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When we [Ars Technica] reviewed the BMW i3 back in 2014, the little rear-wheel drive city car left us quite impressed. However, the i3 has always had a couple of flaws in comparison with other electric vehicles out there; it costs too much and the range isn't very good, even if you go for the optional two-cylinder range-extending engine. It appears BMW has decided to address the latter issue, because from this summer the i3 will now come with a 33kWh battery in place of the current 22kWh unit.
[...] The new battery is 50 percent bigger, so more than 100 miles (160km) should be possible on a full charge. The gas tank for the range extender engine will also grow by 25 percent; expect to stop for gas every 75 miles if you try road-tripping. These range tweaks should help boost the i3's appeal, but before long the Bolt and Model 3 are going to make people expect 200+ miles from their EV as a bare minimum.
Happily for existing (and even potential) i3 owners, BMW says that current i3s can have the new battery retrofitted as part of a special program, although no one is saying anything about how much that might cost yet. Again, this kind of thinking is a promising sign for an industry that's never really considered upgrades as important. Tesla has excelled at pushing out new functionality to owners across the world on a regular basis, with both software upgrades and hardware retrofits, offering a better battery pack for Roadster owners in the past and underbody "armor" for the Model S fleet.
Tesla has shaken up the car industry with its award-winning electric vehicles (EVs) and supercharger network. Nearly every major brand now offers EVs or is seriously planning to offer them. A couple like Nissan and BMW have begun to build out their own charging networks. But this article highlights another way in which Tesla has re-invented the car: it gets better after you've bought it, through over-the-air software updates and battery retrofits that dramatically improve your EV's range. Will this upgradeability prove to be the "killer app" of the EV?
(Score: 2) by schad on Tuesday May 03 2016, @12:52PM
I've seen a few in the Atlanta area. About as many as I've seen Volts, actually, which has got to sting.
I had one for a few days as a loaner. I actually liked it quite a lot. The styling is definitely beyond strange, but it's not without a certain appeal. Sort of like a pug [blogspot.com].
Now BMW just needs to come out with something in between the i3 and i8.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 03 2016, @01:59PM
> Now BMW just needs to come out with something in between the i3 and i8.
http://blog.caranddriver.com/bmw-i-chief-i5-ev-model-coming-will-offer-optional-range-extender/ [caranddriver.com]
(Score: 2) by Rich on Tuesday May 03 2016, @03:05PM
The [i3] styling is definitely beyond strange, but it's not without a certain appeal. Sort of like a pug
I actually kind of like the Multipla. If you look at the headlights and think "nostrils" rather than "eyes", those little lights further up become button eyes and the whole car gets the appearance of something friendly hippo-like (although i've heard more people die from hippo than from lion attacks...).