BMW ActiveE – driving electric

Today I joined DriveNow, a car sharing service from BMW, and tested the new electric BMW ActiveE. As we have argued earlier, electric car sharing is the future of urban mobility. There are only a few of them here in Berlin. The cars all have names, mine was named Isabella (other ActiveE models are named Elizabeth, Elly, Emma, Harald, Jason, Matthew, and Liam). Isabella drives really well, the acceleration is awesome. Delivering an output of 125 kW and max. torque of 250 Nm (184 lb-ft), the BMW ActiveE sprints to 100 km/h (62 mph) in just 9 sec., while the lithium-ion battery gives it a range of around 160 km (100 miles).

Isabelle is very silent, and if you stop at the traffic light she is absolutely quiet. I love to drive this car, it feels like a BMW i 3 series from the future. I hope I will see Isabella again 😉 5 minutes after I finished the drive she vanished from the map, which means someone else has booked her. A few hours later, Isabella appeared again in a different district of Berlin. I drove 1 1/2 hours through Berlin, which made about 20 € ( ~17 € per hour, a bit more than a 3D film in the cinema). It was really fun!

It is important to test, use and support new technologies that enable us to cope with the universal problems of global warming, sustainable living, and air pollution in urban areas. Consumption of fossil fuels leads to global warming and ocean acidification at an alarming rate. We can only find a ways out of these difficult, global problems together with the industry. The electric drive components of the BMW ActiveE for instance are a pre-production test version of those designed for the forthcoming BMWi3.

Why is driving electric the future?

• We can not consume endless amounts of oil forever. Natural resources are limited.
• Gasoline is toxic. Some ingredients like Benzene are carcinogenic
• Electric vehicles are better for the environment: they mean no usage of fossil fuels, no CO2 emission, and no noise
• It’s a better driving experience