Climate range consumption

[EVSCAM]

I have had my Born for 2 months now and noticed a few things that puzzle me somewhat; I have been on a few longer trips (140-160mile trips one way) with the car and it performs exceptionally well on longer trips than shorter journeys. On longer trips i am driving in range mode, with cruise control on, no climate (Maybe very short bursts to clear the windows and max speeds of 64mph on motorways). I kept track of mileage to see how it was performing and in most cases it was giving me either an accurate range or using about 20miles less range than the miles of the actual journey. I do think the temperature had a big part to play as it was between 17-20 degrees. However, shorts trips of about 26 miles one way the range seems to eat up 32-36 miles, same road, same driving conditions (so far..i.e. 55mph speeds, range mode, no climate)..i have thought that this may be down to the battery needing time to warm up.

So the main reason for me not using the climate in the car is that when i put the heating on (Comfortable for me is 23-24 degrees) i notice it takes about 40-50 miles of range off my total...does anyone else get this? all i have read is that it should take around 7.5 miles per hour...How do others use their climate and does this change the more the car gets used to your driving habits? I do understand that in winter this sort of drop would be normal but 8 degrees outside in the summer, surely i shouldn't be losing this much range?

[mluisbrown]

FYI "Range Mode" makes no appreciable difference to the range. In tests I've done over the same journey with Range and Comfort modes there was absolutely no difference at all. I also find that that way it accelerates so slowly when returning to the set cruise control speed after having slowed down (eg in traffic, or behind a slower car) is so slow as to be dangerous.

That aside, if the climate control system is heating the car, the drain on the battery is much more than if it's cooling via AC. I don't know exact numbers, and it obviously depends on how much it needs to heat the interior.

I just have the climate always set to around 22 degrees all the time and don't think too much about it. Here in Portugal that usually means AC rather than heating

Last point: yes, short journeys from "cold" will be less efficient, especially if it's cold outside, as the car needs to warm up the battery.

[EVSCAM]

Thanks, i have started to look at the difference in comfort mode and the only apparent thing i can see was the 4 miles it takes off before the car even moves. I was laughing at my post there, i said it was 8 degrees in the summer and complaining the heating takes off a lot of range, like 8 degrees was a hot summer...8 degrees in the summer..i almost embarrassed for my country.

Do you preheat your car in colder weather, again i have read this is what you should do to get the battery to perform better? my thoughts are in winter i will do this but not in "warmer" months as the extra 10 miles range loss probably is less than what the pre heat would take.

[mluisbrown]

I've never pre-heated the car as 99% of my trips are local and well within the range of the car so it doesn't make any difference. Even for a long journey I doubt it would make that much difference, and it would only be worth it if it made the difference between being able to reach the destination without charging or not.