Munich - BMW will soon launch its funky i3 electric car with a more potent lithium-ion battery pack – but by more potent we mean it’ll go further on a full charge. In terms of acceleration and performance, this higher powered i3 is unchanged.
The bigger battery capacity will come as good news to potential buyers who up until now have been turned off by the distance a current i3 can cover on a full charge. The existing models, which are sold with either fully-electric or petrol hybrid (Rex) drivetrains, make use of a 60Ah battery pack with a 22kWh energy output and come with a claimed maximum range of 160km (or 340km with a 650cc 2-cylinder petrol backup engine).
But a new 94Ah battery option with 33kWh output will increase these distances by up to 50 percent, and the purely electric i3 with a 94Ah battery will now cover up to 300km on a full charge. Strangely, BMW won’t quote the maximum range of its 94Ah Rex version, which has also been updated with a slightly larger 9-litre petrol tank.
Also read: Tested: BMW's i3 is an eye-opener
Performance claims for both versions, regardless of battery capacity, remain at 7.3 and 8.1 seconds for 0-100km/h (for the pure EV and Rex respectively), and top speeds are limited to 150km/h across the board.
BMW South Africa has confirmed that the new 94Ah i3 models will be on sale locally by the end of the year. In some markets there will also be an option for owners of older i3s to retrofit the new battery packs, but this is not yet confirmed for South African customers. Pricing will be announced closer to time of launch, but in Europe the higher capacity versions carry a 1200 euro (R20 000) premium over normal models. The i3 EV is currently priced at R556 500 and the Rex at R630 000 in South Africa.
Star Motoring