I've been driving a 2018 i3s 94Ah with Range Extender for about a year.

132 miles is beyond single charge battery range of an i3s any time of year. On a good day if you use Eco Pro+ and stick to 56mph it might make it on battery.

Worst case winter you might be entirely out of range without refilling. It would probalby make it on a single tank most winter days If you precondition the car, use Eco Pro and drive conservatively.

The non-s has little more range 5 or 10 miles. You would still be using the range extender nearly every day. The S is more stable and planted at speed. I find the non-S can get "busy" in crosswinds or poor road surfaces.


The range extender is fine for occasional use but not something I'd want to rely on daily. You will be refilling the tank just about every day. Fuel economy on the Rex is dismal. - low 30s. -

I would either move closer to work or consider a different car.

 

With that distance you will need to charge or use REx everyday. If you had charging at work it would be fine. It is not something I would consider.

 

Anything with a realistic 150 mile range then, if home charging is a future option. Quite a bit of choice - assuming you don't end up in a long waiting list. Rather than jump right into the deep end, perhaps try several different cars with Evezy. They offer personal leasing from month to month, so you could try before you buy.....

 

Ouch, that isn't a great commute. Back in 2012 I had a 65 mile each way when I worked near Gloucester and bought my Ampera to reduce costs. Unfortunately they decided I couldn't use the workplace charging - "company cars only" which screwed my plans up. I would often stop and charge at Membury on way home and catch up on some emails!

Anyway, for that commute a Zoe ZE50 would work or a battery owned ZE40. We had a new i3 for a few months in 2019 from EVezy and the only benefit over our Zoe was TACC. Yes the i3 was quick, but I rarely took advantage and I couldn't believe it didn't have Android Auto! Overall for a small car I prefer the Zoe - especially ZE50. Obviously badge snobs wouldn't drive a Renault and some people look down on mine, but I really dont care ?

Also be aware that i3 REX do not have a good reliability record so warranty is essential (search forum) and from BMW it is expensive. Note also that most 3rd party policies aren't much use due to low claim limits or exclusions.

 

Yes it'll be fine - lol! if you like charging it every day, filling the ReX tank every day, driving it like a granny on Eco pro + with the heater off and a woolly hat, scarf and gloves!

If I were you, I'd get a small engined ICE like a Polo.

 

Indeed, a small-ish ICE job such as a Polo might just make a good deal of sense, at least for the next 2 to 3 years until the EV market matures a little more (more choice/reduced list prices)........ And if much driving in heavy traffic is anticipated, I'd go the DSG auto route.

 

TL;DR
Fuel savings vs. petrol are somewhere around £300 a month. It isn't that hard to justify on a new 160 or 200 mile EV instead.





The fuel savings on a 132 mile daily commute are substantial even vs. a Polo.

Looking on Fuelly, 2018 - 2019 Polo gets around 40mpg-UK. Umm I'll pick 43mpg.

660 miles a week / 43 miles per gallon = 15.34 UK gallons. That doesn't include any weekend driving.

69.7litres per week. * £1.24 / litre = £84.43 per week just for commuting.

Fuel cost for EV at 4 miles per kWh and 13p per kWh.

660 miles / 4 * £0.13 = £21.45 per week - a savings of £62.98 per week.

Fuel cost for EV at 4 miles per kWh and 5p per kWh (Octopus GO EV tariff)

660 miles / 4 * £0.05 = £8.25 per week. nearly free.


Even if the Polo manages 50mpg the savings are still huge:

660/50 = 13.2 UK gallons per week That is 60 litres or £74 a week.

Volkswagen Polo MPG - Actual MPG from 1,484 Volkswagen Polo owners

The most accurate Volkswagen Polo MPG estimates based on real world results of 21.5 million miles driven in 1,484 Volkswagen Polos

www.fuelly.com

 

TL;DR
Fuel savings vs. petrol are somewhere around £300 a month. It isn't that hard to justify on a new 160 or 200 mile EV instead.





The fuel savings on a 132 mile daily commute are substantial even vs. a Polo.

Looking on Fuelly, 2018 - 2019 Polo gets around 40mpg-UK. Umm I'll pick 43mpg.

660 miles a week / 43 miles per gallon = 15.34 UK gallons. That doesn't include any weekend driving.

69.7litres per week. * £1.24 / litre = £84.43 per week just for commuting.

Fuel cost for EV at 4 miles per kWh and 13p per kWh.

660 miles / 4 * £0.13 = £21.45 per week - a savings of £62.98 per week.

Fuel cost for EV at 4 miles per kWh and 5p per kWh (Octopus GO EV tariff)

660 miles / 4 * £0.05 = £8.25 per week. nearly free.


Even if the Polo manages 50mpg the savings are still huge:

660/50 = 13.2 UK gallons per week That is 60 litres or £74 a week.

