Bucket Seat: BMW iX3

My first introduction to the media world of motoring was at an event held by BMW on electric mobility. They were launching their range or hybrid vehicles into the country but also showcasing two, pure electric cars as well. I got to drive the pre-production versions of the Mini E and the 1 Series Electric which both were still in R&D format with the company doing tests on the cars to see if they would be viable. Not long after that, BMW launched their ‘I’ division, which would be for their own electric range of cars. The i3 and i8 both took the motoring industry by surprise with both production cars being very similar to the concepts that were showcased at the Motor shows. Both models did reasonably well, given that they were something that people were not used to. This was the change needed to test the waters in the market and to acclimatize the consumer on what was yet to come. You see, as years go by, and new legislations are signed in, more and more manufacturers are committing to a future without the internal combustion engine. So while other technologies are still being investigated, the electric revolution has begun. With manufacturers like Tesla taking the US market by storm, many other manufacturers have followed suit, hoping to be not left behind but while there was a vast difference in driving those pre-production cars during that launch, I was intrigued to see how much has changed since, so towards the end of last year I was given the opportunity to spend a week with the BMW iX3, a full EV model of the much loved mid sized SUV, here I my thoughts on the car. 

DESIGN

With BMW, their ‘I’ cars were always different, more futuristic in design, greener materials used to make the car and even the factories that were producing them were green rated. Most people did find the look a bit odd and said they would consider an electric car if it looked “normal”, so that’s what they did. They took a normal iX3 chassis and put an electric motor in it. There are some notable design differences between the iX3 and the normal X3, not having a radiator there isn't a need for a grille but BMW have still incorporated the famous kidney grille in its design but have it blanked off by a plastic cover with a neat design pattern on it. Another key design element is no exhaust tail pipes at the back, the diffuser, while having the detail for the pipes, is blanked off. BMW also have a set of unique rims for the electric cars, which are lighter in weight to aid drawing less power from the battery. There are also some nice blue accents around the car that you can spot on closer inspection to make it known this car is an EV. Moving on the inside, everything looks exactly the same as a normal X3, the only difference is the additional info on the infotainment screen to show you the EV performance of the car. Other than that, you won't know you're sitting in an electric car as everything is exactly the same. 

PERFORMANCE

How does one measure performance on an EV? There is no cylinders, no gearbox, let a lone turbo's, giving stats on the kW ratings and torque ratings are helpful but to me, some of these figures had to be restrained to make the car drivable. The iX3 delivers 210kW and 400Nm of torque on paper but if you are a first time EV driver, you will feel a noticeable difference but not as much as when I first drove the pre-production cars. They've managed to reduce the feel tremendously to make the EV more "normal", there isn't a harsh acceleration with the torque controlled and because there is no gearbox, the speed built up is also managed dependent on what driver mode you have it on. Even the regeneration isn't as harsh as the previous models, where by the car does slow down once you leave the accelerator but not in a manner in which the occupants physically feel the inertia of the car slowing for regeneration. The thing that will feel the most weird to most, is the silence of the car, even while having your music playing, there is that eerie silence that will make you wonder if the car is even switched on or not.  BMW have a claimed range of 460km on a full charge, I managed to get about 440km before having to top up, my driving was mixed but I did do a lot of freeway driving, which as you know isn't the best for EV's as the stop/ start of urban cruising is more effective to prolonging its range. What I must add that the battery tech has been improved a lot since I drove the i3, with zero range anxiety experienced during my time with the iX3.  Handling is sublime with the car, even with the heavy battery bar sitting on the floor of the car, it still maintains great stability and has good weight distribution on corners. 

COMFORT

What's to say? It's a BMW and they are well known for having great spec'd interiors with luxurious seats and all the bells and whistles to keep all occupants happy. The car is well equipped even at base specifications with three zone climate control for driver, front passenger and rear occupants, leather seating's, BMWs Connected Drive, a great sound system and host of safety features. Being a test model, this one came packed with most of the optional extras that you'd find in a normal X3, such as panoramic sunroof, Harman Kardon sound system, electric adjustable seats with memory, seat heating, expanded screen display, wireless mobile app connectivity, wireless charging tray, surround view camera, PDC's, lane keep assist, collision assist, adaptive cruise control and high beam adaptive LED lights. Other nice features specifically for the iX3 included the addition of the mobile app which can load a digital key to your phone, that means you wont need a physical key to unlock and start you car, you can just use your smart phone. Connected Charging on digital services, the car will give you an indication if it has enough range for your journey and notify you of charging stations en-route. 

