Earlier this month, the EPA ratings for the 100% electric BMW i3 were released and US deliveries began. The BMW electric car is now the most efficient car on the US market. It is rated at 124 MPGe (74 MPG/MPGe better than a Toyota Prius) and 81 miles of range on a full charge.
However, the details for the BMW i3 REx, a version of the i3 that included a small gasoline engine in order to extend the range in certain circumstances, were not finalized and released at that time. Actually, as Gas2′s Chris DeMorro just wrote earlier today, thousands of these BMW i3 REx cars have been sitting idle waiting for their Monroney stickers so that they can be delivered to US customers who have already ordered them.
BMW said yesterday that it expected all the paperwork to be in and done by the end of the week, but it seems that, before any official announcement, some early buyers received the EPA details (and their cars?). Tom Moloughney reportedly posted an EPA sticker for a BMW i3 REx in the BMW i3 Facebook group (the link now seems to be dead). Here it is:
Image Credit: Tom Moloughney
As you can see if you are willing to navigate that thing, the core details are as follows:
117 MPGe on battery
72 miles of all-electric range
39 MPG on gas
$8,250 estimated fuel cost savings of 5 years (of course, based on important assumption that can vary widely — 15,000 miles/year, $3.75/gallon, $0.12/kWh)
annual fuel cost of $650 (again, based on big assumptions)
If anything changes when the official announcements come out, I’ll update you. Otherwise, that’s the story.
A few quick comments on the ratings: Of course, the range and MPGe is a bit lower for the REx, but that’s the price you pay for a gasoline range-extender, and these are still very good ratings by my standards. 72 miles is far more than enough for all but a couple trips per year for probably most Americans. 117 MPGe makes the BMW i3 REx the 4th most “fuel efficient” car in the United States, only behind the BMW i3 (124 MPGe), Chevy Spark EV (119 MPGe), and Honda Fit EV (118 MPGe). The top-selling Nissan LEAF comes in at 114 MPGe and the hot Tesla Model S comes in at 95 MPGE (60 kWh battery pack) or 89 MPGe (85 kWh battery pack).
The BMW i3 REx looks like a decent buy, but I’m pretty positive I’d go with the 100% electric i3 if I was choosing between the two.
Top image credit: Zachary Shahan / CleanTechnica / EV Obsession
BMW i3 REx EPA Ratings Leaked was originally published on CleanTechnica.
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