Linuxluver:

 

frednz:

 

jarledb:

 

Cybnate:

 

 

 

Let's hope globally means including NZ. Maybe when new NZ Leaf's are being sold we can get access or licenses for NZ maps for the current generation Leafs. That is the only negative thing I found out with buying an imported car. No NZ maps leaving you with a worthless inbuilt navigation system. Fiddling with my mobile to find my way, felt like going back in time, considered using my Treo 650 mobile to do it in style. 

 

 

I guess the question is: Are you ok with paying $60-70K for a Leaf? And are there enough other people willing to pay that?

 

 

I guess you must be able to have the inbuilt navigation system of an imported Leaf reprogrammed to display NZ maps? How much do you think it would cost to have that done?

 

And why should a NZ new Leaf cost $60 - $70K, that's a ridiculous price for what you get! And so is paying $87,000 for a NZ new BMW i3! Even second-hand pure electric old model i3's are being advertised at around $40 - $45K, and that's also ridiculous to get a range of only about 100km - 120km (if you're lucky)!

 

 

The old i3 can, I think, get an upgrade to the new 33kWh battery....and the range is the best of all the current smaller EVs. The battery costs, but it would still be a lot cheaper than a new one. The number I heard for the upgrade was $10k. The range is then - even if just on battery alone - about 210km - 240km. 

I know an i3 (33kWh) on the Leading the Charge drive I did covered the 137km from Napier to Taupo at 100kph regular speeds with over 20% to spare on a terrible day with a strong headwind.......and that pair of 750m hill climbs out of Napier toward Taupo is a big power sucker - petrol or electric.  

 

It's good to see that the 2017 i3 model made it OK from Napier to Taupo. But, would you have been game to take the old model (2014) pure electric i3 on the same journey? Yet, dealers want you to pay $45,000 for a 2014 pure electric i3 that I certainly wouldn't have the confidence to drive from Napier to Taupo!!!

As for the range of the 2017 pure electric i3, this review said that:

But where the original i3 had a theoretical range of 160km/h, or 300km with the range extender option, the 94Ah model in purely electric form claims up to 245km and up to 370km with the petrol range-extender option.

In the real world, of course, the 94Ah is more likely to cover a maximum of 200km on charge alone once you factor in air-conditioner use and other sources of energy consumption.

I think this is pretty much the conclusion of several other articles about the 2017 i3. In fact, I think the 28kWh Hyundai Ionic gets close to matching the range of the latest i3.

Yes, BMW do say that the batteries can be upgraded, but is this service available to NZ customers yet? I think a fitted price of US $10,000 may be nearer the mark?