Here is a new review of the BMW ActiveE by Bradley Berman in the New York Times. The reviewer is a Leaf owner and makes some comparisons. The accompanying photos show a couple of interesting shots, one of the front seat back resting against the front of the rear seat showing that the car is really only a 2 seat vehicle. Another showing the minimal trunk space. A third showing a "stop safely now" type of error message on the dashboard. There are some other photos of the car exterior and its special graphics touting its electric drive system.
The comments on the aggressive regen are certainly not news to the legions of Volt and hybrid drivers who routinely drive in L. It sounds as if the BMW regen is more aggressive than the regen on his Leaf because he seems too marvel at the ability to perform "one foot driving". I wish that the manufacturers could agree on a standard methodology to indicate the degree of regenerative braking that you are selecting when you pick a "gear". Even better would be the ability to choose the amount of regen braking within a certain range. Here is the URL and a quote.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/automobiles/taking-a-spin-in-an-electric-bmw-activee.html?_r=1&hpw
"The most remarkable feature carried over from the Mini E to the ActiveE is the very assertive regenerative braking, which applies strong deceleration as soon as you lift your foot off the accelerator. I drove the ActiveE down Marin Avenue, the steepest street in the Berkeley hills. Without my touching either pedal, the ActiveE slowly glided down the incline to 20 m.p.h. and eased to a crawl — as if in an ultralow “granny gear.” Imagine that same sub-first-gear feel applied on flat roads as soon as you lift your foot, bringing the car from 40 m.p.h. to a stop in about four seconds."
The comments on the aggressive regen are certainly not news to the legions of Volt and hybrid drivers who routinely drive in L. It sounds as if the BMW regen is more aggressive than the regen on his Leaf because he seems too marvel at the ability to perform "one foot driving". I wish that the manufacturers could agree on a standard methodology to indicate the degree of regenerative braking that you are selecting when you pick a "gear". Even better would be the ability to choose the amount of regen braking within a certain range. Here is the URL and a quote.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/automobiles/taking-a-spin-in-an-electric-bmw-activee.html?_r=1&hpw
"The most remarkable feature carried over from the Mini E to the ActiveE is the very assertive regenerative braking, which applies strong deceleration as soon as you lift your foot off the accelerator. I drove the ActiveE down Marin Avenue, the steepest street in the Berkeley hills. Without my touching either pedal, the ActiveE slowly glided down the incline to 20 m.p.h. and eased to a crawl — as if in an ultralow “granny gear.” Imagine that same sub-first-gear feel applied on flat roads as soon as you lift your foot, bringing the car from 40 m.p.h. to a stop in about four seconds."