So who's getting an i3?

[AnotherClarkey]

RossP said:

AFAIK there isn't anywhere in the UK you can use a Fast DC charging point yet... Could be handy in the future though I guess.

I walked past something claiming to be just that at M40 Warwick services the other day - is this not a type that the i3 can use?

[KTF]

GG89 said:

I just can't get my head around the ugliness of this car.

Having seen a few in the metal now they look a lot better than the pictures and 'stand out' as something different which is the point of the thing really.

[RossP]

AnotherClarkey said:

I walked past something claiming to be just that at M40 Warwick services the other day - is this not a type that the i3 can use?

TBH I am not sure - more research required it would seem!

[TimJMS]

Ordered mine a few weeks ago. February delivery. Friends who have test driven have all been blown away. Can't wait.
REx, (to mitigate the range anxiety I experienced with the Leaf) Harman Kardon, DC fast charge, Internet, Winter Pack, 19 inch alloys, Metallic Paint. As with Ross above, I also got a free upgrade to Pro Media.

[mids]

Pugland53 said:

Went to look at one on Saturday and the wife loved it. Going to get a test drive sorted this week. For those that have ordered what do you see as the 'essential' options?

The winter pack isn't the most exciting way to spend £260 but it's worth it IMO. By pre-conditioning the battery whilst charging it gives you increased range (in cold / very hot conditions). Also, the electric seats are also an efficient way to warm up when compared to the heater. The range predicion takes everything into account so if you dial up the climate control by a few degrees you see the range drop by several miles. However, turn both heated seats on max setting and the range drops by just 1 mile.

I'd only consider rapid DC charging (£560) if you are getting a non-REx and plan on keeping it for several years. There are no DC chargers in the UK to that connector spec yet and the i3 DC won't work with the Japanese spec CHAdeMO DC chargers on the ecotricity network (that LEAF drivers use).

[hairykrishna]

Mr GrimNasty said:

There's no myth. Unless you can afford to run different cars for different purposes, one being extremely expensive and limiting and ultimately completely redundant and not at all green in reality - battery electric cars are a dead limb of the evolutionary tree of the car.

Battery technology is NOT going to improve significantly enough to change this fact. It is a scientific impossibility.

I get a bit twitchy when I read 'scientific impossibility' in this sort of context. Want to show your working?

[0llie]

I spotted one out and around this morning, I think they look great (certainly striking).

[Amateurish]

Got a test drive sorted for next week.

[RossP]

TimJMS said:

Ordered mine a few weeks ago. February delivery. Friends who have test driven have all been blown away. Can't wait.
REx, (to mitigate the range anxiety I experienced with the Leaf) Harman Kardon, DC fast charge, Internet, Winter Pack, 19 inch alloys, Metallic Paint. As with Ross above, I also got a free upgrade to Pro Media.

Sorry, forgot I ordered 'internet too. Not entirely sure what that gives me but it was only £95.

[B5NXJ]

Mr GrimNasty said:

Devil2575 said:

TransverseTight said:

its funny how the same old battery myths come up again. and again.

Those who have a deep routed desire not to see electric cars suceed will continue to perpetuate the myths regardless of how untrue they have been shown to be.

I think it's mamazing just how fast the technology is moving at the moment and I don't doubt that in another 10 years electric cars will be mainstream.

There's no myth. Unless you can afford to run different cars for different purposes, one being extremely expensive and limiting and ultimately completely redundant and not at all green in reality - battery electric cars are a dead limb of the evolutionary tree of the car.

Battery technology is NOT going to improve significantly enough to change this fact. It is a scientific impossibility.

How can you be so sure??

[B5NXJ]

How is the REX configured in the i3?

[RossP]

B5NXJ said:

How can you be so sure??

Because the world is flat...

[B5NXJ]

RossP said:

B5NXJ said:

How can you be so sure??

Because the world is flat...

Ah, of course.. how silly of me. .

[skilly1]

mids said:

The winter pack isn't the most exciting way to spend £260 but it's worth it IMO. By pre-conditioning the battery whilst charging it gives you increased range (in cold / very hot conditions). Also, the electric seats are also an efficient way to warm up when compared to the heater. The range predicion takes everything into account so if you dial up the climate control by a few degrees you see the range drop by several miles. However, turn both heated seats on max setting and the range drops by just 1 mile.

I'd only consider rapid DC charging (£560) if you are getting a non-REx and plan on keeping it for several years. There are no DC chargers in the UK to that connector spec yet and the i3 DC won't work with the Japanese spec CHAdeMO DC chargers on the ecotricity network (that LEAF drivers use).

Thanks - I may add in the winter pack based on what you have said.

[J4CKO]

Mr GrimNasty said:

Devil2575 said:

TransverseTight said:

its funny how the same old battery myths come up again. and again.

Those who have a deep routed desire not to see electric cars suceed will continue to perpetuate the myths regardless of how untrue they have been shown to be.

I think it's mamazing just how fast the technology is moving at the moment and I don't doubt that in another 10 years electric cars will be mainstream.

There's no myth. Unless you can afford to run different cars for different purposes, one being extremely expensive and limiting and ultimately completely redundant and not at all green in reality - battery electric cars are a dead limb of the evolutionary tree of the car.

