MG4 Efficiency - am I doing something wrong?

[theboffin]

Hi All,

My first post after lurking for a while.

I'm wondering about my MG4 Trophy's efficiency. I got the car about 3 months ago, and I drive with strong regen always on, and recently I've tried to remember to set the car to Eco mode (why on earth doesn't it stay on between drives! And also why is it the last option when you set the star button to change driving mode - even after 'snow'!). I don't tend to drive fast, and I don't think I've ever used 'Sport' mode. The aircon is usually on, low (one or two on the fan).

Anyway, I don't do much motorway driving, either. However, since getting the car, I've never gotten it over 4.0 miles/kwh, and mostly the best I've managed is around 3.6/3.7 - this is 'since last charge' btw. Being that's it's been the 'summer' (as much as we got one here), I'm concerned about how bad it will get coming into the winter. If it's relevant, I've done just over 2000 miles so far.

I just watched Burt Solomon's latest MG4 video, where he took his daughter to Uni on a 240 mile round trip, and before he got on the motorway, he was getting 4.4 miles/kwh.

Surely it's not just the A/C, right? Is there something I can do, or not do, to improve this? I'm sure I've seen people on videos mention 5 miles/kwh!

What do most people around here tend to get in the last few months?

Thanks,
Warren

 

[Fogey]

Well, Wikipedia says a car's air con will run at 3kW. If your car needs 30kW average power for normal driving, then you'd expect about 10% reduction in miles per kWh - so 4.4 goes down to around 4.0.

Whether either of these assumptions is accurate, who knows? But the effect of running air con will certainly have an appreciable negative effect on efficiency. Cabin heating in winter will be similar, I should think.

 

[Brettus]

Is this your first EV?
You’ll find driving style will adapt, your forward obs will become better and you’ll coast on regen more and the brakes will rarely be used. (You may already be driving this way I’m just saying what I noticed when I switched to an EV years ago, im back in an ICE right now so I’m gonna enjoy settling back in ASAP)

AC will make a difference just like it does with MPG. If it’s not needed then turn it off and see if you get the expected numbers.
It’ll also depend on the KIND of driving, motorway will yield less, smooth A roads with few traffic breaks will get more, around town a bit less usually.

 

[dsimpkins]

I can usually get 4 or above miles/kWh on my daily commute. I only use the aircon when I need to, and I believe the recommendation in terms of efficiency is to not use it below 50mph, but to crack a window instead. Above 50mph, the aircon provides better efficiency than the extra drag from an open window. I do drive on ECO mode all the time, and yes, annoying to select it every time.

If I really try, and keep power use to below 10% as much as possible, then can easily hit over 5 miles/kWh. My wife is currently beating me in terms of efficiency with a high score of 5.4, and me at 5.3.

Going home from work, I go down a steep hill, so by the bottom of it, I get a reading of 20 miles/kWh, but soon drops to usually levels once I turn onto the motorway.

 

[Tommy]

Anything over 60mph kills your m/kWh score. I try and keep at or below 60mph at all times - traffic conditions permitting. And I try not to floor it more than I have to.

 

[Brettus]

Anything over 60mph kills your m/kWh score. I try and keep at or below 60mph at all times - traffic conditions permitting. And I try not to floor it more than I have to.

Pending xpower owner…. I’m doomed

 

[dsimpkins]

And I try not to floor it more than I have to

That is more difficult than it sounds

 

[theboffin]

It is my first EV. I feel like I'm going out of my way to drive efficiently, but to no avail. What do you mean by 'forward obs' sorry? I rarely use my brakes, as I have regen on strong always, but I can't 'coast' on it much because it slows the car quite aggressively. Do most people us lower regen? (I do like it as an alternative to braking).

Can I use the 'blowers' without AC? Maybe that's where I'm going wrong. Thanks for all the tips, I'll keep trying to crack the 4m/kwh mark! 5 seems impossible right now - that'll be quite the challenge!

 

[Deleted member 14300]

I ran roof bars and a luggage tray and that returned 3.6.

 

[Fogey]

Here are a few calculations I did regarding the energy needed to overcome aero drag at various airspeeds (i.e. taking into account wind speed, as well as road speed):

MG4: Drag, Various Conditions

I thought I'd have a look at the power levels needed to combat aerodynamic drag at constant road speeds, in various conditions. At high speed, these will dominate in economy terms, particularly if those conditions are adverse. To get the overall power level requirement, there'll be an added...

www.mgevs.com

In the context of a car using mostly regenerative braking, it shows how the speed at which you drive can be the dominant factor, in terms of efficiency...

 

[Ian Key]

Unless I'm going to do a long journey where I need to get as much mileage as possible between charges I don't worry about it and just enjoy driving the car with the air-con/heating on and doing 70 where legal.

