Does ECO mode really impact the available distance ?

[JIS]

We are about to set off for Madrid in our new MG 4 Luxury 64kWh; around 500 miles. I am obviously still learning and this forum is fantastic at imparting loads of hints and tips. So thank you !
I am prepared to use ECO Mode and also set ECO in the settings if it really makes a difference. Otherwise I will stay in NORMAL mode. It won't impact my driving but it's nice to have a bit more acceleration when required.
Thoughts please.

 

[ReintjeWA]

It mostly affects throttle response (gentler acceleration curve) but in theory that could mean you use a little less power. It does some things under the hood as well (I think it affects battery heating and maybe sets your a/c into eco mode?) but it’s all very minor stuff. There is also the psychological effect from being in eco mode but you can’t really quantify that in range I think.

If you want to stretch your mileage just keep your speed as low as you are willing to go. The biggest range impact is how fast you’re going and 5km/h makes quite a big difference.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[JIS]

It mostly affects throttle response (gentler acceleration curve) but in theory that could mean you use a little less power. It does some things under the hood as well (I think it affects battery heating and maybe sets your a/c into eco mode?) but it’s all very minor stuff. There is also the psychological effect from being in eco mode but you can’t really quantify that in range I think.

If you want to stretch your mileage just keep your speed as low as you are willing to go. The biggest range impact is how fast you’re going and 5km/h makes quite a big difference.

Enjoy your trip!

Thanks! You have suggested what I had (myself, after 2,500 km) concluded. It's possibly why ABRP is so very pessimistic. Perhaps it always assumes that people drive in SPORT mode ? I am in discussion with ABRP about this as I feel that their forecasts are way too "conservative".

 

[Kithmo]

 

[GoElectric]

My first trip was exactly 500 miles with MG4 64. I recommend you take a look at ABRP plan beforehand. Maybe even, if you have Ionity in your country or any other good, fast (100 kW+) and cheap network and enable looking only for that in your ABRP. I find that with default energy consumption it was accurate within 1% when arriving to a charging station.

As for ECO, it works. At least for me. All of this also depends on the route you're driving on. If there are a lot of climbs (going uphill in general, from seaside to somewhere higher elevation) then you will see range dropping much faster.

On longer trips I recommend going for ~220 km (130 mi) stretches with 15-20 minute breaks on 150kW chargers. Charging between ~15% and ~90% to stay within the fast charging speed.

Also, don't forget to turn on Intelligent Battery Heating at least 20 min before coming to the charging station.

 

[decrep]

I find my speed varies quite a lot, This probably isn't ideal for efficiency, I'm going to try ECO to see if it helps keeping speed more constant.

 

[JonnyG]

I found starting with a fully warmed car (while on charge), 100% SoC and using Energy Saving Mode and ECO in the HVAC menu all work to increase range more effectively than ECO mode . However the biggest factor is the speed I travelled. Keeping it around 50-60mph improved range considerably over 70mph for me.

However if you plan your trip and charging stops in advance there is really no need for such measures. I always have a few backup charging stops prepared too and never need to use energy saving or ECO modes anymore.

From the manual :

"When the energy saving mode is enabled, the vehicle will operate on the minimal energy consumption. The power of the air conditioner is limited. The energy regeneration level is automatically adjusted and fixed to "strong". When the energy saving mode is turned off, the energy regeneration returns to the former-selected level. The energy saving mode can be turned on and off on the infotainment display"

 

[JIS]

My first trip was exactly 500 miles with MG4 64. I recommend you take a look at ABRP plan beforehand. Maybe even, if you have Ionity in your country or any other good, fast (100 kW+) and cheap network and enable looking only for that in your ABRP. I find that with default energy consumption it was accurate within 1% when arriving to a charging station.

As for ECO, it works. At least for me. All of this also depends on the route you're driving on. If there are a lot of climbs (going uphill in general, from seaside to somewhere higher elevation) then you will see range dropping much faster.

On longer trips I recommend going for ~220 km (130 mi) stretches with 15-20 minute breaks on 150kW chargers. Charging between ~15% and ~90% to stay within the fast charging speed.

Also, don't forget to turn on Intelligent Battery Heating at least 20 min before coming to the charging station.

I have yet to try the Intelligent Battery Heating. Not quite sure how I will manage this on the motorway whilst driving ! I guess one needs to think ahead constantly.

 

[siteguru]

Don't both with IBH ... it's not really intelligent. I'm not even sure it coordinates with the inbuilt satnav to trigger heating if the destination (or waypoint) is an EV charger.

 

[JIS]

Don't both with IBH ... it's not really intelligent. I'm not even sure it coordinates with the inbuilt satnav to trigger heating if the destination (or waypoint) is an EV charger.

OK so a conflicting view . Tomorrow when I do a 20%-->80% charge I will be in Bayonne (SW France) and the temp will be 11°C. Thoughts ?

