[proddick]

IMO the i3 range extender has the opposite problem - petrol does not extend the range enough. I do not believe the i3 would be a great car to do a long journey as you would still need to stop and potentially put in very expensive motorway petrol. That and the small boot makes me think BMW are marketing it as a city and near-to-city car. Of course the extra-cost plan that allows the swap with a ICE BMW helps, but that might not be practical for the "I have to go to Newcastle tomorrow for a meeting" scenario... I actually think the i3 range extender competes more with the Leaf than the Ampera as it can go further with a full battery and tank. Of course these are just my thought and others are more than welcome to disagree

 

[proddick]

Hi Bruce,

The recent report on EV batteries (I don't have link to hand) said that the current expectations may actually be conservative and that the batteries might actually be OK for 12 years or more, especially given the charge and thermal management on recent models.

I agree that the i3 looks a bit like a cartoon car in the photos but people in the WhatCar clinic seemed to like it, so maybe it looks better in the flesh? I will stick with the Ampera until the smaller Tesla arrives - of something similar from another manufacturer.