Vauxhall Ampera or BMW I3 Range extender or ?
Discussion
This is for a family member who loves the drive/relative silence of my MG4 but has a need to do 160-170 mile trips (all year round) without re-fueling and thus (as far as i can tell) all pure EVs are out of their £8-9K price range with sensible/mileage/history.
The Ampera and I3 seem to provide what they need with the car running 100% on electric motion, even if the petrol engine is generating the power to top the battery up.
WIth the Vauxhall it would appear that it can do 250-300 miles with a full supply of fuel (battery + petrol) whereas i am not so sure the BMW with its little 2 cylinder engine (and tiny fuel tank) has such a range.
They dont want anything bigger than the Ampera (slightly bigger than an Astra it seems) or smaller than the I3 (no Zoe) so am i missing other options, or are the two current candidates viable (the Ampera sold in tiny numbers so imagine servicing is a challenge). YouTube vids suggest the Ampera (or its Chevy Volt brother) were quite advanced when they came out, but obviously thats 12+ years ago
The Ampera and I3 seem to provide what they need with the car running 100% on electric motion, even if the petrol engine is generating the power to top the battery up.
WIth the Vauxhall it would appear that it can do 250-300 miles with a full supply of fuel (battery + petrol) whereas i am not so sure the BMW with its little 2 cylinder engine (and tiny fuel tank) has such a range.
They dont want anything bigger than the Ampera (slightly bigger than an Astra it seems) or smaller than the I3 (no Zoe) so am i missing other options, or are the two current candidates viable (the Ampera sold in tiny numbers so imagine servicing is a challenge). YouTube vids suggest the Ampera (or its Chevy Volt brother) were quite advanced when they came out, but obviously thats 12+ years ago
am struggling to find definitive figures for how far the I3 will go (combined) on a full battery and then petrol. It seems the fuel tank is tiny so guessing it may struggle in winter to do the miles needed
The prospective owner has some mobility issues which makes having to stop at a petrol station to fill up less than desirable (not impossible, just a phaff), hence the hope to do the mileage without the need to top up,
The I3 looks (in my old persons opinion) very space-age even now and i believe the core structure is carbon fibre. Oddly the youngster prefers the look of the Ampera/Volt !!
The prospective owner has some mobility issues which makes having to stop at a petrol station to fill up less than desirable (not impossible, just a phaff), hence the hope to do the mileage without the need to top up,
The I3 looks (in my old persons opinion) very space-age even now and i believe the core structure is carbon fibre. Oddly the youngster prefers the look of the Ampera/Volt !!
LayZ said:
I had a 60Ah (22kWh) REx i3 and did all kinds of long distance adventures in it. Would I recommend this to normal people? Definitely not. In bad conditions in the winter it won't even do 70mph.
thanks for that LayZ....think that counts the I3 out especially as mostly the longer trips will be dual carriagewaysDav72D said:
I've had an Ampera since 2018, It's now on 125k miles. They're a great car but it's getting difficult to get some parts. Getting about 45 miles from the battery in the summer and the petrol tank is good for another 280 miles.
Excellent to hear from an actual owner. The fact that only 1300 or so cars were sold (of what basically seems a USA built car) I did wonder about spare parts that are specific to the Ampera, and also (near Chelmsford) finding anyone who knows how to work on one. Funnily enough the lexus CT was my first suggestion (knowing the Prius and Auris had been ruled out).
The other two options I think are bigger than desired length wise, as the Ampera was "à big bigger than ideal"
Of course all of these options are 100% petrol drivetrain on the motorway which is what they hoped to avoid
For this particular use case/wish list the Ampera seems ideal, if only there were more of them and parts/servicing were more mainstream. Else they may have to save some more £££ and get a full EV that can do the miles needed
The other two options I think are bigger than desired length wise, as the Ampera was "à big bigger than ideal"
Of course all of these options are 100% petrol drivetrain on the motorway which is what they hoped to avoid
For this particular use case/wish list the Ampera seems ideal, if only there were more of them and parts/servicing were more mainstream. Else they may have to save some more £££ and get a full EV that can do the miles needed
dbryder said:
We have a 2015 I3 REX and often do a 250mile trip.
1. Drive until 75% then turn on REX.
2. Drive 80ish miles until the fuel runs out (always use super to get a coupla miles extra)
3. Fill up
4. Repeat
That 75% gives you 40 miles of spare range, use as required to reach the pumps
It’s 2/3 stops for 8l of SUL depending on how much of a rush we are in.
Have done this in all weathers, wind/rain make a bigger difference than cold in the i3 IME.
80 miles on petrol doesn't sound sufficient for the use case here due to difficulties refueling. Don't think the I3 is the answer in this particular case due to its overall range.cheers1. Drive until 75% then turn on REX.
2. Drive 80ish miles until the fuel runs out (always use super to get a coupla miles extra)
3. Fill up
4. Repeat
That 75% gives you 40 miles of spare range, use as required to reach the pumps
It’s 2/3 stops for 8l of SUL depending on how much of a rush we are in.
Have done this in all weathers, wind/rain make a bigger difference than cold in the i3 IME.
charltjr said:
I'm keen on EVs, but at that price point and with those needs I'd still be going ICE at this point.
The Corsa E would be a good shout but in my experience it doesn't get close to 200 miles of range on quicker roads, I ran one for a couple of months and even in warm weather it was 160-180 miles in that use. Keep the speed down to 55-60 and I think it would get there, but not at 70.
Yeah from what I could find on the Corsa they won't do the range ...they are quite cheap deals tho (for a new car)The Corsa E would be a good shout but in my experience it doesn't get close to 200 miles of range on quicker roads, I ran one for a couple of months and even in warm weather it was 160-180 miles in that use. Keep the speed down to 55-60 and I think it would get there, but not at 70.
flatso said:
i3 is a brilliantly designed vehicle and with the Rex it is almost ideal.
I think "almost" is the key word here ...from what I have read (and some comments on here) the earlier i3 (with less battery range) can't do the motorway miles needed without a fuel stopLexus (2 options) or an Ampera (with brave pill) seems to be the route they could go
Gassing Station | Car Buying | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff