BMW keeps green i on the future

Date: 25 July 2013

BMW has been running a fleet of ActiveE models around the world since 2011 to study usage of electric vehicles and to test their viability. With around 50 cars being tested in the UK, the research has found that 90% of journeys are less than 49km per day, proving that the BMW's battery range will be more than sufficient once it arrives in the production i3.

As an adapted 1-series, the ActiveE will not be mass produced, with the carmaker adamant that its electric vehicles have been developed independently of its conventional range. But the ActiveE does provide a decent impression of what the i3 will be like to drive when it arrives in the UK at the end of this year.

With the electric car market rapidly expanding, a few characteristics are commonplace when driving an EV. These include the eerie silence and instant torque, thanks to the lack of an internal combustion engine. In the ActiveE, that translates to relatively rapid acceleration - 0-62mph in nine seconds with a top speed of 90mph. The other notable difference is three distinct reactions from the throttle. The first is the instant torque already mentioned. The second, when you press your foot down further, is when the car goes into 'coasting' mode using very little energy. And, most dramatically, the third happens when you come off the accelerator. As the car goes into regenerative braking mode, the driver can feel the pull of the car slowing down - harder than on traditional cars. It feels vaguely similar to advanced braking safety systems, which slow the car down if, for example, you are too close to the vehicle in front. Still, it quickly becomes the norm, and means that in city scenarios the brake pedal will be redundant 90% of the time.

Dynamically, the ActiveE is excellent, happy to be chucked around corners and with responsive steering. It's also 300kg heavier than the i3, so early indications for BMW's incoming EV are extremely promising. 

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