New upgrades include cosmetic changes and a more powerful battery
BMW has announced a series of enhancements to the i3 luxury electric sports coupe for the 2017 model year, including cosmetic revisions as well as a more powerful battery.
Cosmetic changes to the 2017 BMW i3 include the same Protonic Blue metallic exterior color that is available on the US-spec i8. Two other non-metallic colors are also new on the i3 exterior color palette including Fluid Black and Capparis White.
Also new for the 2017 i3 is an electric moonroof while new standard equipment includes LED headlights, dynamic cruise control, automatic climate control, DC fast charging, BMW Assist, Navigation Business System, BMW Teleservices, iDrive, BMW iRemoteApp, amongst others. An improved Home Charger Connect for the i3 incorporates an LED interface and standard WiFi connectivity.
The big news for 2017 is a 33 kWh battery replacing the previous 22 kWh battery, adding 50% more capacity. The result is a combined (city/highway) range of 114 miles. This has figure is slated to be confirmed by the EPA but it is comfortably longer than the 81 mile range of the unit it replaces.
The updated BMW i3 takes about 4.5 hours when using a Level 2 charger, an additional hour more than the model it replaces. As would be expected, the larger battery increases the weight of the i3 to 2,961 pounds in all-electric form and 3,234 pounds with the range extender. The extender adds an additional range of 93 miles.
Performance of the all-electric i3 remains rated at 170 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque, which is sufficient for a zero to 60 time of 7 seconds. The 2-cylinder 650cc range extender adds an additional 38 horsepower and has a 0 to sixty time of just a tad over 7 seconds.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJxuBfBwtzU
Source: BMW
