The fantastic Tesla – because it is a mule in the whole rule – of already not only offer an electric car with a range that exceeds comfortably 300 miles with a recharge, but also make its price is accessible to the bulk of the buyers (see Tesla Model 3), is receiving the response of its competitors. And BMW was not going to be less. To the delight of all who are interested to buy an electric car, the BMW i3 2016 is already here, an update that proposes to increase the electrical autonomy of the BMW i3 up to 300 kilometers. Well above the 190 km of autonomy with which it presented three years ago now (see test of the BMW i3).
And how it has achieved these numbers, the BMW i3?
Take note: regardless of the conditions exterior, this new BMW i3 will exceed always 200 kilometers with a full recharge, and up to 300 miles in ideal conditions, according to european approval.
The key is in the use of a new lithium-ion battery with an energy density much higher. So that in a battery of the same size and 94 Ah (compared to the 60 Ah its predecessor), it has managed to store up to 33 kw with a single recharge, which can be effectively used 29 kWh. And that’s a significant increase from the 22-kWh model marketed up to now, of which 18,8 kWh were available.
This battery leaves us, therefore, with autonomy according to cycle-approval of 300 kilometers. In any case, and with sincerity, the German brand ensures that the BMW i3 will offer more than 200 miles in all kinds of conditions, even in the most demanding, very low temperatures, and the use of air-conditioning systems, to test the capacity and performance of the battery.
If you already have a BMW i3, you’ll be able to replace your old batteries for the new higher capacity. Is to be confirmed in what markets will offer this solution, and their price.
on the other hand, BMW has announced something that will appeal especially to those who already have a BMW z3 in your garage. A new battery not only will be available in the new BMW i3 2016, who begin to be marketed starting in the summer, but also for all those that have been delivered in the last two years of marketing the BMW i3. The modular design of the BMW i3, coupled with the fact that these batteries occupy exactly the same space as the previous, will allow those who wish to order a new battery to replace it with the above.
This solution will be proposed to exchange mode, so that the client change its old battery for a new one, with a cost that has not yet been specified. So the old battery will have the opportunity to receive a second life. In any case, this solution of the program of exchange of batteries of the BMW i3 will only be available in some markets, BMW has not yet specified.
on the other hand, the BMW i3 will continue to be a 170 HP of power, so that you can practice the 0 to 100 km/h in 7,3 seconds. BMW has also announced that it will continue to maintain in the market a version of the BMW i3 with batteries of 60 Ah and 22 kWh, a version with the batteries used to date.
Both versions will also become available with the range extender, with the version Range Extender the BMW i3. Let us remember that it is a compact two-cylinder engine, using gasoline is able to increase the autonomy of the BMW i3 – recharging the batteries – in 150 additional kilometers. To do this, this motor is fed with a gasoline tank with a capacity of 9 litres, and increasing the weight on a minimum of 120 kg.
so that, if with a range between 200 and 300 kilometers, we do not have enough energy to make a trip without stopping to recharge, with those 9 liters we can get another 150 extra miles, plus the versatility that brings the power to stop at any service station for fuel and to cover those miles that we are missing to our destination.
The updated BMW i3, with its new batteries capable of providing up to 300 kilometers, according to the cycle approved european, will begin to be sold this summer.
Source: BMW
In motor: