4 ms·

Yes but then you are hauling around an extra 100kg of unused batteries for 95% of your trips.

pkulak 12y ago
The BMW i3 Rex carries around about that weight right now for it's gas generator, plus tank, and it will only go 50 miles or so once the battery runs down! Since it seems to be selling just fine, people are obviously willing to spend weight to get range. Think how much lighter the Volt would be with no gasoline engine! And they also don't mention if you can choose how much to lug around. Maybe I think I'll only need 500 miles of extra range a year and I can carry around a pack half the size? I'd do that, even in the fast-charge plentiful northwest. It would be nice to have the freedom to skip a station and make some time instead.
- mikeash 12y ago
  I figured that 50 miles for the BMW had to be wrong, it's way too small, but I looked it up and it's about right. Officially it's more like 70 miles, but that's still ridiculously small. I have to really wonder what the point of that option is. I get it for the Volt, you're pure electric for most of your trips, but you have gas range when you need it. But here, you still have typical crappy pure electric range, but with all the complexity of a hybrid system, and all the cost of burning gasoline for the last half of it. Why would anyone buy this?
  - pkulak 12y ago
    Well, it's a pure series hybrid, so, apart from the engine itself, it doesn't actually add too much complexity. It's a very small engine (650cc motorcycle engine) and there's never any direct connection to the drivetrain. The Volt engine is 1.4 liters and there's several clutches to hook it into the drivetrain at various speeds/modes. The BMW Rex is so close to perfect, that I think a lot of people are getting it with the hope that maybe they will be able to swap in a larger tank somehow later down the road. The tank right now isn't even 2 gallons. It's pathetic, and done to get some kind of damn sticker in California, not for any practical reason. Make that a 6-gallon tank with some after-market solution, though, and you've got a car with an 80-mile electric range and then several hundred more miles on gas for road trips.
    - mikeash 12y ago
      I can definitely see the appeal with a larger gas tank. The original size is just crazy. I guess "compliance car" may explain it, although it seems to be available in many jurisdictions. I didn't know that the Volt has a mechanical connection from the engine to the wheels. For some reason I thought it was also a pure series design.

The BMW i3 Rex carries around about that weight right now for it's gas generator, plus tank, and it will only go 50 miles or so once the battery runs down! Since it seems to be selling just fine, people are obviously willing to spend weight to get range. Think how much lighter the Volt would be with no gasoline engine! And they also don't mention if you can choose how much to lug around. Maybe I think I'll only need 500 miles of extra range a year and I can carry around a pack half the size? I'd do that, even in the fast-charge plentiful northwest. It would be nice to have the freedom to skip a station and make some time instead.

mikeash 12y ago
I figured that 50 miles for the BMW had to be wrong, it's way too small, but I looked it up and it's about right. Officially it's more like 70 miles, but that's still ridiculously small. I have to really wonder what the point of that option is. I get it for the Volt, you're pure electric for most of your trips, but you have gas range when you need it. But here, you still have typical crappy pure electric range, but with all the complexity of a hybrid system, and all the cost of burning gasoline for the last half of it. Why would anyone buy this?
- pkulak 12y ago
  Well, it's a pure series hybrid, so, apart from the engine itself, it doesn't actually add too much complexity. It's a very small engine (650cc motorcycle engine) and there's never any direct connection to the drivetrain. The Volt engine is 1.4 liters and there's several clutches to hook it into the drivetrain at various speeds/modes. The BMW Rex is so close to perfect, that I think a lot of people are getting it with the hope that maybe they will be able to swap in a larger tank somehow later down the road. The tank right now isn't even 2 gallons. It's pathetic, and done to get some kind of damn sticker in California, not for any practical reason. Make that a 6-gallon tank with some after-market solution, though, and you've got a car with an 80-mile electric range and then several hundred more miles on gas for road trips.
  - mikeash 12y ago
    I can definitely see the appeal with a larger gas tank. The original size is just crazy. I guess "compliance car" may explain it, although it seems to be available in many jurisdictions. I didn't know that the Volt has a mechanical connection from the engine to the wheels. For some reason I thought it was also a pure series design.