Query fuel use results

[SteveEV]

I’m taking my three week old PH EV Excite on its first long trip and am frankly disappointed at the petrol use. Yesterday I drove 300 km and used 20.5 litres of fuel, which works out to roughly 7l/100km in round figures. Vastly different from the promoted 1.7l/100km. Admittedly part of the drive was in very windy roads which slowed me down a lot, but most was on highways at 100-110 kmh. I had it set on Auto mode, not medium or high, and I did not use cruise control. Should I have expected better economy, and if so, any tips please! My nine year old Subaru does around 8.6 l/100 km on city driving and I was hoping for a drastic difference from the MG. No complaints from city driving when I only use EV mode, but I’d hoped for a lot better on a country run.

 

[Jto]

Are you sure you are reading the petrol reading and not the electric range. 20km is equal to 12 miles even I not got that far down. Check the brake are not binding. It’s a new car and you will not get up to a better return until the car is run in, I get 40 miles to the gallon doing commuting.

 

[ronmaz]

I get around 6 litres per 100kms on long trips in my 4 month old car which is the equivalent of nearly 40 miles per gallon, and I do use cruise control. The promoted fuel efficiency figures of hybrid cars are nonsense really. They don't apply to real world driving. That figure of 1.7 litres per 100kms is probably made up of full EV mode for the 63km range of the battery, and then 1.7 litres of fuel for the remaining 37kms all while driving quite slowly.

 

[Lovemyev]

The power plant in the MG HS PHEV was never the most economical unit to be honest and truthful.
Its economy figures are only boosted by the help of the EV system.
When that EV energy has depleted, the HS is pulling a lot of excess baggage around.
It’s a heavy car before you start adding in all the EV bits and pieces.
I had a VW PHEV for four years before going full BEV in 2019 and loved it.
But they don’t excel on economy when making longer trips.
Great for EV driving in town or on short trips.
But the idea of not being able to heat the cabin without having the engine running is totally ridiculous.
The VW EV system can be used totally independent from the ICE upto 80 Mph if the driver requires .

 

[SteveEV]

Thanks everyone. Seems I should be expecting around 6-7 l/100km on country trips, using Auto mode and cruise control. Just have to live with it and revel in the zero petrol driving around town using EV! Which is what I do mostly anyway.
One more question: the manual recommends staying below a certain number of RPM while running in, but I can’t find a tachometer. I saw a video on YouTube which included a tacho, pretty sure it was on a HS EV, but can anyone throw any light on this please? Thanks again for all the advice, much more useful than the manual!!

 

[ronmaz]

The tacho is on the "Hybrid" screen. Use the up and down arrows on the steering wheel to navigate through the screens.

 

[Jto]

It’s small to look at, just have a light foot and keep the power meter between 0 and half way, no hard braking let the engine and regeneration slow you down. I did this for 2000 miles as the engine is not working all the time and now have a engine that is not noisy a winning has gone away that was there when new and is smooth drive.

 

[SteveEV]

Thanks! Why isn’t this sort of info in the book???
Cheers

 

[ronmaz]

Thanks! Why isn’t this sort of info in the book???
Cheers

It is, but difficult to find, it's on page 20.

 

[SteveEV]

 

[TWbm]

My per-trip mpg on motorway runs is 37, around 6.4L/100Km. That's with two passengers and luggage. Long term, adjusted for the EV input, it's been around 64mpg, but keep in mind you've had to pay for the charging to inflate the mpg to that level. When I got mine two years ago the cheaper electric miles made it an economical choice given 80 - 85% of our mileage is local. That's not the case any more.

 

[SteveEV]

Thanks, and sorry for the slow response. I’ve now got about 2,300km on the car, about 1,800 of which was country driving at 100-110km/h except through towns, using hybrid mode, mostly on default but with a bit of medium option to charge up the battery. The remainder was all metro driving on EV mode. My average petrol consumption overall is 6.2 litres/100km. I’m still to do the arithmetic on the country only segment, but off the top of my head I expected better. I also noticed that on the country running,the odometer would go up by, say, 5km but the petrol distance to fill up would drop by up to 30km. If I’ve traveled 5km, why is my distance to fill up 30km less? Total range goes up and down, but I think I understand that.
Any other thoughts please? Really appreciate this forum.

