Born Electric Guest Blogger: Meet Harold From California

My name is Harold and I was born electric on August 19^th, 2014. 

There are two parts to my story here. The first is about my path to selecting and buying the i3, and the second is about my experiences owning and driving the i3.

PART 1:  

“IF YOU’RE NOT PART OF THE SOLUTION, THEN YOU ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM.”

When it comes to global warming, I’m embarrassed to say that for far too long my wife and I were part of the problem.  We’re a two car family, and over the years we’ve driven a series of big, luxury, premium fuel guzzlers. As recently as 2007 we each had one of the full-size Range Rovers. Yikes, and yuck!

I gradually realized this was not tenable, but I found it very, very hard to give up the comfort (I’m 6’3 and don’t fit in most cars) and sportiness of a big luxury SUV. The very thought of shoehorning myself into the ugly and painfully boring Prius hybrid was enough to make me puke.

So my first tentative step in the right direction was to sign up to make annual contributions to one of those carbon-offset charities. I even got vanity license plates that said “I OFFSET.” Wow, how big and how brave of me!

Then BMW came out with a diesel version of their X5 so I dumped my Range Rover in favor of that on the theory that at least I would be burning a lot less fuel. As nice a car as the X5 was, it ended up only getting about 16mpg, and I also came to understand that the diesel wasn’t as clean as I had thought it might be.

Meanwhile, there were more hybrid cars coming on the market, but all still seemed to frumpy for me.  I’m sorry, but I live in California and I spend a ton of time in my car and I want it to look and feel great!

And then Audi launched their stylish little Q5, and I dumped the X5 in favor of this smaller, more fuel efficient vehicle. But even that only got around 20mpg. 

So about a year ago I started the search for my next car. I did my first exploration of EV’s. The RAV4 was too clearly a Toyota. The Leaf, which a neighbor of mine happily drives, drove like a turtle to me.  The Volt was claustrophobic – and a Chevy to boot. The Tesla was way cool, but I actually don’t fit very well in it and, at least in the San Francisco area, driving one has already become interpreted as a sign that you are an obnoxious snob.

So, I had resigned myself to getting the new edition of the X5 diesel, which promised to deliver significantly better – and cleaner – mileage than the original one. And then one day while I was checking out the new X5 on one of the BMW forums, I saw something about the coming of the i3. It looked weird as hell in the photo, but it sounded intriguing. I started to follow stories about it. 

I went to a car show in San Jose to see it in person. I fully expected to discover that I could not fit in it, but when I sat down in the model on display I discovered that it had more head room and leg room and better visibility than my Q5. (Of course at this point, BMW was showing it with a sunroof – more about that later….). Plus, the interior design was stunning. And the exterior, while weird, was weird in a sexy way.  So I was hooked.

When the test drives started happening in the Bay Area, I went to them at three different dealers.  Driving the car was a total blast (all the more so with the sunroof open…..) and I had to have one. I went to my dealer and said I’m willing to pay MSRP for one of the first ones you get, I just need to get two key options – the sun roof and the REX. Can you arrange that please?

And then things started to fall apart. For one, it turned out the sunroof was not going to be offered in the US.  No reason for this has ever been provided, but that alone was enough to put me off.  I’m claustrophobic, and I always felt I needed a sunroof to have the feeling of openness they give. And then some negative stories started to appear about the REX – a review in Europe said driving with the REX was like driving in limp-home mode, and then it was revealed that the REX was being modified in the US in ways that made it seem even less desirable.  And,  being new to EV’s, I was at that point too chicken to go the full BEV route.

So, I abandoned my quest for an i3. I signed off of the i3 forums and facebook group. I went back to my dealer and started haggling over prices on the X5 diesel again. But the x5 diesel remained in hot demand,  and I couldn’t get what I thought was a reasonable price. And then the i3’s actually arrived. I saw two in one day “in the wild.” I went behind my dealer’s back and went to another dealer to test drive an i3 again.  I found that even without the sunroof it still felt very open. And it was just as fun to drive as I had remembered. 

