EV Range

[dstrauss]

I've quit testing; in fact, I've even quit logging data. The car does everything I want - no amount of around town driving will drain the battery in a day (hey - it mid-size American city here, so I should expect that) - in fact, it is hard to get down into the teens. So except when I leave town, it is all electric all the time. On the long hauls, between 65-70 I routinely get 40-42 mpg; jump to 80 and it goes to 36-38 mpg. I call that fantastic in my book for a 4000 pound mid-size sedan (that's as heavy as the baseline Pilot and 800 pounds heavier than the CR-V).

My point - I have completely weaned myself off my Prius days obsession with maxing out the mpg numbers...until that mythical 500 BEV range vehicle with 15 minute recharge times hit the road, my Clarity does EVERYTHING I want from my electric vehicle, without a bit of road trip range anxiety...

PS - at 80mph, on mostly level highway, my 2011 Prius had real problems maintaining a low 40's mpg - I now have a five passenger sedan, driving in unbelievable luxury, quiet and comfort, getting me 38 mpg - - this is near perfect for this old buzzard.

Thank you Honda - now get to work fixing all of our software nits, OK?

 

[ab13]

They should consider an optional GPS linked HV mode so the car could check the elevation and whether it's highway or local roads to automatically set the mode.

 

[jdonalds]

I've quit testing; in fact, I've even quit logging data. The car does everything I want - no amount of around town driving will drain the battery in a day (hey - it mid-size American city here, so I should expect that) - in fact, it is hard to get down into the teens. So except when I leave town, it is all electric all the time. On the long hauls, between 65-70 I routinely get 40-42 mpg; jump to 80 and it goes to 36-38 mpg. I call that fantastic in my book for a 4000 pound mid-size sedan (that's as heavy as the baseline Pilot and 800 pounds heavier than the CR-V).

My point - I have completely weaned myself off my Prius days obsession with maxing out the mpg numbers...until that mythical 500 BEV range vehicle with 15 minute recharge times hit the road, my Clarity does EVERYTHING I want from my electric vehicle, without a bit of road trip range anxiety...

PS - at 80mph, on mostly level highway, my 2011 Prius had real problems maintaining a low 40's mpg - I now have a five passenger sedan, driving in unbelievable luxury, quiet and comfort, getting me 38 mpg - - this is near perfect for this old buzzard.

Thank you Honda - now get to work fixing all of our software nits, OK?

I'm pretty much where you are dstrauss. I used to pay a lot of attention when driving the Prius, trying to keep below 41mph so the engine could turn off, using pulse-and-glide, calculating mpg at every gas fill up. etc. With the Clarity none of that is necessary. It takes no effort to keep the car in EV mode all the time around town as you said. That leaves me free to play with the gadgets.

I hope the world discovers what a fantastic car this is and Honda has to increase production.

 

[Wall-e]

I was able to get 60.7 miles of EV yesterday. It was 90 deg F with AC running two adults and a child. I live in Southern California so there was some traffic, I think that helped. It was also the forst time using Adaptive cruise control which was cool but quirky a little on the braking above 50mph.

 

[Rajiv Vaidyanathan]

I was able to get 60.7 miles of EV yesterday.

Frustrating to read these messages when I am yet to have a single day during my ownership where my EV range has hit 40 miles. I came close once. Over 1200 miles on the vehicle.

Serves me right for living in Duluth, MN, I guess. Temps this morning were in the 20s.

 

[Atul Thakkar]

Frustrating to read these messages when I am yet to have a single day during my ownership where my EV range has hit 40 miles. I came close once. Over 1200 miles on the vehicle.

Serves me right for living in Duluth, MN, I guess. Temps this morning were in the 20s.

I have heard that if you mix up charging example 12 v/s 240v when possible may improve. Nothing to loose , just try out.

 

[KentuckyKen]

Frustrating to read these messages when I am yet to have a single day during my ownership where my EV range has hit 40 miles. I came close once. Over 1200 miles on the vehicle.

Serves me right for living in Duluth, MN, I guess. Temps this morning were in the 20s.

Hang in there Rajiv, Spring is coming!
Here in Kentucky, it’s the in between season where we don’t need a/c or heat for house or car. With absolutely no non-motive battery drain except for the DRLs, I’m consistently getting 58 to 60 (with an occasional 64) EV est range when temps are 45 to 70. When I first got the car in Feb., I only got mid to high 40s EV. And it’s tracking with the odometer within 1-2 miles.

Not meaning to pile on you, just to encourage you that when the temps go up so will your EV range.

I’m not hypermiling but do drive conservatively with the proverbial egg between my foot and accel/brake pedals. Also:
-RainX treated glass so over 35 mph I don’t need to use wipers.
-Use seat heat not cabin heat. Did use cabin heat once and EV plummeted! It took several trips/charges to come back up.
-Tinted all glass (including windshield) with an IR/heat reflecting film. Really made a difference on hot sunny days with less heat build up so less a/c usage. (Check your laws first)
-Check tire pressure monthly. You can loose a few mpg here. Manual says 36 but I keep 38/37 in all.
-take time to clear car of ice/snow for better aerodynamics/less weight.

Nothing you can do about low temps affecting battery and slushy roads that drag your mileage down, but spring is just around the corner!

