BMW Created the Most Efficient Electric Car In the US

cartechboy (2660665) writes "You think of efficient electric car and you probably think of the Tesla Model S, right? Well, you'd be wrong as the Model S is only rated at 89 MPGe. As of today, BMW now has the most efficient electric car sold in the U.S., the 2014 i3. The ratings were just posted to the Internet via a window sticker, and at 124 MPGe combined (138 MPGe city, 111 MPGe highway), the i3 is currently king of the efficiency race. The nearest competitor? The 2013 Scion iQ-EV with a 38 mile range and 121 MPGe rating, but it's not even available to the general public. Other competitors are mostly compliance cars such as the Chevrolet Spark EV and Fiat 500e. So where does that leave us? Well, BMW just won the race, for now. But how long until a competitor takes away that top spot?"

Comments

Range is the issue

[stewsters]

Most of the power is going to hauling a battery around.

Tesla s has 265 mile range
i3 has 81 mile range
Scion iQ-EV has 38 mile range

I would be curious to see how the numbers hold up if they all were designed for the same range.

Re:Range is the issue

[hey!]

Sure, but why does every vehicle have to work for *everybody*?

I've always liked small cars, but when I had kid tiny cars didn't work for me any more. It doesn't mean that small cars are *stupid*, they're not right for me at this particular phase of my life.

Won what race?

[FF-Loucks]

The leaf is $6k less and 115 MPGe. 124 MPGe isn't going to save you $6k over the life of the car.

Re:Efficiency doesn't matter...

[fnj]

Efficiency doesn't matter for an electric car that can be powered for FREE by the sun

Completely naive fail. Apparatus to convert that sunlight to electric power costs money and has to be depreciated. Not only is photovoltaic power not free; its cost ($130 / MWh) is higher than natural gas ($64 to $128 / MWh), coal ($96 / MWh) or advanced nuclear ($96 / MWh). Those estimates for systems coming on line in 2019, so they are not based on obsolete data. Solar thermal is even worse ($243 / nMWh).

Re:What is MPGe supposed to mean?

[Noah Haders]

The exact opposite of true. It's just a measure of energy. 33.7 kWh is about 120mj, which is the same as a gallon if gas.

Re:Thank you summary guy

[mrchaotica]

For example, new diesel vehicles are touted as great for mileage. However, if one factors in the repair costs, and the need to use DEF as a second fuel, the gap can close between a TDI vehicle versus a hybrid or even a plain old gasser.

Quit spreading lies and FUD. First of all, most diesels, including many new "clean diesels" (e.g. the VW Golf/Jetta/Beetle) do not use diesel exhaust fluid (DEF)*. Second, there's nothing inherent to diesels that make them have higher repair costs than "plain old gassers" other than the turbo (and lots of new gassers these days -- like the Ford Ecoboost -- have turbos too).

The real reason why diesels have an undeserved reputation for being expensive to repair is that most of them in the US have been made by VW or Mercedes, but they're expensive to repair because they're German, not because they're diesel!

(*Even some of the "bluetec" engines do not, in fact, use DEF even though they're named after it.)

Re:Thank you summary guy

[aztracker1]

That's why I drive a V8 Challenger R/T ... If I didn't do it, how could the Prius drivers feel good about saving the world?