As we previously reported, the BMW i3 will get a serious update this summer. The most important change will be the introduction of a denser battery pack that is now rated at 94Ah instead of the i3’s previous 60Ah. That will offer customers a longer range and will free some of them from the well-known phenomenon called ‘range anxiety’. Of course, all of it will come at a price, the new model starting at $44,595 which is $1,200 more than the old version.
While to some that may seem like a noticeable price increase, when under the magnifying glass you’ll find that it’s actually a pretty good deal. The 94Ah i3 will have a range of 114 miles which is about 33 more than what the old model used to be good for. That’s an increase of almost 40 percent in range while the price tag went up by a little over 3 percent.
On top of the new battery, the 2017 BMW i3 will also be coming with more standard features such as the Deka World interior design package, Comfort Access, 19-inch wheels as well as a garage opener and free DC fast charging thanks to ChargeNow. If that’s not enough for your taste, new optional features can help out too, a moonroof being on the list for the first time as well as the highly-sought after Protonic Blue paint.
As for the performance, excluding the extended range, the i3’s numbers remain the same. In its pure EV guise, the car accelerates to 62 mph from standstill in 7.2 seconds thanks to its 170 HP and 184 lb-ft (250 Nm) of torque. The Range Extender version does the same in 7.9 seconds but will make sure the phrase ‘range anxiety’ disappears from your vocabulary forever. For this to happen though, you’ll have to pay $3,850 extra, getting the starting price of the i3 up to $48,445, before any tax incentives.