CHARGING

The big question when it comes to EV's, how much will charging cost me? Well, a study done in 2012 said that at the time it would cost you around R60 to fully charge an i3, but with the bigger battery size of the iX3 and increase in electricity price, I'd say that figure is probably doubled now, so effectively costing you R120 to fully charge this car at your house using a conventional 3-Pin socket outlet, bear un mind this would take close to 9 hours to fully charge the car. It would be advisable to install a wall box charger at your home to regulate the power flow as with our energy crisis the country is experiencing, they can be disruptions to your charge which will result in issues when charging straight from the socket outlet. I must admit, charging the car did prove to be frustrating at time, with most BMW dealerships only have AC chargers which cut the charging time down to almost half but still is a long time, the DC chargers which take about 20 minutes to fully charge the car are few and far to find with me only having found one at Gateway Shopping Mall, that too, there is two bays for EV cars, but only one DC charger with the other being AC. So if someone has already beaten you to it, you better hope they not spending the entire day at the mall. These charging stations are operating via a billing system that is linked to a card you will receive with the car. The DC charging will cost you in the region of between R350 to R400, which for 460km of range is a steal when compared to the price of fuel these days. 

VERDICT

While the technology is ever improving, one feels there is still a lot of work to be done in getting EV's right but what BMW have done in the iX3 is showing the potential that EV's can have in our market. The car itself performs beautifully on the roads and other than the charging infrastructure locally there is nothing I can fault about the car itself. As mentioned at the start of the article, manufactures are pushing to go completely emission free so EV's are here to stay, so things like the charging infrastructure will improve over time and hopefully that means a lot more places for one to charge their electric cars. We already seeing massive development in the European and American markets with Asia not that far behind so its only time that Africa starts playing catch up. Also with the market being more and more open to EV's, there will be more of a drive to get the infrastructure in place. To prove my point, BMW released details on its best selling M car for 2022, and to everyone's surprise, it was in face their i4 M50! So it just goes to show that the future is very much electric!

SPECIFICATIONS

Engine	Single electric motor
Gear Box	Single speed automatic
Torque	400Nm
Power	210kW
0-100km/h	6.8 seconds
Price	R1,306,400*

*base price

 

Bucket Seat: BMW Concept iX3

This past week saw BMW showcase the next step in their electric future, with the BMW iX3 featuring at Auto China 2018 in Beijing. The iX3 is an important model for the company where it see's BMW implement it's emission free technology into it's core line up as supposed to unique models that we saw in the like of the i3 and i8. The model is based a lot on the X3 with majority of the shape being the same and just minor design changes and accents, making it differ to the combustion models. The expansion of the company's range of vehicles offering locally emission-free mobility is one of the central spheres of activity defined by the Automated, Connected, Electrified and Services (ACES) technological fields, on which the company is driving forward the transformation of the mobility sector as part of its Number One > Next strategy. 

The Concept iX3 showcases the fifth generation of BMW eDrive technology. The main benefit of this electric drive technology of the is the grouping together of the electric motor, transmission and power electronics within a new, separate electric drive component. While it may be a concept, this is a giant leap for the company when it goes into production, with their carbon core design, making their standard cars more light weight, not much would have to be done to the fully electric line up lose weight to enable better range and power output. Still no word on possible battery power, range and so on but one would expect it to be much greater than the i3 which is the only sole fully electric powered vehicle from the company. BMW will also see this technology being used into other developing electric models like the MINI S E Countryman ALL4 which like the Concept iX3 is also a fully electric SAV. 

Bucket Seat: BMW i3 Rex

As a kid, one of my favourite toys was my radio control car which my dad bought me for my 5th birthday. It was a Mercedes Benz 190E, scaled down to detail and one of the very few toys that lasted me a while before being dismantled to take a look at the inner workings of it. It seemed pretty simple, an electrical motor, battery being the key components to make it work. I then wondered why couldn't a normal car be made the same way? It was clearly evident that I wasn't the only one thinking this, there were problems to it though, at the time we didn't have much variety in the battery market with either lead-acid or alkaline on offer, both of  which were too big and weighed a lot. Not to mention the amount of charge either held was no where near enough to power a normal car for a kilometer let along an entire day. 

