Testing the range of the Trophy MG4

[Alansurfer]

Gave the MG4 Trophy a range test. Did a round trip to Stansted Airport and achieved 4.4 miles per kWh outward and 4.2 return, left home with 100%, arrived at Stansted (108 miles) with 63% 164 miles on the GOM, got back home with 18% and 48 miles remaining.
218 miles on the A3, M25, M11 so thats 266 miles possible range (4 hours 28 mins drive time). Outward trip was 15-17°, heavy traffic with speeds between 40-65 mph, return trip start at 23.30 so dark and between 7-9°. I drove between 55-65mph on the return leg to maintain the good mile per kWh figure. Some old school hyper-mile’n to keep the energy use below 20% on the gauge by reducing speed uphill, a steady 55-60 mph on the flat, increasing speed downhill and coasting in neutral on longer downhill sections kept my average speed up overall (Normal mode, Regen 3, 28psi 2.8 bar warm tyre)
Happy with that and coupled with 140kw charge speeds seen when under 30% all my usual 250 plus mile trips take no longer than any ice vehicle, I’m usually stopping for a comfort break at 3ish hours (175 miles) so a top up then takes as long as it takes me to grab a coffee and a toilet break and if needed I can continue as plenty of electrons in reserve.

 

[siteguru]

28psi? Typo?

 

[Alansurfer]

28psi? Typo?

Yeah should be 2.8 bar!

 

[jpk]

It's quite reassuring to see the potential miles I could get when I collect my trophy inside the next month but I do feel that if we drove our ice cars the way a lot of us will drive ev's then the mpg increase & pence per mile drop of the ice would be much closer to that of an ev. As I was very low on fuel last week when setting off for work I did an EV hypermiling style drive to work (43 miles each way) to enable me to fill up on my way home at Costco where the premium diesel I use is now down to 137.9l. I never reset my trip computer and the average mpg on my 66 plate Mazda 3 2.2d is always around 50.5 but my this trip average from the hypermiling was 72.

50.5mpg=12.44ppm(pence per mile)
72mpg=8.72ppm

I currently pay 18.6p per kWh so my rough maths suggests

@3miles/kWh=6ppm
@4miles/kWh=5ppm

 

[bowfer]

It's quite reassuring to see the potential miles I could get when I collect my trophy inside the next month but I do feel that if we drove our ice cars the way a lot of us will drive ev's then the mpg increase & pence per mile drop of the ice would be much closer to that if an ev. As I was very low on fuel last week when setting off for work I did an EV hypermiling style drive to work (43 miles each way) to enable me to fill up on my way home at Costco where the premium diesel I use is now down to 137.9l. I never reset my trip computer and the average mpg on my 66 plate Mazda 3 2.2d is always around 50.5 but my this trip average from the hypermiling was 72.

50.5mpg=12.44ppm(pence per mile)
72mpg=8.72ppm

I currently pay 18.6p per kWh so my rough maths suggests

@3miles/kWh=6ppm
@4miles/kWh=5ppm

This is very true, but who would want to drive an ICE at 55-60mph?
I’m not willing to sit at that speed on any long journey, that’s my personal hell right there.
So until EVs are able to do the longer journeys I quite regularly do at the speeds I do, I’ll continue to use alternatives.
My EVs have always been ‘local’ cars.

 

[jpk]

This is very true, but who would want to drive an ICE at 55-60mph?
I’m not willing to sit at that speed on any long journey, that’s my personal hell right there.
So until EVs are able to do the longer journeys I quite regularly do at the speeds I do, I’ll continue to use alternatives.

I don't wanna drive any car like that to be honest whatever the powertrain. It's just that there seems to be extra effort to eek out as many miles/kWh and is it sometimes a conscious effort to change the driving style to affect the pence per miles comparison from the ice we've jumped from. I personally love driving and have modified my current ice to give a great handling car, I love dropping a few gears when I'm over in the Peak District or up in the lakes and enjoy the twisty undulating roads!

 

[bowfer]

I don't wanna drive any car like that to be honest whatever the powertrain.

Nor me, A to B is to be completed as quickly as possible (without obviously sticking out as the fastest car on the road etc)

 

[jpk]

I'm a total ev virgin and have jumped in probably earlier than intended as I was able to get decent offers through my company's salary sacrifice scheme. I'm using the mg4 as a taster of ev's and also a reason to get the missus to ditch the 2005 corolla. With the news of battery advancements I'm confident that by the end of my 3 year ownership of the mg4 that they'll be options that I can drive how I like that deliver the range that I need

 

[Derek25]

This is very true, but who would want to drive an ICE at 55-60mph?
I’m not willing to sit at that speed on any long journey, that’s my personal hell right there.
So until EVs are able to do the longer journeys I quite regularly do at the speeds I do, I’ll continue to use alternatives.
My EVs have always been ‘local’ cars.

I don’t drive my EV like that. 200 mile round trip at the weekend, A34, M3,M27 driving at speed limits. Had 13% left on return (Trophy 3.7 miles/kWh). No need for hypermiling. On a longer single journey I can add 100+ miles in the time it takes to have a pee and grab a coffee. I’d be doing the same stop in an ICE.

 

[jpk]

Probably if 10 people owned the same ice and commuted the same journey 6-7 would achieve different mpgs, we all just drive a little different, harder/softer accelerations, willingness to hit the fast lane to blast past a middle lane hogger rather than some allowing more space between the car in front to coast when other vehicles are slowing will alter mpg or miles/kWh a lot. I have been trying to gauge through posts on here what I'm likely to achieve but there are descriptions of journey's that seem similar but the results are quite different so the only true acid test for me I suppose is when I sit behind that wheel and drive it how I do.

