EV owner review – 2015 BMW i3 REx
Want to know what it’s really like to own an electric car? We ask owners who’ve been living with one for their honest opinions: good, bad or ugly.
Orthopaedic surgeon and dad of three James Cox uses a 2015 BMW i3 REX as his work commuter, travelling a daily 100-kilometre round trip from his home to the Sunshine Coast’s University Hospital.
James’ i3 REX features a 125kW electric motor powered by a 22kWh battery pack. This being the range extender i3, there’s also a 28kW 650cc two-cylinder petrol engine used to generate electricity to recharge the battery, rather than actually drive the wheels itself. This increases overall range from (a BMW quoted) 160km to 320km.
James has owned his i3 REX for three years and covered some 40,000-kilometres in that time. These are his thoughts.
Name: James Cox.
Age: 40.
Location: Sunshine Coast, Queensland.
Your EV: 2015 BMW i3.
Other cars you own: Volkswagen Amarok V6 for beach driving, Volvo XC90 for family duties.
Why an EV? I was driving an Audi A6 Avant and doing about 500km per week. They’d fitted ten free electric car charge points at the hospital where I work, none were being used, so I thought it made sense to have an electric car.
Why a BMW i3 REx? My dad had owned it since new, and BMW offered him a very low figure when he wanted to trade it for a newer, pure electric i3. I bought it off him instead at a very good price. Thanks, Dad.
How’s the transition to an EV been? I was the perfect EV use case as I’d worked out I’d never have to charge it at home, and having the range extender petrol engine means I don’t get range anxiety. I’m fortunate having our other cars that the i3 really only does single-occupant city and highway driving. That said, it’s a four-seater and I can drop the three kids at school in it if needed.
What range do you get? About 125km on pure electric, and another 125km with the petrol engine. If there’s no electric charge left, it’s no worries, the petrol just kicks in.
What’s your average energy consumption? 14kWh/100km.
What’s the drive experience like? Really good. When I have passengers everyone is surprised how fast it is. When I floor it there’s instant torque, and no need to change down gears. I only need to drive it with one pedal normally – the regenerative braking is quite aggressive so I barely touch the brake to slow. The cabin’s really cool and I love the suicide doors.
The positives? Free fuel. Charging it for free at the hospital is gold. You also fell the moral high ground driving around in an EV.
The negatives? Expensive to buy. Otherwise, no negatives.
What do you use it for? Commuting, daily driver.
What’s the furthest you’ve driven it? About a 300km trip to Toowoomba. I took a jerry can of fuel, and just filled up the range extender’s (9-litre) tank when it was running low.
Do you suffer range anxiety? I would if it wasn’t for the range extender engine. I was worried the first time I drove it and the battery ran out and the engine kicked in, but it’s not a worry now.
How do you charge it? For free at the hospital charge points. They now have 12 6.6kW charge points, so it gets a full charge in about three hours. That 6.6kW is shared between two spaces though, so if there’s someone else parked beside the time doubles. As my work shift is far longer than this, it’s not a problem. I used to be the only EV in the car park, but the EV spaces have got far busier the last 12 months, mainly because of the Tesla Model 3.
Do you have solar at your property? Yes, but I don’t have a storage battery or wallbox charger. If I do charge it from the powerpoint at home, I’ll do so during the day so it uses the solar. After 12 hours it’ll usually get me a full charge.
What are the running costs? It had a five year service plan with BMW from new, so I only paid for a BMW dealer service for the first time a few months ago. Pretty much all the work was on the range extender engine, and even though it’s so small, I think the bill was still about $700. I’ll probably just service it at a local mechanic next time, as long as nothing’s needed on the electric side of things.
What’s the current mileage and battery health? It’s travelled 54,000km and the electric range hasn’t decreased since I’ve owned it.
Any problems with it? Last year it refused to charge using the plug and would only charge using the range extender engine. I’m not entirely sure what BMW replaced – I know it wasn’t the battery – but it was all covered under warranty thankfully. It charges perfectly now.
Did you buy it to save money? No. I don’t think you could because of the initial purchase price. But having the free charging points mean I don’t ever pay for fuel, so that part of course saves money.
What changes would you like to see as an EV owner? More charge points. But I know it’s chicken and egg. The network’s not there because there aren’t enough EVs on our roads. There should be lots of positive incentives to increase EV adoption. A subsidy to buy them, cheaper rego costs and the like.
Would you go back to an ICE car? I expect the next family car will be electric, and I’d replace the i3 with another electric car. Therefore I’m having one last hurrah with a petrol RAM pickup truck. The RAM 1500 TRX supercharged V8 in fact, which I’ve just ordered. I’m undoing all my eco work! I imagine after it I’ll replace that with an electric pickup like a Rivian or something, but we need a big leap in infrastructure. How could I take a Rivian to Fraser Island for a week? You can’t do that right now. The RAM will do the job until then.