So I went back to my CA, said you’re not going to believe this, but I want the i3 after all. He laughed very heartily. We worked the numbers for a while. I ended up doing the two year version of “owner’s choice.” (Went with owner’s choice vs. lease to get the full advantage of the federal tax credit,  and went two years rather than three just because I expect the EV technology is going to advance pretty rapidly over the next couple of years and I may want to move to the next edition sooner rather than later.) And within just a few weeks I was driving my new Andesite Silver Terra i3, loaded up with everything except for the 20” wheels.  And, surprise surprise, I even got over my fear of running out of juice and went with the BEV instead of the REX.

PART 2: 

“WHO SAYS MEDICINE HAS TO TASTE BAD TO BE GOOD FOR YOU?

As I mentioned earlier, a key factor that kept me from switching sooner to a more environmentally correct car was that they all just seemed too ugly, too uncomfortable, and too boring. I wanted to do the right thing for the planet – but I wanted to still be able to enjoy driving at the same time.

Thankfully, my i3 has solved all three of those problems for me. 

While I will admit that the exterior is a bit of an acquired taste, there can be no denying that the interior is stunning. Yes, the materials are all very environmentally friendly, but more important to me – they are gorgeous. The design is very fresh,  very high tech,  and yet very simple. Among the features I like most are the floating high definition screens (one for the instrument cluster stuff, one for the navigation and multimedia stuff) and the eucalyptus dash. I also really appreciate the openness of the cabin and the great sight lines.

The interior is also quite comfortable. I was initially skeptical about the thinness of the seats.  As a veteran business road warrior, I have equated the steady thinning down of airline seats over the years with an equally steady decline in the comfort of those seats. Well, I can only hope that the designers at Boeing and Airbus get to drive an i3 soon so they can see how to make a thinner seat super supportive and comfortable.

And as for the driving experience, well, I haven’t had so much fun driving a car since the very first one I owned.  First comes the peppiness. As the folks at BMW are fond of saying,  the i3 is the fastest car they make from 0 to 30 mph.  And I believe them now!  Zipping in and out of city traffic is as easy as can be – aided by how tight the turning radius is. Likewise, accelerating on to freeway ramps and passing at freeway speeds is also quick and easy. When we had a meet up of Bay area i3 drivers recently,  I had t-shirts printed up for everyone that carried this message: “I drive a BMW i3.  So you can eat my dust, not my exhaust. You’re welcome.” Trust me, the message is appropriate: this car hauls ass.

It's hard to see in the picture, but the blue T-Shirts everyone is wearing are the shirts Harold made up for the Crissy Field i3 meet. He was even gracious enough to send me a couple in the mail. Photo credit: Dino Ignacio

The steering is also very tight. I’m sure it has some degree of electronic assistance, but it doesn’t feel in the least bit mushy or vague. If anything it’s too responsive – you have to be attentive or it’s a bit too easy to oversteer.

The ride is firm, but in a good, BMW way. If you don’t want to feel the road at all, then this is not the car for you. But if you like to get some feedback from your driving, you should like this.

I really like the quietness of the car. If you keep the windows rolled up, it is super quiet; there is of course some wind noise at higher speeds, but I have not found it to be objectionable. And, at the same time, if you drive with the windows open, you can actually hear the sounds of nature!

I’m still learning all the fancy new tech tools.  Love the Harman Kardon stereo, love being able to use apps like Pandora and TuneIn. Appreciate that iDrive has gotten clearer and more manageable, though it still requires a learning curve. Love the collision avoidance system and the adaptive cruise control.  Haven’t yet tried the self-parking thing – but haven’t felt the need either, as this is the smallest car I have driven in ages and I would feel like a total wimp if I couldn’t park it by myself.  : )

As for downsides of the i3, anyone who buys this car has to accept that they are on the bleeding edge of technology and that things may go wrong. And they have for some of the early owners. But, knock on wood, after just about 1,000 miles, the worst thing that has happened to me so far is that one morning while I was driving along a nearly empty six lane freeway a warning message popped up on my screen that said something about “Danger – objects detected in roadway.” There were no objects to be seen, so I ignored the message and kept on driving and the message ultimately disappeared.

Also, if you choose as I did to go with the BEV instead of the REx, you will probably find yourself being more than a little bit paranoid about monitoring how much charge you have left. I have been running somewhere around 75 miles per full charge – a little less than what the EPA says, but then I drive with a bit of a lead foot and I leave the AC on all the time. So far I’ve only once gotten the dreaded verbal warning “you have 15 miles of range left,” and thankfully that happened when I was only about a mile from my house.

