Born Electric Guest Blogger: Meet Fred From California

My name is Fred and I was born electric on July 30, 2014. 

Today I have just a little over 1,000 miles on my i3 REx—over 1,000 happy miles I should add. I live in Huntington Beach, California and use my i3 regularly for running local errands, for meetings of 80 to 120 miles across the Los Angeles basin, and for pure pleasure. Indeed, it is now the only car I own. I sold my Lexus LS460L and my Lexus SC430 for the i3, and while both are great cars, the i3 meets my needs so well that I have no regrets about giving up either of them.
  

I never intended to own an electric vehicle and paid little attention to them believing that they were in general impractical. I was raised on the internal combustion engine and had no intention of doing anything other than sticking with what I knew and what worked for me. Adding to my mind set were two facts:  first, America is awash in fossil fuels with the potential of freeing us from the importation of foreign oil; second, cars that once swigged gasoline are now increasingly fuel efficient.  So, why change?

Then one sunny Sunday morning my son, who traded in his Hummer for a big Infiniti SUV, came knocking on my door, roused me from bed, and said, “come with me,” informing me that we needed to be somewhere in a hurry. Before I could find out where we had to be, we were racing down Pacific Coast Highway to what I discovered was the BMW dealer in Newport Beach. My son wouldn’t tell me where we were going or why we were rushing to be somewhere, keeping this news from me until we arrived. As we pulled into Sterling BMW, my son informed me that I was going to do a test drive—a drive so I learned that he took the day prior.   

 

Smelling the roses

I had trouble believing that this was what all the fuss was about. My son has owned big vehicles for many years. He is a diver, and carts around lots of dive equipment. Also, we used his vehicles for towing our boats. Why in the world was he interested in this little car?  Besides never giving a moment’s thought to an electric vehicle, I never considered a small car. Except for the BMW 320i that I owned in the 1980s and my little Lexus sports car which I used on weekends, my driving experience consisted mostly of large cars--heavy metal objects that surrounded me with lots of steel and horse power. I assumed that I would be safer in an accident in a large car than in a small one. Once behind the wheel of the i3, my fear disappeared.  It is not true that in all things, small is beautiful, but in the case of the i3, it truly is.

The test drive was badly organized and although my son had signed us up for a specific time, we sat around for what seemed to be forever until we got our test car. Wanting my breakfast, I almost left. Further, when I tried to engage officials in charge of the test drive with questions about the vehicle, they seemed to know as little as I did. We were not off to a good start.
 

Once behind the wheel, everything changed. I immediately liked the clean lines and the airiness of the cabin. I especially liked the elevation of the seats with a firmness that secured my poor body against the discomforts of my arthritis. I abhor soft seats into which you sink, seats that require lowering yourself into position and then hoisting yourself out. I also liked the easy adjustment of the seats. While the seats in my Lexus vehicles are powered electrically, moving me like a belly dancer into every conceivable position, I  never got the setting I wanted. By comparison, once into the i3, I knew I found a home.

The clincher was the drive itself. As we pressed the button to start the “ignition”, I listened for the rev of the motor only to hear quiet, blessed quiet. I thought to myself, this is too good to be true. My son took the wheel first. He likes to drive fast and once onto the road way, we took off with a punch that left everyone on the road in our rear view mirror. As a senior citizen I drive more cautiously, but when it was my turn at the wheel, I couldn’t help but accelerate to the max. What a ride! I also liked the steering—firm, nimble and responsive. The slightest turn moved the car decisively, making me realize that it needed two steady hands on the wheel. A quick U-turn in the middle of Pacific Coast Highway—something not recommended by good sense or the police—was a delight.  I also liked the tight, firm ride—nothing spongy about it. The regenerative braking, I confess, made me nervous. Would I need a  learning curve to master it? Well, as it turned out, I didn’t need much of a learning curve. Once I obtained my car, I felt comfortable and in control of the braking by the time I got the vehicle home.

This test drive made me know that the i3 offered a superior way of driving from anything I had known before. By the end of the drive, I announced to my son that I would put down my deposit early in the week and surrender my Lexus vehicles to CarMax. My son said he would also do the same and give up his Infiniti SUV.  The decision to downsize and to go electric was a big one for our family, but after driving the i3, it left us little choice. The joy of driving the i3, the interior space and comfort, the responsive steering, the firm ride and the  regenerative braking sold us on our first electric vehicle. In every respect the i3 felt, looked and drove like a BMW. We both decided on the REx, knowing that it would meet 90% of our driving needs—and indeed it has.

The drive’s the thing and that’s what sold us. Since I had zero knowledge and experience with electric vehicles, just to make sure that I hadn't confused lust with love, rushing into something I would later regret, I arranged a test drive with a Volt later the same day. The Volt had good acceleration but nothing like the punch of the i3.  Also, the seats were a tad too much like all the GM seats I had known before as was the ride itself—a tinge on the soft side. Further, the interior seemed old and not very inspiring. Driving the Volt reaffirmed my decision to purchase the i3.

Only after the decision was taken to purchase the i3 did I begin to investigate the world of EVs and their multiple advantages. Entering into an intensive period of study, I became like all converts something of a zealot which I continue to be at the time of this writing. I am in conversation with several solar panel companies to get the best equipment at the best deal. My son and I each put down our deposit on the Launch Edition of the i3 believing that this was the only vehicle that would be available in the states in the near future.  The roll out was long and contained all too many disappointments; near the end of our wait, my son decided to throw in the towel and purchased the John Cooper Mini Countryman in place of the i3. At least he is driving a more efficient gasoline powered engine than when he was behind the wheel of his SUV. 

All the things I liked about the i3 that led me to buy it I still like—and like even more than when I did my test drive. I’ve come to appreciate the Harmon Kardan sound system which in a cabin that is quiet (except at freeway speeds), enhances my listening pleasure. Speaking of the quiet cabin, it is not always as quiet as I would like. At city-street speeds, its as quiet as a church mouse. But on the freeway, especially as I approach 70mph plus, wind noise is noticeable, sometimes quite noticeable. If BMW can dampen that in the next iteration of the i3, it would make the drive even more enjoyable. 

Sometimes it’s the little things that are most distressing. My biggest problem and that of my guests is getting the tongue of the seat belt into the buckle. While I am older and have lost strength in my hands, younger and abler persons also have difficulty. Sometimes it takes quite a bit of hard pushing to buckle up. Do I wish for a battery with greater range, of course, but I’ve learned to live with it. I like the light weight of the vehicle which contributes to the i3’s acceleration, handling and efficiency. If there was one thing I would say to BMW it is, resist all the calls for significant additions if it means making the vehicle heavier. 

In light of the limitations of the battery, the REx has been indispensable to my driving needs. The smooth transition from being on the battery to the point when the REx kicks in is quite remarkable. I never feel or hear it nor do my passengers (actually one passenger in the back seat thought he heard a slight hum).  I did have a significant loss of speed coming up a long, steep incline at the end of a 211 mile round trip. My companions and I couldn’t help but laugh as we knew this might happen but had not experienced it at any time earlier in the trip when we encountered steep inclines and were still on battery. What this means is that, understanding the limitations of the REx (all cars have their limitations in one respect or another), I need to plan my trips more carefully which I will in the future. The “slow down” neither diminished my ardor for the car nor my appreciation for its overall abilities and quality.

I’ve set the vehicle to charge at midnight when electricity rates are at their lowest. I purchased a ClipperCreek HCS 40 which works like a charm and cost me considerably less than the charger BMW is selling.  From the standpoint of technology, this was the easy part. I confess that I find the i3’s software daunting and even after 1,000 miles, I am still only half way through learning the software’s mysteries.