I can understand trying to get as many miles per kWh if you are using public chargers but as I charge at home the price difference between getting 3m/kWh and 5m/kWh is about 1p/mile

 

[AndyL61]

My Trophy over the last 4k miles has averaged 4.4 . I generally use ECO regen 3 , motorways I've started to use SNOW as it's an easy way to get regen 1 from my left star button on drive mode. I use AC when I need it and I'm not the slowest on the road but do drive using anticipation and as little braking as possible. I expect my winter numbers to drop into the 3's . So generally pretty happy with it.

 

[tsedge]

Like some others have said, I don't worry about efficiency 99% of the time because I am making journeys well within the range. I tend to drive with Sport Adaptive settings most of the time and drive how I please.

When taking a very long journey, I use Eco mode, which seems to help a bit and I keep to 65mph, which makes a substantial difference in range.

I am typically getting 3.7m/kWh as a long term average*. I will see over 4.0 on downhill stretches or if the journey speed don't exceed 50mph.

*summer

 

[theboffin]

Thanks guys. I wouldn't say I'm 'worried' about not getting 4+, I just wonder if it's something I'm doing, or even possibly some fault with the car, for it to not get anywhere near what some people here are getting.

This morning on the school run, I noticed it's currently sitting at 3.0/3.1 'since last charge'. That seems super low for the current weather (although it's gotten a bit colder in the last week or so).

So yeah, just trying to pick up if there's an issue really.

Maybe I'm just a lot heavier than all you guys.

 

[fnegroni]

I run the a/c on auto and in eco mode now but I don’t see a huge difference tbh and I still get 4mls/kWh average over 1500 miles
When I travel back home from Berkshire I go through central London in the evening and I hit 5mls/kWh average over 50 miles regularly.
I seldom rapid charge and charge to 100% nearly every day.

 

[theboffin]

I was wondering about charging, and whether there's some kind of 'calibration' required? I saw people mentioning about charging to 100% once a month, I think?

I don't have a home charger yet, so I've only ever charged on public chargers so far (usually rapid), and have never 'filled it' to 100% due to the drop-off at the end of charging. I generally go to 80 or sometimes 90%. Would that make any difference?

 

[Ian Key]

I was wondering about charging, and whether there's some kind of 'calibration' required? I saw people mentioning about charging to 100% once a month, I think?

I don't have a home charger yet, so I've only ever charged on public chargers so far (usually rapid), and have never 'filled it' to 100% due to the drop-off at the end of charging. I generally go to 80 or sometimes 90%. Would that make any difference?

A balance charge needs to be on an AC charger not a fast charger and needs to be left charging at 100% for some time. I suggest in your case that you use a rapid charger to 90% then use the granny charger at home to take it to 100% and then leave it connected to do a balance charge.

 

[Eber]

[...] and I drive with strong regen always on, [...]

On almost any EV I've driven so far I got better range with lower regen. Unless you are driving on the motorway only you should be more efficient using your momentum for range and not for regen. Lift early, let it sail (as traffic permits). On my way to work I have perfected the exact spot where to lift the throttle to reach the urban speed limit exactly at the town sign. I drive very early in the morning, so I'm not annoying anyone. ;-)

Also I have learned to cross some villages by sailing only, without any throttle. It takes time to get used to, but I would suggest that lower regen will give you better range most of the time.

Edit: It's quite fascinating. Our Hyundai Ioniq 5 is rather heavy. Sometimes I can cross small towns without applying any throttle at all. Sometimes the speed can be upheld for miles, when there is just a little slope unnoticable to the eye.

 

[WXman]

Thanks guys. I wouldn't say I'm 'worried' about not getting 4+, I just wonder if it's something I'm doing, or even possibly some fault with the car, for it to not get anywhere near what some people here are getting.

This morning on the school run, I noticed it's currently sitting at 3.0/3.1 'since last charge'. That seems super low for the current weather (although it's gotten a bit colder in the last week or so).

So yeah, just trying to pick up if there's an issue really.

Maybe I'm just a lot heavier than all you guys.

One thing that might be worth checking is that your battery heating setting is switched off. When I first got my MG4 (winter) having this setting on (which was the default setting the car arrived with) absolutely killed my efficiency figures. I understand that this setting only need be switched on prior to rapid charging a cold battery...

 

[fnegroni]

I was wondering about charging, and whether there's some kind of 'calibration' required? I saw people mentioning about charging to 100% once a month, I think?

I don't have a home charger yet, so I've only ever charged on public chargers so far (usually rapid), and have never 'filled it' to 100% due to the drop-off at the end of charging. I generally go to 80 or sometimes 90%. Would that make any difference?

It’s all explained in the user manual, which you can access through the iSMART app

The first thing I did upon delivery of the car (7 miles ODO) was to slow charge to 100% and leave it on charge for a couple more hours.