BMW i3 MPGe = 124! Officially The Most Efficient Car In The United States

The BMW i3 has just gotten its official United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ratings. According to the EPA, the BMW i3 fuel efficiency is 124 MPGe, which is the best in the US, 5 MPGe better than the Chevy Spark EV…. and 74 MPG/MPGe better than the Toyota Prius!

The city range is estimated to be 138 MPGe, while the highway range is estimated at 111 MPGe.

As far as range goes, the EPA says that the BMW i3 has 81 miles of range on a full charge. Not amazing, but not bad. The Nissan LEAF’s range is 84 miles, while the Tesla Model S is far above that at 208 miles.

With the EPA numbers in, the BMW i3 can now be sold on the US market. Initial deliveries, if they didn’t start today, will likely start tomorrow. There are clearly many people waiting for their vehicles. BMW executives said last year that there were 10,000 pre-orders in place for the BMW i3. We’ll have to wait about a month to see how May “sales”/deliveries turn out.

The price tag on the BMW i3 is $41,350 before any incentives, which makes it $33,850 after the US federal tax credit for EVs, and $31,350 after the federal tax credit and an EV rebate for buyers in the biggest electric car market in the US — California. That’s a mere $100 less than the coming Mercedes B-Class Electric, which is supposed to have a similar range (84 miles) and acceleration (0–60 MPH in 7.9 seconds versus the BMW i3′s 7.2 seconds).

For my full opinion on the BMW i3 after a couple of test drives, see: BMW i3 Review (+ Video)

(Oh yeah, these numbers above are for the 100% battery-electric BMW i3, not the BMW i3 REx.)