This is Part 2 of my experience with my first electric vehicle. If you missed Part 1, please start here.
When buying an electric car, one cost you have to account for is that of your at-home charging solution. BMW offers a range of charging products in their Wallbox line and it costs nearly $1,000 to acquire the most basic model. There are alternative products available elsewhere, including Amazon. I managed to find a used home charger, the JuiceBox Pro 40, from a fellow member of the Bimmerfest Forums. Before heading to the dealership to pick up my i3, I wrote the seller and told him I’d take it.
The seller lived in far North Phoenix, near the community of Anthem. That’s about 50 miles from my home in the West Valley, or 100 miles round trip. I’ll explain why this was not an ideal shakedown cruise.
Phoenix is built on the LA model. The core city sprawls in every direction. East to west, you can drive nearly 70 miles and remain in the same metro area. And it’s all connected by miles and miles of 10-lane wide freeway. While my i3’s workload will mainly consist of a daily 20 mile commute, I would get to know her at 70-plus miles per hour.
Besides longer-range vehicles like Tesla’s Model S and X, most electric cars aren’t designed for high speed, extended freeway travel. They’re city cars. Regenerative braking recaptures energy otherwise lost during stop and go city driving. Driving 75 miles per hour for long periods is a nightmare for an electric car’s battery, as it’s providing high power to the electric motor and recuperating none of it through braking or coasting. It’s just not what the car was designed for.
The BMW i3 comes with an occasional use charger, which plugs into the same household outlet as your vacuum cleaner or blender. After all night on that, then another 90 minutes on a nearby coffee shop’s Level 2 charger, the battery was at 100 percent and ready for the road.
My 75-year-old father joined me on this errand and remarked how the i3 looked and felt much more substantial than he thought it would. His only prior knowledge of the vehicle was indulging me through a couple of sleepy YouTube video reviews. He said it felt like “a real car.” Thanks? I think.
i3 doesn’t leave its driver wanting when it comes to on-ramp acceleration and freeway passing power, as it handles both with aplomb. However, desert crosswinds, combined with i3’s tallish stance and narrow, low-friction tires can make for a twitchy experience at high speeds. The ride is smooth and quiet though.
Another first impression from that long first afternoon behind the wheel was that the seat felt hard. The stiff, German ride and flat chair pan doesn’t make for all-day comfort. I’m willing to admit this could be a function of my build and not the car’s.
One last negative memory from that first day. I didn’t get the upgraded Harman Kardon sound system, as my i3 is the middle, Giga trim level. The default setup features just two speakers in the front doors. They don’t shake the room and won’t make you think you’re in a Scandinavian lodge listening to a high-end stereo. The base stereo doesn’t sound “bad,” it’s just not insanely great.
After a brief meeting, $350 transaction and friendly chat with a fellow i3 driver (black BEV, or battery-electric vehicle without a range extender), it was time for the long drive home. With the cruise control set to 73 MPH and the automatic climate control set to 74 on a 90 degree afternoon, notice popped up on the center-mounted infotainment display that the car’s electric range would not be sufficient to reach the destination plotted in the nav. It was time for the range extender to do its thing.
The 650cc BMW motorcycle engine kicked in about 18 miles from our destination. At freeway speed, the machine replenishing the i3's batteries was imperceptible. I couldn’t hear it at all. Once off the interstate and back onto suburban neighborhood streets, there was a slight hum, but it was more dull drone than revving motor. The car operated identically to the way it does with a full battery while the range extender ran.
I dropped my dad off and made my way the 5 miles to my own home while under range extended power. As I backed into my garage–new-to-me Level 2 charger in the boot–my 94Ah battery was at just 4.5 percent. Mission accomplished.
In a move sure to thrill my patient wife, I thought I’d temporarily plug the JuiceBox into the heavy-duty receptacle reserved for our clothes dryer, then snake its cord out of the laundry room and into the garage. However, I quickly learned the Whirlpool dryer uses a NEMA 14–30 receptacle, while a 14–50 is required for the JuiceBox. It looks like the slow drip, occasional use charger will see plenty of action until I can get an electrician out for a proper hookup.
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