I just love the efficiency…

After debating the question with my spouse, I realized that there appears to be a difference between EVs and ICEvs (or their drivers) in this context. Here, we speak of "range" and "efficiency" almost synonymously, where since gas stations are everywhere, ICE drivers tend to think only of the latter ("mpg").

So, when someone asks an ICE driver the question, "what sort of mileage do you get?", they are likely to respond "usually Xx-Yy mpg", not "Xx-Yy miles".

 

I suppose one needn’t count it against trip efficiency, but certainly against charge/tank efficiency (economy, mileage, whatevs). If I were driving the Subaru all week and used the remote starter for a half hour every day before driving home, my total fuel efficiency for the week would definitely show a big hit.

 

But if someone asked, "what sort of mileage do you get?", would you include that in your answer without explaining, or would you say "normally I get Xx mpg, but I have been idling the engine a lot lately"?

 

Ah, I see where you’re coming from. No, this week is an outlier. If people ask me what kind of range I get I tell them normally in the summer it’s been between 120 and 150 miles per charge, dropping to around 100 miles in the winter. Some slightly more knowledgable folks have asked me what kind of efficiency I get, and I usually tell them it’s very easy to get 15 kWh/100 km (4.15 mi/kWh).

 

I also find it interesting. The first question out of any non EV driving person is "how far does it go?". I always say "far enough". ICE cars always have the "how fast is it", "what is the top speed", and a distant third place "what is the efficiency". The missing question is "how far does it go". I remember a Top Gear episode where Jeremy Clarkson drove an AMG on the autobahn at high speed. He said that at this speed, the petrol tank would last 12 minutes - around 60km. Talk about highway range The mainstream media has done a job on EVs, highlighting range rather than the same as ICE. I believe a certain Japanese manufacturer probably wrote the questions

 

This is how I communicate with anyone who's not familiar with EV.

It has an approximately 30 kWh battery

I get an average of 4 to 5 miles per kwh in summer and 3.5 miles in winter

So when it's fully charged, I can drive about 120 to 150 miles until it needs to be charged again in summer, and about 100 miles in winter.

It takes about 20 mins to get from 30% to 80% with a DC fast charger. With the level 2 slower charger, you get about 22 miles per hour.

And one of the most common questions is how much does it cost to charge and such. My answer is roughly 1/3 of the cost of gasoline.

 

I just offer rides because most folks don’t “get” it until they’ve experienced it.

 

I just tell folks that they are asking the wrong question. It's not how many miles per charge, it's how many Smiles per charge.

(Then I mention that I just charge every 2-3 days and don't think much about it.)

 

I did a 600km road trip this weekend. Car was flawless and charging network is really getting good. Zero issues there as well. Was avg about 13.2kwh per 100km at 105-110kph vs A/C on.

 

Is Circle K in Canada? I know they're owned by Alimentation Couche-Tard but I thought Couche-Tard was the Canadian branding.

 

Only in Quebec. Outside of its Circle K

 

I did a double take and found out that was your vehicle on /r/MINI.

 

Yesss

 

My Clarity PHEV is one of the few ICE cars that elicits the range question. The range question comes up after I reveal the Clarity's tank holds only 7 gallons of gas. After I explain 7 gallons provides 300 miles of range at more than 42 mpg, I add the Clarity has an electric 47-mile "range-extender" when 300 miles isn't far enough.

Yesterday, my wife and I completed a 3,200-mile round-trip to Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. We didn't see many places to charge, so even if we were willing to stop every 80-100 miles, taking our SE would have been problematic.

On our trip we spent one night at a friend's home where I got to try driving his Volkswagen eGolf. Compared with my SE I found it's not as quick, it doesn't offer enough regen braking, and it doesn't inherently control wheel-spin. It made me love my SE even more. Of course, I pooh-poohed his mention of his eGolf's greater range.

 

You sound like Nigel from The EV Puzzle who has a Level 3 SE and his wife has the eGolf.

Anyways good to have you back! Since you live the closest to the National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory, you can replicate the old highway test in Ann Arbor. The old city test would require someone drive in Los Angeles in the 1960s.

 

Weather has been cooler lately. 60% city 40% highway. 100-0% 252km or around 12.3kwh/100km. Could have done better but had to drive a bit faster coming back home as I had our grocery order sitting outside in Saturday

 

I had an egolf before my clarity, before my SE. The egolf was my favorite car before getting the SE.

 

The eGolf was nice--back in the day I had a couple of Rabbits (one a convertible) and liked them very much.

I love my SE so much that I'm already working on my denial that the Chinese SE is better than my 2021 SE no matter how much quicker, faster, better cornering, or longer-range it is. Despite my prepared denial, I hope the Chinese SE is all those things. The world needs fun EVs and the Chinese SE will dispell the SE's most frequently cited asterisk.

 

Yeah, nah, I don't get near these numbers. I can get around a calculated 240 if I stick to the 50-70-80-90 speed limits on the back highways to Plattsburgh and back, but in everyday driving I rarely cross 200 in this weather.

 

This is now. I'm heading to Plattsburgh again today. My car must think I'm a hoon.