BMW has increased the battery size in the i3 range, providing an increased range of up to 223 miles.
The new 120Ah battery has double the capacity of the one fitted to the original i3 yet takes up no additional space.
In real terms, this enables the BMW i3 and the i3S to achieve an enhanced all-electric range. The official range of the BMW i3 is now 223 miles (previously 180 to 186 miles). For the BMW i3S, a range of 214 miles (previously 174 miles) is now available.
During everyday use, BMW says the two models are now able to cover a distance of 160 miles – an increase of almost 30% from the previous 94Ah models.
Prices for the revised i3 start at £35,180.
The introduction of the new battery also brings a new exterior colour and a new colour for the optional interior world ‘Loft’ as well as optional Adaptive LED headlights featuring anti-dazzle functionality.
Optional telephony with wireless charging and wireless LAN hotspot will also be available for the BMW i3 and BMW i3s.
Using rapid-charging stations that run on DC power, the charging capacity is 50kW and this way the high voltage battery will reach 80% of its total power in just 42 minutes.
Charging via the BMW i Wallbox allows an 80% charge in 4.9 hours.
|
Model |
Power |
CO2 |
NEDC Correlated Electric |
£ |
|
BMW i3 |
170 |
0 |
223 |
£35,180 |
|
BMW i3s |
184 |
0 |
214 |
£37,670 |
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Matt has been an automotive journalist for eight years. As senior staff writer he is responsible for the automotive content on Fleet News and also contributes to Automotive Management. Prior to this, Matt worked in the automotive industry for 10 years.
Bob S - 28/09/2018 12:40
Why do they talk about Ah for battery size instead of kWh like most manufacturers? Presumably to relate the two measures you need to know operating voltage? Perhaps it's still a smaller battery than many EVs and BMW want to make that less obvious?