High vs low level brake regen for overall range

If EV's are really all "moving toward one pedal braking" I think that's a mistake. As mentioned earlier, the Niro EV combines regen with the brake pedal, and only uses the friction brakes when you exceed the braking capacity of regen alone. This allows me to drive with regen on its lowest setting, taking advantage of coasting which is always more energy efficient than slowing and then speeding up again using the motor. e.g., think coasting down a hill, slightly exceeding the speed limit and then slowing back down going up the other side. Much better than maintaining speed with regen and then having to apply power at the bottom of the hill. It's also smoother -- similar to driving an (auto transmission) ICE vehicle and avoids the passenger 'motion sickness' that someone else mentioned.

 

It is interesting to see debates in the EV forums about which techniques to use to eek out the most efficiency. This can be a worthy goal to either save money or just the satisfaction of achieving it. For me, I so much enjoy maximum regen for as much one-pedal driving feel as possible that I wouldn't mind losing some mileage, even if that were the case which it may or may not be. Also, I don't understand why most people are unable to learn how to hold steady or feather the accelerator in order to create perfectly smooth driving on high regen without having to give it a second thought after some practice.

 

Good observation. I'm guessing that much of the 'enjoyment' of one pedal driving comes from the satisfaction of knowing you're putting a charge back into the battery and saving energy/range . Certainly a good feeling. But I also don't think most people coming from an ICE vehicle want to think about feathering the accelerator to achieve smoothness. From my own experience, when using maximum regen I find that *any* little movement of the accelerator, whether hitting a bump or just shifting my seating position, causes a slight jerkiness. And if I can avoid that and still get the same efficiency, why wouldn't I?

 

This is a fine opinion but also seems common with most people who haven't tried to get used to one pedal driving.

I can easily do all the things you mentioned (coasting whenever I want) while also not needing to move my foot more than a couple of millimeters. I also know exactly when I'm using the friction brakes.

None of my passengers would be able to tell if my car had one pedal driving or not because it is as smooth (or likely smoother) than the typical two pedal setup.

As mentioned before somewhere in this forum, the primary split seems to be automatic vs manual ICE drivers. Those with manual experience typically have no issue adapting to one pedal driving.

 

I completely agree!

 

I do have manual experience and have no issue adapting to one pedal. But, as I stated before, in my opinion one pedal is not as smooth as a modern auto on an ICE vehicle. And as with any modern ICE vehicle, the automatic trans gets better mileage to boot, which I think holds true with an EV when comparing one pedal to traditional braking, but *only* with regenerative braking. Big distinction.

 

I've heard that the Chevy Bolt's transition from power to regen-braking is abrupt, so it might feel jerky compared to a modern multi-speed automatic. That is not the case with the MINI Cooper SE--the transition is very smooth and you can hold the accelerator in the "coasting zone" after you get used to it.

My wife, who doesn't care a whit about driving technique, has adapted well to the SE's one-pedal mode and this right-seat driver can't fault how smoothly she controls the speed of our SE. My only gripe is that when we're out together she always claims the driver's seat, something that never happened when I had manual-transmission fun-cars because she's clutch-averse.

The gearless acceleration of the MINI Cooper SE is certainly smoother than any multi-speed automatic, and it doesn't produce the offending sound of a droning engine sound like a CVT.

 

Generally there are two different approaches to driving feel. One is an effortless magic carpet floating on air and the other is an extension of your hands and feet. The first approach provides wonderful comfort in rush hour traffic, while the latter will teach you to never drive over a pothole AGAIN.

In my opinion, the transition from three pedal driving to one pedal is much more intuitive than two pedal driving to one pedal due to the concepts of engine braking, neutral gear, and the clutch friction point.

 

The way I describe one peddle driving is like driving a manual that is stuck in 1st gear.

 

...in a car with a small, high compression engine (minus the noise, of course).

 

I would never buy another EV without a well implemented one-pedal system.

With my wife in the driver seat of our Mini SE I never, ever felt sick or nauseated by her driving with full regen. In our former car (Audi e-tron) her driving with any amount of liftoff regen engaged would make me nauseous. Pure coasting also felt synthetic as a typical ICE car would have engine braking upon lifting off of the accelerator pedal. In the e-tron coasting would propel the car forward for what seemed like forever. I just didn’t like the implementation of that at all.

Braking was also weird, though better than any of the blended brakes I’d tried. With the SE or other one-pedal cars (afaik) the brake pedal engages friction brakes. Brake feel is natural and you always know when regen is being used, and when friction brakes are being used.

 

Lol my first car required that I teach myself double-clutch and h&t techniques on-the-fly, while driving it home after I bought it! Meanwhile, over the past 20 years, I’ve taken to two-foot driving most of the industrial vehicles at work (due mostly to poor pedal placement). Truly curious how I’ll adapt. Yes, I got the hang of it quickly enough on my two relatively short test drives, but I wonder how I’ll go, long-term.

 

One pedal driving in my view enhances the MINI's "go kart" reputation. When I used to race karts, there were tracks where you really didn't need the brake. Engine (compression) braking was sufficient if the track wasn't very tight. Well, on 100CC karts most non kart specific tracks aren't tight The MINI feels a lot like that. In a kart, your feet are separated, so your right is only interested in the accelerator - with one pedal driving it is the same. You rarely use the brake, and can modulate speed with just the accelerator. I quite like the response (at city speeds) when you come up to a 90 degree corner and can balance the car around the corner without the brake without slowing too much. Very go kart ......

 

A lot does depend on the car, I guess. My experience of owning is eGolf, Gen2 Volt, and now Kona EV. I have also tried or driven BMW i3, Teslas, Niro, ID.4, Bolts, Mach-E, etc. As I recall, the Bolt and i3 definitely felt too abrupt with one-pedal driving. With the eGolf and Kona, it feels very fluid and you can choose from among 4 levels to find what is just right. I wouldn't buy one that didn't have a good feel to me.

 

For efficiency, I have done some informal experimentation at steady highway cruising between high regen and low or none. I went back and forth multiple times on a long sections of a boring drive with nothing else to do, being careful to be on level roads. The results were very close and did not consistently favor either technique, perhaps do to tiny elevation changes. Since the difference was very minor at best, I was left with the conclusion that I could use whatever I preferred. As for smoothness, there is a big difference among cars that I have driven or tried (many of them) and I would not buy one that did not allow for a very fluid one-pedal experience that I so enjoy.