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The BMW i3 has had the perfect electric car design for the last 7+ years - a battery pack good for ~50-120 miles (increased with model revisions) and a gasoline

The BMW i3 has had the perfect electric car design for the last 7+ years - a battery pack good for ~50-120 miles (increased with model revisions) and a gasoline generator "range extender" with a small tank for indefinite length journeys hopping between standard gas stations - which are abundant. It improves on hybrid-car designs: the engine isn't connected to the drive train, so it's a lot less complex, and the engine is not as large because it doesn't need to power the entire car for 100k+ miles and it can use the battery for short bursts of power (acceleration, hill climbs) while charging on flats and downhills. As it's smaller and less heavily used, it only needs servicing every two years. Given the top concerns about electric cars are range anxiety, charging time, and availability of charging points, and this design addresses all of them, why don't more electric car makers offer something like this?

anonymousiam 6y ago
I really liked the i7, and I would have liked to stay with the BMW brand, but the poor thing had a 100 mile range. It certainly looked good, but it was even less practical than what I had.
- jodrellblank 6y ago
  I assume you mean the i8? A quick Google says it never had a range extender option. The i3 is very much not a competitor on performance, it's a city runabout - the earlier/USA models had complaints (and a lawsuit) that the generator was not strong enough even for that use, although Europe/more recent models don't seem to have the same complaints. Maybe the range extender concept couldn't apply to a more performance oriented car without an impractically big/heavy generator?
  - anonymousiam 6y ago
    Yes, sorry. i8 is what I meant. Very sporty looking, and nice to drive.
rcMgD2BwE72F 6y ago
Range axienty disappears as you get familiar with driving an EV with trip planning. Charging time is already short enough with version 3 of Tesla Superchargers. Availability of charging points isn't an issue when you charge at home/work. Hybrids are just adding complexity, cost and air pollution.
- lazyjones 6y ago
  > Range axienty disappears as you get familiar with driving an EV with trip planning. It's true, but in some parts of the world (e.g. eastern Europe) it has been replaced with "what charging cards or apps do I need" anxiety.
lazyjones 6y ago
> why don't more electric car makers offer something like this? Because nobody is buying it. Even BMW retired the rex version because it was not popular enough. The simple explanation is that many better plug-in hybrid cars are available for those who want such a thing, many of them at a better price, with more space.

anonymousiam 6y ago

I really liked the i7, and I would have liked to stay with the BMW brand, but the poor thing had a 100 mile range. It certainly looked good, but it was even less practical than what I had.

jodrellblank 6y ago
I assume you mean the i8? A quick Google says it never had a range extender option. The i3 is very much not a competitor on performance, it's a city runabout - the earlier/USA models had complaints (and a lawsuit) that the generator was not strong enough even for that use, although Europe/more recent models don't seem to have the same complaints. Maybe the range extender concept couldn't apply to a more performance oriented car without an impractically big/heavy generator?
- anonymousiam 6y ago
  Yes, sorry. i8 is what I meant. Very sporty looking, and nice to drive.

rcMgD2BwE72F 6y ago

Range axienty disappears as you get familiar with driving an EV with trip planning. Charging time is already short enough with version 3 of Tesla Superchargers. Availability of charging points isn't an issue when you charge at home/work. Hybrids are just adding complexity, cost and air pollution.

lazyjones 6y ago
> Range axienty disappears as you get familiar with driving an EV with trip planning. It's true, but in some parts of the world (e.g. eastern Europe) it has been replaced with "what charging cards or apps do I need" anxiety.

lazyjones 6y ago

> why don't more electric car makers offer something like this? Because nobody is buying it. Even BMW retired the rex version because it was not popular enough. The simple explanation is that many better plug-in hybrid cars are available for those who want such a thing, many of them at a better price, with more space.