Eeking out range

[smokie]

It feels like many EV drivers are on a mission to absolutely maximise their range/minimise their cost by sacrificing warmth, comfort, travel time, fun etc etc.

I'd be tending towards this if I knew I had to "public charge" on a long trip but how many ever even thought or cared about it when driving an ICE?

Pretty much wherever you charge I believe the fuel cost per mile is generally cheaper in an EV.

I suppose it's mainly because public refuelling is simply more difficult, but also we have a more readily accessible window into where the electrons are going and how we can affect that.

 

[JCFlippen]

With home charging for most of my mileage I do not cut back on a/c or anything else other than sticking to 60-65 on the motorway when safe to do so. The discipline of sticking to speed limits as we all should brings a bonus of its own in increased range.

I think the rewards of helping the planet and saving a load of fuel cash at the same time in the short term is enough for now. I realise that any future government will be gunning for us at some point to make up for lost fuel tax but I will worry about that whenever.

The enjoyment of driving an EV is hard to describe but I love it.

 

[Ian MG5]

I charge up to 80% from around 30% every week
Once a month I do a balance charge
I use the car as I would use any other car heating on radio on and any other creature comforts on
When I do a long trip I will just calculate extra stops and time in to my schedule
???????

 

[AnonymouseDriva]

I cared before. Well, when I got my first car and was thrashing my little 950cc fiesta around at 50p/litre I didn't, but more recently I definitely did. I think the difference for me was the average consumption readout on the car that showed me that dropping 10mph on the motorway and driving smoothly could save me a good 15-20% on my fuel cost.

With the EV, initially it was more about knowing what economy I can get out of it for those occasional trips. After that, I find I'm becoming less bothered as I have reached the realisation that 15-20% of my electric usage is a lot lower financial impact than 15-20% of my diesel bill, especially given that 99% of my charging is currently on Octopus Go Faster at 4.5%. Might have to reconsider that when my deal runs out in September though...

To be fair, I never gave up on comfort though. Being warm / cool and comfortable is important to me! If DS wants to plug his nintendo in to keep him occupied, then fine. Going camping? the 3 way fridge (8A/12v) will be plugged in for the trip.

Now I have an idea of what is achievable, I worry less about accelerating that bit more sharply (as opposed to keeping the needle below 20%) and travelling at 70 here and there (Well, on motorways that is. Still avoid doing that past schools...). It's a habit that's hard to get out of though as I'm used to trying to get the most out of expensive fuel. It was all about cost for me though, not range. Going electric has changed the reason, and now that reason is only valid for the occasional trip further afield for me.

It's just a change in mindset for the longer trips. Coming back from a camping trip in Dumfries (170 miles, 5LR, fully charged from the EHU, full car and roofbox, cold, wet and getting dark) I could have probably got home in one go (we got there in the dry with the same weight and drag and 30 miles spare) but instead of thinking 'do I stop and charge?' my mindset was more 'we need to stop for some grub. If I stop there, I can whack it on a rapid for 15 mins whilst I get something.'

It still pains me to pay 35p+/KwH compared to the go Faster rate, but at the end of the day, if the companies don't make enough to fund the installation and the maintenance of the charger with a reasonable profit to cover the effort, then they're not going to install them. and it's still cheaper than diesel. Usually.

 

[AnonymouseDriva]

I use the car as I would use any other car heating on radio on and any other creature comforts on
When I do a long trip I will just calculate extra stops and time in to my schedule
???????

pretty much what I was getting at, but in considerably less words

 

[smokie]

I wasn't having a go at anyone with this thread btw, just musing out loud...

I was absolutely the same with my previous car, where there it was a light hearted forum-based "challenge" to get over 40 electric miles and some reached over 50, before the ICE kicked in,

Also for about the first year of having Octopus smart meters and a hand cranked program which downloads my half-hourly electricity and gas consumption I became somewhat obsessive over that - but it did make me realise where money was being wasted, at quite a rate on some things, and my usage has dropped immensely with no real impact on my life. I still look at it but now only monthly to compare how I'm doing against previous years.

But I suppose I now tend to (usually) drive more carefully anyway, and many of the tips and tricks which are usefully being shared with new owners are already incorporated into my day to day driving - though every day is still a learning day!!!

 

[AnonymouseDriva]

I wasn't having a go at anyone with this thread btw, just musing out loud...

I don't think anyone thought you were. It's a valid (and very good) question that encompasses the challenge of 'hypermiling' to reduce cost per mile (or just be top of the leader-board!) , the manifestation of range anxiety, and the question of what you would be prepared to put up with to avoid a stop on a longer journey...

I also find I'm a much 'smoother' driver in the '5, but I put that more down to going from a manual transmission and an engine with a distinctive 'power band' to a fixed gearbox and an engine that gives power throughout.

 

[johnd973]

I try and get the most efficiency out of everything because whether something runs on petrol or electric, it still has an environmentally impact and we should be reducing those regardless, shouldn't we?

I don't sacrifice things like heating in the car though as I think it's important to be comfortable when driving (for safety's sake) and in my experience you can improve efficiency a lot more by changing driving style and effective use of KERS than you can by turning off the heating!

 

[Mg5van]

My vehicles work for me not the other way around. I'm going to drive mine how I always drive. Electric is far cheaper than diesel. Screw cheap tariffs plug in whenever it's needed and carry on.

