[defterGoose]

The i3 I've been driving around has been a complete revelation. It's an older model with a worn-out small battery. It usually claims to have 52mi range when it's topped up in the morning. Realistically, I can only use about 40-45 of that before I worry about it shutting off the contactors to protect the cells.

But it has a range extender. That transforms it from essentially a dedicated grocery-getter to a daily driver that can commute all over Socal. Barely over 2 gallons of gas will give you an extra 70mi (at about 65mph)

Granted, it's more a technology demonstrator than a blueprint for an affordable mass-market EV, but it's a huge step in the right direction if you ask me. Much more similar to what the average person in a city needs in a car than, say, the 600hp model 3 I was driving around for awhile.