 

[Boilerboy]

I drive my Trophy in a similar way to my previous petrol ICE and get around 3.6 - 3.7 miles per kWh (should improve with warmer weather) This is achieved on mainly motorway use at speeds around 70mph with the odd overtaking bursts. I am happy with this and can add another 100+ miles in the time it takes to have a toilet break and a coffee. For most of my miles i am charging with cheap electricity from home, so don't stress about the 5% of the time i need a top up from expensive fast chargers, as overall i am always better off than in my 2.0 litre turbo petrol car owned previously.

I can understand that if your last vehicle was a super efficient diesel car that did 60+ mpg, your savings will not be so night and day, but if you mainly charge from home you should not be any worse off.

 

[bowfer]

My ideal EV is 350 miles at 80mph, which I can easily get from either of the ICE cars in the family ( Polo and Evoque )
I wouldn’t do 300 miles non-stop, but it covers Aberdeen to Glasgow and back and would be nice without even having to consider charging, that’s the ultimate aim.
It will happen soon enough.

 

[Derek25]

My ideal EV is 350 miles at 80mph, which I can easily get from either of the ICE cars in the family ( Polo and Evoque )
I wouldn’t do 300 miles non-stop, but it covers Aberdeen to Glasgow and back and would be nice without even having to consider charging, that’s the ultimate aim.
It will happen soon enough.

At the moment, greater range is being achieved through bigger and more expensive batteries. You’ll be waiting a long time for an EV that does 350 miles at 80 mph. That would have to be a 150-175kWh battery. At least that should give you plenty of time to save up as it’ll likely be damn expensive when it first arrives. For me, I’m happy with a car with 200 miles’ range that charges fast enough to add 100+ miles in a 20-minute break on my journey. That’s exactly the sort of car that’s being made for the mass market and is going to be fairly typical for some years to come. It’s also pretty expensive as it is.

 

[jpk]

At the moment, greater range is being achieved through bigger and more expensive batteries. You’ll be waiting a long time for an EV that does 350 miles at 80 mph. That would have to be a 150-175kWh battery. At least that should give you plenty of time to save up as it’ll likely be damn expensive when it first arrives. For me, I’m happy with a car with 200 miles’ range that charges fast enough to add 100+ miles in a 20-minute break on my journey. That’s exactly the sort of car that’s being made for the mass market and is going to be fairly typical for some years to come. It’s also pretty expensive as it is.

World's largest battery maker announces major breakthrough in energy density

"A new era of universal electrification of sea, land and air transportation." CATL announces new battery that doubles energy intensity.

thedriven.io

 

[bowfer]

At the moment, greater range is being achieved through bigger and more expensive batteries. You’ll be waiting a long time for an EV that does 350 miles at 80 mph. That would have to be a 150-175kWh battery. At least that should give you plenty of time to save up as it’ll likely be damn expensive when it first arrives. For me, I’m happy with a car with 200 miles’ range that charges fast enough to add 100+ miles in a 20-minute break on my journey. That’s exactly the sort of car that’s being made for the mass market and is going to be fairly typical for some years to come. It’s also pretty expensive as it is.

Tragically you’re probably right and tragically again it means we won’t be able to go 2 x electric cars in the forseeable.
I think our second car being a (spit) plug in hybrid is as close as we’ll get.

 

[WonkoTheSaneUK]

World's largest battery maker announces major breakthrough in energy density

"A new era of universal electrification of sea, land and air transportation." CATL announces new battery that doubles energy intensity.

thedriven.io

500Wh/Kg cells are old news, I'm afraid:-

Chinese Researchers Announce 711 Wh/kg Lithium Battery - CleanTechnica

Researchers in China report they have created a lithium-ion battery with an energy density of more the 700 Wh/kg. Wow!

cleantechnica.com

 

[jpk]

500Wh/Kg cells are old news, I'm afraid:-

Chinese Researchers Announce 711 Wh/kg Lithium Battery - CleanTechnica

Researchers in China report they have created a lithium-ion battery with an energy density of more the 700 Wh/kg. Wow!

cleantechnica.com

That's even better news which basically means in an extreme case we could have a 200kW+in our mg4 without adding any additional weight

 

[WonkoTheSaneUK]

That's even better news which basically means in an extreme case we could have a 200kW+in our mg4 without adding any additional weight

Or 64kWh battery packs that are 1/3 the current weight, to finally shut down the "EVs are too heavy" brigade.

 

[Derek25]

500Wh/Kg cells are old news, I'm afraid:-

Chinese Researchers Announce 711 Wh/kg Lithium Battery - CleanTechnica

Researchers in China report they have created a lithium-ion battery with an energy density of more the 700 Wh/kg. Wow!

cleantechnica.com

You see these announcements all the time. In reality, what goes into your regular EV is improving incrementally. Manufacturers can’t economically develop a model and replace it the next year with a new one that has a revolutionary new battery chemistry. They’d quickly go bust. Models such as the ID4 and MG4 have no greater range than the 2017 Kia Niro EV. That model has just had a refresh with only a marginal gain in range. What’s really improved in practical terms over the last five years is rate of rapid charge. It’ll be many years before today’s battery breakthroughs filter down to the cars we buy and you can be sure the first ones will be very expensive.

 

[Derek25]

Or 64kWh battery packs that are 1/3 the current weight, to finally shut down the "EVs are too heavy" brigade.

Yes, this is more likely I think for most EVs. Lighter and, importantly, cheaper batteries that do similar range. It’s probably a decade away and will start appearing in new cars rather than today’s models.