One other downside is that, to my way of thinking, the i3 is not practical as a family car. The “suicide”  doors (aka coach doors) make access to the back seat just too awkward for regular use, especially if you are trying to cope with child seats.

OK, so the i3 is good looking, it’s comfortable, and it’s fun to drive. But how does it do on my original overall reason for getting it, which is to help address the problem of global warming?

Well,  for one thing I have not been to a gas station since I got the car. And will never have to go to a gas station with it. Take that, Exxon and BP and the rest of you big oil companies! (The vanity plates I have on order for my car will read: “I86DGAS”) And, at least according to the i3 mobile app, so far I have already saved 530 pounds of CO2 from being pumped out into the air.

So,  in sum, thank you BMW for giving birth to the i3 so that I can at last do my part for solving global warming – but do it in a way that fits my own selfish needs for style, comfort, and fun!

PS- The i3 may not be right for everyone, but there are now plenty of EV’s on the market – surely one of them will be right for you!
_________________________________________________________




Thanks for participating Harold! If you drive an i3 and want to share your Born Electric story here, just send me an email and we'll set it up! tom.moloughney@gmail.com

BMW i3 REx vs Chevy Volt: My Take

The Challenge

Last week I was contacted by High Gear Media Senior Editor, John Voelcker and asked if I had interest in doing a head to head comparison piece between my i3 REx and a Chevy Volt. Green Car Reports contributor David Noland (who happens to own a Volt and a Model S) wanted to pit the Volt against an i3 REx and asked John to reach out to me and find out if I was up for it.

I liked the idea of swapping cars and driving side by side for a few hours and that met David's needs as well. David wanted to do an efficiency test and measure the miles per kWh's used driving 15 to 20 miles in a city environment, and then do the same thing at highway speeds of 65 to 75mph. Going in, David expected the i3 to be more efficient in the city driving test, but the Volt to be more efficient on the highway test where weight plays a lesser role and aerodynamics are more important. The i3 is tall, has a large front area and is a bit boxy compared to the Volt. This creates a much higher CdA which will lower the i3's efficiency at high speeds. Having driven my i3 for a while now, I knew it would be more efficient in the city cycle, but I figured it would probably tie the Volt on the highway leg of the test. My i3's life time efficiency so far is 4.5 miles per kWh and I do at least 50% of my driving at highway speeds.

David averaged 4.1 miles per kWh over a 46 mile drive at highway speeds. This was driving about 15 miles in charge depleting mode and another 31 miles with the range extender running.  The display only shows an average speed of 56.7mph, but much of the trip was done at 70+ mph

David was also very interested to find out how the range extender performed. In my opinion, the i3's range extender is largely misunderstood. Even months after the launch, few people really understand how it works, what it can and cannot do. It has been called everything from a "limp mode" to an "emergency use only" option, and quite honestly BMW hasn't done itself any favors by not fully explaining how it works and how to use it properly. I promised David he could drive it as he wished, and even purposefully overwhelm the REx by driving fast enough to use more energy than the range extender could produce, should he desire to do so. At one point he even asked if I minded if he did just that, but due to the other traffic we couldn't really sustain a speed much over 70mph for long and we were not going up and long, steep inclines so the REx was able to put out enough power to maintain the SOC between about 4% and 6%. In short, we couldn't overwhelm it without driving in a an unsafe manner.

Getting ready to take off from Nauna's Bella Casa in Montclair

There aren't many long climbs in my area and I've driven with the range extender on quite a bit. I haven't found any condition where it isn't perfectly capable of allowing me to drive as long as I needed to, including hundreds of miles if I really wanted. However I know the REx has its limits, unlike the Volt. I have heard stories of people not being able to maintain highway speeds as the car drops to 45 mph suddenly. That's a problem that BMW needs to address. I think they need to make a better effort to communicate to the customers what the limits are, and I also believe the customer needs to be cognizant of the limits and keep an eye on the SOC under high speed driving up long inclines. It's not a do-all-under-any-condition vehicle. The range extender has limits but I definitely believe that for the vast majority of people it will do just about anything they need. Also, since the i3's electric range is double that of the Volt, the range extender will be used much less, so it's reasonable to understand why it is less robust.

