[Paul]

You may have seen this elsewhere, just seen it posted on Google+.

http://bmwi3.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/bmw-i3-rex-vs-chevy-volt-my-take.html

A very in depth and interesting point of view I felt, wont share too much as I don't want to "spoiler" it, but for an i3 owner/driver and avid blogger I felt it was very balanced and informative.

Wondered what our i3 and Volt/Ampera folks think of it?

 

[Paul_Moxhay]

I thought that was a pretty fair comparison.

 

[Nick]

I bought my Ampera after the i3 came out. Pro-Ampera factors in my decision were cost (< £23K for my new Ampera after government grant and discounts), storage space (push chair and other baby stuff), availability (it's months since I requested an i3 test drive and have heard nothing), and styling (i3 is too avant-garde for my taste). I've also read that the APU is quite obtrusive when running on the i3 but haven't heard it myself. Pro-i3 factors include electric range (but I have enough electric range on the Ampera for my regular use -218 mpg currently) and brand image (BMW versus Vauxhall).

 

[Brooktop]

I second what Nick said exactly. The i3 initiated my interest in EVs after a test drive...but because my daily commute is 35 miles but with the occassional long distance drive, the Ampera was the obvious choice given the financial savings. If they had been the same price I would have gone for the BMW, for the quicker acceleration. (Still got a bit of the boy racer in me).

 

[Lee Howard]

The extended-range on the i3 is not extended-enough to be considered more than a fail-safe for when you may need to go a little-bit farther than the battery allows. Sure, the 90-mile battery range is nice, but if you go beyond it then the 9L (EU) or 2gal (US) petrol tank is only going to get you another 100 miles down the road, maybe. A long drive without stopping for battery charging will require the first petrol stop after 160 miles or so and then every 80 miles from there... that would get annoying, I would think. Maybe that's a good thing, though, that would encourage the driver to use battery charging.

 

[Paul]

100 miles is a long way to go in most places of the UK, I think you'd struggle not to find either a rapid or petrol station within 100 miles of anywhere around here, so it's very handy. And you get what is to all intents and purposes a BEV without compromise... plus a backup.

I think both work well and both have their appeals, it makes it a very interesting play-off for sure.

 

[Julian Thomas]

I agree with @Paul - I think the i3 and Ampera are best-suited for slightly different drivers.

I've had my Ampera for 2 years / 30k miles (lifetime 60mpg; my bad). For work I do bizarrely random journeys - sometimes <10 miles/day all week, sometimes 1k-1.5k in a week. Socially we visit Scotland a few times a year to see my family, Cornwall to see my partner's family, and Paris a few times a year for weekends away.

I love that the Ampera just reverts to being a "normal" car on long journeys. I'm frustrated by the small (30L) fuel tank, which means we have to stop every 250-300 miles, but that aside it accelerates and behaves like a regular car on the motorway.

It really is like having two cars in one. When we drove an i3 Rex it didn't feel at all like that - it felt like you weren't supposed to use it on petrol - the small fuel tank, and the fact you "extend" the range, rather than drive endlessly on petrol. We asked the guy how it would cope on a 500 mile journey, and he pulled a face which suggested it probably wasn't the right car for us...

 

[fenlander]

Ignore the FUD, the i3 can cope fine on 500+ mile journeys. Stopping for a splash'n'dash really isn't painful when you can drive almost all the time on battery.

The Ampera feels too restricted in everyday use.

 

[Brooktop]

The Ampera feels too restricted in everyday use.

In what way?

 

[fenlander]

In what way?

The small battery. It's a trade off - how often you need that 300mile petrol range vs every day battery use.

 

[AndyG]

Ignore the FUD, the i3 can cope fine on 500+ mile journeys. Stopping for a splash'n'dash really isn't painful when you can drive almost all the time on battery.

The Ampera feels too restricted in everyday use.

The average man on the street's car does 10000 miles a year which equates to about 40 miles per day, that is exactly the reason the Volt/Ampera has about 40 mile range, it is designed for everyday use!!!!!!!

