Best Winter Advice

[Daveion]

This will probably sound a bit off the wall but I rarely use the heating at all. When I researched EVs with my first ID3 I decided that I would just wear a coat and expect the cabin to be cooler. Even last week on zero degree days my heating was off most of the time but the cabin temperature was probably 7C or 8C. The only time I run the Climate is to demist the screen or when I have my youngest Grandchild in the car. I don't use AC cooling in the Summer because I don't like the dry air so my Winter Summer kW/mile is fairly close.
It's not to be mean. At 7.5p/kW overnight It's neither here nor there on a 30 minute drive. It's efficiency I guess but have to say myself It's a bit of an odd thing to do. A 2 litre petrol ICE wastes around 100kW of heat because the combustion process is so inefficient and the cabin can be as hot as you like on the coldest of days with the only cost being the planet. I think of that when I reach for the heater control on the EV but am too stubborn to give any of the efficiency I'm getting up to be as warm as an ICE when I can simply wear a coat.

Taylor will definitely cancel and get a Golf after reading our feedback!

I said it would be a bit odd but it's not negative.
Its representative of what's possible if you need to prioritise range over cabin comfort what ever your reasons are for doing that.
In Winter I have a choice to get a near Summer range if I want it. I could set out on a dry Zero C day knowing 220 miles is definitely realistic on a motorway because I have done it. With my first ID3, with little knowledge of EVs in 2020, I drove 170 miles home from the dealership on a zero degree day and arrived with around 60 miles of range remaining. Its not a big deal to have the heating off. Another demist practice I use is to run the Climate on LO with the AC off to clear the screen on damp days. This works really well at temperatures above around 10C or 11C and only uses a tiny amount of the battery. Typically drops the range by 2-3 miles from memory.
LTA since purchase in June 2022 is 4.2miles/kW

[WoT]

I agree with most of that but the real world behaviour of an ev is only clear when you have one. I always advise people to wait 3 or 4 years before thinking of buying. Given the pace of fixes to the car and app software, 5 years might be wise.

[Tiggersfriend]

I've had my V3 77Kw for 4 weeks now. I have an Ohme Home Pro charger and IO. I have the battery charge level set to 80% and no schedules set in the car. In the Ohme app I have the charge level set to 100% and I let the app sort out the schedule for off-peak charging as recommended by my Cupra salesperson. Test charge and 14 sessions done with no problems. I haven't had problems charging up to 80% when it's been -5 °c, but I have noticed the range is not as good in the cold weather, but I knew it would be before I ordered the car hence picking the 77Jw model. I heat my EV exactly the same as did with my ICE car. Last night's charge worked fine.

Once you're on the Intelligent Octopus tariff you may find the charging may occur outside 11.30pm - 5.30am, but you will be charged at the off peak price of 7.5p per KWh. I'm loving the car. But if I didn't have a charger at home I definitely would wait for another 2-3 years to buy an EV.

[monkeyhanger]

I've done long range Winter driving and have experimented with using blown heat,, heated steering wheel and heated seat only, and using recirculated aircon to keep the screen clear, the battery heating always takes its toll.

At a constant 72mph indicated, at least 100 miles done, I get:-

0C, 16C cabin temp, aircon recirc = 2.9 miles per kWh

0C, LO cabin temp, aircon recirc = 3.3 miles per kWh

0C, LO cabin temp, aircon recirc, heated seats on 1 bar, heated steering wheel.on 1 bar = 3.3 miles per kWh

Summer, 20C plus, aircon set at 19C, aircon recirc, = 4.0 miles per kWh.

Summer, 20C plus, no aircon, temp set to LO (ambient air blowing through) = 4.0 miles per kWh

There's still a big penalty for winter driving, you just can't get away from that battery heating, and if you need to, rapid charging speeds are generally crap in the cold - right there is why I swapped my Born out for an S3,with a monthly Newcastle to Milton Keynes commute.

At motorway speeds, aircon use has almost no impact, AC systems work well with air rushing over the heat exchanger at 70mph - even so, far better to recirculate rather than create cold air in the xabin and vent it straight out of the car.

[Daveion]

I've done long range Winter driving and have experimented with using blown heat,, heated steering wheel and heated seat only, and using recirculated aircon to keep the screen clear, the battery heating always takes its toll.

