BMW's Tesla Model 3 Rival To Go Further On Its Battery

BMW's has updated its little green city car, the i3 for 2017, to ensure that its drivers can go further on a single charge of its battery pack.

BMW has added a more denser battery which now means that the powerpack now has a capacity of 33kWh compared to the 22kWh battery pack found on the current generation of the i3.

The new battery pack takes four-and-a-half hours to charge with BMW's Level 2 charger. However, by using a 50kW DC fast charger, the i3's battery can be topped up to 80 percent in just 40 minutes.

The increase in capacity has meant that while the battery's physical size has remained the same, the weight of the car has gone up by 45 kilograms.

The increase in capacity has upped the range from 129 kilometers (80 miles) to a much more respectable 183 kilometers (114 miles).

The hybrid i3 range extender which uses a 2-cylinder 650cc engine along with the battery pack also receives a boost in the capacity of the fuel tank which has grown from 7.1 litres(1.9 gallons) to 9.1 litres (2.4 gallons). BMW, however has not released the range figure the new i3 Range Extender.

The 2017 i3 will compete with the Tesla Model 3 when it hits the roads next year.