The Ultimate MGS5 "Real World" Energy Consumption Thread

[Alb]

This is the MGS5 version of my MG5 thread - same rules and same reasoning.
Reset the "Accumulated Total" at the start of each month and record your average at the end of that month.
It can't start properly until the end of August so this will serve as a reminder to anyone wishing to participate that the first reset must be tomorrow (1st August).
I'll publish what I have just now as a starter although it isn't really representative of a proper month so wont end up on the graph I'll later add.

 

[Hugo A Go Go]

I don’t have a full month as the car was purchased on 11/07 but here is a starter from me

 

[TimothyN]

Speaking as a range and consumption nutter, this is a great idea.

I reset this morning and drove to work:

But I would like the answer to a serious question.

There are two opinions about best economy speed, one is "as slowly as possible", the other is "50-60mph". Can anyone square that circle?

 

[Alb]

I always found my best short term consumption came from a long steady drive so if you can find a way of achieving 11.3 miles/kWh at 60mph you have hit gold

 

[TimothyN]

Yeah, my reading is a bit of a joke, because I live in the eponymous Biggin Hill and work in Bromley, which is 600’ lower. By this evening I will have climbed the hill and the reading will be a bit more sensible

But my question remains: is 20mph or 55mph going to return a better number?

There is an interesting paradox here. If there are two routes available, a long motorway route and a short 20 mph route, then, at least in an ICE car, you will get much better economy per mile by going on the motorway, but use less fuel on the direct route.

That is the kind of thing which is forgotten in raw mpg or mp kWh figures.

 

[Kenp1]

In an EV the answer is easy, the slower speed is always going to give better economy. With a petrol car the gearbox adds a level of complication to the matter.

 

[Deep purple]

A factor which is more significant in EV compared to ICE is the hotel load which is largely constant regardless of time (heating/aircon/lights etc etc).
But power for propulsion goes up broadly as the square of speed so taking half the time by driving at twice the speed increases power requirement by a factor of about 4. However you will get there in half the time so your energy used in propulsion will only be double.
To add complication reducing your distance travelled to get from A to B also impacts the energy used.
So you have to balance the time taken (which directly affects the energy used by hotel loads) with the driving speed, distance and time taken which determines the energy used in propulsion.
It should be possible to construct an algorithm using all the car's figures which can advise on the best strategy. Or save the grey cells from stress and just drive at a modest speed tailgating large vehicles where possible and seeking out the shortest route which can use free flowing unrestricted roads.

 

[5teep]

160 mile trip home with the car yesterday, a fair bit of 70mph motorway and dual carriageway driving with 60mph A roads. The car reckons I got 3.5miles per kwh and with 38% battery left I worked out it was ~250 miles range. In those conditions, warm weather but heavy rain in the 2nd half of the journey and the car in whatever mode it defaults to.. I'll take £250 miles.
Now I'm away from the big city and back in civilisation I expect to get even better figures.

 

[TimothyN]

I am going to make myself sound really stupid, but I have spotted a danger in this game.

I am working very hard at seeing how low consumption I can get. I am now at 5.8. It takes effort and patience, but it's fun. It's a bit like a computer game.

And there lies the danger.

This morning I accelerated very gently from my house towards the village and was driving slowly (let's say 25) when I saw a man pushing a buggy possibly moving towards a zebra crossing. He was being quite undirected, as his is right.

Normally, I would stop without a second thought. Safety First.

But, for the shortest fraction of a second the thought went through my mind "if I stop and restart unnecessarily, it will waste all the effort I have put it so far, let's just see what he is going to do."

Of course, I dismissed the thought as soon as it entered my head, and stopped, but the very fact that there was a millisecond of hesitation is quite worrying.

There is no point admonishing me. I know this is ridiculous. I am a pro-pilot, I share safety concerns in the hope that others will benefit. I shouldn't be punished or castigated. It's called Just Culture.

 

[5teep]

You punished yourself, no need for anyone else to do it and tbh if we all had to answer for our thoughts 90% of the world would be a prison.

 

[Alb]

I am going to make myself sound really stupid, but I have spotted a danger in this game.

I am working very hard at seeing how low consumption I can get. I am now at 5.8. It takes effort and patience, but it's fun. It's a bit like a computer game.

And there lies the danger.

This morning I accelerated very gently from my house towards the village and was driving slowly (let's say 25) when I saw a man pushing a buggy possibly moving towards a zebra crossing. He was being quite undirected, as his is right.

Normally, I would stop without a second thought. Safety First.

But, for the shortest fraction of a second the thought went through my mind "if I stop and restart unnecessarily, it will waste all the effort I have put it so far, let's just see what he is going to do."

Of course, I dismissed the thought as soon as it entered my head, and stopped, but the very fact that there was a millisecond of hesitation is quite worrying.

There is no point admonishing me. I know this is ridiculous. I am a pro-pilot, I share safety concerns in the hope that others will benefit. I shouldn't be punished or castigated. It's called Just Culture.

This thread isn't really aimed at anyone making a conscious effort to achieve super high (or low) figures hence the inclusion of "Real world" in the title. All that's needed here is to drive the car as you normally drive it