Driving range

AlsyPalsy

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ZS EV
Apologies if this has already been discussed, but there are are so many threads it is hard to find what I am looking for.
I have a new MG ZS EV
It is claimed to have a range of 440 km, but I'll be lucky to get 320 out of a full charge.
Is this normal?

Allan. MELBOURNE
 
Hi Allan and welcome to the forum.

I have the same car and normally only charge to 80% which give me around the same figure you get, 320-380.

I have only done one 100% charge so far and this gave a range of 418.
 
It is claimed to have a range of 440 km, but I'll be lucky to get 320 out of a full charge.
Is this normal?
A new car has rarely been charged fully, spending a lot of time on a ship or in a warehouse or sales lot. It can take a few weeks of 100% charges, leaving the plug in after the charge appears to be finished; that's when balancing happens.

An unbalanced main battery will exhibit poor real-life range.

Once your main battery is balanced, only charge it to 80% most of the time, except before a long trip of course, and charge to 100% about once a month to keep it balanced.
 
Thanks. I should have also mentioned that the forecasted charge say 300 is completely wrong, and I only get 200 till the battery is very low
 
Thanks. I should have also mentioned that the forecasted charge say 300 is completely wrong, and I only get 200 till the battery is very low
Difficult to determine because it depends on many factors. Maybe outside temp( though I guess not so in Oz),driving style etc. Is it long range or standard range ?
Charge to 100% a few times see if it improves or pop it back to the dealer...or both 😉
 
Outside temperature
Speed
Head or tailwind
Water on the road
How much you use the heating in the car
Preheating the battery

All of the above affects the range.

As a rule of thumb, the range advertised is only possible on a warm sunny day, with dry warm roads, max 90 kph and no wind or tailwind.

Nothing different from a petrol or diesel, they are also not easy to make, do what they were advertised to per liter.

The reason electric vehicles are hit a lot harder is, 90-95% of the energy is used for propulsion, where as in a petrol and diesel car it's 20-30%, the rest is just heat, so if you do 20% less in winter the EV will do 20% of 90% less, while the petrol or diesel will do 20% of the 20-30%.
 
Also the advertised range is derived from having ECO mode engaged.
Question: what range model is your car? Long Range or Standard Range? Difficult to be precise without that basic info.

hmadsen, not quite sure what you are saying ref EV's will do 20% of 90% less while petrol or diesels will do 20% of the 20% to 30%!! I'm guessing you are trying to make some sort of 'thermal efficiency' comparison? Explain please. It doesn't quite make sense.
 
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Also the advertised range is derived from having ECO mode engaged.
Question: what range model is your car? Long Range or Standard Range? Difficult to be precise without that basic info.

hmadsen, not quite sure what you are saying ref EV's will do 20% of 90% less while petrol or diesels will do 20% of the 20% to 30%!! I'm guessing you are trying to make some sort of 'thermal efficiency' comparison? Explain please. It doesn't quite make sense.
Yup, when you only use 30% of the energy you put into a petrol engine for propulsion then the hit in winter is less than an electric where 90% goes into propulsion.

This is why you can have as much as half the range in winter, compared to summer in an EV, but you petrol goes from doing 20 kilometer per liter to maybe doing 18.

Another reason is, in winter you use a lot more energy to heat the electric, but since the petrol produces a lot more heat, than you actually need, even in winter, it does not affect the range
 
Yup, when you only use 30% of the energy you put into a petrol engine for propulsion then the hit in winter is less than an electric where 90% goes into propulsion.

This is why you can have as much as half the range in winter, compared to summer in an EV, but you petrol goes from doing 20 kilometer per liter to maybe doing 18.

Another reason is, in winter you use a lot more energy to heat the electric, but since the petrol produces a lot more heat, than you actually need, even in winter, it does not affect the range
Thank you hmadsen.

You are correct in some of your assertions but I can tell you that EV's are easily hitting 92% efficiency these days. That's the norm now. While petrol engine thermal efficiency is variable depending on the engine. Here in Europe an average around 30-43% is quite normal now. But over 50% efficiency is also achievable on certain engines.

