Do you ‘coast’ in your EV? Is it just a complete waste of time and energy or a useful option?

[Cocijo]

I’ve noticed some advocates of coasting in threads. Others don’t see the point. I thought it would be interesting to see how many actually use it. You can select up to 3 answers.

 

[Deleted member 823]

Back when I was learning to drive, a long time ago admittedly, I remember being told coasting was illegal. Is that still the case? Never used it in the MG, don't see the point, only done it on bikes when I hit a false neutral ?

 

[Cocijo]

There’s a thread somewhere debating this, i’ll see of i can find it. No many coasters so far!

 

[Cocijo]

Back when I was learning to drive, a long time ago admittedly, I remember being told coasting was illegal. Is that still the case? Never used it in the MG, don't see the point, only done it on bikes when I hit a false neutral ?

This thread spins off into a coasting discusiion…

Miles/kWh

Coasting in N is not advisable and downright dangerous and I believe illegal?

www.mgevs.com

 

[Jake]

When on a descent by feathering the throttle to keep the power indicator at 0% is that not equivalent to coasting yet maintaining full control?

 

[VenumX]

Is this even allowed ? I mean....like....in the manual.. ? I think I read somewhere not to coast... Could be wrong tho

 

[Cocijo]

Still no pro-coaster votes…

 

[Rabtmac]

I was taught to coast when I learned to drive a long time ago I admit, but I could see the sense in it going from 4/5th coast coming close to a junction select the gear for your speed if all clear and off you go again.
Did that on my test and the examiner never questioned it?? (Might have been trained the same way himself)
But in an EV isn't it better to regen rather than coast???

 

[VenumX]

The manual of the MG EHS (page 147) says " Do NOT coast in neutral" ....could be on the ICE tho.....

 

[Lovemyev]

I pasted my driving test many many years ago, but I was of the opinion that it was against the law to carry out coasting ????.
It is seen that you don’t have full 100% control of your vehicle IF you are required to take emergency action.
Like WAY back in the day ( pre brake servo days ) when people would actually turn off their engines on a long down hill sloop to save a bit of petrol ? !.
You are in affect “Free Wheeling”.
I really can’t see the point of it to be totally honest.
If you are at the stage where this type of action is considered the “Norm” to save a very small percentage of range, then you would have to question your original choice of car in my opinion.

 

[JohnB]

Coasting in Neutral makes more sense in an ICE car when you can dip the clutch and disconnect the engine from the drivetrain and roll freely. Neutral in an EV is purely an electronics 'game'. The motor is always connected to the wheels, so feathering the power to be 0% used is exactly what Neutral is doing.
What switching to Neutral will do is to keep your attention on how efficiently you are driving. I am willing to bet it's this attention and not the switching that has the most effect. I've had plenty of years hypermiling in an ICE with the usual "coasting in Neutral, accelerate down hill, coast up" stuff. It takes a lot of attention even once you get used to it. In an EV just set the cruise control to a couple of mph slower and you'll get the same benefit without the stress.

 

[BarryH]

This is an irrelevant question surly as KERS 1 is surly in effect coasting since there is no possibility of pressing a clutch peddle or true Neutral Gear in the MG EV. Selecting N is an electrical selection and mechanically the drive train is permanently engaged.

So the better question to as is "Do you use KERS 1 in your EV or is it a complete waste of time"

Discuss

 

[BarryH]

This is an irrelevant question surly as KERS 1 is surly in effect coasting since there is no possibility of pressing a clutch peddle or true Neutral Gear in the MG EV. Selecting N is an electrical selection and mechanically the drive train is permanently engaged.

So the better question to as is "Do you use KERS 1 in your EV or is it a complete waste of time"

Discuss

My answer is "Rarely" have I use KERS 1 unless on a long Motorway stretch. Early in my EV ownership I played with all three levels and have found on general driving the default KERS 3 and feathering the throttle is the most practical although I sure that there is a slight edge to be gained for hyper mile-ing on KERS 1 if traffic conditions permit. Personally I'd like the option for the car to keep the last used KERS setting as an option or in the Car Settings options allow owners to set the default Kers just as you can set the sensitivity level of other Driver Assist options.

