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      02-06-2013, 12:05 PM   #86
jdong
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Drives: 2013 BMW ActiveHybrid 3
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: NorCal

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Quote:
Originally Posted by SamS View Post
Very good. Do you have a smartphone, you could use the Fuelly mobile site bookmark (equivalent to an app) to input the data during your fill ups.

What driving mode have you been using?
Yep, I'll be using the mobile site to input my data. Was using Gas Cubby before to keep the data for myself, but hey I might as well share.

I mostly use Comfort mode, and switch into Eco Pro mode when I recognize that it'll be helpful. This is mostly when driving over hilly highway (where the coasting has significant benefit), or when driving in moderate traffic at around 40mph, which is right above the eDRIVE threshold for Comfort mode.

Quote:
Yesterday I was in really heavy traffic for 30+ minutes. Average speed ~15mph. I think the AH3 could make do with an even bigger battery! I could easily cruise along at 15mph on pure battery, but it depletes quickly, maybe 1% per second? Once it gets down to 7%, the ICE of course comes back on, and you really can't run in pure eDrive until the battery charge gets up to ~ 30%.
Haha, save that for the ActivePlugin 3/5 . Remember that the battery is the biggest win when it recovers "free" energy from coasting and regen braking. If it gets much bigger, you're definitely going to need a plug to recharge it. eDRIVE does deplete the battery quickly, which is why the car in normal driving wants to kick in the engine relatively quickly, and doesn't want you to stay in eDRIVE for a long period of time unless you're in your "destination zone".

If the battery were bigger, the car would just spend a longer time idling to charge between 7% and 30%. I'm sure the engineers worked through the tradeoffs in picking the battery size they did. Hopefully it was the right decision

Quote:
I honestly would not change a thing about this car. Sure, I would love to get 38mpg instead of 28mpg. But there is really no car with this kind of power and weight that really gets better mpg than what I get now.
Ditto. And this is exactly the point. It's not "eh my 316d gets way better mileage"... it's that no other car balances sportiness, raw acceleration, refinement, and fuel efficiency as well as this car!

The closest competitors are, IMO:

(1) 2013 Lexus GS450h. Definitely superior in city MPG, and quite good in hybrid seamlessness (a lot more pronounced electric usage though, which might be good or bad depending on what you like). However, the nav system looks like someone found a 1995 PalmOS tablet prototype and stuck it on the dash... and there's nothing sporty or enjoyable about a CVT or a Toyota V6 droning at 3000-5000RPM.

(2) Infiniti M35h. Also marginally superior in MPG, but lacks the refinement. Electric to combustion transitions are very noticeable, and sometimes jarring. Such a shame... it's really close to being good.
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