The Mission Record Thursday, October 24, 2013 15
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Welcome to the driver’s seat
In a two-hour drive, the only time I dropped the anchors was when one of Amsterdam’s kazillion cyclists cut in front of me. Keith Morgan
The BMWi electric car powered its way with ease around city streets and along picturesque Dutch canals.
KEITH MORGAN
The future is electric AMSTERDAM – BMW has joined the race for the electric car dollar. On the evidence of two days driving the funky-looking all-electric i3 through the narrow streets of old Amsterdam and alongside the picturesque canals of rural Holland, the German manufacturer may have a winner. For starters, it is simply great fun to drive. The lithium-ion battery, encased in an aluminum cage below the five-seater cabin, provides enough instant zap to the electric motor to propel the car smoothly to 100 klicks in less than eight seconds. Left the stopwatch
at home, but counting “one-and-two etc.” to count seconds, my lips barely mouthed “six” before the speedo leapt from 80 to 120 km/h while passing. It handles beautifully at any speed and hugs the road; thanks to the technology-laden aluminum platform, that gives it a very low centre of gravity. Turns on a Euro too, as we found during the many U-turns made on blocked streets. Of course, F1 take-offs will suck the battery dry somewhat more quickly but you need not be a snail in the so-called Comfort mode to achieve the advertised 160 kilometres range on a full
Question OF THE WEEK:
you have a car for the tank, sorry, fully-charged Interior and beyond. Way battery. Plug it in at beyond. As the battery home overnight and you runs low, a two-cylinder, are ready to roar; go for 647cc gas engine, which the enhanced charger sits neatly by the side of and raring to go in three its electric brother, kicks hours. in and generates power The remarkable efficiento top up the battery. cy is largely due to two Push it and gas stops factors. The carbon-fibre The lithium-ion will be frequent because body is light and regenonly a minuscule erative braking generbattery provides nine-litre tank feeds it. ously juices up the cells. enough instant zap However, most folks will In a two-hour drive, the to the electric motor get a chance to recharge only time I dropped the to propel the car before too many visits to anchors was when one the pump. of Amsterdam’s kazillion smoothly to 100 There is another hope cyclists cut in front of klicks in less than for those living beyond me. Ruined my score, the eight seconds. Hope. Private companies blighter. are seriously evaluatAccepting the more slugKeith Morgan ing the supply of fast gish EcoPro and EcoPro+ chargers that top up batmodes will add 20 and teries in less than half 40 km to the range. an hour. Eyes will be on the Sea-to-Sky Frankly, in this configuration the i3, is Highway where chargers are now good for any daily commute between found at Britannia Beach. And they are Vancouver and Abbotsford and most popping up in parking lots the length journeys in southern Vancouver Island. and breadth of the province as the The very areas where BMW expects to popularity of plug-in hybrid models by do the most business. other brands grows. The i3 offers premium brand luxury for few dollars short of $45,000. Shell View our BMWi3 gallery and read out another 4 grand for the unimagimore about the electric car at natively named ‘range-extender’ and drivewayBC.ca
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Safety Tip: As drivers, please slow down next week and be extra vigilant, especially around residential areas. Children are always caught up in the excitement of Halloween and can easily forget the rules of the road.
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