Do you foresee an electric vehicle (EV) in your future but are commitment-phobic? Or still clinging to your gas guzzler because you're afraid an EV's range won't get you where you want to go? Or just because you love the smell of burning petrol in the morning?
If you're curious about EV ownership, BMW has just released a free app called EVolve for iPhone and Android that lets you virtually test drive an EV using your typical driving patterns in your own car. And it purports to tell you if you're a good match for an EV after only three trips.
Think of it as virtual speed dating, Except if you speed you fail the compatibility test. But as a consolation you get to test drive a gas-free future. And help with BMW's crowd-sourced efforts to get us there.
After downloading BMW EVolve from the Apple App Store now or Android Market soon, type in your area code, name and email address, and then the app tracks your travels using the GPS chip imbedded in your phone to determine if an EV is a good match for you and your daily driving.
The app can track individual trips and lets you virtually charge your virtual EV while parked. It also records your driving and charging times. And so that you can feel greener this Earth Day — or dirtier for driving your gas guzzler — it calculates how much less CO2 emissions you would have added to the environment and how many gallons of gas you could have saved while driving an EV.
Your results from using the app can also be synced with an EV Dashboard at BMWActivateTheFuture.com to obtain a more detailed analysis of your driving — and so that BMW can leverage the data from you and other drivers for the collective good.
Or at least that's what they're saying they're doing with the info.
Check out the video below for Autoblog's review of the app.