One of the most delightful aspects of owning the i3 is the number of people who wave me down on the street, or give me a thumbs up on the freeway, or stop me at my favorite coffee shop or at the market, or encounter me in other ways asking me questions about the car or just admiring it. Recently an eight year old English boy on vacation in California approached me with his mother gushing facts about the i3. He is a devotee of Top Gear and knew much more than I about the car. I know that some commentators think the i3 is an ugly little beast, but the people who come up to me all seem to be intrigued by its looks. I hope that their inquisitiveness turns into sales. 

My own private "gas station" in my garage. How great is that?!

Several people helped me throughout the roll out of the i3. My dealership went out of its way to find answers to all my inquiries even when they had little experience with the vehicle. Stephan, my Client Adviser (salesman in ordinary English) actually knew something about the i3 and was an anchor keeping me from drifting away. BMW North America, despite the glitches in the roll out, was enormously helpful when I reached out to them. No sooner did I reach out to them than they reciprocated frequently, reaching out to me. I want to thank Jacob Harb of BMW North America who, put in charge of the roll out, became the focus for everyone with a grievance, all too many of which were legitimate but many of which were not of his making. Jacob reached out to me after I contacted BMW, giving me reassurance and easing the process.  Good communication is more than fifty percent of addressing problems even when solutions are not readily available. Like the oak in a gale, Jacob may have bent but he did not break and he saw the roll out through to fruition. Finally, without Tom Moloughney who captained the ship during the long process, leading the charge for the i3 against its frequent critics, providing answers to questions no one else seemed to have, defending the vehicle even while the process was discouraging, providing a communication link to BMW and giving us certainty that there would be an i3 in our future, I say without Tom I would have and I think many others would have said, nice try BMW but now I am going back to what I know and can rely on--a gasoline engine. Thank you Tom.

_________________________________________

And thank you Fred for participating in the Born Electric series. For those that don't know, Fred has been a  follower for a while now and has commented on this blog and it's really great for me to see him finally take delivery of his i3 and now tell us his story here. I appreciate the kind words he had for me at the end but honestly I wanted to remove that part. Fred insisted it remain and told me that he didn't want me to post the story if I deleted it. I know I've said it before but one of the great things about maintaining my electric car blogs has been the interactions I have with the followers through the years. I'd like to take a moment to thank all of my followers for their continued support. Without your comments, emails and encouragement I would have stopped doing this a long time ago!  

Real World Range Test: BMW i3 vs BMW ActiveE

Now that BMW has begun to deliver some BEV i3s to the ActiveE Electronauts, some of those in the ActiveE trial lease program who haven't yet gotten their i3 have been asking how the i3 compares to the ActiveE. Questions on ride quality, acceleration, handling and charge rate have been asked, but the biggest concern is: How does the range compare? After all, with electric vehicles, range is paramount.

So I got together with Michael and Pamela Thwaite who just last week picked up their Ionic Silver i3 and we mapped out an 80 mile loop that would include roughly 50% highway and 50% secondary and tertiary roads. While everybody has different driving needs and patterns, it was our hope that this course would provide an evenly balanced mix of different driving conditions. That being said, this wasn't a carefully controlled scientific experiment. We didn't weigh ourselves to make sure both vehicles were carrying the same weight, we didn't calibrate our speedometers or record the barometric pressure so please don't bother commenting on why this was a flawed experiment because it wasn't perfectly controlled. We did make sure we had proper tire pressure, we took turns following and leading each other and we tried our best to maintain the same constant speeds. We drove in the default (Comfort Mode) driving mode and didn't use Eco Pro driving mode at all. We met on Saturday morning at my restaurant which has two ChargePoint EVSEs in the parking lot and after about two hours of charging we set out with Pamela driving their i3 and my wife, Meredith, driving my ActiveE. Michael and I were the co-pilots so we could live blog the event, post pictures on social media sites and make sure we stayed on course.