Battery technology is NOT going to improve significantly enough to change this fact. It is a scientific impossibility.

Ok, will be interesting to revisit this in say, 15 years time, EV's are moving into the mainstream and the manufacturers all know they need to be on that particular boat, third parties are all scurrying to improve battery technology as they know if they patent something that is a game changer then they will be the new Sheikhs.

The electric motor is here to stay, how it is powered is still open for debate, they are just better in every measurable way than an IC engine, a simple, elegant solution versus something that has been developed as there was no alternative, the battery tech has evolved enough to make a proper EV viable and I expect incremental improvements with every new release, look what they did with the humble diesel motor, from Dump Truck to Executive car in 20 years. Much as we love them, we need to see IC engines for what they are, they will be around for a good while yet but there will be a tipping point in the future where EV's outsell them, I reckon 15-20 years for passenger cars.

[RossP]

On another note. Which home charging point is everyone going for?

I am currently favouring the Chargemaster option. It's only £95 for the 7KW version (free for 3KW) versus £300+ for the BMW one which seems to offer no advantages.

I think there are other options too but I haven't looked at them in depth (hoping someone else who will be along shortly has).

[Devil2575]

Mr GrimNasty said:

Devil2575 said:

TransverseTight said:

its funny how the same old battery myths come up again. and again.

Those who have a deep routed desire not to see electric cars suceed will continue to perpetuate the myths regardless of how untrue they have been shown to be.

I think it's mamazing just how fast the technology is moving at the moment and I don't doubt that in another 10 years electric cars will be mainstream.

There's no myth. Unless you can afford to run different cars for different purposes, one being extremely expensive and limiting and ultimately completely redundant and not at all green in reality - battery electric cars are a dead limb of the evolutionary tree of the car.

Battery technology is NOT going to improve significantly enough to change this fact. It is a scientific impossibility.

It is a myth. Just look at the comments that people made 10 years ago about electric cars and see how much truth there was to them.

You have no idea where battery technology will go and what is possible.

[fjord]

Electric cars piss me off. People think they are going to save the world with electric fking cars.

I reckon a Boeing 747 burns more fuel in an hour than you would in a whole year of driving a 1.9d.

And for crying out loud,

This:


is still connected to this:

[TimJMS]

RossP said:

...
I think there are other options too but I haven't looked at them in depth (hoping someone else who will be along shortly has).

Beefmeister

[TransverseTight]

B5NXJ said:

Mr GrimNasty said:

Devil2575 said:

TransverseTight said:

its funny how the same old battery myths come up again. and again.

Those who have a deep routed desire not to see electric cars suceed will continue to perpetuate the myths regardless of how untrue they have been shown to be.

I think it's mamazing just how fast the technology is moving at the moment and I don't doubt that in another 10 years electric cars will be mainstream.

There's no myth. Unless you can afford to run different cars for different purposes, one being extremely expensive and limiting and ultimately completely redundant and not at all green in reality - battery electric cars are a dead limb of the evolutionary tree of the car.

Battery technology is NOT going to improve significantly enough to change this fact. It is a scientific impossibility.

How can you be so sure??

Can you imagine if in 1980 you had said to the average petrol head that within 20 years over 50% of new cars sold in the uk would be diesel, and would include "performance" versions with over 250 bhp? And that's from a technology no one thought there was much development left to be done.

Batteries are the new holy grail. I read recently Nissan has spent over USD 5 billion on battery research. Sounds like rather than just waiting for someone else to invent them, they are looking at this as an area to get a competitive advantage.

From personal experience the price has come down massively. I enjoy photography so have been buying the most high power rechargeables I can for my flash gun for ever.. Back in 2002 they cost about £8 for 4xAA 800mAh. They now cost £5 for 4x 2400mAh. So 4x the capacity for about 2/3 of the price. Do the maths and that means you get the same now for 1/5 of the price back then.

If you scale that up from now... you'll be able to get an i3 equivalent that does 400 miles on a charge for about 20k in 10 years time. Though given that there's huge interest in making batteries work... it may come sooner. I saw a recent presentation where the guy was saying if you want to make stuff dirt cheap you need to make it from dirt. Not platinum or other rare metals. So a lot of research is on how to make stuff from lower cost materials. I'm waiting to see who will get the first supercapacitor "buffer" in a production car - so less energy is lost on regen. And also to reduce loads on the main battery set under fast acceleration.

We'll have to wait. I'm kind of glad I'm not ready to buy just yet, I think 2014 could see a lot of news.

If you really need to be convinced of why batteries are better than fuel.... take a look at how fast the Tesla battery can be swapped...

http://www.teslamotors.com/en_GB/batteryswap

Note there's a lot of hanging around waiting for the machines there. I think with some robotic improvements they could eventually do these F1 style in say 10 seconds. This didn't even include queuing in the shop behind someone paying for a coffee / bag of sweets (with 1p and 2p coins) when they don't have "pay at the pump". I'd buy an electric car just to avoid the 10 minute "pitstop" every 4 days. I'm one of the several tens of millions of people in the UK with a private driveway so don't need to worry about on street parking and where will the extension lead go.