Real world motorway range

[Lotusallen]

I am looking at buying a 2nd hand long range zs. My concern is motorway range. I do a trip of 265 miles of which all but 30 miles is on the motorway several times a year. I would normally stop at a service station after about 165 miles. This service station has 12 bays to charge. My concern is would the mg get to this station in the 1st week of December? If I had to stop at an earlier station then there would only be 2 chargers which are often fully used with a waiting car.

 

[Verdigris]

Do you want to drive at 70mph or would 60mph suffice. Air resistance goes up with the square of the velocity.

 

[Gadget Geek]

Just before Christmas, I did 208 miles (mostly M5) round trip without stopping and got home with 10% remaining.

 

[Lotusallen]

Do you want to drive at 70mph or would 60mph suffice. Air resistance goes up with the square of the velocity.

Normally drive at 70 if traffic allows it

Just before Christmas, I did 208 miles (mostly M5) round trip without stopping and got home with 10% remaining.

Wow that's good. What sort of speed were you doing and what sort of temperature was it?

 

[REDLeader]

I do newcastle to Bristol regularly A1m / m1 m6, m5 and get around 210. I charge once after150ish miles, but pick somewhere off the motorway

 

[Lotusallen]

I do newcastle to Bristol regularly A1m / m1 m6, m5 and get around 210. I charge once after150ish miles, but pick somewhere off the motorway

Do you drive mainly at 70 where traffic allows? Does it makes a big difference in winter?

 

[Gadget Geek]

Wow that's good. What sort of speed were you doing and what sort of temperature was it?

65 mostly, with outside temperature of 10 degrees. HVAC as and when needed to keep warm and demist.

 

[Lotusallen]

65 mostly, with outside temperature of 10 degrees. HVAC as and when needed to keep warm and demist.

That sounds good. I probably drive slightly faster than that. Probably on the same road though as I do m5 then m6 from Somerset to Blackpool.

 

[Gadget Geek]

That sounds good. I probably drive slightly faster than that. Probably on the same road though as I do m5 then m6 from Somerset to Blackpool.

65 was a rough average. I go a bit slower up the hills, gun it down the hills, and there were a few 50 mph roadworks. You would easily get 165 miles at 70 mph. Which services were you considering using?

 

[drmcw]

An LR ZS should do 165 miles without issue depending on how low you want to take the battery. Just remember that in the winter then you're more likely to hit heavy rain and strong headwinds which can affect range significantly but you can always ease off on the right foot to compensate.

 

[Whiskery]

I often get folks coming up to me (usually whilst I am parked waiting for the wife shopping!), had a fellow yesterday who said he has a ZS petrol and was thinking of changing to a ZS EV. I told him what I tell everyone that asks that I wouldn't dream of going back to ICE and I explained why. He said he was worried about range. I mentioned I regularly do Swansea-London (200 miles). Mine is a SR. He asked "don't I mind having to stop to charge" and I said I would have to stop for a breather and loo stop/coffee break anyway so it isn't a problem. Charging takes about 30 mins to get me to London. Easy-Peasy. I don't stress about range and use the HVAC as I need to and always in normal mode, Kers 3 and run at 70ish all the way.
These cars really are a joy to drive.

 

[Verdigris]

And it is worth remembering that the few minutes you save driving at 70mph, rather than, say 60mph, could be more than lost if you have to make a longer/extra charging stop.

 

[Nutnut]

My most recent return journey stats up the M1 in a long range:

-222.2 miles of this was pure motorway driven at 70 mph where allowed.
-External temp was 6 degrees (a bit windy and some light rain, but otherwise no rough weather)
-Normal drive mode
-Heating kept on at 23 temp with a fan speed of 2 so cabin was toasty.
-Used 65% of battery up, and 64% on the return.

I can't see why you wouldn't make 165 miles unless it was absolutely dire out or something

 

[Lotusallen]

65 was a rough average. I go a bit slower up the hills, gun it down the hills, and there were a few 50 mph roadworks. You would easily get 165 miles at 70 mph. Which services were you considering using?

Hilton Park just past Birmingham. Evidently they now have 12 bays for charging.

I often get folks coming up to me (usually whilst I am parked waiting for the wife shopping!), had a fellow yesterday who said he has a ZS petrol and was thinking of changing to a ZS EV. I told him what I tell everyone that asks that I wouldn't dream of going back to ICE and I explained why. He said he was worried about range. I mentioned I regularly do Swansea-London (200 miles). Mine is a SR. He asked "don't I mind having to stop to charge" and I said I would have to stop for a breather and loo stop/coffee break anyway so it isn't a problem. Charging takes about 30 mins to get me to London. Easy-Peasy. I don't stress about range and use the HVAC as I need to and always in normal mode, Kers 3 and run at 70ish all the way.
These cars really are a joy to drive.

I think I agree with you. My concern is having to wait to charge. Most motorway stations only have 2 charging bays. If they are taken up then you could easy have to wait 30 minutes or more before you start to charge. Every time I stop at a service station now I check to see if there are free charging spaces or not. Normally if there are only 2 bays they are both taken up when I look. Hilton Park evidently now have 12 bays so that should be fine.

My most recent return journey stats up the M1 in a long range:

View attachment 22503

-222.2 miles of this was pure motorway driven at 70 mph where allowed.
-External temp was 6 degrees (a bit windy and some light rain, but otherwise no rough weather)
-Normal drive mode
-Heating kept on at 23 temp with a fan speed of 2 so cabin was toasty.
-Used 65% of battery up, and 64% on the return.

I can't see why you wouldn't make 165 miles unless it was absolutely dire out or something

I think that equates to about 203 miles range. 264/1.3? That should be plenty for me.

 

[Nutnut]

I think that equates to about 203 miles range. 264/1.3? That should be plenty for me.

For reference I've done this exact run in sunny May and only used 48%.

Honestly for the sake of ease for my brain I'm just working on the basis I'll get 2 miles per % at this time of year for a journey like this, so personally I wouldn't have any anxiety about attempting the 165 miles based on how I drive.

As others have mentioned though there are ways to get much better efficiency than I did, such as going slower ect. Just keep in mind variables which will affect your range such as your own driving style, how cold it is out, and battery health of the car you buy.

 

[Lotusallen]

Thanks it sounds good to me. Unfortunately the car I was looking at has been sold. I am not in a hurry so will keep a look out for a good value one in the next few months.

 

[REDLeader]

Do you drive mainly at 70 where traffic allows? Does it makes a big difference in winter?

65 to 70 most of the way, but I always stop half way for a break, so I stop for me rather than the range of the car

 

[Tangoed Man]

I am looking at buying a 2nd hand long range zs. My concern is motorway range. I do a trip of 265 miles of which all but 30 miles is on the motorway several times a year. I would normally stop at a service station after about 165 miles. This service station has 12 bays to charge. My concern is would the mg get to this station in the 1st week of December? If I had to stop at an earlier station then there would only be 2 chargers which are often fully used with a waiting car.

I am not being flippant, but acquired wisdom would recommend you consider a modern plug-in hybrid, especially if range in winter is a concern and given the frequency of the journey.

 

[Lotusallen]

I am not being flippant, but acquired wisdom would recommend you consider a modern plug-in hybrid, especially if range in winter is a concern and given the frequency of the journey.

My personal opinion is that hybrids are the worst of both worlds. You have all the problems with a traditional ice car - loads of moving parts exhaust pipes spark plugs etc plus the extra things that can go wrong with an electric car. I would rather keep my 2016 diesel car for a couple of more years and wait for the infrastructure and battery range to improve.