Both cars charging up for the challenge at my restaurant in Montclair, NJ.

With both cars fully charged, the ActiveE showed an estimated 86 miles of range, while the i3 predicted 98. Which will be more accurate?

It was a warm, cloudy day with temperatures in the 80's. We knew we would need the air conditioning so we agreed to both use it only when we were driving over 45mph and under that we would just open the windows. The first stop, about 20 miles in, was the headquarters of BMW of North America. We figured it was an appropriate destination and since it was a Saturday they wouldn't mind us parking in front of the main entrance for a photo op. We were pleased to find a life sized i3 decal applied to the glass of the front doors. BMW is evidently proud of their first all electric vehicle. At this point we had both used 19% of the available battery. I was surprised the i3 was holding its own, especially since that leg was about 75% highway. We did drive the speed limit on the Garden State Parkway though, and stuck to about 60mph. I'm sure if we drove faster the i3 would have used more battery than the ActiveE. Still, I really expected the ActiveE to jump out to an early lead since we were driving at highway speeds for most of the first leg.

At BMW HQ in Woodcliff Lake NJ - Note the i3 overlay on the doors

The next leg of the journey would be about 40 miles, with the first 30 miles or so on all secondary and tertiary roads and we would end up in Denville, NJ. Michael and I were trading texts during the way and for at least the first 20 to 25 miles of this leg (a total of 40 to 45 miles driven) we were still nearly dead even in battery state of charge with the ActiveE having a 1% advantage with battery state of charge.  On route to the Route 80 leg (which would be our highest speeds of the day and all uphill) we were driving on Route 23 at 50 to 55mph and the ActiveE started to gain an advantage of a few more percent.

Driving the back roads of Bergen county was a pleasure on a nice sunny Spring day

We took turns following and leading each other for the entire route.


Then came the blow that the i3 couldn't recover from. Driving on Route 80 upgrade at the 65 miles an hour speed limit for about 10 miles finally gave us the separation we expected. We were 60 miles in (59.8 exactly) and the ActiveE now had a 6% state of charge lead (46% to 40%) and a predicted range of 9 more miles (40 miles to 31 miles). This clearly reinforces what many of us imagined. The i3 is a warrior on low speed driving, but at faster highway speeds it's a bit out of its element and the range will be substantially compromised.  At highway speeds the weight of the car isn't nearly as important as its aerodynamics, the exact opposite of low speed driving where weight influences energy use much more. The lightweight i3 has a respectable Cd of .29, but it is tall and has a large frontal area which increases its CdA (the combination of drag coefficient and frontal drag area) making it less than ideal for cheating the wind resistance at highway speeds.

The final 20 miles were about 30% highway (this time down hill most of the way) and 70% secondary roads with about 4 miles of stop and go, traffic light to traffic light driving. We decided to make one last stop at an appropriate destination which happened to be along the way. We stopped at the Thomas Edison National Historic Park in West Orange. What would be more appropriate for an electric car challenge anyway?

After the quick stop we headed back to Nauna's and finished the day driving exactly 80 miles. The ActiveE won the range challenge by 6 miles. Here are the final statics:

2011 BMW ActiveE
Remaining SOC: 27%
Estimated miles remaining: 22
Trip efficiency: 4.1 miles per kWh
Total miles: 102

2014 BMW i3
Remaining SOC: 20%
Estimated miles remaining: 16
Trip efficiency: 5.4 miles per kWh
Total miles: 96




So adding the mileage driven to the remaining mileage the i3 ended up with 96 miles of range and the ActiveE with 102. The i3 actually came very close to predicting the actual range and was only off by 2 miles since it predicted 98 miles of range when it was fully charged that morning. My ActiveE actually beat its range prediction by 16 miles, but that is because my regular driving routing is mostly highway so the car has learned to predict the range based primarily on high speed highway driving. All in all the i3 fared about as well as I expected. It is an incredibly efficient electric vehicle and is in fact now the most efficient car sold in America. However the ActiveE has a battery that is nearly 50% larger (21.6kWh's to 32 kWh's) than the i3's battery and in the end battery size beat efficiency. If the i3 had just a couple more kWh's, I'd be writing a different ending. BMW has been billing the i3 as its "Megacity" car. That was even the codename during development and they weren't kidding. It is much better suited to live its life on congested city streets than it is roaming the high speed highways of the US and the Autobahns of its homeland. I would speculate the i3 will only go about 70 miles if driven all highway, and that's at the 65 mile speed limit. If you were to increase that to 70 or 75 miles than the range will likely drop to 60 to 65 miles. However if you were to drive on secondary roads at around 35 to 40mph, I suspect 100 to 110 miles would be easily attainable in moderate temperatures when you don't need the air conditioning or heater much. So if I were rating the range of the all electric BMW i3, I'd say 60 to 110 miles, conditions provided.

The Thwaite's i3 topping off after the range challenge

One last no-so-small detail. The i3 we used is brand new, while my ActiveE is 28 months old and has 20,100 miles on it. Based on my recorded data I believe its battery has lost between 8% and 9% capacity. If you factor that in, it's clear that while my two year old ActiveE has a slightly better range than a new i3, it had a substantially better range when it was new. Probably about 15% more, which actually coincides with the EPA range ratings for both vehicles.



Some more pictures of the day:

BMW i3 Born Electric Guest Blogger: Meet Jan From Belgium

A while ago I announced that I would be starting a new series here called, "I was Born Electric on...". The series will be featuring readers who are i3 owners and who are willing to share their thoughts on the car after owning it for a while. They will begin the post by introducing themselves and stating the date they were Born Electric, which is when they picked up their i3. Andy from the UK kicked off the Born Electric series and we then visited Hil from Holland and Toni from Belgium. We will be staying in Belgium for this next installment as we hear what Jan has to say:

My name is Jan and I was Born Electric on Wednesday, 30th January, 2014. 

How did I get to know the BMW i3?

Well, by coincidence. I saw the small car on the Brussels car show/exhibition (Autosalon) last year in January. It was presented there as concept car which would be available very soon to the audience, as kind of a car of the future which one could buy now. When I saw it I couldn't make up my mind: Did I like this car, or not? It was so special I couldn't turn my eyes off it. I had to see it closer. I asked a salesman if I could enter the closed area to have a look inside. Then was the moment when I fell in love. This car was so unique in a pleasant kind of way. The interior looked like the interior of a small science-fiction spaceship. The exterior was so special yet attractive looking in every kind of way.

I must say I had many questions before starting this adventure. I had never driven an electric vehicle before. The salesman could answer most of my questions. What made me take my decision to consider this BMW i3 as our next second car were not only the unique looks of this car, but also all the advantages which came with it: it was for 120-150% tax reductible, it doesn't spill any CO2 whatsoever, no taxes when the car needs to driven first (it has a name 'inschrijvingtax' 'registration taxes?'), the lowest yearly driving taxes since it is full electric. All this just looked too good to be true.

I came home and told my wife 'Yes! I have found the perfect next car for you!' Yes, this car is for purpose as a second car to us. It is the car my wife uses to drive to her job on a daily base which is only 10km away, and to drive my son to his gym training four times a week which is about 30km far away. So, there really wasn't any real range anxiety to the story either. For long distance driving we have our other bigger family car. All I needed to do now is to convince my wife, which didn't seem to be as hard as I thought. She seemed to like this strange little car on first sight too!

