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Written by Ollie Kew
While the world"s concentration has been fixed on the Tesla Model 3, BMW has announced a new, bigger 94Ah battery for its i3. It"s got a higher power density, and thusly goes further on a charge.BMW claims up to 195 miles of e-range - as long as you"re on the standard 19-inch wheels. Upgrade to 20s and the range drops to 184 miles, but given the current (sorry) i3 managed about 75-90 miles before requiring a plug socket, that"s one heck of an upgrade.You can bet Chevy"s similarly-sized Bolt EV. with its projected 200-mile range, is looking over its shoulder too. Especially with the i3 sporting its natty new Protonic Blue" paintwork a hue nicked straight from the i8 sports car.It"s no slouch itself, the i3: with 168bhp and 184lb ft available from standstill it"ll hit 62mph in 7.3 seconds (a tenth slower than the old version with the smaller battery), and the way it leaps away from zip to 30mph or so will leave just about every front-wheel drive hot hatch wheezing.You can still buy a Range-Extender version of the i3, which twins a 647cc two-cylinder petrol engine with the electric motor so you"re never totally out of charge. It"s 120kg heavier, so 0-62mph takes 8.1 seconds, but BMW claims a 276-mile combined range.It doesn"t do much for the i3"s reputation as a costly little EV, however at 30,980 after the UK government"s 4500 grant has been applied, it"s 3600 pricier than the all-electric version. Price and range will have been part of the reason i3 sales didn"t light up BMW"s spreadsheets last year, but could this near-200-mile version be the car to change all that? Especially now you can spec it in blue
Date written: 3 May 2016
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 3271
While the world"s concentration has been fixed on the Tesla Model 3, BMW has announced a new, bigger 94Ah battery for its i3. It"s got a higher power density, and thusly goes further on a charge.BMW claims up to 195 miles of e-range - as long as you"re on the standard 19-inch wheels. Upgrade to 20s and the range drops to 184 miles, but given the current (sorry) i3 managed about 75-90 miles before requiring a plug socket, that"s one heck of an upgrade.You can bet Chevy"s similarly-sized Bolt EV. with its projected 200-mile range, is looking over its shoulder too. Especially with the i3 sporting its natty new Protonic Blue" paintwork a hue nicked straight from the i8 sports car.It"s no slouch itself, the i3: with 168bhp and 184lb ft available from standstill it"ll hit 62mph in 7.3 seconds (a tenth slower than the old version with the smaller battery), and the way it leaps away from zip to 30mph or so will leave just about every front-wheel drive hot hatch wheezing.You can still buy a Range-Extender version of the i3, which twins a 647cc two-cylinder petrol engine with the electric motor so you"re never totally out of charge. It"s 120kg heavier, so 0-62mph takes 8.1 seconds, but BMW claims a 276-mile combined range.It doesn"t do much for the i3"s reputation as a costly little EV, however at 30,980 after the UK government"s 4500 grant has been applied, it"s 3600 pricier than the all-electric version. Price and range will have been part of the reason i3 sales didn"t light up BMW"s spreadsheets last year, but could this near-200-mile version be the car to change all that? Especially now you can spec it in blue
Date written: 3 May 2016
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 3271
