[Gravityloss]

Too bad, AFAIK, the i3 REX (with range extender gasoline engine) is hobbled by a tiny gasoline tank. The total range is something like 200 km: 100 electric and 100 gasoline.

With my current car I can drive to the summer cottage and back with one tank. It's just carefree and convenient. With an i3, even when starting with full charge, one would have to tank about halfway each way.

It is hard for me to understand such design decisions. I have heard that in some countries the gasoline range must be less than electric range to secure some tax credit.

Edit:

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_i3

REx 60 Ah: 116 km (72 mi), Total: 241 km (150 mi)

REx 94 Ah: 156 km (97 mi), Total: 290 km (180 mi)[12]

[randcraw]

The small gas tank was needed for the car to qualify for a California tax break as an electric car rather than being a hybrid.

https://www.autoblog.com/2013/10/28/why-the-bmw-i3-has-such-...

[Gravityloss]

I wonder why they didn't make one for the European market with a bigger one? It could have been a huge success.

Most of your yearly distance would be covered by purely electric driving, yet you would not have range anxiety and you could still make those long trips with your car as well.

Would also be good for the environment as one wouldn't need to tie needless resources for a rarely needed big battery.

[natefinch]

I mean, you can get a Tesla Model 3 long range for $47k that goes 310 miles on a charge and gains 200 miles on a half hour recharge at a supercharger. That seems... like more driving than I'd really ever do. (half hour is super easy to blow when you go pee, grab a coffee, check your email and social media... and keep in mind that's after like 4 hours of driving)

[Gravityloss]

Sounds better. But it's so expensive. You can get a used i3 for 20k euros though. And I street park so the ICE is a good backup.

[matthewdgreen]

The i3 starts at $44,450 new, which is almost exactly the same as the Tesla Model 3 LR. I guess it's nice for consumers that there are used i3s out there (probably will be true of Tesla in a few years) but from a business perspective, selling the i3 just seems like a crazy proposition.

[Gravityloss]

Here the cheapest new standard range Model 3 is 50,000 euros and long range 62,000 euros. Cheapest new i3 is around 42,000 euros, though they don't mention REX anymore. No used model 3:s are available on the free market so can't compare those.

Sources:

https://www.tesla.com/fi_FI/inventory/new/m3

https://www.bmw.fi/content/dam/bmw/marketFI/bmw_fi/ladattava...

[matthewdgreen]

Without the REX the two cars aren't really comparable anymore. (Also, wow! That's expensive. How much of that is tax?)

[ddorian43]

... how far is your summer cottage ?

[Gravityloss]

300 km or 200 miles. Usually weekend trips.