for teenagers. iPad ?
If the i3 was available when I got my Leaf, I would have bought one instead. It's been over a year since I got a new toy, so maybe an i3-REX is in the cards.
First, enjoy the one you got! I had looked at the Leaf and the only way it made sense for me was to add a generator, some way to extend the range to Nashville, 120 miles away. More than extra battery range, having a range extender makes a heck of a lot of sense. I was lucky to find a BMW i3-REx with all the options for an affordable price. It didn't hurt that the local Toyota dealer tried to sell me a Level 3 + TSS-P for the same price. So let the suggest look at the Leaf as a technical challenge, something to improve. If I had one, I would look at reducing the high-speed drag with an after-body modification. I might also look at how to off-load the battery drain with a small range extender. If you are interested, I'd be happy to outline the engineering approach. Bob Wilson
I do enjoy the Leaf, it is my current daily driver. But I also buy vehicles usually every year or two, and it is time. The Leaf is not my only vehicle and I tell people in this area, it is not wholly practical for a single vehicle family. The nearest international airport is at the edge of its one way range. The nearest major town is also a one way trip without charging. So if you only travel around town, it works. But most people that can afford a Leaf, travel more. I have also gone the opposite of efficiency. I replaced all the crappy tires (that balded after less than 5K miles) with Michelin X-ICE3 tires. Heavy, sticky, winter tires with excellent performance. I run them 100% of the year, even in the summer, on my daily drivers. Sports cars have all seasons or summer tires. We snow this month. It has taken me 40% SOC to drive from my house to work when it looks like this: And it takes me 3% to 4% when it looks like this: Total distance is about 4.6miles one way. So if you get days like the first picture, the Leaf is a 20-ish mile vehicle which isn't practical. And it is not the heater that kills range (I do have the heat pump though) it is the road. When you are plowing through snow and ice, it eats a lot of range. Basically like a giant white grappling hook, you can see you're using lots of power just to keep going slow speeds and if you stop, it will stick you and you won't move anymore. But that's why the Prius is the long range mountain animal. For one vehicle, I always recommend Prius. For a vehicle where one vehicle rarely goes distance, Leaf is perfect. But i3 is cool, and that (or an i8) looks pretty tempting at the moment with low gasoline prices... As for a range extender for the Leaf, it is possible, but only at 30kW through the regenerative braking system. The car does not allow the on board charger or the CHAdeMO port access to the batteries while in motion. But the wheels can do it. So either you interface through that port or you tap the battery like the early GenII Prius plug-in modifications. Both are sub-optimal when you can just buy a proper solution like a Volt or i3-REX if that's what you need.