At a constant 72mph indicated, at least 100 miles done, I get:-

0C, 16C cabin temp, aircon recirc = 2.9 miles per kWh

0C, LO cabin temp, aircon recirc = 3.3 miles per kWh

0C, LO cabin temp, aircon recirc, heated seats on 1 bar, heated steering wheel.on 1 bar = 3.3 miles per kWh

Summer, 20C plus, aircon set at 19C, aircon recirc, = 4.0 miles per kWh.

Summer, 20C plus, no aircon, temp set to LO (ambient air blowing through) = 4.0 miles per kWh

There's still a big penalty for winter driving, you just can't get away from that battery heating, and if you need to, rapid charging speeds are generally crap in the cold - right there is why I swapped my Born out for an S3,with a monthly Newcastle to Milton Keynes commute.

At motorway speeds, aircon use has almost no impact, AC systems work well with air rushing over the heat exchanger at 70mph - even so, far better to recirculate rather than create cold air in the xabin and vent it straight out of the car.

Think we have debated this before. I find recirc just allows more and more moisture to sit in the air and the condensation is worse not better unless you also put AC (refrige) on to dry it out.
The other thing I notice with mine is zero or no battery heating going on. ZeroC day last week 30 mile run the blue bar was showing around 3/4 length and didn't at any point reach full width.
Wasn't the software update going to stop battery heating in favour of range unless it was -5C or some other really low level?

[monkeyhanger]

I've done long range Winter driving and have experimented with using blown heat,, heated steering wheel and heated seat only, and using recirculated aircon to keep the screen clear, the battery heating always takes its toll.

At a constant 72mph indicated, at least 100 miles done, I get:-

0C, 16C cabin temp, aircon recirc = 2.9 miles per kWh

0C, LO cabin temp, aircon recirc = 3.3 miles per kWh

0C, LO cabin temp, aircon recirc, heated seats on 1 bar, heated steering wheel.on 1 bar = 3.3 miles per kWh

Summer, 20C plus, aircon set at 19C, aircon recirc, = 4.0 miles per kWh.

Summer, 20C plus, no aircon, temp set to LO (ambient air blowing through) = 4.0 miles per kWh

There's still a big penalty for winter driving, you just can't get away from that battery heating, and if you need to, rapid charging speeds are generally crap in the cold - right there is why I swapped my Born out for an S3,with a monthly Newcastle to Milton Keynes commute.

At motorway speeds, aircon use has almost no impact, AC systems work well with air rushing over the heat exchanger at 70mph - even so, far better to recirculate rather than create cold air in the xabin and vent it straight out of the car.

Think we have debated this before. I find recirc just allows more and more moisture to sit in the air and the condensation is worse not better unless you also put AC (refrige) on to dry it out.
The other thing I notice with mine is zero or no battery heating going on. ZeroC day last week 30 mile run the blue bar was showing around 3/4 length and didn't at any point reach full width.
Wasn't the software update going to stop battery heating in favour of range unless it was -5C or some other really low level?

I always use recirc with A/C, it seems to pull pre-cooled cabin air back through the condenser to remove any reintroduced humidity, and as its taking air that has been cooled a lot already, it takes little energy to cool it further.

I definitely can't better 3.3 miles per kWh at 0C when on the motorway maintaining 72mph.

[JBorn]

What percentage is your battery at the start of the journey? Mine usually has full power after a few miles, although I do have a fairly heavy right foot so that may help...
Below 37% I always find it starts reducing power unless you've just rapid charged or you've been driving very enthusiastically, I guess at a certain percentage it probably decides you will lose more range than you'll gain by heating the battery to optimum temp.

At a constant 74mph ACC, Proven the below on multiple journeys:
0C, 17.5C cabin temp, A/C on, recirc off, heat seat 2 bar, steering wheel 2 bar, recirc off = 3.2 miles per kWh

With ACC at 85mph but moderate traffic I.e motorway at 4:30PM to 8:30PM
23C, 20c cabin temp, A/C on, recirc off = 3.6/3.7 miles per kWh

With ACC at 85mph no / very little traffic I.e. motorway at 04:15AM to 07:00AM
15.5C, 20c cabin temp, A/C on, recirc off = 3.0/3.1 miles per kWh

@monkeyhanger the most I've ever got on the motorway in summer is 3.8miles / kWh although it did go to 3.9 for a few short minutes how d'ya all get better efficiency than me driving in a straight line?

I've never tried using recirc, I'll try it next chance I get and see if it makes any difference!

I have individual mode set up with comfort engine, Cupra ACC, but eco A/C which I think makes a few miles of difference.

If you drive on or above 80mph the cabin temp makes only 3 - 4 miles of difference to the whole battery range so just make it comfy.