 

[siteguru]

I don't have the Trophy/Luxury so I can't comment with authority ... but my opinion would still be - don't bother with IBH. It's up to you though.

 

[fnegroni]

OK so a conflicting view . Tomorrow when I do a 20%-->80% charge I will be in Bayonne (SW France) and the temp will be 11C. Thoughts ?

if at the start of your journey the battery is at 11°C, neither the pre-heating option in the app nor the IBH onboard will activate.

Of the battery temp is below 10°C, pre heating it might be unnecessary.

The IBH works this way: if battery temperature is below 10°C, bring battery up to 17°C.
If in ECO driving mode, the IBH will be disabled automatically.

If I were you, I would possibly not bother with it if the ambient temps are around 11°C - after a bit of driving the battery will be at or above 11°C anyway and as soon as you rapid charge, the battery will start to warm up quickly and won’t cost you much in terms of time to reach 80%. If you were to charge from a higher SoC, say 60% or more, then warming up the battery might be a good idea but only if the battery temp is below 10°C.

The above is the reason I normally leave IBH enabled in winter in the UK when av temps during my journeys are between 0 and 5°C (morning and evening)
If I’m going on a short trip I simply put the car in ECO mode and that disabled the IBH plus it’s better to drive in ECO mode when the battery is cold.

 

[PeteC]

OK so a conflicting view . Tomorrow when I do a 20%-->80% charge I will be in Bayonne (SW France) and the temp will be 11C. Thoughts ?

I have never used battery heating on my Trophy. We just drove down from Scotland (350 miles) in similar temperatures and the car pulled 130kW+ from the charger mid journey at around 30% SOC. I can't see how it would have been much if any more had I used IBH as that's nearing the best it will do!

This picture was taken a while ago on a Tesla charger. As you can see, the temp is 3°C and it's charging fine without using battery heating.

 

[fnegroni]

I have never used battery heating on my Trophy. We just drove down from Scotland (350 miles) in similar temperatures and the car pulled 130kW+ from the charger mid journey at around 30% SOC. I can't see how it would have been much if any more had I used IBH as that's nearing the best it will do!

This picture was taken a while ago on a Tesla charger. As you can see, the temp is 3C and it's charging fine without using battery heating.

it’s the battery temperature that counts: if your battery was already warmed up through driving it then it won’t matter much.
Again it’s about SoC too: when charging from 30% the BMS knows the battery doesn’t have to be super warm to start pulling higher current rates. But if you was to charge from 60 or 70% it would be a different story.

 

[PeteC]

it’s the battery temperature that counts: if your battery was already warmed up through driving it then it won’t matter much.

That's why I've never bothered with battery heating on a journey. I will only need to charge after I've driven a good distance.

Again it’s about SoC too: when charging from 30% the BMS knows the battery doesn’t have to be super warm to start pulling higher current rates. But if you was to charge from 60 or 70% it would be a different story.

Of course, which is why I stated SOC!

 

[stevegus]

My experience of driving to south of France this year was that you have comprehensive Total electric charging station on autoroutes

So much better provision than here in UK

 

[GoElectric]

For the sake of range, use IBH.

Result of between -3°C and 0°C and forgetting to turn IBH on on the way home... 60% of battery consumed, 135 km done, 24% remaining and 84 km of range. 60% at these temperatures usually gets me close to 200 km with IBH.

 

[crl84]

Might as well ask this question here:

Tomorrow lunchtime, I'm doing approx 150mile motorway journey. Temperature will be around 0 degrees.
Current battery SoC is about 90%.

Should I charge up to 100% tonight, or is there any benefit in waiting until about 2hrs before I set off tomorrow on my journey to charge up, therefore "heating" the battery for a couple of hours, and making it a little more efficient? Or is the amount of heat that will get into the battery from 2hrs AC charging at home pretty irrelevant?

Planning on using Eco Mode and stick to around 60-65mph

 

[siteguru]

Heat from AC charging will be essentially zero. Unless you also toggle on Battery Heating in the app to run whilst you're charging. That way you'll charge up and not waste any stored charge on heating the battery (as the energy will be replaced by charge from the mains).

 

[GoElectric]

Might as well ask this question here:

Tomorrow lunchtime, I'm doing approx 150mile motorway journey. Temperature will be around 0 degrees.
Current battery SoC is about 90%.

Should I charge up to 100% tonight, or is there any benefit in waiting until about 2hrs before I set off tomorrow on my journey to charge up, therefore "heating" the battery for a couple of hours, and making it a little more efficient? Or is the amount of heat that will get into the battery from 2hrs AC charging at home pretty irrelevant?

Planning on using Eco Mode and stick to around 60-65mph

If need be, replenish a bit of charge on the way there (plan for this contingency, ABRP app is good for this). Keep yourself warm with AC, battery warm with IBH. The range drops off quite a bit in sub zero temps. Pre-warm the battery with the specified function before you go, so IBH will need to work less on the way there. Warm up due to charging only is negligible as is warm up due to driving on highway.