People are surprised when they see the i3 next to other EVs. It is larger than I believe many people think it is.

On the Road
 
I felt very comfortable behind the wheel of the Volt as I've driven many of them and have always liked the driving experience that they offer. However, this was the first time I've driven a Volt since getting my i3 REx three months and about 6,500 miles ago. The two cars definitely feel very different. The much heavier Volt absorbs road irregularities better and is quieter at high speeds, where the boxy i3 has noticeable wind noise. The i3 is much quicker, especially at higher speeds and has better braking and handling. The i3's steering is more direct and sensitive and the Volt's brakes seemed a little spongy or squishy compared to what I'm used to in the i3. The i3 is clearly more of a performance car, while the Volt offers a more supple, softer ride. The regenerative braking on the i3 is much stronger than the Volt's, even in Sport mode and low driving gear. I'm sure I would adjust to it if I had a Volt for awhile, but I just couldn't get myself to stop for traffic lights without needing to depress the friction brake pedal every time. I almost never use the friction brake pedal on my i3 unless it's an emergency situation where I need to slow down unexpectedly. I really love this on the i3, and haven't found any other EV to have a regen system that matches it. It's definitely one thing that BMW got right. I know the Volt blends regen with friction braking so I suspect most of the time I depressed the brake pedal I wasn't even using the friction brakes, but I've really grown fond of the one-pedal driving of my i3 that anything else now seems sub-standard.

The interior of the Volt

The interior of the i3

I found both cars comparable in seating comfort and room, with the Volt having a larger cargo area. Because the e-drive motor and range extender are under the deck behind the rear seats, the i3's cargo deck is higher, which cuts down on the cargo space, but it also doesn't have a tailgate lip so you can slide objects in and out without having to pick them up over the lip to remove them as is the case with the Volt, which my bad back appreciates. Personally I like the uncluttered, modern interior look of the i3 better, and the large center display probably is the nicest I've seen in any car besides the Model S. However the exterior styling of the i3 is definitely unconventional and I'm sure many people will say they like the look of the Volt better, but styling is subjective so I'm not really going to get too caught up appearance here. One thing I really do like in my i3 is how the absence of a center transmission tunnel (battery tunnel on the Volt) provides a much more open, spacious feel in the cockpit. In fact, this makes it quite easy to slide across from the drivers seat and exit from the passengers door if you want to.  

The Volt has a larger cargo capacity, but with the rear seats folded flat, the i3's cargo space is definitely adequate for my needs.

Efficiency

David really wanted to focus on the efficiency of the cars so we did roughly 15 miles of city driving, followed by 15 miles of highway driving at 60 -70 mph. There were a few occasions we got up to 75 or so to pass other vehicles but for the most part we drove in the middle lane and averaged a little under 70mph. In the city cycle the i3 averaged a 5 miles per kWh used compared to the Volts 4.5. The Volt did better than I expected in this part of the test though, which I am happy to report. On the highway test the i3 delivered  4 miles per kWh used and the Volt averaged 3.5 mi/kWh. David and I were both surprised that the i3 actually had a larger advantage on highway driving than it did in city driving, but was 14% on the highway. I suspect if we drove faster, and averaged over 70 mph, the Volt would have caught the i3 in efficiency. The test also isn't perfectly controlled, since David and I aren't the exact same drivers. However, we are both very experienced electric vehicle drivers, and understand perfectly well how to maximize efficiency with the use of regenerative braking and limiting jack-rabbit style take offs. We drove with the climate controls set to 72 degrees and the windows closed.

During the city driving test. I jumped out of the Volt at a red light to grab this picture.

Conclusions

Having had quite a bit of previous experience driving Volts, there were really no surprises for me. I have always liked the Volt, and nothing from this experience has changed that. It's a very capable extended range electric car that offers a good ride, decent performance and nice styling. It is a better choice for long range driving (over 200 miles) and definitely if you live in a mountainous area. I can't even count how many people I've recommended the Volt to; and many have stopped back to my restaurant weeks or months later to show me that they took my advice. With a starting price of $34,999 it's a really a great deal. The i3 REx on the other hand starts at $46,125 which is $11,000 more. Yes, you do get a more nicely optioned vehicle but it's very hard to ignore the $11,000 difference. If price is a big consideration then it's hard not to pocket the eleven grand and take home a Volt.

