85 mile commute (round trip)

Where do you live? If you live somewhere with harsh winters it might be tight, but otherwise you're probably gtg, assuming you can fully charge overnight.

 

That's exactly my commute, no charging at work. Driving in Mid mode, during warm months I have over 45% SoC left by the time I get home, and in winter I have over 30% SoC. Only in extreme cold (colder than -10 ºF) do I have to closely watch my range, but I still got home with about 15-20% SoC. These values are dependent on the types of wheels and driving style. For reference I have Power Spoke wheels in the summer and Spectre Grey Revolite wheels in the winter.

There are a few tricks I rely on in the winter:

1. Use the navigation map to select a "green" route that avoids the freeway. It'll take longer but use less battery, usually 10-20%
2. Go into Green+ mode, which shuts off the heater and will give you an extra 15-20 miles range
3. If possible, locate a fast charger along the commute and use that as a backup solution to add a bit of range on the commute
4. Find a place with level 2 charging at lunch; even 30 minutes can add 10-15 miles range
5. As a last resort use an ICE vehicle for extremely cold days.

 

Also, on the coldest days, starting from a partially warmed garage (so the battery temperature is 30 vice 0) will give you a substantially better outbound leg.

 

I learned that on my road trip in -25 ºF weather. Left the SE parked/unplugged overnight at the hotel. The SE started and drove fine, but when I got to the DC fast charger nearby it took about 15 minutes of charging energy to warm the battery before it would start charging. Lesson learned: try to avoid sitting in sub-zero temps unplugged.

 

I know, right? Here in Houston, it's only mid-September, and already the nighttime temperatures are dipping into the low 90s...

 

To @Puppethead's point about fast chargers, you can check Plugshare to find 50+ kW fast chargers. If you get in a jam, even 10 minutes could add lot of range. The car does an 80% fast charge in 30-35 minutes, and doesn't taper that much to 100%.

 

I would also suggest she explore a simple Level 1 plugin at work. It won’t give her a full charge, but would give her some, and it would keep the battery warm.


Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs

 

I don't think cold weather will be much of an issue in southern Pennsylvania. Looks like it doesn't get much below freezing. I found the SE performs great down to about 40 ºF, below which the heat pump loses its effectiveness. But even around freezing the batteries shouldn't get too cold.

 

The heat pump works pretty well down to maybe 25F. At around freezing, you still have about 100 miles of range.

 

I keep wondering if data from the OBDII port can tell when the heat-pump hand-off to the resistance heater takes place. Not being an OBDII wizard like some on the Inside EVs Clarity forum, I'll have to keep wondering.

 

I based that statement on my observations of efficiency and not OBDII info. The latter would be a much better source. But I can still get very good efficiency (3.5-4 miles/kWh) down to about 25F. Below that, it seems like the resistance heater kicks on because my efficiency drops quickly.

 

Hello! I was very happy to stumble across @Puppethead 's experience with commuting in the winter. The post removed my last bits of anxiety about placing my order for a BRG/white SE (last week!). I have a 66 mile round trip commute in Vermont of about 80/20 interstate/mountain roads with a decent amount of elevation change. I've got my Bernie mittens, and had planned on relying on the heated seats in the winter, but sounds like I may be able to luxuriate in a little HVAC once in a while.

 

Welcome to the forum! I drove two gen-1 Insights like the one in your photo between 2000 and 2019. You'll never go 800 miles on a charge in your SE, but you're going to have a ton of fun. We'll be looking forward to tales of your Vermont commute.

 

Thanks! It's great to see how much everyone is enjoying their Minis. Funny story about the insight. I grew up in Ann Arbor and spent a couple of years after high school working at Car and Driver magazine when the 1st gen came out. I was actually in the passenger seat for this crazy 130mpg drive from Dayton to Detroit: https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a15141105/how-we-won-the-insight-fuel-economy-challenge-without-cheating-much-road-test/ Almost 20 years later I found the one in the pic used with 240k on the odometer and drove it for another 40k before it died. Great car!

 

I'm happy that my experience has helped!

 

Cool story. Interesting that the nearly 22-year-old article is still online.

Rob