Rajiv Vaidyanathan
Active Member
Here's a report on a road test I did yesterday on my Clarity. Although I have made the round trip to the Twin Cities a few times, I decided to keep detailed track of mileage and charging (using ChargePoint chargers) so I could calculate exact energy usage. Here's what I experienced:
1. I filled up my gas tank and fully charged the vehicle before setting out.
2. I used EV until I got on the highway ramp, when I switched to HV mode.
3. Highway driving was almost all at 75 mph except for some normal slowdowns.
4. My goal was to switch to EV so I reached my destination with minimum EV range. I screwed up my estimation and reached my final one-way destination with about 36 miles of EV range remaining.
5. I did not refill my gas tank until I got back home (round trip) and barely made it. Low Fuel warning came on with about 50 miles to go, but I still reached my work ChargePoint charger with 14 miles of range left.
Stage 1: Depart Duluth, MN with 52.3 miles of EV range (picture before putting in gas)
Stage 2: Arrived in Minneapolis, MN and plugged in vehicle. Used 5.266 kWh to get back to full charge. Parked for the night at a friend's place (no additional charging). At night, I had done 169.2 miles and had 46.7 miles of EV range (used some to drive to his place after full charge)
Stage 3: Drove back to Duluth, MN in the morning. Low fuel light came on with 2-bars of fuel remaining and 84 miles of reported HV range.
Stage 4: One bar of fuel left with 47 miles of HV range.
Stage 5: Put in 6.302 gallons of gas before driving to work. Miles driven up to that point was 327.6. HV range went up to 557 miles after refill of tank.
Stage 6: Reached work ChargePoint station with 14 miles of EV range left. Total miles done on trip is 328.5. Recharge to full consumed 10.838 kWh.
MILES DRIVEN: 328.5 (90%+ Highway at 70+ mph)
Gasoline Consumed: 6.302 gallons
Electricity Used: 16.104 kWh
Gas consumption calculation: 327.6/6.302 = 51.98 mpg
Energy consumption calculation: Converting 16.104 kWh to gallons using the standard 33.7 kWh per gallon leads to equivalent of 0.4779 gallon-equivalent of electricity consumed.
So, total "gasoline-equivalent" energy consumption = 6.302+0.4779=6.7799.
Final energy efficiency in mpg = 328.5/6.7799 = 48.45 mpg.
1. I filled up my gas tank and fully charged the vehicle before setting out.
2. I used EV until I got on the highway ramp, when I switched to HV mode.
3. Highway driving was almost all at 75 mph except for some normal slowdowns.
4. My goal was to switch to EV so I reached my destination with minimum EV range. I screwed up my estimation and reached my final one-way destination with about 36 miles of EV range remaining.
5. I did not refill my gas tank until I got back home (round trip) and barely made it. Low Fuel warning came on with about 50 miles to go, but I still reached my work ChargePoint charger with 14 miles of range left.
Stage 1: Depart Duluth, MN with 52.3 miles of EV range (picture before putting in gas)
Stage 2: Arrived in Minneapolis, MN and plugged in vehicle. Used 5.266 kWh to get back to full charge. Parked for the night at a friend's place (no additional charging). At night, I had done 169.2 miles and had 46.7 miles of EV range (used some to drive to his place after full charge)
Stage 3: Drove back to Duluth, MN in the morning. Low fuel light came on with 2-bars of fuel remaining and 84 miles of reported HV range.
Stage 4: One bar of fuel left with 47 miles of HV range.
Stage 5: Put in 6.302 gallons of gas before driving to work. Miles driven up to that point was 327.6. HV range went up to 557 miles after refill of tank.
Stage 6: Reached work ChargePoint station with 14 miles of EV range left. Total miles done on trip is 328.5. Recharge to full consumed 10.838 kWh.
MILES DRIVEN: 328.5 (90%+ Highway at 70+ mph)
Gasoline Consumed: 6.302 gallons
Electricity Used: 16.104 kWh
Gas consumption calculation: 327.6/6.302 = 51.98 mpg
Energy consumption calculation: Converting 16.104 kWh to gallons using the standard 33.7 kWh per gallon leads to equivalent of 0.4779 gallon-equivalent of electricity consumed.
So, total "gasoline-equivalent" energy consumption = 6.302+0.4779=6.7799.
Final energy efficiency in mpg = 328.5/6.7799 = 48.45 mpg.
