The summer heat set in a bit early, so I got to see how the SE performs in extreme heat. The answer is, extremely well. At a temperature breaking 100 ºF and the air conditioning running at full tilt there was very little drop in range. And the beauty of an EV is I didn't have to worry about the vehicle overheating! Pulled into the garage and the hood was as cool as if I hadn't been driving. Here's a photo showing conditions as I started my 40-mile drive: And here are the eDrive results after the trip. 4.5 mi/kWh is about the highest I ever see on my freeway commute, even though the efficiency was a lot lower than usual for me. Note there was 44% SoC left after 82 miles. According to the GOM I could have gone a total of 129 miles before running out of charge. Not bad for triple-digit temperature. I consider it good if the GOM shows better than one mile per % SoC.
Cool! I've been curious about how much the AC diminishes range. It's never that hot here but it's always hot enough to use the AC.
The other cool thing about a BEV's air-conditioner is that it doesn't impair the car's acceleration (a happy fact I noted while driving around today). In some of my old ICE-powered cars I could feel the difference when the A/C exacted its tribute.
Good to hear. New Mexico summers can get pretty hot (but not Arizona hot, jeez), and I've been wondering how it fares over 100F.
Yes, this is a great bonus. It is due to the fact that the A/C compressor is direct-drive with its own motor, rather than attached to the drivetrain via a belt. I had a friend with an underpowered Civic. When he needed a little more speed, he'd turn off the A/C. He referred to it as his "turbo button". You could literally feel the kick when he did that.
Just another data point - I just finished driving 30 miles, round trip (60 miles total) through LA traffic in 90 degree weather with the AC running the entire time set to 71F. It was a mixture of freeways going about 70mph and surface streets that traverse some small hills. I started at 100% and when I got home it was at 60%. So 40% charge to do 60 miles. 150 mile range! This car loves warm weather!