However buying a car isn't always a rational decision, and there are indeed emotions involved. If that weren't the case we'd all be driving $15,000 Honda Fits. There are a lot of reasons why the i3 REx is a better EV for me than the Volt. First off, I drive about 33,000 per year, and the 38 mile AER of the Volt would mean I'd be driving on gas about as much as I drove on electric. The i3 REx will allow me to drive on electric over 90% of the time. For me to increase that 100% I'd need to jump up to Model S-type range because the times I have needed the REx were usually 150 to 200 driving mile days and there are no other current production electric vehicles capable of doing that without using a robust DCQC network which doesn't yet exist in the Northast. Another consideration is the 3.3kW onboard charger that the Volt has. I'd find it very hard to buy any EV that was limited to 3.3kW charging. My i3 can actually charge faster from zero to full an a level 2 EVSE than a Volt can, yet it has twice the electric range. GM absolutely needs to upgrade the onboard charger to a minimum of 6.6kW for the next generation Volt in my opinion.

I've read many comments on various online forums regarding the size of the i3's gas tank and I can say I categorically disagree with the notion that the car needs a larger gas tank. In fact, I'd be fine with a smaller one. If you think you need a bigger gas tank on the i3, then what you really need is a Volt because you're buying it for a use that it's not really intended for. The i3 REx is fine for driving in range extender mode for short distances, and I think it's really a great car for trips up to 150 miles or so, but if you really need to frequently drive more than that, it just may not be the best fit. If you need to go further once a month or so, then sure that shouldn't be a problem as long as you don't mind the 2-3 minute stop to refill the tiny tank, but frequent long distance driving just isn't the car's best use.

I also put a big emphasis on the driving experience and the i3 is really a blast to drive. The Volt is fun in its own right, and it is certainly no slouch by any means, but the i3 is noticeably faster and has a much more direct steering feel. I also love the fact that the i3 is all carbon fiber reinforced plastic and aluminum, the open cockpit and simple dashboard with the large center display. It was indeed the better choice for me, but honestly, I would be very happy driving a Volt also, especially if I drove less than the 90 miles a day that I do now. I don't think you can lose with either of these extended range EVs. Just pick the one that fits your budget, needs and desires and you'll be happy with whichever you choose.

You can read David's thoughts on his Green Car Reports article here.

BMW & Tesla Taking Different Approaches But Will Ultimately Face Off

Horatiu Boeriu of BMWBLOG recently did a piece titled "BMW vs. Tesla - Which Company Is A Bigger Innovator?" in which he mentions that while both companies are competing in the premium automobile segment and are committed to electric mobility, they are taking different paths to achieve success.

I'm not going to try to analyze who has it right or who is a bigger innovator, but it's clear that both companies have chosen to focus on different aspects of their respective vehicles. With Tesla, it's all about the batteries. Unlike every other automobile manufacturer, BMW included, Tesla's approach isn't for their electric cars to complement their lineup of gasoline and diesel offerings since they don't have any. Instead, it is to render gasoline vehicles from their competitors obsolete. In order to do so, their cars have to be at least as good or better than most features of competing gas cars; and that includes range, performance and utility. BMW on the other hand doesn't need to necessarily worry about making everything better. They can focus on specific needs of certain customers and make a vehicle that is better than any other at a specific set of tasks, without cannibalizing sales of other vehicles in their lineup. If you accept that premise, it's not difficult to understand why we have the Model S and the BMW i3.

