Elevation and range

This is just one anecdotal scenario, YMMV.

I live and work on the same street. Home is 3.6 miles from work. I have driven the same route every day for the past year and a half in the SE.

Elevation change between home and work is 114 feet. Home is at the high point, so it’s downhill to the office every morning. And it’s uphill to home every evening.

I left home with 100% battery (GOM said 106 miles). I arrived at work 3.6 miles later, downhill, with 100% battery (GOM said 110 miles). Sweet!

On the return trip home that evening, 3.6 miles uphill, I arrived home with 95% battery (GOM said 104 miles).

I’m convinced that speed and elevation change do have considerable impact on range. Speed I can avoid by simply not using freeways unless absolutely necessary. Elevation change on the other hand is much harder to avoid.




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Bit of a hill climb in this range test video:

 

Elevation does affect range. And you have the worst-case scenario - downhill at first so regen buys you basically nothing (battery already full) and uphill last so you need that much more to get home.

The SE weighs 3,144 lbs. Just to lift that weight 3,000 ft takes 3.5kWh, or about 12% of your battery. So roughly I would expect your commute to take up to an extra 12% of battery compared to a flat route.

All that physics said, you have more than plenty of range for that commute. You could do it twice on a full charge and have charge left over.


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A suitemate has a Tesla. He drove from Denver to Vail. Charged in Vail, drove around for the day then drove back to Denver. He used less % going home.

Now the quarter mile time is a different topic. Will a EV run a faster quarter mile at elevation where the air is less dense, while a car with a gas motor will run slower at elevation because the air is less dense? Maybe next year I will take my SE to Bandimere.

 

That’s what I would do. You’ll just charge it on the way down. For towing with larger EVs this is actually critical.

Might also plug the route into A Better Route Planner.

 

I would go the opposite direction, and take a longer route to enjoy driving the SE.

 

Ideally you would want to just hit full battery at the bottom of that initial downhill. With a few days of trial and error you should be able to find the ideal point to stop your charge.


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It obviously depends on a lot of factors. I have often wondered what it looks like around sea level with thicker air. At altitude, I have gone 110 miles round trip from 5,100 ft to 12,200 ft and back. I turned around at 41% and finished with 39% battery left. However I usually start in the uphill direction. You are going to have to figure out how much charge to start with to maximize regen.

 

The problem you have is that I don’t think you can set the Mini to stop charging at a set percent unless there’s a setting I have not found. If you plug in at home overnight it’s going to want to go to 100%. I always feel like regen is not as good at 100% battery. Perhaps you could set the charge timer to complete at a time after you intend to leave. That way you can unplug before it’s fully charged.

 

There can be no regen at 100% battery because there's nowhere for the gen to go. With 100% battery, the SE simulates regen by activating the friction brakes. Unlike you, I can't tell the difference.

 

Right. I should have stated the one pedal feel at 100% battery. Obviously there is no true regen at full battery.

 

I can tell the difference and I live in a very flat neighborhood. It is about 1.5 miles to the first light. Slowing down from 40 MPH to a stop feels very different between a full charge and a partial one.

If your commute starts out down a steep hill, you will definitely notice the difference. Early Bolts had an option to charge to about 90% so that regen remains the same. There is a reason Chevy called this “Hilltop Reserve”


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At what battery percentage does regen resume its assigned duty?

 

I did a little research for you tonight. On a 30 mile drive with a 2400’ elevation gain, and 30 mile decent, I used 27% going up and 8% going down.

 

That’s another reason I don’t often charge to 100%. It’s not as consistent feeling.

 

Lol I keep wondering why I’m rolling through the stop signs on my own street as I’m leaving, and it’s dawning on me that I usually feel this on the first drive after I unplug. Thanks.

 

Had that happen today. I was like woah…. hol up! Ahh 99% SoC.

 

My daily commute of 35 miles each way starts at 6400 ft towards Denver at roughly 5280 ft so about 1000 ft difference. Up and down on the highway going 75-85+ mph. Normally I get to work at 80% battery. When I get home at night from work I am at 45-50% battery. If that helps.


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