At home, at work, or at a public charging station, your BMW i8 may be charged using a Type 2 connector.
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Features Unique to Charging Your BMW i8:
The sporting model of the BMW I plug-in hybrid lineup, the BMW i8, genuinely distinguishes out thanks to its cutting-edge styling. With a 7.1 kWh capacity, the battery charges completely in just 2 hours when using a wallbox with a 3.7 kW charging output. You can anticipate a driving range of up to 37 km in electric mode after the battery is charged. A type 2 plug is present on the BMW i8. Using the corresponding charging cable, you can use the wallbox or a domestic outlet to power your BMW i8. However, because charging your automobile from a home connection will put the maximum demand on the socket for about 2:30 hours, we do not recommend doing so on a frequent basis for safety concerns. On the other hand, a 3.7 kW wallbox can charge your car securely and nearly twice as rapidly.
Hello, I just recently purchased a 15-plate i8. Totally adore it. I simply wanted to know if I could charge it by plugging the three-pin connector into an extension cord. How much time? What kind of basic home charger should I buy? Located in the UK. Many thanks
Use only the emergency charger (110/220V) that came with the vehicle because the battery pack is quite small and cannot be charged quickly.
If you need an extension lead, just use the 3 pin. Just approximately 3 hours are needed to fully recharge from flat.
Using an extension cord with the 220V charger is not a good idea. If you must, choose one built to handle extremely high currents. Without a doubt, do not use outside.
The original 220V charger (included with the automobile) can be used outside.
The difference between charging at Level 1 (120V) and Level 2 (220-240V) is not as great as you might imagine. Only 3.7KW is the artificial maximum charging rate (onboard) for the extremely small i8 battery!
You will never use a Level 2 (220-240V) charger to its maximum capacity because it can supply between 7.7 KW (32A) and 9.6 KW, but Level 1 (120v) chargers typically charge at only approximately 1.4 KW.
Even in the best-case scenario, the smallest (32A) level 2 (220-240V) charger won’t even be able to charge at 50% of the maximum rate…
The battery pack on my 2015 i8 comfortably charges from 0% to 100% in 2 hours. Only 5.2 kWh of this 7.1 kWh are actually usable, and the BMW Wallbox Pro is set to a maximum output of 3.7 kW.
My pod point, which takes 2 hours to fully charge from zero, was just installed. Prior to that, I had been utilizing the domestic plug-in model that was provided.
Can the BMW i8 be charged at a Tesla station?
Yes, you may use a Tesla charging station to recharge your BMW electric vehicle. It can have some restrictions, though, and you might need to purchase other components like an adaptor. BMW electric cars and other non-Tesla vehicles may use any of the numerous Tesla charging stations located throughout the US thanks to a few available Tesla adapters.
I’m Scott, a huge fan of BMWs and a long-time owner of these incredible vehicles. I’m here to chronicle my encounters with BMWs over the years and, hopefully, to be of use to others.
Does the BMW i8 allow for in-car charging?
Although you can plug in the i8 to fully charge the battery, if you drive in EV mode and completely drain the battery, you can recharge it while you’re on the road. This is especially noticeable in Sport mode.
Does a BMW i8 need to be plugged in?
The BMW i8 Coupe has a combined fuel economy rating of 149.8 mpg and CO2 emissions of 42 g/km. The official range of the electric vehicle is 34 miles, which represents an increase of 50% over the previous generation. These numbers are from the updated WLTP test, however they have also been connected to the NEDC “equivalent.”
The official combined fuel economy for PHEVs in NEDC testing and the new WLTP cycle, as regular readers of Green Car Guide reviews are aware, is meaningless because real-world economy will fully depend on how far you drive and what percentage of your journey is done on electric power.
We averaged 44.0 mpg on the 350-mile trip from Manchester to Birmingham to Bedford and back in the real-world test described above. That’s a commendable outcome for a vehicle like the i8 that is enjoyable to drive. We got 51.5 mpg on average overall. Of course, getting the official 150 mpg rating could be simple if you only drive locally and with electric power.
In eDrive mode, you can travel up to 75 mph on electric power. When the gasoline tank and batteries were both full, the i8 showed a range of 380 to 500 miles.
The i8 has to be plugged in to charge, just like any other plug-in vehicle. It is advised to use a home charger, while you may also use quick and rapid public chargers all throughout the UK.
How long does it take the BMW i8 to charge?
When designing the i8, BMW clearly intended to produce a true head-turner, and it has done so beautifully. The hybrid drivetrain of this car, which combines a gasoline engine and two electric motors, provides excellent plug-in electric/petrol driving that is seamless and all-wheel-drive. The entire package raises the bar for sports cars.
The BMW i8 requires roughly three hours to fully charge using a dedicated home charge port.
In a BMW i8, how many batteries are there?