 

[Lovemyev]

My answer is "Rarely" have I use KERS 1 unless on a long Motorway stretch. Early in my EV ownership I played with all three levels and have found on general driving the default KERS 3 and feathering the throttle is the most practical although I sure that there is a slight edge to be gained for hyper mile-ing on KERS 1 if traffic conditions permit. Personally I'd like the option for the car to keep the last used KERS setting as an option or in the Car Settings options allow owners to set the default Kers just as you can set the sensitivity level of other Driver Assist options.

Oh - Me !.
I never bother with switching drive modes or KERS to be honest, not because I am too lazy.
But I have to agree with @BarryH .
I feel that feathering the "GO" pedal in the default mode achieves the same result if the car is driven carefully.
Today we made a quick and simple 75 mile trip ( in our favoured default mode ) achieved 5.2 m/kwh on the reset accumulative trip meter before starting.
So I am really happy enough with that.
I don't honestly think switching to ECO and switching the KERS setting around, would have given me much more really ?.
I have driven the car for the last 18 months and 13,000 miles now and think I have a pretty good feeling for how the car reacts to my right foot over that time.
Everybody has the settings that suits their driving style and the type of trips they make.
No two people / cars / settings are ever going to be exactly the same folks.

 

[Iain]

I would have thought that coasting is the same as towing - only using gravity as your tow.
As the manual clearly states that four wheel (on the road) towing is not permitted I would be wary of coasting.
The manual also states that pushing your car onto a transporter should be limited to no more than 3mph for maximum of 3 minutes.
As a Scotsman I am all for saving money but in this case I will stick with drive.

 

[MOrr5]

You don't need to knock it into neutral in order to mimic '0' regen or coast mode .
ZSEV
I use it frequently when in ACC as it can't engage kers . You simply set the ACC to say 45 and drive at 60-65 . It will effectively coast but you are still in full control in drive & the camera / radar will still engage auto brake if someone cuts into your space or brakes

 

[Brianlescargot]

You cannot coast in the ZS EV like an ICE car as regen is always on even in the lowest setting. If you are on the motorway set the KERS to the lowest setting though to maximise downhill stretches. Either or, you will never visibly see any difference to your range. You can however coast downhill in an ICE car in gear and it will use absolutely no fuel as the vehicle momentum is what keeps the engine running.

 

[Exdro]

I’ve noticed some advocates of coasting in threads. Others don’t see the point. I thought it would be interesting to see how many actually use it. You can select up to 3 answers.

"Coasting" in neutral is dangerous and pointless. If you are on a long straight level patch with no accelerator input needed, you are not using any electricity and if you set it on KERS1 you will still benefit from some engine braking and battery regeneration. I would strongly counsel against coasting where you have no control of the car.

 

[MOrr5]

You cannot coast in the ZS EV like an ICE car as regen is always on even in the lowest setting. If you are on the motorway set the KERS to the lowest setting though to maximise downhill stretches. Either or, you will never visibly see any difference to your range. You can however coast downhill in an ICE car in gear and it will use absolutely no fuel as the vehicle momentum is what keeps the engine running.

You can 'coast' in the MGZS EV , see above

 

[Adee]

I am a firm advocate of coasting in ICE cars for maximising fuel economy. As far as I can see, the associated risks are no greater than other negligent driving activities (such as being in the wrong gear at a junction etc).

BUT I haven't (yet) done it in the electric car (except for one exploratory attempt at low speeds) for the simple reason that I am not sure what would happen if you inadvertently stuck the car into reverse whilst turning the knob too far anti-clockwise in the process of trying to select neutral. It's a real possibility and could have disastrous consequences. Has anyone any experience of this? I have more experimentation to do on this but I'm not in any great hurry as I believe that you are unlikely to get much (if any) advantage by coasting in an electric vehicle with regen. Also I need to understand the drive system better to make a judgement. Nevertheless my left hand still wants to reach out and push the gearbox into neutral on downhills