I just love the efficiency…

Later this morning I’ll be doing my first “cross-border” commute on the F1s since late October, and with 7650 km on the odo now, I expect my ~260 km round-trip to yield some pretty good numbers.

I’ve made the F1s complain on off-camber cloverleafs lately, and it’s hilarious. I can’t take those exits anywhere nearly as quickly as in the lowered smart fortwo on sticky, wide Yoko s.Drives, but in some ways the body lean is more fun!

 

I went on a road trip yesterday and I got around around the EPA 110 miles or range and I'm using Continental Extremecontact DWS06 Plus tires. However, at 72 MPH, GPS says I'm going 70 MPH. So that is 2.78% reduction of actual range or an inflation in the efficiency of the car.

Oddly, I didn't see much difference in range between 72 and 76 MPH. I thought the difference would be bigger.

 

Put a set of 200 treadwear tyres on. The only way to remove the stupid grin you'll be wearing after trying those out is to put some sensible tyres back on.

 

Conti ECS DWS06 are fairly high rolling resistance. I found an independent test that put them at 9.75kg/t. That is an E on the euro labelling system.
Michelin PS4 also equivalent to an E
Pirelli p zero AS+: E
Bridgestone RE980AS : off the scale!
I bet my autocross 200TW Falkens make the above look frugal. It's why I take them off between events...

The Euro labelling system has really encouraged lower rolling resistance tyres in Europe.
A rated tyres, as OEM for the SE, are <= 6.5kg/t
In the rest of the world, manufacturers are free to call anything 'low rolling resistance' and not get called on it.

 

Averaging 148 miles per charge over the last ~850 miles. 45% interstate @ 60-70 mph, 55% surface streets @ 25-40 mph. Air temperatures 55-75 deg F. Mid mode, mostly gentle on the accelerator, but occasional strong pulls to get away from tailgaters/show off.

Next month I may be doing a 240 mi drive that in an ICE vehicle takes about 4.5 h. It will be interesting to see whether I can make it with just one stop (at a convenient located charger), or whether it will require more. (I can charge overnight at my EV-owning friend's house...if I can just get there.) I have done several trips that entailed mostly interstate driving, but nothing where I could just set the cruise control and forget about traffic, as I should be able to do for much of this trip.

17" Pirelli P7s at recommend pressures.

 

Outdoor temp. 86 F. I still monitor temp. On top of motor 95.3 F. With motor cover on.I drive today 70 miles and once I pull in my garage I have still 70 miles range left with picture to show .Half of a drive was highway speed a rest limping 10-20 miles /hr. I always use SPORT mode ATTACH=full]20500[/ATTACH]

 

Took the state highway paralleling the interstate for the first/last part of my commute today. Saved a couple miles but added a couple minutes. However, limiting my maximum speed to 45 mph (except for a mile or so) resulted in a range estimate of 187 miles. I wonder if I can top 200 miles by being really gentle on the accelerator? (Today was in Sport mode, as I am growing to like the faster response off the line, but I neither drove like a hooligan nor creeped up to speed.)

 

Mine averages 4.3….never seen an average above 6. That’s crazy.


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I don't know how the SE calculates average efficiency, but it gives a different result than calculating it yourself based on % of charge used and distance traveled.

For example, today I drove 65 miles on the interstate and then a state highway at 45-70 mph (some in the rain, some with the A/C on). My car reported an average of 4.0 mi/kWh. However, I used 49% of the battery, or 14.2 kWh. 65/14.2 = 4.6 mi/kWh, not 4.0 mi/kWh.

So could I have gone 4 x 28.9 = 116 miles today, 4.6 x 28.9 = 133 miles, or something in between? The only way of knowing for certain would be to drive until the car shuts down, something that I am not interested in doing.

 

This has not been my experience.

For example, earlier I gave the following stats on a recent trip:

My car's trip computer when I got home... 3.5 mi/kWh

I did another trip earlier this week:

2896 km —> 3004 km … away
108 km travelled (67.7 mi)
96% —> 18%
78% used (22.5 kWh of 28.9 kWh cap.)
Range est.: 138 km (86.0 mi)
Eff. est.: 20.8 kWh/100km (2.98 mi/kWh)​

My car's trip computer when I got to the charger... 2.9 mi/kWh

On the return:

3004 km —> 3116 km … return
112 km travelled (69.6 mi)
93% —> 21%
72% used (20.8 kWh of 28.9 kWh cap.)
Range est.: 155 km (96.7 mi)
Eff. est.: 18.6 kWh/100km (3.35 mi/kWh)​

My car's trip computer when I got home... 3.1 mi/kWh

Ok, that last one was off a little bit.
I think that was the only leg where I had the A/C turned off. So, maybe that's related?
(for all of these figures, ±1% charge used ≈ ±0.05 mi/kWh)

 

I haven't used my A/C much at all, so if that does influence the calculations somehow, it could explain our differing experiences.

I appreciate the parenthetical comment about the precision! I have been too lazy to calculate/post about it myself, instead just using rounded figures.

So really, it seems that we're back to the good ol' days, when your car didn't provide data on fuel economy, but just had a gas gauge that you kept your eye on, stopping when necessary to refuel. The only real difference is that charging stations aren't as common*, and stops are usually longer.

*Although my car is currently charging in the city parking garage across the street, and there is another one just a few more blocks away. Easy-peasy... although I just noticed that I am getting the annoying false "trunk open" status (grrrr).

 

Circling back to this, I think that the answer is no, or at least, probably not. Now that I have done some extended highway cruising, the crowd-sourced ABRP estimate of 4 mi/kWh @ 65 mph seems accurate, at least for my car/conditions, which doesn't leave any real margin for error.

 

I live a few miles north of your location and basically get in my ' 22 Mini (all stock OEM, including tires) and just drive it. If it's hot or particularly cold, I use HVAC (or sometimes enjoy the sunroof open). I rarely use Sport mode, usually stick with Green mode. No special efforts to "drive gently." Routinely car reports about 4.6m/kWh. I really wonder how much variability there is in the efficiency of the SE between individual cars, without regard to any particular efforts to be frugal with power? 6+m/kWh seems to be unlikely to me, even in the warmer climate of N Texas.

Anyway, the car is fun to drive, maintenance costs are minimal and charging at home economical. Great vehicle, in my book.

 

Headwinds (or tailwinds) can significantly impact your consumption, too--especially at highway speeds.

 

Yup.

 

I average in the 2 mi/kWh range on the freeway.

 

Goodness! How fast are you driving?

 

70-75 mph

 

I wish we had data for the effect on range due to
1) the front aero slits on the 2022+ refresh (vs fog lights)
2) different wheels (16” vs 17”, but also the different styles, especially the Power Spoke wheels)
3) the weight of the sunroof

 

At those speeds, I am guessing I would be in the mid 3s (warmer weather, flat roads).