OT EV car range

My own experience in decreasing order of affect on range.

Speed. By far the biggest factor.

Heating. Significant but considerably less so that speed.

Lighting. (Has a barely discernible effect)

?Eco? modes in EVs have very little effect beyond changing throttle pedal mapping and restricting heating/cooling. Nothing that can?t be achieved by right foot control and pressing a button or two on the heater controls. Can?t change the laws of physics (although many EV drivers seem to believe in the magical effect of the ?Eco? setting.

Tim

So, not really suitable for long distance motorway cruising, which was a major factor in my choice of my current car.

Which I would expect with modern LED lights.

Although mine is a PHEV I agree with the factors above, but would add outside temperature. Even without the heating on a cold-soaked battery has a significant impact on EV range. Re "Eco mode": the main changes with mine are that it "free-wheels" (rather then re-generating) on the overrun and reacts differently when the vehicle ahead is decelerating - this is so useful in traffic that I regularly switch to "Eco" in towns.

I suspect that's worse in a PHEV because there's a comparatively smaller battery - if you only have 40 miles of PHEV range, to burn 10 of them on preheat isn't ideal. If you have 300 miles, 10 miles isn't a lot. (does the PHEV preheat using the engine, or purely battery power?)

If the EV is on charger, many can preheat the battery from the external power. Some lithium chemistries don't like cold temperatures, so there are diminishing returns trying to get a cold battery to heat itself (battery has lower capacity, therefore uses more %age to preheat itself up to operating conditions).

Many recent EVs have heat pumps, which substantially improve heating efficiency over resistive heaters. It seems like the current Zoe has one:

Theo

That was comparing 31mph to 68mph. Wind resistance will be roughly 4 times as much at the higher speed. Rolling resistance roughly the same. So, I'd expect a drastic range reduction at the higher speed. The effect is exactly the same on a petrol car, but you don't notice it so much.

Bear in mind that driving at 31mph normally implies town driving, with all it's stopping and starting. I expect that the Renault calculator is working out the range for driving on the open road at the two speeds. Really, doing 31mph on say the motorway is dangerous, so I don't think this is a sensible way of calculating range, and I'm astonished that people fall for it.

You'd like to think it could be told to pre-heat (on a timer, or via an app) while was still plugged-in ...

Apologies for inboxing you, bloody Thunderbird!

A poster on another forum I use has tried 3 (I forget which) and is back driving a diesel. It was just too much faff, wasted time and anxiety for him.

We've 2 cars, one rarely used, if I was swapping that one i'd consider it but if you can't charge at home and do more than pottering around town I don't yet see them as viable.

The battery and car have separate water systems but I don't know whether there is a way for the car system to transfer heat to the battery system

- I presume there is because the ICE will start if the air is very cold, even if "e-mode" is selected.

Pre-heat is available via the app when the car is plugged-in - it heats the cabin and (I assume) the battery for 15 minutes before departure time.

It can. Enter departure time in the App and it will pre-heat for the 15 minutes before then.

Choose your car. Many Tesla owners manage long motorway journeys just fine.

Tim

Agreed. I should have added ?heavy rain? between speed and heating. The extra drag caused by sopping wet roads has a significant effect.

Tim

Did a return trip from Ayr to Aberdeen at the weekend without too much trouble. It?s certainly a bit more faffy that refuelling at a petrol station but given the eye-watering price of fuel these days, it?s a bit of faffing I can cope with.

Tim

I suppose it depends where you are and the levels of EV take up vs provision. This guy was talking about queues at the chargers. But yes, it does appear we need to move away from fossil fuel, we might all end up back on horses.

We have built a world that allows an enormous number of people to live pretty well, based on the availability of cheap energy and fossil fuels.

Remove those fuels, and society as we know it collapses.

Never mind saving the planet for your grandchildren, try saving your grandchildren for the planet.

I have: a plug-in hybrid, which may arrive some time this year. That gives me the ability to drive long distances without relying upon fast recharging points being available, but also allows for the fact that I can foresee some city centres becoming electric drive only areas.

Many Tesla owners manage long motorway journeys just

They still cant match the 600+ mile range with a few minute refill time of my current car though.

The Zoe is just an EV version of a Clio. The Clio is not known for being a good motorway cruiser, although people do it.

Just like people who do ICE motorway cruising might buy one with a big diesel engine, people who do it in an EV might find it's better in a larger vehicle with a more comfortable interior and a bigger battery. Not a city hatchback.

Theo

I've had my Skoda Enyaq for 6 months, so far. Done about 3000 miles - local(ish) journeys. On Wednesday I have a 450 mile journey to do - but over 2 days - I'm too old to do it all in one day.

This weeks whinge and whine to Katie Morley, the consumer champion of the DT is from a chap who sold his BMW X5 and bought a BMW iX3 ?? and then complained that it took 9 hours to drive from Southern England to Northern England. Seems he was driving it like an X5, tanking up the motorway, full air con etc.

electric cars have very good acceleration, but does this have an effect on range. My Astra 1.6 petrol instant fuel consumption display shows under 10mpg when accelerating up an incline.