 

[FNMustangGTC]

Thanks, and sorry for the slow response. I’ve now got about 2,300km on the car, about 1,800 of which was country driving at 100-110km/h except through towns, using hybrid mode, mostly on default but with a bit of medium option to charge up the battery. The remainder was all metro driving on EV mode. My average petrol consumption overall is 6.2 litres/100km. I’m still to do the arithmetic on the country only segment, but off the top of my head I expected better. I also noticed that on the country running,the odometer would go up by, say, 5km but the petrol distance to fill up would drop by up to 30km. If I’ve traveled 5km, why is my distance to fill up 30km less? Total range goes up and down, but I think I understand that.
Any other thoughts please? Really appreciate this forum.

My usage is far more city/suburb biased than yours so I'm averaging only 1.8l/100km over about 13,000km since I reset the trip computer (though that includes a trip to Brisbane & back and a few trips to Newcastle, Southern Highlands, etc.). From what I've read, using the petrol engine to recharge the battery is really inefficient and only useful for places that require an EV in city centres, or bill you more otherwise - mainly in Europe, I think. Absolutely not necessary in Australia. My other tip is to try to arrive home with 0% battery, if you know you'll have time to get it fully recharged when you get home (ideally using solar or off-peak power). It take a bit of juggling because it'll depend on whether you're finishing on a highway or suburban roads, but if I have 50km of battery and 50km to my destination and know that I can charge, I switch to EV mode. Just remember that 50km of battery doesn't actually get you 50km @ 110km/h. You'll be lucky to get 40km. All part of the learning process though!

At the end of the day, for a large-ish SUV, 6.2l/100km isn't too bad but a PHEV is all about maximising electric use with short trips.

 

[ronmaz]

I also noticed that on the country running,the odometer would go up by, say, 5km but the petrol distance to fill up would drop by up to 30km. If I’ve traveled 5km, why is my distance to fill up 30km less?

The estimated range is referred to on this forum as a Guess-ometer. The estimated range is based on your recent driving style. It's just a guess as the car has no way of knowing how your future driving style is going to be. Your recent driving style may have been at 60km per hour on city streets so it works out a guess as to how much range you have left based on that driving style if it was to continue. Then your next trip might be 110km per hour on the freeway so now the estimated range is much less based on that driving style. It's just a guess, don't fret on it.

 

[SteveEV]

I really enjoy and appreciate feedback from more seasoned hybrid owners, thank you. I’ve now settled into suburban EV only driving, charging at home 2-3 times a week, using no petrol and my average usage has come down to 5.8 litres/100km and falling. My wife and I also love the quiet comfort of the car and the quality of the build. As one of life’s worriers my only concern now is whether the petrol in my tank will go off if not used for a few months!

 

[PatM]

When we got the car it was driven on mixed roads and hills. Driver just wanted to see how fast it went and the acceleration. Came in at about 6.3 l /100 km. A few weeks later it repeated the same journey with a little less right foot and maximum regen braking. This time it came in at 1.6 l/100 km. Using cruise control on a diesel transit vastly improved fuel consumption. Haven't got any info for the MG yet but I am guessing the same.

 

[Glen Tindall]

An update on fuel use after two trips to Melbourne (740kms), where we used the hybrid control. It seems the fuel use in hybrid mode on the open road at 100 km/hr averages between 6 and 7 Ltrs/100 kms, depending on terrain, wind direction etc. I feel that for the size of the car, and comfort, this is a reasonable consumption. And, I am only doing it a few times each year, so it's a cost of travel( cheaper than air fares). The hybrid mode uses the electric motor when under load, but regenerates as we move, with the result that the available distance in electric mode stays constant, and ready for when we hit town.
I was always sceptical about the figure of 1.77 Ltrs/ 100 kms claimed by MG, but realise this figure is with charging as required and town use. However, even with the trips to Melbourne, my overall figure is down to 3.1 Ltrs/100 kms, and falling with more town use.
For our Adelaide members, travelling to Melbourne, Horsham has many type2 charging stations, even at the Horsham International Motel(?), there are 2 chargers free to residents. Horsham is embracing the ev charge, so a good place to stop!
As for the petrol going off in the tank, the car uses 95 fuel, which is much better than the 91 unleaded, but I still only put in $20 worth at a time, and keep an eye on the distance left on fuel. If you are a worrier, I am more curious about rusting in the exhaust system, due to the ice running for a short time, and not allowing the exhaust system to heat up and dry out any moisture. It used to be a problem in " the old days"
Anyway, we share your love of the quiet electric mode around town!