Tesla knew they had to knock it out of the park with their first high volume vehicle offering. They knew they had to offer a car that could stand its ground against all of the top luxury sedans while offering a range long enough to allow for road trips enabled by the Supercharger network. Even though that was an enormous task, and one that few automotive analysts really believed they would pull off, they did just that and the Model S is a smashing success. No disrespect to the sexy styling or the fabulous performance of Model S, but the heart and soul of what the car is can be attributed to the enormous battery pack it uses, filled with industry leading, high energy-density batteries. Tesla is all about the batteries. Even though the Model S uses batteries that have a higher energy density than any other EV manufacturer, they still aren't satisfied. They aren't waiting for the market to bring them better, cheaper cells for their future cars. Instead they are in the process of building what will be the first of many Gigafactories, which will be the largest lithium ion battery manufacturing plants in the world. This will drive down costs, guarantee that they have the supply that they need, and allow them to constantly upgrade to better cells without needing to wait for battery manufacturers to retool production facilities to produce them. The key to Tesla's success is having the best batteries available, and to manufacture them for less than what their competitors are paying for comparable cells. It's the only way to offer large battery, long range electric vehicles and be able to price them competitively.  It's Tesla's edge, and perhaps their only hope to compete and actually beat the large, established automakers.

BMW's not in the battery business and is unlikely to follow Tesla's path as such. As mentioned above, since they didn't need the i3 to do everything better than any other gas offering as the Model S had to, BMW could focus on a specific set of goals with their first electric vehicle. The i3's code name was the Megacity Vehicle and the goal was to develop a car that would be the perfect electric vehicle for the increasing populations within the megacities of the world. They also wanted this car to represent a departure from traditional manufacturing processes with an emphasis on sustainability.  They set out to make the most efficient production car available today and they achieved that goal. The extensive use of carbon fiber reinforced plastic and aluminum allowed BMW to shave 400 to 500 lbs off the car which played a primary role in its efficiency.

Will BMW leave Tesla in their rear view camera? That doesn't look very likely at present.

I believe the i3 is as much of a learning experience for BMW as it is their first electric vehicle. Every step of the manufacturing process was rethought and redesigned for the i3. In fact, the i3 uses 70% less water and 50% less electricity to manufacture than a comparable-sized conventional BMW would. In addition, the Leipzig manufacturing plant where the i3 is made is now completely powered by wind-generated energy. So as much as the i3 is an important vehicle to BMW today, the lessons learned bringing it to market today will pay dividends when future i cars are made. The i3 indeed paved the way for the rumored i5 and other models from the i brand. You can expect larger battery, longer range electric cars from BMW i in the not-so-distant future. I suspect by the time Tesla releases the Model III, BMW will have an electric offering which is comparable size, range and price, and that will be good news for the consumer.

My i3 had a visit by its big brother. I'm one of the few lucky people outside of some select journalists who have driven an i8 on public roads. The future is definitely looking electric!

BMW knows that by focusing on a specific set of needs (efficiency, performance, sustainability) rather than long range, the i3 isn't as well suited for road trips as the Model S. They knew that every kWh of battery that they added would sacrifice efficiency and increase the cost of the car. I still maintain that if BMW had indeed used a slightly larger battery and delivered a true 100-mile EV, it would have been much better received, but that's a pointless argument now. While it does have a shorter range, the i3 does have features that are not even available in the Model S, such as adaptive cruise control, collision avoidance with automatic braking and self parking. As you would expect from BMW, the i3 is an extremely fun car to drive, and a great addition to the current lineup of EV offerings. I think it fits in well situated directly between the Model S and the LEAF in price.

My i3 at home

BMW did realize some customers would want a longer range so they offered the range extender as an option. It's really a great option to have and while I personally like how well it works, it isn't for everybody. Many have argued that the REx ruins the purity of an EV, and while I can agree with that, I can't agree that it shouldn't be an option. If such a feature allows more people to buy a plug in car, then I think that's great. I see the range extender as a temporary fix until batteries get better, lighter and cheaper, but a necessary evil at present. Obviously BMW agrees with that and unlike Tesla, they will wait for the market to bring them improved battery tech while Tesla has decided to bring improved battery tech to the market. Different approaches, different cars and I don't think either is right or wrong. They are both working on bringing cutting edge technology to market today with the promise of even better things to come. BMW and Tesla aren't going head to head in the EV space right now, but they certainly will. Competition is good because it forces innovation. Maybe Horatiu was onto something after all.

One last point: If Nissan does deliver on the rumors that the next generation, 2016 LEAF will have a 150+ mile range, and they can deliver it for a reasonable price, then both Tesla and BMW should be concerned, very concerned...

BMW and Tesla going nose to nose in the premium electric vehicle market is inevitable.

BMW i3 Training Autocross Video

*Hat tip to insideevs.com for finding this first!