IMO
…...the BMW is a great car if you don't want range anxiety and want to drive as many electric miles as possible, and do not regually use for long trips.
……the Volt/Ampera is great if you have a commute somewhere close to its range or twice if you can charge at work and you also need a car that can easily turn into an ICE when you want it to.

No matter what way you look at it the BMW is not designed for long journeys, even BMW call it a city car.
It is completely impractical as a replacement for my Volt, as my wife at least once a month teaches >180 miles from home. She already leaves home at 5.30 in the morning to start work at 9, if we owned the i3 she would have to stop to refuel at least once on the trip (in the Volt she often makes it there and back on one tank). We looked at the BMW and even the sales man (someone I have purchased 2 previous cars from) advised us that it was not the right car for the job. Every report I have read has stated the Volt is a far better highway cruser and the BMW is a better city car.

 

[AndyG]

The small battery. It's a trade off - how often you need that 300mile petrol range vs every day battery use.

Please see above

 

[Julian Thomas]

The small battery. It's a trade off - how often you need that 300mile petrol range vs every day battery use.

Some weeks not at all. Some weeks every single day.

Horses for courses - the i3 is a great car for some people, the Ampera is a great car for other people.

 

[fenlander]

If only the world worked on average statistics every day.

40 miles is too short for anything over the mean.

 

[Julian Thomas]

If only the world worked on average statistics every day.

40 miles is too short for anything over the mean.

I respectfully disagree with you. I find the Ampera a really good compromise as a car. My sub-10 mile days (2/3 of the time?) it is perfectly adequate. The other 1/3 of the time it behaves exactly like an Insignia, and can do a 600 mile round trip with 1 fuel stop.

 

[fenlander]

I respectfully disagree with you. I find the Ampera a really good compromise as a car. My sub-10 mile days (2/3 of the time?) it is perfectly adequate. The other 1/3 of the time it behaves exactly like an Insignia, and can do a 600 mile round trip with 1 fuel stop.

Absolutely. If you fall into that bucket it works a treat. But if the distribution is different it's not so good. The bottom line is that with an i3 you'll drive more EV miles - at least 40 more on your long journeys and more any day you trip that 40mile limit.

 

[AndyG]

If only the world worked on average statistics every day.

40 miles is too short for anything over the mean.

@Matt Beard posted a while back that the average commute to work is something like 11 miles. last time I looked 11 was a lot less than 40.

My wife is a prime example, about 75-80% all electric, most days less than 40 miles or 80 miles with charging at work. Then there are the days she needs an normal ICE car, oh no we don't we have a Volt, its the only car we need.

 

[AndyG]

Absolutely. If you fall into that bucket it works a treat. But if the distribution is different it's not so good. The bottom line is that with an i3 you'll drive more EV miles - at least 40 more on your long journeys and more any day you trip that 40mile limit.

Most people won't drive more EV miles as most people drive less than 40 miles per day.

 

[Brooktop]

@fenlander ie too restrictive for you. My daily commute is 35 miles so the Ampera is perfect. If I do do more than that on a journey, the chances are it's going to be over 80 miles.

So, for me, the Ampera is ideal.

Having said that, I'm planning to get an i3 next unless something better comes along. It will probably mean that I'll just charge every other day and on longer journeys may well seek out rapids. I'd love to ditch dinosaur juice altogether but can't afford a Tesla.

The thing is, it's horses for courses. That applies to EVERY car. There is ALWAYS a trade off eg high performance vs economy. It's just that with EVs there are fewer options...but they are increasing every year (if not month).

It's churlish to suggest that one car is 'restricted for every day use' ....unless you qualify it with 'in my set of circumstances'.

Hopefully we can all agree on that and stop the 'mine is better than yours' arguments.

 

[fenlander]

Hopefully we can all agree on that and stop the 'mine is better than yours' arguments.[/USER]

Please The pro-Ampera propaganda was deafening