The 2015 BMW i8 plug-in hybrid sports vehicle has finally been driven by us, and we were really impressed. But one thing stood out: the size of the automobile. The i8’s footprint is not an accident, it turns out. The BMW i8’s battery pack, which is roughly the size and form of a grandfather clock turned upside down, is literally designed around it. BMW builds 96 prismatic lithium-ion battery cells from Samsung into a 57.5 x 14.4 x 13.0-inch die-cast aluminum box to give the i8 its intended 22-mile electric driving range.
Although the battery pack has a 7.1 kWh total energy capacity, normal consumption is only allowed to reach 5.2 kWh in order to maintain a reasonable service life. The 216-pound pack, together with its aluminum box, runs longitudinally down the middle of the car to protect it from crash damage and make it easily accessible for maintenance. It had to be quite long in order to deliver the needed energy capacity and preserve enough room for people because it could only be so wide and tall without overwhelming the interior.
The 110.2-inch wheelbase produced by adding a motor (one gas, one electric) to either end of the box is only somewhat shorter than that of the BMW 4-series coupe. The i8 is lanky for a sports car because to the distance between its axles; hence, calling it a “2+2” and adding two back seats helps to rationalize its excessive size.
The battery box has no significant structural purpose; if it were tightly fastened to the surrounding construction, it would be difficult to remove for maintenance. As a result, the molded carbon fiber central body must have high, thick sills and structural reinforcements made of formed aluminum throughout to give the necessary bending and torsional strength. The total width is 76.5 inches, which is more than five inches wider than the width of a Porsche 911. This is achieved by adding the 13.0-inch width of the battery box, enough room for two front passengers, and the girthy sills.
The stylishly low roof (the i8 is in the Corvette and 911 range in terms of total height) and the high sills limit the entry aperture’s vertical size, therefore the opening must be wide to allow access to the back seats. The only feasible way to open such a long door without utilizing extra-wide disabled parking spaces is to use unorthodox hinging, but a lengthy aperture necessitates uncomfortably long doors. Options like scissors and gullwing are awkward. The solution used by BMW, which hinges the doors off the sharply sloped A-pillars, is the best compromise.
However, when an i8 pulls up to a fancy bar and the drama doors swoosh open, locals anticipate seeing James Bond or Emma Stone emerge. That is the cost when cutting-edge technology and high fashion combine in the sports-car lane.
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The BMW i8 is electric-only capable.
People will stop wherever you go in the i8 to take pictures of it with their iPhones and, if they have the chance, to talk to you. Despite the wide disparity in understanding of the vehicle, everyone agrees that the i8 looks stunning when parked by the side of the road. Since the i8 has a drag coefficient (Cd) of just 0.26, it is obvious that aerodynamics plays a major role in its design. When the gullwing-style doors are opened, the striking appearance causes an even sharper intake of breath.
Once inside, which necessitates some agility due to the relatively small and oddly formed entrance aperture, the interior also exhibits a significant amount of design flare, with numerous curved, layered surfaces. Everything is still where you want it and has the same superior ergonomic design as any other BMW cabin. We haven’t yet discovered a better in-car infotainment control system than BMW’s iDrive controller, but the head-up display is excellent. Importantly, the basic driving posture, like almost all other BMWs, is ideal and offers a wide range of modification.
Surprisingly, there is a good deal of storage space between the seats, in addition to the roomy center tube where the batteries are located. The “2+2” back seats, however, are cramped, and the boot is also quite small.
Under the skin, things are equally innovative. The i8 is essentially a mid-engined vehicle thanks to its 3-cylinder, 1.5-liter turbocharged petrol engine, which is located between the rear seats and the rear wheels. The 6-speed automatic transmission used to drive the rear wheels of this power unit, which is based on the engine used in the new MINI Cooper, is lighter than the 8-speed automatic transmission often found in modern BMWs.
However, there is also a 96kw electric motor under the hood that is driven by a lithium-ion battery that runs up the middle of the vehicle. The front wheels are propelled by this electric drivetrain.
The i8 can be powered only by electricity, by gasoline, or by a combination of the two. The car has front-wheel drive if it is only powered by electricity. It has rear-wheel drive if only powered by gasoline. When used gradually, the i8 is all-wheel drive when using gasoline and electricity as power sources.
BMW has made significant efforts, like with the i3, to make the i8 as light as possible. The chassis is made of aluminum, while the passenger structure is made of carbon-fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP). The i8 only weights 1490kg despite having 100kg of batteries. Even with all of this complicated packing, BMW was still able to maintain its distinctive 50:50 weight distribution and low center of gravity.
BMW i8 uses gas or electricity.
The i8 from BMW has just one available powerplant. A 1.5-liter, three-cylinder turbocharged gas engine is coupled with an 11.6-kWh battery and two electric motors in this vehicle. With their combined 369 horsepower, the trio of engines can move all four wheels. But it’s not the quickest supercar around: In 4.1 seconds, the 2019 i8 roadster we tested could accelerate from 0 to 60 mph. The same mild steering we’ve questioned in many recent BMWs is present in the i8. More feedback is preferred, especially in a vehicle designed with sporting purposes. Surprisingly, the ride is smooth, and road imperfections are felt but never sharply.