BMW’s updated 2017 i3 aims to quell range anxiety

By Ronan Glon Published August 18, 2017

BMW has fitted the all-electric i3 with a bigger battery pack in a bid to quell range anxiety.

Scheduled to arrive in time for the 2017 model year, the updated i3 ditches the current model’s 22 kilowatt-hour battery pack and adopts an improved unit rated at 33kWh. The pack benefits from lithium-ion cells that boast a higher density, meaning it offers more juice even though it’s the same size as the pack it replaces.

Recommended Videos

The 33kWh pack allows the i3 to drive for 114 miles on a single charge, even with electricity-sapping features like the heater or the air conditioning turned on. In comparison, the model that’s currently found in showrooms runs out of electricity after about 81 miles. If that’s not enough, the i3 remains available with an optional 650cc two-cylinder range extender that automatically kicks in when the battery’s charge is nearly depleted. The twin is fed by a bigger 2.4-gallon tank, but BMW hasn’t disclosed how many miles it adds to the i3’s driving range.

Equipped with the bigger battery pack, the i3 takes four and a half hour to fully charge, an hour more than the 2016 version. It tips the scale at 2,961 pounds, a figure that represents a 300-pound increase over the outgoing model. The extra heft has no effect on performance, and the compact EV still reaches 60 mph from a stop in a little over seven seconds thanks to an electric motor rated at 170 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque.

Moving beyond the drivetrain, the 2017 i3 gets a new color called Protonic Blue (pictured) that was previously only offered on the plug-in hybrid i8 coupe. The list of standard equipment includes dynamic cruise control, automatic A/C, LED headlights, HD radio, parking sensors, and a leather-wrapped steering wheel, and buyers can pay extra for a power moonroof for the first time ever.

The updated 2017 BMW i3 will go on sale in the coming months. Pricing information will be published in the weeks leading up to its on-sale date.

Former Contributor

Ronan Glon is an American automotive and tech journalist based in southern France. As a long-time contributor to Digital…

Topics

Cars

BMW i4 vs. Tesla Model 3: Which EV sedan is better?

2022 BMW i4 M50

The BMW i4 and Tesla Model 3 are two of the hottest electric cars on the market today. Both vehicles offer a range of features designed to make driving easy and efficient, as well as attractive styling. But each has its advantages and disadvantages, and there is much that sets them apart in terms of performance, technology, convenience, and cost.

Deciding between the two? That's why we've put together this guide. Here are the differences and similarities between the Tesla Model 3 and BMW i4, and why you might want one over the other.
Design

Cars

Business upfront, 31-inch TV in the back. BMW’s electric i7 is a screening room on wheels

Front three quarter view of the 2023 BMW i7.

The BMW 7 Series has been the venerable German automaker’s flagship for more than 40 years, but with its latest redesign, BMW is taking things in a new — and electrifying — direction.
The 2023 BMW i7 xDrive60 (or i7 for short) is the first all-electric 7 Series in the model’s history. It’s positioned against electric luxury sedans like the Lucid Air, Tesla Model S, and the Mercedes-Benz EQS sedan, a longtime BMW rival. But BMW took a different approach with its electric chariot of the affluent.
Because while those other EVs are based on clean-sheet designs, the i7 is just one version of a car that continues with combustion engines. It shares styling and tech — including an available fold-down, rear-seat widescreen monitor — with internal-combustion 7 Series models. So it offers a more traditional approach to luxury for EV buyers who don’t want to change anything about their cars except the method of propulsion.
Those buyers will also pay a slight premium. The i7 starts at $120,295, compared to $114,595 for the 760i xDrive, the first gasoline 7 Series model of the new generation. BMW also plans to offer a less expensive gasoline 740i for $94,295 sometime after launch. But when you’re spending this much on a new car, those aren’t huge differences.

Design and interior
The new 7 Series — and by extension the i7 — is sure to prove controversial due to BMW’s new front-end styling, which combines a massive grille sure to stoke internet memes and odd-looking two-tiered headlights. The effect is exaggerated by an available blacked-out front-end treatment, which makes it look like parts are missing.
Those styling elements carry over from gasoline 7 Series models to the i7, as does the hulk-like body shell, which is abnormally tall for a sedan, requiring steps at the hood and rear bumper to blend them with the thick center section of the body. The i7 also retains a long protruding hood, which is necessary to house the engine in gasoline 7 Series models, but is just an affectation here.
BMW claims the i7 will appeal to buyers who want a traditional luxury sedan first and an EV second. To be fair, the i7 is much more conventional-looking than the streamlined Mercedes-Benz EQS sedan and Lucid Air, or the grille-less Tesla Model S. But some of that work has been undone by BMW’s unorthodox design choices in other areas, which may not appeal to traditionalists either.
The i7 is sure to prove controversial due to BMW's new front-end styling.

Cars

The all-electric BMW i7 is a home theater on wheels

Front three quarter view of the 2023 BMW i7.

BMW is no stranger to electric vehicles. It launched the quirky i3 hatchback in 2014, and followed it up more recently with the i4 and iX. But now BMW is making its flagship vehicle electric.

The BMW 7 Series is the automaker’s biggest, most opulent sedan, and for the 2023 model year, it gets a redesign that includes a first-ever electric variant. The 2023 BMW i7 xDrive60 (to use its full name) will start shipping to U.S. dealerships in November alongside gasoline 7 Series models (a hybrid version will arrive later as well).