The waiting:

As from this moment I checked out everything what there was to be found on the net about electric driving in general and the BMW i3 in particular. That's when I soon became a big fan of your specialized blog. Already in February I had told the BMW salesmen I showed a big interest in this car and if any news would be still as positive as all that I had read until then, I would like to be one of the first who would drive the full-electric BMW i3 in Belgium. BMW kept me posting on regular intervals. I could download the BMW I electric app on my smartphone and calculate my daily traffic to see there was no need in range anxiety at all. I was invited in an exhibition of the BMW i3 in the summer. Each time I got more convinced I was going to make the right decision. I was kept waiting until end of October to actually register me for a confirmed interest in buying this car, and finally the first week of January I signed the contract and closed the deal. The car would arrive 4-5 weeks after...

I was Born Electric On...

Wednesday 30th of January! Finally the car had arrived. It had taken less time as predicted, but still I am an impatient man. I was very curious of how it would look like, because I had never seen the car in the combination I had ordered it: BMW i3 Advanced in Ionic Blue Silver with Loft interior design. And I must say: I loved the looks! I have been the lucky one to own the first BMW i3 in our state. It all makes it even more special.

I think these colours are just the real deal for this car. It is extra-ordinary looking, special and shiny. It contrasts greatly with the black toppings and with the (electric) blue stripes beneath the doors. (The colour showing here doesn't really add up to it, but there are plenty more better pictures to be found to show the perfect match of this color for this car).

 I am very excited of the choice of my interior: Loft. It just ads up to the uniqueness of this car. It just fits. It makes it so much more space-like and futuristic looking. It is light, spacious looking and yet thrilling due to the electric lines fitting of the car seats and the blue lines which contrast nicely in details. One can tell that a whole team of enthusiastic decorating engineers have worked on this here. 

 The dashboard just like so great! Spacious, nicely shaped. I love the look of the darker dashboard going down under the console. It isn't the eucalyptus wood. That was nice too, but I thought it kind of disturbed the futuristic looks of the dashboard, making it a more ordinary car. Well, everyone has it taste, but I am happy with my decision. The big center screen which one can module along one's taste: here shown with the electric features and the entertainment details with a nice big picture of the song that is playing. 

 

The supercool startup-close status of the car. When one closes the car with the key, the insides of the car glow blue, the lights in the door handle turn on. This really ads a nice touch to the futuristic space-oddity of the car! (only available if LED packet is taken). You can be sure there are lots of amazed faces when these lights are set on on a public parking lot at night.

Driving experience:

I am really, really impressed by the fun driving experience of this little car. Also my wife, who isn't into cars at all, loves this one all the more. The first time she drove this car together with the kids my daughter said: mom, this thing is propelling like a rocket. She had just left our parking lot and stepped on the pedal; after merely 100 metres she was flying at 60 miles per hour. Which is kind of dangerous, because judging by the quietness in which this car boosts off, you really can't tell how fast you are driving. I love the sound of the car when I give full throttle. It's actually more like an electric train than a car. No roars, just power whistling.

And if you are driving at slow pace, you really can't hear the car is running, not at the inside, neither at the outside. The onboard entertainment system is just great also. Lots of options, lots of possibilities, all pleasantly and clear shown on the big central screen. Another great feature which works great is the full automatic parking. It all adds to the ease of use and to the futuristic impression one gets driving this car. Also the very small turning circle is quite impressive and it makes this car very easy and agile to drive.

About the range anxiety, I have to be honest, that's something I still got to get used to. I always am quite focused on the remaining range, especially when I have taken the highway, since the range goes down quite steadily and fast. Especially if one is driving vividly, it really can be seen on the remaining range. But that's a choice everyone makes for his own. I personally enjoy this car's potential too much for now, to drive it in a real eco pro mode. (But I am sure it will come eventually). I love to stand next to a fast car (yes, mostly BMW or Audi) at the red lights, then step on it when it turns green, and enjoy to see the amazed faces in the rear mirror as my car sprints before them without any effort!

Of course it means that the battery has to be charged more often, and it means also that we - for the first time- have to somewhat plan our trips with this car, because where I liked to use my first car in the past to do the shopping and stuff, I also take this car now because hey - it's cheaper, it's more fun and it's ecologic.