 

[PhevsamHS]

This is where the WLTP range is farcical! The true range should be given after testing in all conditions including passenger comfort warm/cool/stereo/loaded/family trip/ motorway/winter/summer Only then can you give a true range based on these. Why should we be eking out every mile when the WLTP says a range? I believe this system needs scrapping and a new test put in its place. IMO.

 

[lebelinconnu]

I think that just the fact that the range is less than an ICE vehicle can encourage people to focus more on economy. When I first got my Leaf I had to get in a different mindset- with my previous diesel car 30 miles remaining would have caused me to get to a petrol station ASAP, with the Leaf it is a third of the battery! That's one of the reasons I'm looking forward to getting my MG5 LR- I'll feel able to drive it more normally and have far less range anxiety. In this weather my 30kwh Leaf will do 70 miles if I am incredibly careful, as after 70000 miles there has been a bit if battery degradation.

 

[Iain]

This is where the WLTP range is farcical! The true range should be given after testing in all conditions including passenger comfort warm/cool/stereo/loaded/family trip/ motorway/winter/summer Only then can you give a true range based on these. Why should we be eking out every mile when the WLTP says a range? I believe this system needs scrapping and a new test put in its place. IMO.

I completely agree and would suggest the WLTP range should be based on the 80% to 20% figure to allow fair comparison for BEVs.
No one is going to run an ICE car until there are only fumes left in the tank. Similarly, under normal conditions, we are not going to plan a journey where we are on our last electron before arriving at our destination.

 

[Gomev]

I completely agree and would suggest the WLTP range should be based on the 80% to 20% figure to allow fair comparison for BEVs.
No one is going to run an ICE car until there are only fumes left in the tank. Similarly, under normal conditions, we are not going to plan a journey where we are on our last electron before arriving at our destination.

This is where the WLTP range is farcical! The true range should be given after testing in all conditions including passenger comfort warm/cool/stereo/loaded/family trip/ motorway/winter/summer Only then can you give a true range based on these. Why should we be eking out every mile when the WLTP says a range? I believe this system needs scrapping and a new test put in its place. IMO.

Any comparison for anything is fine so long as the testing is the same for everything. WLTP is the same test for all cars, so is a fair comparison. You can only make comparisons, the basis doesn't matter so long as it is the same for all.
WLTP is a tested comparison, real world can only be guessed at. If you want to see real world guesstimates look at EV Database

 

[Rocinante]

I think that just the fact that the range is less than an ICE vehicle can encourage people to focus more on economy. When I first got my Leaf I had to get in a different mindset- with my previous diesel car 30 miles remaining would have caused me to get to a petrol station ASAP, with the Leaf it is a third of the battery! That's one of the reasons I'm looking forward to getting my MG5 LR- I'll feel able to drive it more normally and have far less range anxiety. In this weather my 30kwh Leaf will do 70 miles if I am incredibly careful, as after 70000 miles there has been a bit if battery degradation.

What was the range new on the Leaf ? Over 100miles I believe.
Should EV owner expect a 30-40% degradation by 70000 miles ? What will it be like by 100,000miles ?

 

[Dave Robottom]

The WLTP test is not designed to give real world results but as a comparison between vehicles. It is carried out under lab conditions. The skilled test driver maximises the range while keeping within the test spec. Been there, done that (but not that skilled).

 

[smokie]

I'd have thought much of the Test driving" is done by computer simulation, or at least automated rolling road, these days, to really strict and invariable parameters, but I have no idea.

However if there still is a driver, I don't really see that they could influence the outcome. The tests would surely be done over a large number of iterations, and averaged out, to minimise any different driving styles.

I'm not about to start googling it just now as that'd be another hour or so out of my life, chasing down interesting rabbit holes

 

[Iain]

I agree the WLTP test is fine to make a reasonably level playing field for comparisons.
The difficulty for non BEV drivers is they read the quoted range and assume when they buy the car (not knowing the 20% to 80% ideal charging) they will have a range as quoted on the WLTP.
In my own case driving a standard ZS with WLTP of 163 miles I now know that to maintain best battery life on a longer journey I should ideally charge when battery is around 20% and fast charge to 80%. This means I can plan my journey for charging stops at roughly 100 mile intervals. (60% of my WLTP)
If this figure was made available to potential EV buyers (perhaps along with WLTP) then people would have more realistic expectations and not be disappointed at there real world range.

 

[smokie]

I think in ICE cars the manufacturer range was always a bit optimistic, to say the least, I suppose though that with EVs generally shorter range and more complex refuelling it becomes more significant.

People really ought to be doing a bit of research on cars that they are buying, rather than just choosing based on colour or how big a screen it has. It's not as though there aren't some superb forums with smart contributors out there is it!!

 

[Archev]

I completely agree and would suggest the WLTP range should be based on the 80% to 20% figure to allow fair comparison for BEVs.
No one is going to run an ICE car until there are only fumes left in the tank. Similarly, under normal conditions, we are not going to plan a journey where we are on our last electron before arriving at our destination.

My wee Renault Clio diesel van was quite good and frugal on fumes occasionally- but if there wasn’t a pump nearby a few litres of cheapest supermarket veg oil helped out - the van actually ran smoother and quieter on it too !

 

[busa]

My wee Renault Clio diesel van was quite good and frugal on fumes occasionally- but if there wasn’t a pump nearby a few litres of cheapest supermarket veg oil helped out - the van actually ran smoother and quieter on it too !

I used to run my diesels on cooking oil all the time, saved a pennies here and there, alot with the Discos!! wife was never happy that the car smelt like a chip shop going down the road lol