I understand the report of the journey and costs/time associated with this thread, but how much has been spent on electricity and kw used, over the time and mileage of ownership overall? My grandson found his Tesla Model Y AWD cheaper to run than his five series PHEV. But the majority of his trips were daily commute Chippenham to Gloucester using domestic of company low cost electric. A trip to Stirling was more expensive but reflected a relatively small proportion of his total mileage.
No idea Clive .Never asked him.
But my recount of his last journey illustrates the unbelievable difference in kWh cost at commercial super chargers versus home.
The problem of not planning, nor having the time to plan the pre journey charge up. These factors lead to his extended journey time that would not have happened with an ICE.
I am sure there are others who can answer your question but not me. No data available.
But my recount of his last journey illustrates the unbelievable difference in kWh cost at commercial super chargers versus home.
The problem of not planning, nor having the time to plan the pre journey charge up. These factors lead to his extended journey time that would not have happened with an ICE.
I am sure there are others who can answer your question but not me. No data available.
Yes the commercial chargers are expensive, but it is difficult to get an overall figure given different types of usage of the car. I guess if someone was out driving on business lot' then like the "old days" the company would pay the costs as they would with petrol/diesel. Burden though for self employed.
If I were looking to buy a car right now, I too would be looking seriously at a diesel plug-in hybrid - but they're few and far between, mainly petrol plug-in hybrids - so I'd probably end up with another diesel.
My post was just a simple snap shot of a pre Christmas EV trip one off.
Comparisons and deep investigation were never the intention. Nothing to do with business.
Even in my day the free fuel card was a no no because of the income tax implications. You needed to cover 30 K private miles a year to break even. We abandoned private use fuel cards in the mid 90s because of the high taxation. Showing your age Clive with the “old days”😉
Regenerative braking?
Thinking about my long distance trips, we drive hours on end , cruise control,set, brakes hardly used at all.
Regenerative is meaningless and contributes nothing for our journey patterns.
Thinking about my long distance trips, we drive hours on end , cruise control,set, brakes hardly used at all.
Regenerative is meaningless and contributes nothing for our journey patterns.
A fully-expensed car in the '80s was a gold mine for those of us doing higher than average annual mileages - particulary if we didn't need to show the car registration on receipts - mine used to fully cover my Vauxhall Cavalier, driven like a hooligan, and my wife's Ford Escort 1.6.
The only better deal was/is the management car scheme at car makers - my brother-in-law used to get 2 new cars every 6 months, paying just a nominal rental and no tax - since he retired he "only" gets 1 car every 6 months - shame!
Regenerative breaking is not just about converting kinetic energy when braking back into the battery. Just coasting especially downhill even with cruise control set will send kinetic energy back into the battery.
Take cruise control off and even taking foot of the accelerator may do the same.
If you have one of those 12v power socket chargers with a voltage indication on it, it's fascinating to watch the voltage go up and down as you drive.
My red 1992 Vauxhall Cavalier SRi saw me through to 105k over three years. The rear tyres hardly wore out , the fronts 15/20 k if you were lucky. The secondary kick in the back on hard acceleration at 3000rpm was something cherished and missed today. My bestest.👍
Yes, the brakes come on sporadically when coasting downhill but it depends what setting/mode you have it in. I’m still trying to figure out what everything does!
I know that mines a self charging hybrid but it shows on the dash when the battery is being regenerated. Its more often than you would think especially on non motorways.
I've always wondered that. We always get better mileage heading south than coming home.😉
With regards to regenerative breaking, each manufacture will have their own specific implementation of how it works.
In my own VW Passat GTE PHEV, Regen braking is also engaged whenever you apply the brakes, however if the regen braking is not enough and you press the peddle harder, the cars mechanical brakes will be seamlessly deployed until you lift your foot off the brakes.
In addition, my model of car also has a transmission free wheel function, and whwn ever you lift the accelerator, the car continues to roll, which can be disconcerting until you have got used to it. ((actually one of my first cars a Saab 96 two stroke, also had a freewheel) However you can select a "B" function through the gear box which then applies regen braking whenever you lift off the accelerator. This mimics the engine braking ICE vehicle normally have.
The regen braking is also used when the Adaptive Cruise Control is active. This enables the car to modulate its speed and prevent it exceeding your chosen speed when going down hill, and if necessary stop when in traffic.
With my GTE if the overnight charge has been exhausted, and depending on driving conditions, the regen braking will begin to recharge the battery. This so far has always been enough to enable the car to exploit its electric motor to enhance fuel economy.
I can choose to have the engine positively recharge the battery whilst driving, however this does use more fuel, but for my use case I rarely need to use this facility.
The economies of PHEV's are very much dependant on the way you use the vehicle. It works in my case as most of my journeys are short urban conditions, but as my adult children are moving further away, my present PHEV will no longer be ideally suited to my use case, and I may need to consider changing to a PHEV with a larger EV range or going full EV, which is more feasible in terns of range and efficiencies now than it was just 18 months ago.
Presently EV's will not suit every one, but as battery capacity and charge time improves along with the charging infrastructure more people will find an EV is a practical solution to their private transport needs.
Prevailing wind can make a difference - in your case going SE/NW across the UK prevailing wind.
One of the factors involved in regenerative braking is not just about using the K.E to recharge the battery when braking but also to reduce the load on the engine.
Alternators can have a load of 2Kw or so, all of which needs to be powered by the engine. Smart Alternator systems reduce the load on the engine at times and run the electrics from the battery. Less load on engine, more mpg. Then at times the alternator will kick in to recharge the battery, hopefully when braking or coasting.
Alternators can have a load of 2Kw or so, all of which needs to be powered by the engine. Smart Alternator systems reduce the load on the engine at times and run the electrics from the battery. Less load on engine, more mpg. Then at times the alternator will kick in to recharge the battery, hopefully when braking or coasting.
It does it as you ease on bends, or come up to junctions. Even when on adaptive cruise control if the vehicles ahead should slow. It’s far more than just hills.
Not sure what you're referring to. My Qashqai is only diesel ICE.
Just FYI...
My previous 2012 Qashqai had the same designation engine and same displacement. With no Smart Alternator we could get +60mpg.
In the 2018 version they added the Smart Alternator and the gear ratios seemed different. The car is heavier. Maybe other tweaks were made but mpg went up to +80 on the same journeys.
I'd suggest that it may be other changes that are giving your mpg increase - some cars have been using smart alternators since the 1990s without any big jumps in fuel economy - smart alternators help rather than hinder fuel consumption just like removal of spare wheels and smaller fuel tanks but they're small individual gains.
If you were carrying a around that big lump of a battery perhaps you would get the same mpg anyway as the car will be lighter?
No, I don't know! and I don't know where the biggest filling station is either!
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