BMW has been holding i3 training events to get the new BMW Product Geniuses up to speed on what they need to know about the car. As I have written here many times, there is so much about this car that is completely different than anything BMW has ever sold before that they really need to dive deep into the training of their client advisers and especially these new Product Geniuses. As good as the car is, if they fail to have the ability to properly help the customer decide if the car is right for them, then they won't sell nearly as many as they could have. This is going to have to play itself out before we can gauge if BMW did indeed do everything they could have to give the dealers the tools they need to sell these vehicles.

However in my opinion this video is promising. Not only is BMW holding training sessions where the Product Geniuses will learn about he cars, but they are getting the chance to take once out and do an autocrossing session in one. Plus, in addition to getting to drive in the i3, they also get to drive in a couple i3 competitors, like Chevy Volts and Nissan LEAFs while they are there so they can see how much better the i3 performs.

I assume the above video was taken by one of the Product Geniuses during one of the training sessions and posted on YouTube. It's not a professional quality video by any means, but it does show he was indeed impressed with the i3's performance.  

Bridgestone's "Ologic Technology" and the i3

Much has been made about the tall narrow tires on the BMW i3. They are really unlike any tire on any other car currently in production and they certainly don't look like they belong on a BMW. However BMW and Bridgestone did their homework on this, and accomplished the goals they set out to. That was to develop a tire that is not only efficient, but also delivers the performance expected of any BMW.

How did they do it? Ologic technology. Yep, they developed something so new and advanced you have never even heard of it before! So while I as the Geneva Motor Show a few weeks ago, I made it a point to stop by the Bridgestone exhibit to ask about this new mysterious "Ologic Tech". As I approached the Bridgestone area, I could see they had a Capparis White i3 on display with it all lettered up promoting this new Ologic technology, and they even had an award in a case next to it that proudly displayed that Bridgestone won the 2014 Tire Technology International award for Tire Technology of the year! Fantastic! I was even more pumped up to find out what this new Ologic technology was. Could it be a new special rubber compound or tread pattern?  I was about to find out.


Tire Technology International Awards 2014 winner interview – Tire Technology of the Year

So after asking the information desk for someone to interview I was introduced to a Brigestone product manager to answer my questions. I didn't waste any time. My first question was: What exactly is Ologic technology? I don't have the exact words he used but to paraphrase he basically said "Ologic Technology is our way of creating an efficient tire that still offers optimum performance. By using a very tall narrow tire we simultaneously reduce drag, rolling resistance and tire deformation. The height of the tire in relation to the width also increases the contact patch which allows for retain the dynamic driving characteristics of a much wider tire" So Ologic is just a name of a concept, not any specific rubber compound or such? Yes. Alright well that was a little let down because I figured I was going to get a lesson on rubber or tread or something other than what I heard.

So why are they so special? They must have done something right to win the Tire Technology of the Year award, no? Here is an excerpt of how Bridgestone explains why these are indeed special:

"A Unique Concept for a Unique Car
 
BMW has achieved a genuine milestone with the i3 electric car. Doing justice to its unprecedented levels of both efficiency and performance demanded more than just a new tyre but an entire new tyre concept. Bridgestone’s answer came in the form of the ologic technology, which capitalises on the synergies of a large diameter coupled with a narrow tread design. The result is a tyre that delivers significant improvements in aerodynamics and rolling resistance, while still offering outstanding grip in wet weather conditions.
Combining a large diameter with a narrow tread pattern has several advantages. While the tread on smaller diameter tyres is typically inclined to excessive movement or “deformation” during driving, the larger diameter and higher belt tension significantly reduce tyre deformation and therefore conserve energy that is otherwise lost through internal friction which helps to reduce rolling resistance. By the same token, the narrow tread concept improves aerodynamics. The most spectacular achievement, however is that these improvements do not involve a trade-off in terms of safety. The tyre’s long contact patch (relative to its narrow width),  revolutionary tread design and compound still ensure outstanding grip in both wet and dry conditions."

They have obviously done something right because even though they look like they would be better suited on a motorcycle, the i3 handles exceptionally with them. I've spoken to quite a few people now that have had an i3 on a race track and all of them were genuinely surprised at how well the car performed. In a few weeks I should be taking delivery of my i3 and I can the really put the "Ologic Technology" to the test. :)

Born Electric Guest Blogger: Meet Ross from The UK

 

Ross and his new baby in front of  Chatsworth House, Derbyshire

Hello, I'm Ross from The UK and I was Born Electric on Saturday, March 1st, 2014.

