Unrealistic autonomy driving me nuts

[HotHatchFan]

Have been with my Born for one year now and I’m just about to give up on it due to the range I’m getting.

The estimate given by the car is at best 20% too optimistic and drives me crazy not being able to know how much I can actually get. The only way to get close to the estimated range is to drive full eco, b-mode and throttle like my grandpa.

Seems consumption is quite high vs what I’ve seen in forums and Reddit. Winter goes 28-30kW/100km (2.9-3 miles/kwh) with sometimes 40% less range than estimate. Summer, the best consumption I’ve got is 16kw/100km. Once I managed 14.5 for about 3 days average buy never happened again.

No recalls for battery for my vin. So I’m going hopeless with a car that doesn’t even get me 200km from 80% in winter.

I wonder if anyone else is having this issue.

[milkyway55]

What's the problem? You already know how to achieve the displayed range... "drive full eco, b-mode and throttle like my grandpa."

[Ponk]

You numbers are all correct, similar to mine, although B mode doesn’t always mean you get the best range. Rolling in D and using the brake pedal should not be worse than B in many circumstances. And Eco mode just limits the power output, you should be able to do that yourself in comfort mode.


If you want more range in winter then don’t use any climate control, drive as slow as partial and watch you instant consumption figure and try and keep it as low as possible.

For max range, make sure you do 500km in the town and not on the highway and you might achieve the stated figures.

[mluisbrown]

As Ponk mentioned, Eco mode doesn't make that much difference, and with cruise control I find it downright dangerous as it's so slow to accelerate when overtaking on the motorway. Also, B mode being more economical is a common misconception. The only difference between B and D is which pedals you use to drive. If you are doing the same speeds and accelerating / decelerating at the same rate there is no difference in range.

16kWh/100km in the summer is pretty good. I get between 17 and 19 on the motorway in Portugal (at 120km/h). As with any EV (actually any car really), you will rarely if ever get close to the claimed range.

Also, the available range shown on the dash depends on how you have been driving up to that point, so if you've been pottering around town and it's showing 320km of range then obviously you are not going to get that on a motorway drive.

[HotHatchFan]

What's the problem? You already know how to achieve the displayed range... "drive full eco, b-mode and throttle like my grandpa."

Problem is people seem to get this on normal mode. Not the whole circus of eco driving.

[HotHatchFan]

As Ponk mentioned, Eco mode doesn't make that much difference. The only difference between B and D is which pedals you use to drive. If you are doing the same speeds and accelerating / decelerating at the same rate there is no difference in range.

16kWh/100km in the summer is pretty good. I get between 17 and 19 on the motorway in Portugal (at 120km/h). As with any EV (actually any car really), you will rarely if ever get close to the claimed range.

On the ECO mode I would have think that too but I do see at least a 10% improvement with it in real distance. So maybe I’m just a heavy foot.

My 16kw/100 was actually 100% city in roads under 60 and quite some stops due to red lights. On the same journey I normally get 18kw/100, that’s why I think it’s bad. Going to the highway bump this up to 30kw/100, which I feel it’s a really bad joke. Even friend with Mercedes EQB 300 seem to have better overall consumption numbers

[Ponk]

Range mode has proven to gain 1-2% at most on full battery, so if you see much more then you are aren’t driving economically at all. Getting 16 when before it was 18 is a good thing, not a bad thing? Yesterday was 19 deg here, 30km of town and country driving and I got 16, which is really good, I never get better, lots of full regen etc, never using the brakes. For motorway, you need to keep to 100-110 kph at the most and drive over a substantial distance to get the consumption down towards 20. If it’s winter, it’s a real challenge.

[mluisbrown]

For motorway, you need to keep to 100-110 kph at the most and drive over a substantial distance to get the consumption down towards 20. If it’s winter, it’s a real challenge.

Interesting. In Portugal I stick to 120kph on motorways (the limit) and pretty much always get around 18 or 19. Even in winter when the temperature is around 10-15C (yes, even in Portugal!). Mine is a 58kWh car though, so maybe the extra weight of the 77kWh battery you have makes a significant difference? I've also noticed that wind can make a huge difference. A motorway trip with a headwind can cost me at least 2kWh/100 extra, and conversely with a tailwind. For example, I can usually make it from Lisbon to the Algarve without charging (starting from 100%), but I've never been able to make it back without charging, even though the road is the same. That's because the prevailing winds on that route are usually against me on the way back to Lisbon.

[antoniomapinho]

I normally drive in a calm manner but I'm no hypermiler. That said, my long term counter is showing ~28000 Kms, with an average 14.0Kwh/100Kms. My observed average is 13-14Kwh/100Kms in the Summer, 15-16Kwh/100Kms in Winter (granted in Portugal).

[mluisbrown]

I just checked my stats. Car has done ~38000km and my average is 16.3kWh/100km (in Portugal). Your average of 14 is amazing!