BMW i3 Adventure Day 3
I woke up early on the 3rd day, unable to sleep in my low end motel. I set out at 5 am from Santa Rosa and hit the road. I had hoped to finish the last 1000 miles today, so might as well start early.
I left I-40 at Tucumcari and headed onto US 54 E, which was a lot more remote road. Sure enough, had to stop and fill up from my 5 gallon gas tank shortly into Texas not far from Dalhart. Not a lot for this 94 mile stretch. My recommendation is to stay at a hotel in Tucumcari that allows charging, would have made this a breeze (and if you have a coded car would allow cruising along here at the speed limit).
What I found interesting is Highway 54 is only a 2 lane highway with 75 mph limit in Texas, but when it reaches Oklahoma it splits to 4 lanes and the speed limit actually drops to 65 mph. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to maintain 75 in Texas, but it least the road was pretty quiet with plenty of passing opportunities for vehicles so I never had anyone get impatient to get around me even if I was only driving 68 or so.
Once I hit the panhandle of Oklahoma, there were a lot more small towns and gas wasn’t a problem until Witchita. One benefit of stopping every 45 minutes for gas is it kept me awake and fresh and a little stressed out looking for the next gas station. I was constantly using the POI database in the i3 Pro Navigation to find the next gas station and deciding the furthest one I could make based on my remaining range. I never ran out of gas, but came close several times rolling in with 1 or 2 miles range remaining (according to dash).
In Witchita I decided to hit up the free 24 kW CCS charger at BMW of Witchita, a free charger and the dealer was friendly. They had to move one of their cars from the station. I used my phone to activate the Charge Point station and I was blown away how quick it charged (never used more than L2 before). After 45 minutes the charge was starting to taper and I was mostly full up anyway so I headed on my way.
I was getting tired and figured there was no chance I would make Cedar Rapids, IA so I decided to find a hotel with a charger in Kansas City. There was plenty to choose from and ended up at a place near the road. After the long day of driving I had only made about 700 miles. At least it meant a nice quick drive the next day.
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Hi: I would love to learn about your final 300 miles and your summary thoughts on the I3 Rex.
I came upon your blog when I bought my Honda Clarity at the same time as you. When my wife and I decided to commit to a weekly return trip of 220 miles for family reasons, I almost bought the I3 Rex. But I decided on Clarity for its overall cruise range. The Clarity has served us very well, even at our regular trips to Toronto (1000 miles return). I was hoping for a Tesla model 3. We went to the Toronto showroom and my wife hated the door handle (a deal breaker). Why make a door handle that requires youtube instructions? Now I have wait for the next generation Model 3 or a long range EV competitor.
Yeah, door handles on Model 3 look a bit difficult. I am curious what I would think after using them for a couple weeks.
The Clarity is definitely a better family or only car than the i3 Rex. Still love that car and we have already put a lot of miles on it. This is more my commuter car.
I finally put up day 4.