Range And "That Other EV"

1106 Views 10 Replies 7 Participants Last post by BLACK-PREMERE, 16 d ago

dafish

Folks always brag on their best range numbers, and truth be told I'm pretty sure some posters, at least on forums I'm on, exaggerate/inflate claims to no end. Aside from that most of us live in the real world and aren't going to play hyper mile games. Here's some real data, and it's not pretty. What is likely to be as tough a situation as I'll ever take the "Y' on.

Outbound:
Precondition: Yes
Temp: 24F
Wind: 17 mph headwind.
Tire Pressure: 36PSI
Cruising Speed: 74mph
Heat: Recirc off, cabin 73f, seats and steering wheel on "auto" (lowest setting most of the time).
Loading: 700lbs pax and crap.
Results: 428wh/mile. Brutal. 200 miles of max range on a full charge.

Short of towing it's hard to imagine a worse scenario, so for now that's my "how bad can it get" baseline. I got to pay Tesla supercharger ($$$) rates for the return trip. Such rates are essentially equal to gasoline cost for a similar sized vehicle.

Return:
Precondition: No
Temp: 23F
Wind: 10 mph tailwind.
Tire Pressure: 36PSI
Cruising Speed: 73mph
Heat: Recirc off, cabin 73f, seats and steering wheel on "auto" (lowest setting most of the time).
Loading: 500lbs pax and crap.
Results: 355wh/mile. Still tough. 230 miles of max range on a full charge.

My take:
EV's on trips can certainly work but it's not really their forte. I'm unlikely to take one farther then 350 miles one way if I've an ICE handy. Could I do things to improve range? Sure! Am I? Probably not. I'm going to do some rolling resistance tests and see if I'm correct in thinking there isn't much improvement in tire pressure past 35psi. Could I have run the car in re-circ and save some power? Yep. Drive slower? Yep. But to get what? 30 more miles? WGAS? For local use where my electricity is free I just don't care.

My EV reminds me of a 12 pax 1 ton van I had. Wind and speed ate range alive, and as a rule it was a poor choice for long trips.

TBD:
1) Will air pressure make enough difference to matter? (unlikely)
2) How much does cold affect range?
3) What will hot days do?

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atreis

· #2 · 2 mo ago

Looks pretty comparable to what I got with my Ariya under similar conditions over the weekend. For me, it's still doable for trips in the winter, but does require some planning and checking the status of chargers in Plugshare.

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Gogel geek

· #3 · 2 mo ago

Unless I missed it please indicate which battery your car is equipped with. if it’s the entry level Ariya then those numbers are pretty darned good. Otherwise please also consider the terrain, was it very hilly / mountainous? The miles / range display is only a “guess o meter” based on your driving history. My Evolve+ has the larger battery and my wife drives it to and from work, around town. It does seem to deliver 250 +, closer to the EPA / DOT estimate of 289 miles.
Granted, your road trip as described is a lot more demanding than my use case.
Try using B mode or e-pedal mode (they both seem similar to me) to increase regeneration to the battery. That should also increase range.
Interesting topic, I’d like to hear about others experiences.

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NeedEVnow

· #4 · 2 mo ago

I don't ow any EV yet. I cancelled my Solterra reservation after test driving and denied Venture+ after test driving (missing some essential features needed by wife). Looking at all those post about range/battery, I am thinking may be Tesla are better and everyone claiming that tesla is far ahead than other EVs, seems true. Still contemplating if I should cancel my Ariya reservation or not.

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dafish

Discussion Starter · #5 · 2 mo ago

That was a model Y LR. Similar body shape, size, battery as an AWD +.

Yes, my wife does much the same.

I can get elevation track from a different phone, but think flat.

The idea was to start a no-agenda/candid result for reference instead of the best case fan boy stuff so many posts show. I also showed consumption per mile as it eliminates battery size, SoC at departure, etc. I would guess speed and ambient temp will differentiate range more than model differences or brands.

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dafish

Discussion Starter · #6 · 2 mo ago

NeedEVnow said:
I don't ow any EV yet. I cancelled my Solterra reservation after test driving and denied Venture+ after test driving (missing some essential features needed by wife). Looking at all those post about range/battery, I am thinking may be Tesla are better and everyone claiming that tesla is far ahead than other EVs, seems true. Still contemplating if I should cancel my Ariya reservation or not.

Each machine has its niche. I can talk about my decisions offline if you PM, but in forum I prefer to be supportive of all EV. I swing by here some just from all my time as a reservation holder.