Regarding the amount of range drop experienced by an EV in winter, that is variable but I've never ever seen a 50% drop & don't know anyone who has. Remember, the range that is shown also depends on how the car has been driven previously. My own EV cars experience only a small drop in range in winter. In freezing conditions of -3 after charging to 80% I was still getting 239-245 miles actual. In temps of around 15c it would normally be 260 miles. In summer about 275 miles on an 80% charge. That's with my car set to 'normal' mode. 100% of course give a lot more range. A colleague of mine gets about the same.

My petrol car goes from a summer average of between 48-56mpg dependant on temp & type of journey, to 39-44mpg in winter, again dependant on temp & journey type.
 
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Data, I think you are relying on the GOM too much for your figures. My experience of my 2020 car is that the REAL range does not vary nearly as much as the GOM would suggest. The real test is whether you can survive the trip without using heating or cooling, and can put up with 55mph. Do all that and you will get the advertised range of the car, in my case 160 miles. Thus be aware that changing any of those three items will hurt you in miles lost. It's that simple.
 
Thanks Tim for your comments. Yes, that's what I've found. The range on the GOM & my REAL ACTUAL range varies little in my normal everyday driving, as per my post above. As you will know whether someone's GOM is fairly representative of ACTUAL range depends on several things & relates to the type of journeys you make, driving style & speeds, traffic encountered etc etc. Using the heating or AC cooling seems not to have very much effect on range in my car. I deal in real range, not the GOM. I use the GOM for reference only.

Mostly I charge to 75-80% which gives me fantastic range. Interestingly, yesterday I charged to 100%, ready for a very long drive. The GOM showed a range of 328 miles! Never had that much showing before in this car as only bought this one in January in very cold conditions. Previously 100% showed 305 miles on a very cold day. So percentage wise, there's not much difference between those two 100% charges. It's just 23 miles. Actual range wouldn't, for me, be too far different either from my experience with the car so far. So very pleased with the cars range. Important to realise range is always going to vary, sometimes by a lot from driver to driver. Same as it is for petrol car drivers. But I'm sure you know that.
PS. I don't drive like a granny. It's mostly short dual carriageway trips at 65-70 & country road driving.
 
Data. You are still quoting GOM figures which mean nothing! Your LR model REAL range is 250 miles. And I can assure you that figure will be less if you use Heating or cruise over 70mph.
 
Yep 250 or less matches my experience over the last 3 months but I also heat the car & use the radio. The weighted average miles per kW is rising and now sits at 3.1. As I normally charge at home and on Octopus IGO that is 7p per 3.1 miles. I think I can afford the heat.
 
As I said Tim, I use GOM for reference purposes only, & it's interesting to keep an eye on. Perhaps read my post again.

My ACTUAL range varies just like anyone else's. Although as I said above, mine doesn't vary that much due to the sort of journeys I do. I can assure you my actual 100% charged range is a lot more than 250 miles. In winter on the sort of journeys I do I was getting nearer 285 miles. Admittedly, that only included very few hops onto dualcarriageways. Of course heating etc affects range as I acknowledged but doesn't seem to make very much difference in my car the way you were implying. But again, it will be different for everyone for differing reasons.
 
I did a round trip of 288 miles in December 2023 with a few percent to spare when I got home.
 
That's very good Gadget. I had 9% battery left when I covered 285 miles. I don't normally take it down that low as it's not so great for the battery.
Agreed, although I knew when I reached home I could charge. Also I read somewhere that occasionally taking the battery really low and charging to 100% is good for its health.
 
Agreed, although I knew when I reached home I could charge. Also I read somewhere that occasionally taking the battery really low and charging to 100% is good for its health.

From what I read, going below 10% is damaging, not good for the long term battery life but I do remember reading somewhere that it's good to occasionally balance from 10% to 100%. I do 10%-100% once a year and other times from about 25% - 100% every 6-8 weeks or so ...
(p.s. I only have granny 3kW charger so can only balance when the car is not needed)
 
As I understand it, the Battery management system allows a margin at both upper and lower ends so the bottom 10% is probably not that low....
If you have a range, you must be able to use it.
 
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