As time went on, technology evolved and whilst we all had fantasy's of what the future would look like for transport, whether a flying car would be a reality or even worth the effort or will scientist have found a way to teleport beings from one place to another? All that sounded cool but the fact is we're still miles away from inventing them right now and we have to look at what we can do now to improve something that the human race relies on so heavily on a day to day basis. With the increase in oil price and attention being made to pollution, car manufacturers were forced to develop cleaner, greener cars as way to stem away from combustion engines and find a new source of power for them. 

Step in BMW, they launched their electric BMWi range in 2013/14 and I've had the opportunity to drive both the i3 and the i8 during this time. Both of which are fantastic cars but for each one it was a short period so I couldn't really get a sense on how being an owner of such a vehicle would be like. Last week I was spinning around town in the i3 Rex, the Rex being the slightly pricey version which includes a petrol range extension engine should you run out of power in the batteries. My time with the car was nothing short of amazing, the car that BMW have created simply blew me away. 

STYLE

Quite honestly, every time I look at the BMW i3 or the i8 for that matter, I think it looks a decade ahead of its time and I think that's what they were heading for. It is the future of motoring so to capture that they had to break design barriers and create something to catch peoples eye out when it's on the road and boy did I get a lot of stares and pointing as I drove past people. Everything about the design still remains practical and pivotal to the car though, the cars design is to create minimal drag thus use less energy, the large wheels aren't for style either, when breaking the car uses the large brake discs to generate kinetic energy which then recharges the battery. The doors negate the use of a center pillar, hence saving on space as well as weight to the body. The entire car is made from a new weave of carbon fibre created by BMW for extra strength and minimise weight. They now feature this same carbon core for some of their other models in the range. 

PERFORMANCE

When talking performance on an electric car it is difficult because the motor is completely different and the figures it spits out might not seem as impressive as a normal day to day run around but driving it around will prove otherwise. The motor pushes out 125kW and 250 Nm Torque which doesn't raise any eyebrows but because the car only has 1 gear it's take of speed and reaction time is almost triple that of a normal car. On a 0-100kph sprint the i3 will out race many hot hatches on the road. The car comes with three driving styles being, Comfort, Eco Pro and Eco Pro Plus. Comfort making full use of the battery power as well as allowing the car to reach its' top speed of 160kph, move down a notch the Eco Pro, the cars top speed is limited to 105kph and on Eco Pro Plus mode it's brought down to 90kph and no use of the air-conditioning. Much like normal combustion cars, the more you put the foot down, the more juice it uses but with the i3 , it's always ready to shout you when doing so, helping you conserve the power.

COMFORT

The i3 is full of surprises, the car looks small but its more spacious than most cars on the market. The ergonomic and modern design of the cabin makes use of lighter and stronger materials which minimises space used and thus giving the passengers more much room. The seats are really comfortable and give of a good driving posture. The boot is pretty big as well, I managed to get a set of golf clubs in there with no hassle. Even though the car rides on 20"rims and rather large but narrow tyres, the ride quality is still great.

CHARGING

Now to the most important part, while the car does have a petrol engine, I never actually made use of it. Which I suppose is silly on my part seeing that I am testing the car and should have done so but the car tends to make you a better driver. I said earlier how it warns you when you accelerate too rapidly, well it also warns you when you brake too suddenly. Nothing about the i3 is like a conventional car, you hardly make use of the brake pedal when driving. Soon as you take your foot of the accelerator, the car instantly starts braking on its own to build up a reverse charge to recharge the battery. This helps when driving around urban areas with many stop streets and slow driving and will work well in inner city commuting. when you feel the range anxiety is going to hit, charging the car is as simple as popping the hood, take out the charge cable and plugging it in to your wall socket. While I didn't have a BMW wallbox installed at home, I had to opt for the long charge which takes about 8 hours to fully charge the car. With the wall box this figure is halved but for quick charging, you can head down to you BMWi dealership and make use of their DC fast charge station which charges the car in 24 minutes. 