That's usually a 190 mile trip so I guess my battery has already done all the warming. It often only climbs up to that high after 2/3 to 3/4 of the way through.

I used to find rapid charging in the cold terrible, until I discovered that the Born has an on demand battery heater... the accelerator peddle!
If you keep flooring it to full throttle and them brake to max regen a few minutes before you get to the rapid charger, it seems to heat up the battery enough to give you a good speed when you get there! It's harder when you're on 1/3rd power though below 5%...

I haven't ever had rapid charging speed issues on the cars side since I've started doing that. I usually try to avoid other traffic when I'm doing it though, to avoid road rage

[Daveion]

I've done long range Winter driving and have experimented with using blown heat,, heated steering wheel and heated seat only, and using recirculated aircon to keep the screen clear, the battery heating always takes its toll.

At a constant 72mph indicated, at least 100 miles done, I get:-

0C, 16C cabin temp, aircon recirc = 2.9 miles per kWh

0C, LO cabin temp, aircon recirc = 3.3 miles per kWh

0C, LO cabin temp, aircon recirc, heated seats on 1 bar, heated steering wheel.on 1 bar = 3.3 miles per kWh

Summer, 20C plus, aircon set at 19C, aircon recirc, = 4.0 miles per kWh.

Summer, 20C plus, no aircon, temp set to LO (ambient air blowing through) = 4.0 miles per kWh

There's still a big penalty for winter driving, you just can't get away from that battery heating, and if you need to, rapid charging speeds are generally crap in the cold - right there is why I swapped my Born out for an S3,with a monthly Newcastle to Milton Keynes commute.

At motorway speeds, aircon use has almost no impact, AC systems work well with air rushing over the heat exchanger at 70mph - even so, far better to recirculate rather than create cold air in the xabin and vent it straight out of the car.

Think we have debated this before. I find recirc just allows more and more moisture to sit in the air and the condensation is worse not better unless you also put AC (refrige) on to dry it out.
The other thing I notice with mine is zero or no battery heating going on. ZeroC day last week 30 mile run the blue bar was showing around 3/4 length and didn't at any point reach full width.
Wasn't the software update going to stop battery heating in favour of range unless it was -5C or some other really low level?

I always use recirc with A/C, it seems to pull pre-cooled cabin air back through the condenser to remove any reintroduced humidity, and as its taking air that has been cooled a lot already, it takes little energy to cool it further.

I definitely can't better 3.3 miles per kWh at 0C when on the motorway maintaining 72mph.

I thought it must be with AC on. Its the evaporator in the AC circuit though. That's the chilled coil where the moisture will condense out of the air and the heat in the gas rejected via the condensor coil or what might be a plate heat exchanger in the car liquid cooling system. Either way I may give that a try on LO. I did a 30 mile run earlier at 11C on LO and fan speed 1. All glass totally clear

[Daveion]

Think we have debated this before. I find recirc just allows more and more moisture to sit in the air and the condensation is worse not better unless you also put AC (refrige) on to dry it out.
The other thing I notice with mine is zero or no battery heating going on. ZeroC day last week 30 mile run the blue bar was showing around 3/4 length and didn't at any point reach full width.
Wasn't the software update going to stop battery heating in favour of range unless it was -5C or some other really low level?

I always use recirc with A/C, it seems to pull pre-cooled cabin air back through the condenser to remove any reintroduced humidity, and as its taking air that has been cooled a lot already, it takes little energy to cool it further.

I definitely can't better 3.3 miles per kWh at 0C when on the motorway maintaining 72mph.

I thought it must be with AC on. Its the evaporator in the AC circuit though. That's the chilled coil where the moisture will condense out of the air and the heat in the gas rejected via the condensor coil or what might be a plate heat exchanger in the car liquid cooling system. Either way I may give that a try on LO. I did a 30 mile run earlier at 11C on LO and fan speed 1. All glass totally clear
4.3miles/kW.

[dickyp]

It’s an interesting one and as ever I feel biggest influence on range is driving style. Anticipation and keeping it flowing.

That said clearly cold weather and short journeys reduce the efficiency. In the recent cold snaps on 5mile journeys with heat to 19degC 2.0miles kWh. Extend that and just gets better.

Two 100mile days 50 out and 50 back and 3.1 and 4.1 respectively . Heat on 19 AC on, motorway for 40 each way. Really surprised at the efficiency and at 100% charge at motorway speed at 70, 200miles out of 58kw is where I’m confident.

Off to Sheffield Wednesday next week which is 210 total so will see how it performs.