Why an i3?

I will start this blog by saying that I am totally obsessed by cars.  I love cars, I always have, and the cars that find their way into our household are usually of the performance variety, ranging from TVRs to Hondas with even the occasional 4x4.  To be perfectly honest, electric cars had never really appeared on my radar.  I was aware of them obviously, but had never considered owning one.  My view was that most of them were slow, couldn’t go very far and generally a bit dull.  

However, one of my favourite websites is Pistonheads, and I happened to read their review of the new BMW i3 back in October.  Wow!  This sounded like one exciting little car.  So, at this point I started doing some more research, reading every i3 review I could find.  At this time, my car was an E92 M3 and my wife was driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee.  This meant that we had two cars that were pretty expensive to run.  Both had annual road tax of £490 and not so great fuel consumption.  So, the i3 was beginning to sound attractive as it was fun, funky and cheap to run.  That the electric only version could be run as a company car with zero benefit-in-kind was the clincher.

So, it came to be that I ordered an electric only i3 without seeing or test driving one - with the proviso that I could cancel my order if I didn’t like it when I test drove it.  I had to wait about 3 weeks till the 16th November before I could get my hands on one.

Is it a real BMW?

I have owned three BMWs previously, an E46 330i (saloon), an E91 335i (touring) and the E92 M3 we have now. My wife had also owned two minis, a Cooper S and a Cooper S JCW. So we had high expectations. Before getting our test drive, we had an opportunity to have a good look around the showroom car. The consensus from all the family was that it was larger than expected and that from the outside the overall appearance was ‘funky’. Inside the i3, it was even better; the interior feels really modern especially with the large central nav screen.

We were blown away on the test drive.  Putting your foot down just elicits a huge grin.  It is such a hoot to drive.  The instant and rapid acceleration takes a bit of getting used to but is addictive.  Also being able to drive with just one pedal is great and it only takes a few moments to become accustomed to it.  We were sold!

It really does drive like a BMW; the way it handles the road and the feel of the steering all felt familiar.  Since taking delivery of my own i3, I have also taken it to a local sprint circuit.  The circuit is only 600 metres in length but over 3 laps the i3 was great.  It really surprised most of the people there and I was posting times that were quicker than two MX5s, an MR2 and and an E36 328i.  I have also since discovered that the i3 is compatible with the ///M laptimer app.  That said, don’t buy one as a track car!  The range was down to just 43 miles on the day including driving there and back on a dual carriageway.  The M3 is much better suited to track work.

The Options

For anyone considering the purchase of an i3, the options list can be a bit daunting.  I chose laurus (laurel in the US) grey which I am really pleased with and the standard interior because I liked it!  Suite was a consideration but at £2,000 I felt it was too expensive.  I have recently discovered that the mood lighting with colour change is not included with the standard interior - this isn’t mentioned in the brochures or the website.  I was lucky to get the Pro Sat Nav free as I placed my order early and I think everyone should consider this as it really suits the interior of the car.  I ordered the heat pump option as BMW erroneously told me this was required to preheat the vehicle - it isn’t. Supposedly this gives better range in cold weather due to more efficient heating, but as I have nothing to compare it too I have no idea how effective it is. The Harmon Kardon hi-fi option is utterly brilliant and I am really pleased that I added that to my spec. In my opinion the standard wheels are awful, and the 428 alloys I ordered receive very positive comments. The heated seats are the fastest / hottest of any car I’ve owned and therefore a must.

I’ve had the car for just over two weeks and already done more than 900 miles.  Range anxiety really hasn’t been an issue although I have got home a couple of times with only 3 miles left.  It’s a great car and it seems that for the distances we generally travel it is going to meet most of our journey needs. For those occasions when it doesn’t I will just have to put up with that howling V8...

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This makes the seventh Born Electric guest blogger here. The other posts can be viewed here: 

Andy from The UK 
Hil from Holland  
Toni from Belgium 
Jan from Belgium 
Steven from The Netherlands   
Jon from Norway

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