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      01-14-2017, 10:41 AM   #72
hotrod182
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Drives: 2023 i4 M50
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: California

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Quote:
Originally Posted by R N M View Post
Sad day - sound of the car is one of the main features for performance cars.

I guess we will have fake exhausts with exterior speakers in 10-20years.
Actually, it may be boring if silent electric cars were the "only" cars on the road. Meanwhile, listening to noisy gas cars next to me while driving my i3 is one of the most fascinating aspects of all. You can hear every little rattle, ping, down shift, etc. While the gas car may be all out faster, it is amazing how much commotion they make when just trying to keep up with the effortless acceleration of an electric car in normal driving situations. It is so funny listening to them revving their engines, and making their violent shifts while next to you. I mean obviously the Hell Cat and E46 M3 are quicker than my i3, but listen to all the commotion they make when just trying to keep pace with my i3 in normal in town driving.





The point is, if you like to drive fast and have fun everyday in normal driving around town, the i3 is actually a blast. It doesn't attract the attention of the cops with loud exhaust. You actually have fun with different kind of races, from Volts and Prius to faster BMW's that "should" beat you. You would be surprised what the i3 can keep up with around town with the flexible power band and immediate torque that it has. And yes, I will try and find video of some more surprising encounters with newer M3s. You would have been amazed at the results of a stop light encounter against an E92 M3. He sure was. Take this from a guy that likes to drive fast, and has had his share of fast BMW. Even years back, I have had some of the fastest stock turbo 335i BMWs around. I also ran low 11's in a stock turbo 135i. Racing away from every stop sign in town, I still average 100 MPGe in my i3. By comparison:

14 mpg: The average of my three 335i BMW I averaged in years of driving.
(30mpg highest highway mpg)

23 mpg: The average of my 2011 335d in 3 yrs of driving.
(45mpg highest highway mpg)

110 mpge: The average driving efficiency of my last 3 BMW i3s.
(160mpge achieved on a 90 mile trip from Anaheim Stadium to Ventura Cty)

Again, this is on average, accelerating faster on a daily basis around town than I did in my internal combustion powered BMWS. I will not go back to a petrol powered car in the near future. Neither will many others that have made the switch. FYI, I have had more than a small share of petrol and EV powered BMWs, for some perspective:

2004 BMW 325i Conv
2005 BMW M3 SMG Conv
2006 BMW M3 SMG Coupe
2007 BMW 335i sedan
2008 BMW 335i Coupe
2008 BMW 335 Sedan
2011 BMW 335d Sedan
2014 BMW i3 Giga BEV
2015 BMW i3 Terra BEV
2017 BMW i3 Terra 94Ah BEV.

and at the start of my electric car transition:
2012 Nissan LEAF
2014 Ford Focus EV

There is a possibility I would get the new 530e plug in when it comes out, as I could drive the whole work week using electric power, yet make it to Vegas on moments notice. But if they come out with the rumored i3 Sport with more HP, then I wholeheartedly would pick that over the 530e, without hesitation.

My i3 goes over 100 miles on a charge, and with the quick charge stations in Southern California, travel is really easy. And I prefer all my i3 BMWs to be pure electric, w/o any guess range extender so far. A Chevy Volt plug in hybrid takes two hours to gain about 25 miles of range. So if you want to go 75 miles on pure electric, it might take a 2 hour stop the charge. The i3 on the other hand will do 75 miles without having to charge in the first place. But "if" you did have to stop for an additional 25 miles of charge, it only takes about 10 minutes. I can drive to Anaheim Stadium, stop at the local Walmart to buy some snacks and have plenty of charge to make it back home for the 160 mile round trip. 100 miles covers 90% of the our daily driving needs. Remember 12000 miles a year, or 1000 miles a month is only about 33miles per day on average. So for those of you that think you need to always drive over 100 miles a day or so, that is a LOT of annual miles.

But don't take my word for it, I hope everyone does not buy an electric car, because there will more likely be congestion at the public charging stations I use, as BMW currently offers 2 years of EvGo free fast charging with their i3.

And lastly, as far as motor sounds are concerned, the turbine/jet-like whir that the i3 makes under acceleration is absolutely fantastic, and addictive. And no, it is not produced by some fake sound generator.
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2011 Alpine 335d M-Sport 12.34 @ 110.48mph
2019 i3s Terra,
2008 Black 335i Sedan. 11.11@ 129.47 mph
2008 Monaco Blue JB3 2.0 335i Coupe. 11.33 @ 132.77 mph, 60-130mph: 6.95 seconds
2023 i4 M50 11.48 @ 121.56mph, 3.43 0-60 (dragy)