A bit sad to return my loaner vehicle

[Fredcohiba]

I had to take in my 22’ X3 for some warranty work. My loaner vehicle was a BMW i5 eDrive40. This is the first time I had ever been in let alone driven an all electric vehicle. I must say, I was really impressed. The car was fast, tourquey, responsive, quiet and very sumptuous.
I received it with a 99% charge and drove it for about 200 miles and it had about a 55% charge left when I dropped it off a few days later. I would really consider this type of vehicle for my next car but I still have some reservations about range, charging availability whilst on longer road trips and recharging time. For the normal every day driving we do around home, I’d really be tempted to get one.

[eliphil]

That’s good to hear. I’ve heard a lot of negativity about the newer models glad to see a positive experience

[tigermack]

200 miles at only used 44% doesn't seem to add up when it ranges only up to 325mi?

[agorski]

Originally Posted by Fredcohiba

I would really consider this type of vehicle for my next car but I still have some reservations about range, charging availability whilst on longer road trips and recharging time. For the normal every day driving we do around home, I’d really be tempted to get one.

It's all about your use case. I'd say it's pretty much perfect for mine. Check out the i5 forum here for lots of threads on your questions and concerns.

[zx10guy]

Don't know what type of driver you are. But the UDE this year has the i5 eDrive 40 as one of their cars on the autocross. The other is a 540i xDrive. I got to drive the i5 around the autocross course once. Seems decent but both cars are big heavy cars which I'm not in to.

If you have a UDE coming up near you, it might be worth while for you to sign up for the event to legally push that car if that's the type of driving you can see yourself doing.

[Ohio Enthusiast]

Originally Posted by tigermack

200 miles at only used 44% doesn't seem to add up when it ranges only up to 325mi?

As opposed to gas vehicles that have the best range in highway speeds, EVs range is proportional to speed. The slower you go, the longer the range. So for city driving you could probably get much more than the advertised range vs. driving on the highway at 70-80 MPH.

[agorski]

Originally Posted by Ohio Enthusiast

As opposed to gas vehicles that have the best range in highway speeds, EVs range is proportional to speed. The slower you go, the longer the range. So for city driving you could probably get much more than the advertised range vs. driving on the highway at 70-80 MPH.

Not my experience. Piddling around town on 2 mile drives I get crummy efficiency. The one road trip I've done so far got me better than advertised efficiency at 82mph.

[Bc2005]

I have a Toyota RAV4 Prime plug-in hybrid. It’s rated at 42 miles on electric, but I usually I get at least 45-47 miles running around town at various speeds. It just depends on how you drive.

The smooth, quiet acceleration from an electric vehicle is very attractive. The RAV 4 Prime is rated at 302 hp, so it does not have the HP of my M340, but the instant torque makes it really quite fun to drive (if you ignore the soft handling). I have been very surprised how “zippy” this vehicle feels, and it happens with minimal fanfare and noise.

[tigermack]

Originally Posted by Ohio Enthusiast

As opposed to gas vehicles that have the best range in highway speeds, EVs range is proportional to speed. The slower you go, the longer the range. So for city driving you could probably get much more than the advertised range vs. driving on the highway at 70-80 MPH.

I drive multiple EV's and that is not the case, EV gets better range just like an ICE would get MPG.

[yousefnjr]

My wife is going through something similar OP. She’s got a rental new 5er while her car is in the body shop, and has extended the rental period twice now I don’t think she’s going to return the keys