Motorway Driving

[fnegroni]

I never bother to switch off HVAC. obviously that will have an impact, but I consider the inconvenience of not having it far outweighs the benefit in terms of consumption. Bear in mind the HVAC consumption is more a function of time than distance.
I’d rather put the HVAC in ECO mode and save around 1 kWh for every hour of driving.

As with regards to speed, the speedometer on the MG4 tends to show true speed. Which means consumption figures at 70 indicated on the MG4 would be higher than on an EV where speedometer over reads by 3 to 4 mph at such speed, like in most ICE cars.
I find that 56 to 57 mph is the speed at which most slower traffic drives so that’s where I set my ACC at. Or I’ll just pick a car that seems to be driving at a consistent speed and set the ACC to that speed. Constantly changing speed is a range killer, as well as not adapting to traffic.

I use the ECO power setting (in the Custom driving profile) when on the motorway as it tends to lessen the effect of a tired foot getting a little grumpy

But let’s be honest there’s a limit to how much one can do to save electrons

With the new tyres I noticed lower fuel consumption and higher regen benefits at speeds above 60mph or on wet roads, but we are talking a 3 to 5% saving so not a reason in itself to spend £500 on a set of tyres.

 

[craigupnorth]

Jeez, electricity is cheap compared to petrol. Forget about economy, drive it like you stole it !

 

[MoDolph]

I regularly switch between driving fast and slow on the motorway depending on my mood or situation.

This last weekend we went to Snowdonia for a bit of mountain walking, 190miles round trip. On the way there I drove at the speed limit as we were racing the weather and managed 3.3 mi/kWh, the way back I drove at a max of 56mph as the boy was asleep and it would give him a decent nap, and us some peace , and averaged 5 mi/kWh.

I prefer driving at 56 mph as it seems more relaxing. If I'm following a lorry and a faster one catches us then I simply ease off a little when it moves out to overtake so it is not alongside me for very long.

 

[Bam Bam]

You want to be doing about 5 mph more than the lorries, so as @tsedge said, 65mph would be a good compromise between economy and having a very large arctic sat on your rear bumper then trying to overtake you slowly at the next downhill stretch.

You can use the accelerator to nudge up to 70mph to get past a lorry/caravan and remain on ACC throughout. It then gradually gets you to your target speed once back.

I try to time the overtakes for when the road is on a rightward bend so as to overtake on the 'inside' lane (if you see what I mean).

But then I am all about efficiency these days, not like when I was a teenager and drove like a lunatic.

 

[Rolfe]

These are the threads the anti-EV people love. Having to compromise on not using HVAC or driving dangerously slow to eke out the mileage.

I've always used ECO mode on motorways and not felt held back or slow. When using ACC I find with the Xpower it is smoother on the re-acceleration following a slow down in front and not so jerky. I usually stick at around 68 as then I'm not speeding but certainly not holding anyone up. These cars juice up quickly enough at chargers, so you're probably better off just getting to next charger safely and comfortably, rather than potentially causing issues by trying to save 5 miles of range which you'll make up quick enough at the next stop.

This. I'd rather spend a bit more time to charge beyond 80% if necessary, to save having to worry about holding back my speed. The car is a bloody rocket sled, why not enjoy it?

 

[Rolfe]

Jeez, electricity is cheap compared to petrol. Forget about economy, drive it like you stole it !

Yeah, this too!

 

[Rolfe]

I was on the A9 at the weekend, not a motorway but a 70mph dual carriageway. I was using the ACC, rather pleased with the update that had been installed just the day before. If I found myself running beside someone with little difference in speed I'd just flip the ACC one or two mph slower or faster, depending on which lane I was in. (Usually faster, I have to say.) Then I could return to the previous setting if I wanted to.

 

[MGFour]

in my opinion cruising @65mph is a good speed for long journeys and you spend less time slowing down and speeding up again as you would at 70, makes a big difference as not accelerating as often as well as the wind resistance factor. The average speed for the journey and as such time taken will be very very close to traveling at 70 but you will get several extra miles further at 65.

 

[bobbarley]

Personally I prefer to get to where I’m going, so I’d never travel slower than 70mph on the motorway, traffic allowing. I’m quite lucky that my commute is 102 miles all in, so I can drive it like I stole it, pay pennies compared to the diesel I was using, and still enjoy myself. I imagine it’d be a different story if it was touch and go and I needed absolute max range.

That said, I quite like the game of what’s the best mls/kw I can achieve.

 

[Rolfe]

That's a game I'm never going to win, so as long as I know where I can get a charge, I'm just going for it.

 

[NLMGSAN]

This. I'd rather spend a bit more time to charge beyond 80% if necessary, to save having to worry about holding back my speed. The car is a bloody rocket sled, why not enjoy it?

I always go for 90%.
But having this rocket is particularly funny if you fool a Porsche. Not just any car.
So I tend to take it easy and stick between 60 and 70 mph on the highway.

 

[Rolfe]

Just make sure it's an ICE Porsche. That new facelifted Taycan can probably leave an X-Power for dead.

 

[NLMGSAN]

I promise I will use my mirrors Rolfe. But the XPower is probably equally fast...

 

[MoDolph]

I like the fact that I now get to choose how fast I drive. With my previous leaf an economy of 3 mi/kWh meant a range of only 50 miles so I was forced to drive everywhere slowly.

Choosing to drive slowly is nicer than having to drive slowly.

 

[Rolfe]

I promise I will use my mirrors Rolfe. But the XPower is probably equally fast...

Somebody needs to drag-race them.

 

[NLMGSAN]

I would love to see their faces....