And it means that sometimes we just have to wait and don't take this car because it's not yet charged enough to take the trip. However, I have to be honest that I have not already installed a wallbox and am still charging the car on our regular home electricity network. I have chosen to go for the Wallbox Pro - which is a real supercharger - but it will only be available second trimester of this year. I will surely let you guys know what's the difference with the ability to fastcharge. I am sure we will use the car even more then.

Another not so pleasant thing is that I have been trying to install the Connected Drive system for more than four days now, and it just doesn't want to work. The problem is that my registration to Connected Drive on the net isn't transferred to the car, so I don't get a confirmation code in the car to finish the connection. It's an internet portal problem, they said at the local Connected Drive center in Belgium, so they have to manually fill in an application and send it over to Germany. It will take about a week before it will be solved. Which is kind of disappointing because I really wanted to try out the BMW i Remote app on my smartphone right away. I will keep you posted too when this is installed and working too.

But besides that, it really is a superb car to drive. As an owner of a BMW i3, you will have to get used to all the looks of amazed and sometimes confused faces. I just come back from a restaurant, and while I sit inside, I see people stopping by the car and taking pictures. I have never experienced something strange like this. And returning from a great meal at the restaurant, driving this unique car, fast and agile in total relaxing silence, while playing 'Life's for the Living' of Passenger out loud like you are in a concert hall on the first row; there's only one thing I can say: Sheer pleasure and happiness!

A little about range:

I have been driving the car for about a week now and I come to understand the calculation of the estimated range a little bit better now. I have noticed that the car calculates the maximum range after a night's charging depending on the driving style and circumstances of the last drive. So, when fully charged the maximum distance can vary from about 113km (70 miles) to about 135 km (84 miles)  in comfort mode.

On a morning when fully charged, and when the day before the car had purely driven in the city (meaning lower speeds) the battery indicated 135 km (84 miles) in Comfort mode, 137 km (85 miles) in Eco Pro-mode, and 150 km (93 miles) in Eco Pro+ mode. I think this must be about the real maximum range one can get with this car, stating that the car is driven in the city in an average driving style, lower speed, and frequent stops to recharge the battery while driving. However, if I step on the pedal and drive more sporty (and I must admit it is difficult not to do this, because it's just sooo much fun! ) and certainly if I drive on the highway, meaning speeds of about 130 km/h ( 80 mile per hour), you can't really depend on these figures anymore.

Eco Pro Mode only added 1 mile 

In Comfort mode the range was 84 miles

However Eco Pro+ mode added 9 miles for an estimate of  93 miles

To give an example I have noted precisely a trip I have driven: 

The trip goes from my home to the sportshall where I drop my son off. It's 28 km in total (18 miles), of which about 18 kms (11 miles) on the highway, where I usually drive about 130 km/h (80 miles per hour). After a night charging the range meter shows 113 km (70 miles). So normally when the calculation would be absolute there would still be 85 km (52 miles) left on the counter when I arrive at my destination. However, when I arrived at my destination the counter only showed 53 km (33 miles) left! Which is kind of scary, because a big part of the battery range seemed to be lost there!

However, when I get back in the car to come back to home, it's another story: The meter now shows 59 km (36.5 miles) left. So normally when I arrive at home there should be 31 km (19 miles) left. However when I arrived at home the calculator still showed 33 km (20.5 miles), which was a gain of 2km. So it was actually quite perfectly measured. It seemed to really have taken into account the weather conditions, the road ahead, the driving style, the maximum speed etcetera.

To sumarize: If one drives always into the same pace and always into the city at lower speeds I really think that 130-140 km (80 - 87 miles) is quite a realistic estimation of the effective driving range. However if one like to drive sportive and quite some distance on the highway doing higher speeds, I think 100 km (60 miles) would also be a realistic estimation as the maximum range.