Volkswagen Polo MPG - Actual MPG from 1,484 Volkswagen Polo owners

The most accurate Volkswagen Polo MPG estimates based on real world results of 21.5 million miles driven in 1,484 Volkswagen Polos

www.fuelly.com

 

660 miles a week? Jeez, it takes me about a month to do that....... I'm obviously in another motoring world......

 

The range anxiety, and ride quality for 132 miles a day..? I'd still have the Polo.

 

Plenty of EVs:

• Kia Niro 64 kWh (even the 39 kWh would do)
• Hyundai Kona (ditto)
• Hyundai Ioniq
• Peugeot e208, e2008
• Opel (Vauxhall) Corsa
• Renault Zoe 50
• Wait for the VW ID3

All of them offer a better ride than the Polo.

 

Sounds like a job for a Tesla model 3....

 

A Toyota hybrid car would be good. I had a Yaris and it was a perfect stepping stone to small EVs. It drives like an EV and is almost a quiet until you floor it. When given full throttle from zero, it burns off most cars - 0 to 30 in under 4 seconds the same as an old Zoe. Note the 'perfect' stop/start and that it is an auto - both great for commuting.

 

yeah - model 3 - 6k down... 467 a month for 48 months. Out of reach for a lot of people.

 

Yes but OP is spending car payments on fuel.

Fuel savings mean a M3 isn't that much more expensive than a new Polo. Once you include fuel costs, several other new EVs are going to be less expensive than a new Polo. 700 miles a week is a lot of time sitting in a car. I'd be looking for something nicer than a Polo.


I really like my i3s. I wouldn't dream of using it for 130 miles daily on the motorway but it is great around here.

 

Xinix

You forgot the Kia Soul and the MGZS ev. Kia e Niro isn't offered in the UK with a 39kWh battery.

 

Hi,

Forget it! I mean everything is possible but the daily headache involved would be too much.

I recently bought a 94ah REX and do around a 65 mile round trip commute (mixed motorway, a-roads). I have to charge it daily at work (which happens to be free), but don't always get a slot. I don't have a home charger yet. This is probably just about acceptable and I'm saving around £150 a month on fuel, plus no road tax. Note sure if it's worth it tbh, as it's not the most comfortable car in the world...

As others have said, go for something else with a better range or stick to a small petrol. Reliability is also a worry, and you could be out of pocket in a big way if you didn't have warranty (which would then completely offset any fuel savings as it's not cheap!)

Thanks.

 

First question is how do you view your time in the car? A necessary evil and anything will do as long as its cheap? Or do you want any kind of enjoyment and comfort that you're willing to pay for? Do you see a difference between value and cost or is it all much the same to you? It sounds like its 2.5 hours of your day even on a good one and who knows how long when they shut the motorway to investigate someone's fractured eyelash - if its the M5 that will be at least once a week. I'd say buy the most comfy/luxurious car you can afford and chill out on the commute to separate work from home. My solution for the last 10 years of my working life was to give up the trains and do it by motorbike (only 30-40 mins though) - best move I ever made, looked forward to the commute as least as much as the rest of the day. Despite the behaviour of the majority, it turns out there's no prizes for living your life as cheaply as possible.

 

I’d recommend the Zoe 40 or 50.

My daily commute is 106 miles and I’ve been doing that in the Zoe 40 for sometime now.

Im just in the process of upgrading to the Zoe 50 so selling the 40. If interested check out my ad on classified.

 

An i3 120Ah maybe, a 94Ah no.

 

If cheapness is the goal, new cars is not the answer at all.

If, however, you really want to go electric, then any one of the above mentioned big-battery BEVs is the answer. Note that long term running costs are significantly less on full BEVs than the headline purchase price (or BMW's ridiculous extended warranty costs) might lead you to believe, I've seen a great article on early i3 owners now reaching 200,000 miles+ with the original brakes on the car - that's easily £2-3k worth of savings alone. Then there's all those fluid changes, spark plugs, exhausts, filters, and the fact that the car would be worth more because there's no piston engine that's going to need a rebuild sometime soon ..

 

If cheapness is the goal, new cars is not the answer at all.

I agree but it is harder to give a cost comparison. Used cars don't have a single price. Non-fuel running costs are more of an unknown too.

My father used to drive nearly 100,000 miles a year. He would buy a 1 or 2 year old Mercedes and keep it until it was beyond economic repair.

 

If I had to do such a commute I would go for a streamlined mid-sized car, automatic with unobtrusive stop/start. If it had to be ICE based the Prius probably ticks all the boxes - just make sure the latest ones aren't the ones being targeted for cat removal.

 

Yep - get a Prius and you can moonlight as an Uber on the way to and from work - pays for itself lol!