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NeedEVnow

· #7 · 2 mo ago

dafish said:
Each machine has its niche. I can talk about my decisions offline if you PM, but in forum I prefer to be supportive of all EV. I swing by here some just from all my time as a reservation holder.

Sent you PM.

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Hank

· #8 · 2 mo ago

NeedEVnow said:
I don't ow any EV yet. I cancelled my Solterra reservation after test driving and denied Venture+ after test driving (missing some essential features needed by wife). Looking at all those post about range/battery, I am thinking may be Tesla are better and everyone claiming that tesla is far ahead than other EVs, seems true. Still contemplating if I should cancel my Ariya reservation or not.

With the Tesla, you will be using the AC a lot due to the heat glass dome microwave which will lower your range. We are fortunate that the Ariya has the ability to open the panoramic moonroof for fresh air without having to turn AC on full blast.

The Venture + has better range but less features than the Engage + short range. If you plan to charge from home, get the Engage+ and leave your EV at home when doing road trips.

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voxel

· #9 · 2 mo ago

I traded away my BMW i4 (for a giant gas guzzler... will share that story for another day) and drove 120+ miles to the dealership to make the trade.

If you want to see an EV that is efficient.. it's the BMW i4. I drove two segments - at 70mph and at 80mph.. of course the trip meter includes time spent at red lights so the average speed is lower in the screenshots. The sedan shape truly helps efficiency and also the BMW externally excited motors.

Started at 80% SoC in downtown Orlando from my office garage L2 charger. 70-75F outside.
Ended up at Buc-ee's at 63% so 17-18% at 70mph. 4.07 mi/Wh.

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From Buc-ee's to the other Buc-ee's... traffic was 80-85mph. Nobody was 10 under the speed limit. It was my last leg with the BMW i4 before I was trading it away.. so I hand my final hurrah with it.
63% to 40-ish (I forget). 3.68 mi/kWh.

300+ miles of range is very possible at highway speeds on the i4. I would not say that is true for any SUV EV except maybe the BMW iX with the 100+ kWh battery pack.

I've seen efficiency numbers like the above for the Model 3 RWD. At 75mph... 4-0 - 4.2mi/kWh is possible. For the Model Y? Good luck... maybe 3.5 or 3.6 mi/kWh.

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voxel

· #10 · 2 mo ago

dafish said:
1) Will air pressure make enough difference to matter? (unlikely)
2) How much does cold affect range?
3) What will hot days do?

1) PSIs do matter. My BMW i4 had low tire pressure and I noticed in my EV logs I had 3.4 mi/kWh efficiency in warm temps compared to back in Sept/Oct with 3.8-3.9mi/kWh. Of course... I inflated my tires before the final trip and saw efficiency like in the fall. Always keep your tire pressure at factory recommended numbers.

2) Heat pumps are the most effective between 40-55F. They don't do that much in sub freezing temps. Useful but not overly effective.

3) Hot days will impact efficiency too but not as much on long trips. I've personally seen 380 Wh/mile on short trips in 95+F Florida to the grocery in my (sold) Model Y but on longer trips.. that HVAC penalty is spread out.

My lifetime Wh/mile on my Model Y was around 280Wh/mile in warm Florida. I had it in "cold" and hot weather (Nov 2021 to Nov 2022) and for short trips the HVAC would nuke efficiency. My Model 3 RWD was closer to 220 Wh/mile lifetime.

Here's a converter if you need one - https://codepen.io/FalconFour/full/dgVQGE/

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BLACK-PREMERE

· #11 · 16 d ago

dafish said:
Outbound:
Precondition: Yes
Temp: 24F
Wind: 17 mph headwind.
Tire Pressure: 36PSI
Cruising Speed: 74mph
Heat: Recirc off, cabin 73f, seats and steering wheel on "auto" (lowest setting most of the time).
Loading: 700lbs pax and crap.
Results: 428wh/mile. Brutal. 200 miles of max range on a full charge.

Return:
Precondition: No
Temp: 23F
Wind: 10 mph tailwind.
Tire Pressure: 36PSI
Cruising Speed: 73mph
Heat: Recirc off, cabin 73f, seats and steering wheel on "auto" (lowest setting most of the time).
Loading: 500lbs pax and crap.
Results: 355wh/mile. Still tough. 230 miles of max range on a full charge.

Wow.
I let ProPilot 2.0 do the driving.
The unit does a more efficient job driving itself without human intervention...

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