 

[HariN]

One more reading, as temperatures Boise, ID reaching 50F,
I mostly drive in spots mode with full regen , 80% City miles, I am getting 59.5mi full charge using 110V changing


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[KentuckyKen]

One more reading, as temperatures Boise, ID reaching 50F,
I mostly drive in spots mode with full regen , 80% City miles, I am getting 59.5mi full charge using 110V changing View attachment 886


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HariN, you have a believable HV range showing. How much gas have you put into the tank lately?

 

[Viking79]

I am with you Rajiv, we had snow and 24 F this morning... I am so ready for spring to start. I am a several hours south in Iowa so it is relatively warm here

On the plus side it looks like less than a week for some nice weather, finally.

Eric

 

[bobcubsfan]

In Los Angeles. Driving mostly on city streets, but some freeway at speeds up to 65. The range is 59 miles now. It has never dropped below 48. Driven about 1000 miles now. Used less than 2 gallons of gas and that was a trip to Santa Barbara that is about 150 miles round trip.

 

[bpratt]

Now that warm weather is finally here (low to mid 70s) I am getting nearly 60 miles per charge. This morning it showed 59.9. One thing I have noticed is the first 1/4 mile driven after a full charge, the car actually loses about 5/10 on the meter. After that it settles down and after driving 52.3 miles today, the meter still showed 7.4 miles left, so the meter seems to be very accurate. I don't drive as conservatively as KentuckyKen, but I do drive in Econ mode and my engine never starts. I purchased the car in December 2017 and have only used 1/4 tank of gas.

 

[KentuckyKen]

Now that warm weather is finally here (low to mid 70s) I am getting nearly 60 miles per charge. This morning it showed 59.9. One thing I have noticed is the first 1/4 mile driven after a full charge, the car actually loses about 5/10 on the meter. After that it settles down and after driving 52.3 miles today, the meter still showed 7.4 miles left, so the meter seems to be very accurate. I don't drive as conservatively as KentuckyKen, but I do drive in Econ mode and my engine never starts. I purchased the car in December 2017 and have only used 1/4 tank of gas.

I’m in Econ too. Seems to have plenty of accel without going past detent and calling for ICE. Most of my accel is to the 3rd tick or about 11:00 and rarely to the 4th or straight up 12:00 position to merge. So it seems to have plenty of e-acceleration left that I haven’t even had to use.
Maybe I’m just getting old. Maybe the definition of an old driver is one that cares more for efficiency than speed. Well, I was young and stupid once; now I’m old and a little less stupid.
1,300 miles on 2 gal. Haven’t pumped gas in 2 months. Love it.

 

[bobcubsfan]

We had Nissan Leaf for 7 years. Here is what affects EV range: Everything. AC, heat, hills etc. Sometimes drivers don't think they are driving on a hill, but if the general slope is uphill that will negatively affect range. Downslope is the opposite. For example, it is "downhill" from our location in Los Angeles to Santa Barbara even though the freeway has ups and downs. I know that because the range of the Leaf was 80 miles, but we still had 20 miles left after driving 73 miles. Watch the gauge on the dash. You can easily see if the battery is charging or if power is being used.

 

[PHEV Newbie]

We had Nissan Leaf for 7 years. Here is what affects EV range: Everything. AC, heat, hills etc. Sometimes drivers don't think they are driving on a hill, but if the general slope is uphill that will negatively affect range. Downslope is the opposite. For example, it is "downhill" from our location in Los Angeles to Santa Barbara even though the freeway has ups and downs. I know that because the range of the Leaf was 80 miles, but we still had 20 miles left after driving 73 miles. Watch the gauge on the dash. You can easily see if the battery is charging or if power is being used.

I notice that too. On one of my daily drives, there's a 4 mile stretch where I lose zero miles of range even though it seems pretty flat. On the way back, I give back those same miles I gained.

On a related topic, I was wondering how much range (actual, not just what the computer says) you've lost after 7 years of battery use. I'm curious of how much battery degradation to expect over time. How many miles have you put on your leaf so far?

 

[bobcubsfan]

We had 2 Leafs. One for 3 years the other for 4. The batteries did not degrade at all. However we only drive about 10k miles per year.


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[Wall-e]

I am yet to have a single day during my ownership where my EV range has hit 40 miles.

A lot has to do with ambient temperature. Also terrain you travel is important see my elevation profile attached for the trip (This represents the whole range and the dark red was the portion of return on EV). I have about 700miles on the odometer so I am still getting use to the car. It was warm outside so I had the AC on at 70°F with eco mode on.

 

[HariN]

HariN, you have a believable HV range showing. How much gas have you put into the tank lately?

Eric, I haven’t added any since I brought my car on Dec29. It was showing 380 mile full tank, I used HV mode in days that I need to drive > 40 miles in a day, and only during Highway drive, which is typically < 20 % my typical. Currently, 40% tank (8 bars) shows 164 miles range.


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[bobcubsfan]

Why does engine come online when there are 3 bars left on the battery?

 

[loomis2]

I'm curious of how much battery degradation to expect over time. How many miles have you put on your leaf so far?

Our 2013 Leaf has lost one bar on the battery health meter and the range at full is around 73 miles, so it has lost around 10 miles in range over almost 6 years of driving. It now has about 55,000 miles on it. Our Clarity has never shown above 42 miles of ev range. I wonder if that is because it is mostly driven on the highway at 65-70mph.