COST FACTOR

Once fully charged the car will give you roughly 110km on comfort mode with this range extending when switching to either of the Eco modes. Having the car for a week made a big difference in how I found the car out, you will learn quickly how it works and you will adapt your driving style to suit the car. It ends up almost as a game where you see how much charge you can build up and in the end I found myself going 3 days without having to charge it. BMW say an over night charge will cost you in the region of R60, I'd say the most you can do is about 160km on a single charge if you really drive carefully. Thats about 40c a kilometer, which essentially is peanuts. The car is a bit pricey but you have to take into account not only the technology but the materials used to manufacture this car and it can do everything a normal car can do and more! The return on your investment is there, it will just take a little longer to show it.

VERDICT

I said at the very beginning, this car is a decade ahead of its time, it not only looks that way but theres no other car like it on the market. Yes in due course there will be other competitors but what BMW have done here is put down a marker and other manufacturers have taken up the challenge which can only spell good things for this segment. With more of them investing time and money into this technology it would only mean making this technology better and and the rapid rate we're creating new things, we could have this perfercted sooner than we think. It really is an eye opener of a car and if your daily commute is nothing more than 50km, I suggest you give this car a try. I've convinced quite a few people with my time with it and I'm sure it will continue to not only turn heads in the feature but also get people being more proactive in it. 

SPECIFICATIONS

Engine	Electric
Gear Box	Single speed automatic
Power	125kW
Torque	250Nm of torque
Top Speed	150 Kph
0-100kph	7.2 seconds
Price	R630,000

Bucket Seat: A weekend with the i3

When BMW launched their i Range in the country earlier this year, it issued a new era in motoring. Whilst many were accustomed to the hybrids, the mere thought of having a car that ran purely on electricity was a bit daunting especially with the energy crisis and the limited range that these vehicles could do. The concept behind these cars was never for long distance commutes though, with the strict regulations in most European countries with regards to C02 emissions and congestion charges for major cities, cars like the i3 were developed for these particular reasons. In essence, it is a city car, with zero emissions, practical and compact in design whilst remaining stylish, spacious and affording the driver and their passengers all the comforts we've come accustomed to in cars today.

This past weekend the guys down at Supertech Durban offered me an i3 Bev to zoom around town in, it was an offer I couldn't turn down as I did drive one during the local launch but the real test was spending a few days with the car. For those who don't know much about the Supertech Dealership, it is KZN's only BMWi dealer, located at 8 Cliff Crescent, on the corner of Solomon Mahlangu Drive (Edwin Swales) and Vusi Mzimele Road (Bellair Rd). It is one of the countries biggest BMW dealerships and boasts one of the best sales figures. The Showroom was the first in the country to have  a dedicated M car showroom with tar flooring and racing design, as well incorporating interactive executive lounges where customers can customize their ideal BMW whilst watching it take shape on a giant LCD TV. This is part of Future Retail, a concept designed by BMW as a means to enhance the customer dealership experience. The Isetta Bar located in the dealership has a full restaurant menu and some of the best coffee I've had! Supertech Durban, falls under the Supertech Group, which consist of the Durban as well as Newcastle dealership. The Group prides themselves on service excellence which is testament to the awards they win. Supertech Durban was also recently awarded a 4 Star Green star rating, and being an i-dealer, its testament to their commitment to sustainability and eco-friendly living.

Once the keys to the i3 were handed over to me and was given a quick brief about the car, it was time to hit the road. When I say this car is nothing like you have ever driven before, I mean it, everything about it is magical as it's relatively new to you. Firstly, the silence, with no combustion engine present there is zero noise, the only noise you will hear is that of the wind resistance. Next up, the design, BMW have kept the design as close to the concept as possible, with futuristic lines and massive wheels (20"), it looks like a driving concept on the road. The interior follows that trend with clean lines, spacious cabin and a dash that's straight out of the future with 2 LCD screens giving the driver all the info needed.

With the i3 being battery powered, you may get range anxiety like I did the first time driving it. Many would start panicking when they see the range in their car say "100km" as that means their tank is running dry but with the i3 in comfort mode, that is all the range you get! Also with the depleting battery, you tend to want to head home soon as you can to start charging it again but the more time you spend in the car, the more you figure out the workings behind it. With the kinetic energy build up whilst slowing down, the car is able to regenerate power, so the more you drive and slow down, the more battery life you build up. It almost becomes like a game and that is where the city car aspect comes to it. If you're going to drive on a motor way at a constant speed, that is when you're going to use up the most power and not get a good range to your charge but if you take a drive to the suburbs with stop streets and traffic lights, you might end up reaching your destination with a higher range than what you started off with!

