Is Anyone Here Buying an Elio?

[luv2spd]

I'm not sure how the i3 software works, BMW's website doesn't say much about it. One of the things I like about the i3 is that it has an aluminum frame with a carbon fiber cabin, so it will never rust. Which is very important here on the salty winter roads of Canada. Also, it is probably the best built quality electric car on the market assuming it's like any other BMW.

I also read in a number of magazines that some of the first generation Leaf cars have battery problems. They said in a few years the range goes down drastically compared to where it is supposed to be, that's why you can pick up a used Leaf with low miles for under $10,000. Their range is bad as it is since they don't have a back-up generator.

The first generation Volts have no issues and they also come with an 8 years 80,000 miles warranty on the battery. The new 2016 Volt has an 8 years 100,000 miles battery warranty which is even better. Most of the Volt owners are very satisfied with their car too.

[trollbait]

Most of the problem Leafs were in hot states, like Arizona, down here. Turns out fully charging the battery and letting it sit in a hot garage or under sun with just a fan to cool it wasn't such a great idea. The current, Lizard packs use a hardier chemistry though. But the short range BEVs can see battery wear due to the packs getting discharged deeper. A Leaf that does 60 miles a day is going to do more wear on the battery than a Tesla doing the same route.

Down here, used Leafs are really cheap, not because of the battery's condition, but because of the incentives on new ones. State and federal incentives in some states is $10k or more for the car.

In Europe, the driver of an i3 REX can turn the range extender on when the battery charge gets down to 80% or so. For overall efficiency of a plug in with over 80 miles of EV range, this is how you want it work, and actually how pictured the Volt working when it was first announced. 90+% of the time, a person is going to know ahead of the time if they will be going beyond the EV range. By turning the generator on early, there will be a large buffer of reserve power in the battery for the car to use for heavy acceleration and climbing. This lets it be possible to use a smaller ICE, which you don't want to devote too much space or weight too if it isn't going to be used most of the time.

The downside of this smaller ICE means that the car can be underpowered when the battery is nearly drained. The 13 REX can not maintain its full performance level indefinitely between charges like the Volt can with its larger engine. This should be a rare occurance for most people though, if they were allowed to use the car as BMW intended.

But CARB sees burning any gas as evil, and BMW wanted to earn ZEV credits for the i3 REX, which they couldn't do if CARB categorized it as a plug in hybrid. So they made compromises that hobble the intended design. The first is a smaller fuel tank so that it couldn't have a gas range farther than the EV one. That is just a PITA. The real hobbling is in preventing the range extender from turning on until the battery charge was at 20%. The less charge, the smaller the buffer, the sooner the car will enter lower performance. That is reflected between reviews in North America and Europe.

The i3 BEV is a solid car. There have been issues with the range extender for some.

[14Corolla]

Amongst these type of vehicles. The Polaris Slingshot is very interesting. Polaris could make it for mileage and year round use. Add a cover, heater, etc. Even an electric. Am sure Polaris would go for it if they could see a market. For right now, mileage is the least thing these people are thinking about. It looks like a blast to drive. It's also got the cool factor.
Polaris Slingshot : 3-Wheel Motorcycle - Reverse Trike

[trollbait]

We had a warm spell a couple weeks ago, and I passed a Slingshot, or a competitor, a couple of days on the way home. It had a hard top. My knowledge on these trikes begins and ends with knowing the T-rex was the first modern performance one. Campagna Motors T-REX® and V13R® the Original 3 wheeler. Like No Other since 1988

The target price of the Elio is about a third of most of the Slingshot models, and the cheap one is still over $20k. Campagna's trikes start just below $60k. Without the enclosed cabin or cockpit, these performance trikes are still fair weather only like motorcycles. Fuel economy is usually a concern in just the person's year round daily driver.

[14Corolla]

I have seen these Smart Cars. They look interesting? They do require premium gas. Also not rated the best on mileage? Maybe those of you familiar with the Mercedes 3 cyl turbo charged might comment? Maybe does much better than rated?
They also have an electric version.
With all the talk on this forum about small diesels in europe. I wonder why they didn't put one of those in this car?
find special offers and deals on new smart cars | smart USA

Looking over this site. This is Mercedes Benz.
Impressed with Mercedes. They also have a over full size van that gets 20mpg. That's great for a van.

[Draigflag]

I queried that too, go back a page or two. It's most likely to do with costing as it's a budget company in its infancy. I personally can't see the point compromising so much unless the economy is outrageous.

The VW two cylinder TDI unit at 0.8 litres would be perfect for this car and is expected to get about 200 MPG in the UP!

A friend of mine has a lwb Sprinter van with over 530,000 miles. He gets over 30 MPG but has another smaller Mercedes-Benz van (which use Renault engines) which gets over 60 mpg unladen.

[trollbait]

Originally Posted by 14Corolla

I have seen these Smart Cars. They look interesting? They do require premium gas. Also not rated the best on mileage? Maybe those of you familiar with the Mercedes 3 cyl turbo charged might comment? Maybe does much better than rated?
They also have an electric version.
With all the talk on this forum about small diesels in europe. I wonder why they didn't put one of those in this car?
find special offers and deals on new smart cars | smart USA

Looking over this site. This is Mercedes Benz.
Impressed with Mercedes. They also have a over full size van that gets 20mpg. That's great for a van.

The engine is a Suzuki; I believe the one in the current Swift. The fortwo was available in Canada for a few years before it officially arrived in the US. There was a diesel, and maybe a smaller gas, option when it was available across the border only.

When in came to the US, smart chose to offer just one engine and transmission; the 1L it has now. Which, aside from any sport models, is the largest available. There is some cost savings for them in offering just one engine, but mostly is because the other engines, diesel and gas, were deemed too slow for American tastes. It probably wasn't worth the extra expense of meeting tighter diesel emissions on what is meant to be an inexpensive car also.

It was designed with European city parking in mind. The short length hinders what can be accomplished in terms of aerodynamics, so highway fuel economy takes a hit. Smart recommends premium, but it can run on regular like nearly all modern engines. There will be a reduction in power and fuel economy doing so.

I like the fortwo, specially the electric version, but the range is too short for my commute. The Spark and Mirage are bigger cars that cost less with the same features though.

[luv2spd]

Things are coming together slowly:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zo6S66bQgI

[R.I.D.E.]

Just buy a used Mirage.

[Draigflag]

Starting to feel like this is a "old fashioned" project now, when you keep reading every day about the advances in electric battery power, and even hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, this little car with an old ICE seems a bit outdated to me.

I know we've covered it before, and it's about cost, but there are better less compromising cars out there that will better the performance/economy of this car, as much as I love it's design.