Trip report - mileage

[jumper]

I just finished a 250 mile round trip from 1,500 ft elevation to sea level and back that included about 60 miles of stop and go traffic, and the balance at 70-80 MPH. I had two zero to full charges while away of 6.86 and 6.74 kWh, respectively, for a total of $2.60, and used a total of 5.1 gallons of fuel at $2.62/gallon. I did have to use the cabin defroster and mirror defroster one morning while not plugged in (that took a couple of miles off the meter). Outside temperatures were in the 50-60s and I had the Nav running.

I calculate a total of 42.1 MPGg equivalent between the 5.1 gallons of gasoline consumed and one-gallon electricity equivalent consumed ($2.60 to buy electricity vs. $2.62/gallon gas).

I tended to use hybrid mode above about 30MPH and EV below that, and I tried to minimize using the gas pedal during the worst of the stop and go.

BTW, Chargepoint reports computed miles added to the charge for the etron using roughly 3.8kW @ 10 MPH. Assuming a 6.6 kWh usable, that would get you about 17.5 miles @ 10 MPH for 1.73 hours. Interesting. That seems about right with no regeneration.

 

[OwDeEtron]

Your electricity must be expensive, at least relative to mine.

There is a guy I found on PlugShare.com (he lives close to a friend) who lets people "fill up" for free. I added 15 e-miles today. Don't want to wear out my welcome.

Do you ever look at your mpg on the OBC? It drives me crazy. Yesterday, it said 172 mpg. Today, I think it was 50+ but I did a lot more driving today.

Thanks for posting.

 

[gonkulator]

What are the factors, especially the uncontrollable factors, effecting EV mileage? Outside temperature, level roads (or hills,) what else? The reason I ask is that I am getting less than half the mileage that is displayed when I start a drive on EV only. For example, yesterday, I began with an estimated 24 mi of EV range, and driving around town (not the freeway) got me 11 miles before EV was at zero and the ICE kicked in. I am deliberately driving gently. 40 degrees F, plenty of hills (both up and down, it was a round trip.)

 

[arne]

The big two are ambient temperature and uphill driving. The batteries are less efficient at lower temps, even your current 40°F temp will have an affect. Also temp related is using the HVAC inside. People have reported better range when turning the heater off and then using the seat heaters instead. (I generally can't do that here in Eugene, too damp, the windshield fogs up.)

Uphill grades draw a lot of power, much more than the matching downhill can regenerate. I live 400' above the rest of town, so I start all my trips with 2 miles downhill, which are essentially free. But the uphill coming home is brutal on EV range, typically using 4-5 miles estimated range in 1.5 miles.

Speed is also a considerable factor, but that is more controllable than the other two. I don't think the motor is less efficient, but aerodynamic drag starts taking a toll as low as 45 MPH or so. EV range at 60 MPH isn't particularly good, and at 70 or more it sucks the batteries pretty quickly.

Worth noting that the range estimate displayed is (apparently) a best-case scenario. I have never gotten that much on any charge. Whe the weather was warmer back in late September, I got as much as 24 miles on a charge, but the range estimate ("Guess-o-meter") in that case was 31 miles. As a rule, I figure that I will probably only 60-70% of the estimate, and sometimes even less depending on conditions.

 

[gonkulator]

The big two are ambient temperature and uphill driving. The batteries are less efficient at lower temps, even your current 40°F temp will have an affect. Also temp related is using the HVAC inside. People have reported better range when turning the heater off and then using the seat heaters instead. (I generally can't do that here in Eugene, too damp, the windshield fogs up.)

Uphill grades draw a lot of power, much more than the matching downhill can regenerate. I live 400' above the rest of town, so I start all my trips with 2 miles downhill, which are essentially free. But the uphill coming home is brutal on EV range, typically using 4-5 miles estimated range in 1.5 miles.

Speed is also a considerable factor, but that is more controllable than the other two. I don't think the motor is less efficient, but aerodynamic drag starts taking a toll as low as 45 MPH or so. EV range at 60 MPH isn't particularly good, and at 70 or more it sucks the batteries pretty quickly.

Worth noting that the range estimate displayed is (apparently) a best-case scenario. I have never gotten that much on any charge. Whe the weather was warmer back in late September, I got as much as 24 miles on a charge, but the range estimate ("Guess-o-meter") in that case was 31 miles. As a rule, I figure that I will probably only 60-70% of the estimate, and sometimes even less depending on conditions.

Thanks, that's all good to know. I will keep logging things to learn more, especially as the temperature changes.

 

[bruintoo]

...
Speed is also a considerable factor, but that is more controllable than the other two. I don't think the motor is less efficient, but aerodynamic drag starts taking a toll as low as 45 MPH or so. EV range at 60 MPH isn't particularly good, and at 70 or more it sucks the batteries pretty quickly...

Hence, my disbelief of getting no less than 17 miles in EV mode cruising at 75MPH in one of the anecdotes in this board.

 

[arne]

Hence, my disbelief of getting no less than 17 miles in EV mode cruising at 75MPH in one of the anecdotes in this board.

40 mph tailwind might do it...

 

[OwDeEtron]

I filled up yesterday with 8.2 gallons after driving 793 miles. Something like 96.75 mpg. Wish I could tell you how many kWh I've used.

Did anyone else see this? http://www.treehugger.com/clean-tec...proves-plug-hybrid-efficiency-30-percent.html

Anyone believe that hybrid mode every time is the best way?

 

[gonkulator]

I filled up yesterday with 8.2 gallons after driving 793 miles. Something like 96.75 mpg. Wish I could tell you how many kWh I've used.

Did anyone else see this? http://www.treehugger.com/clean-tec...proves-plug-hybrid-efficiency-30-percent.html

Anyone believe that hybrid mode every time is the best way?

I'm not sure what is the best way yet, as I have only been observing things for about 380 miles. I avoid hybrid mode in my typical driving as my routes are usually less than around 20 miles. I try to maximize the EV portion and just go to hold mode for the few miles on the freeway so I have enough capacity to go EV until the end. I think the article points to things that could improve efficiency though. I keep thinking about how, for instance, if the car knew my destination, how it could, conceptually, know (better over time as the data grew) the most efficient route based on elevation, speed limits, traffic, etc. I could choose a route based on what my priorities are.

 

[hangtime10]

These days with the colder temps (at or below 0C), I'm switching between EV and Sport (Hybrid Hold) modes. Once my AER gets to about 1/2, I'd go to Sport for 10 mins or so, which regens the battery decently and I can go back to driving in EV. My dd to work is about 40km and these days I'm getting to work with 5 to 10km available. This is while using the heater and heated seats.
With this combination of driving modes, I'm consuming 3.75L/100km (used 15L - drove 400km).
As this is the first full winter that I'll have my car, I plan on doing this a week or so and then do the same driving in Hybrid Auto to see which works best.