I say it's like a game but in essence the car forces you to become a better driver, even though for it's size and odd shape, it's no slouch. It has a top speed of 160kph and one can obtain it very quickly thanks to the electric motor output of 125kW and 250Nm of torque, couple that with the overall weight of just over a ton, thanks to the light weight shell that is manufactured in a special carbon fiber weave and the interior made from special light weight and recycled materials, the only real weight to the car is from the batteries of which that and the electric drive train along with the wheels, form one part of the car and the cabin and shell make up the second part.

Driving the i3 is not just an experience for the driver but for on lookers too. It's nothing like you've seen before so it will attract a lot of attention anywhere you go. I took it to some of Durban's hot spots just to see the general reaction from the public and I had a lot of positive feedback from people, many didn't know that it was available in the country and most were astonished that someone would actually drive one. That is what I feel needs to change, the overall mindset of the consumer, 

Many might be thinking, why would I pay that much money for a car like this? I'm not going to lie, it is pretty expensive but if one has to look at the average Golf driver in Durban, now if you live in Durban you would know that they are more GTI's and R's on the roads than TSI's, both of those are over 500K, both give you at most 400km on a tank of fuel if you're lucky. The BMW i3 isn't much more than that in costs but costs you a fraction in terms of refueling. A single charge for the i3 from 0% to 100% will cost you on average R25 and depending on your driving style and mode, the range will vary from 100km to 140km. There are 3 driving modes to the car, Comfort mode offers you a top speed of 150kph, which we aren't allowed to do on any of our roads so no need to worry about that. The two Eco modes are Eco Pro and Eco Pro+, with the latter being there if you really want to push the cars range to the limits whilst letting go of things like climate control and succumbing to a top speed of 90kph.

With Europe already taken to electric vehicles, there are many public charge facilities in place, we in South Africa have some way to go to get up to that level but we are not far off. During my time with the i3, one of the places I visited was the Oyster Box Hotel in Umhlanga, to my surprise one of the guards came running up to me as I entered, now with it already drawing attention wherever I went I thought it was just another person that wanted to see the car but in actual fact, he came to tell me that they have a dedicated bay for electric cars, complete with a plug point so I could charge the car while I enjoy my dinner. Best part about it, it was free! Then again with the minimal cost of charging the car, it would be pointless to charge someone for this service. Other places in Durban that have charging facilities are Gateway Shopping Center and I've heard that the Pavilion Shopping center will be adding a few to their latest wing of renovations. So the market is adapting to it and you won't be caught off guard should you require a top up. 

There are 3 charging methods for the car, the first is the conventional 3 -pin wall socket that you have at home, it works well but the charge time is pretty long, as I said takes up to 7 hours to fully charge it. There is an option to get a BMW Wallbox installed at your place of residence which reduces charging time by almost half, so 3 hours max and you're ready to roll and the last option is the DC charger which can be found at any BMW i-dealer. With the direct current option, charging takes 20 minutes, it is on this basis that they're working on rolling out DC charging points around the cities, I know Sandton BMW have installed one in Melrose Arch along with their new BMWi showroom. 

The car comes equipped with everything one would find in any normal car, climate control air-conditioning, BMW's connected drive with on call support. Bluetooth functionality, satellite navigation and leather seats. The cabin is extremely spacious and can seat 4 adults comfortably, I even squeezed in 5 during my time with it. The suicide style rear doors make getting in and out very easy for the passengers, apart from making the car look cool. Another great feature to it was the BMWi Remote app which I was able to download onto my cellphone. It gave me info such as the amount of battery life I had left on the car as well as charging times. I could even preset the aircon should I want the car cooled before I got in. Other things you can do with the remote app is unlock the car, hoot and switch on the lights should you for some reason can't find it in a parking lot. 

Overall it was an eye opening experience, I always thought of a battery operated car as a kid and here it is in production and on the roads. With the ever rising of the oil price and the damage caused by fossil fuels, this is the future of motoring. In time, the price of vehicles such as the i3 will come down as the demand for them increases, it's simple economics. The biggest challenge manufacturers like BMW will have is getting people to break their fear and actually experience what the car has to offer to which they will be pleasantly surprised like I was. 

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