Battery capacity question

[user 1485]

Hi all,

So I just did my first Level 2 charge here at my office, was super easy. When I unplugged and drove away to park (our charging spots are always in demand), my dash meter said 137 miles, and the gauge was listed at 3/4 full.

With the vehicle range being rated at 125 miles, and me having this vehicle less than a week, you can understand my confusion as to what all this means. Is our max capacity above the stated 125 miles? Or is that just as estimate based on my miles per kwH so far? Or is it something completely different?!

Tim

 

[johnnylingo]

This is commonly called the "guess-o-meter", and should always be taken with a grain of salt. It will calculate the estimate miles remaining based on recent driving patterns. If your most recent trip was driving slow in the city in Eco+ mode with no temperature control, it may report over 150 miles range on a full battery charge. If your most recent drive was on the highway at 75 mph with the heat or AC cranked up, then it could be under 100 miles.

The more useful thing I've always found is know your battery size, which is either roughly 22 or 36 kW, then use the analog battery gauge to do calculations. For example if I'm at 1/2 battery that's 11 kWh remaining times 4 mi/kWh for highway driving, so that's 44 miles remaining.

 

[RonDawg]

The EPA estimated range figures are to be taken just like the EPA MPG figures: "Your Mileage May Vary" and is most useful to compare between cars, as they're tested under identical conditions, and not to be taken as gospel. Once you've had your car for a while, you'll get a better feel of how "thirsty" it is during your normal usage patterns and rely less on the "Guess-O-Meter" (a term which originated I think from Nissan Leaf forums, which had a range estimator which was ridiculously optimistic, even more so than the eGolf's).

You'll be surprised how much your driving behaviors unconsciously change to accommodate the limited range. For example, while I can take the freeway home from work, it's a bit out of the way and involves a climbing a significant grade as it was built in the mountains above the "old" route. Plus the higher speeds means increased drag which means increased battery usage. So unless I'm in a hurry, I spend a few extra minutes taking the "scenic" route home and preserve my range, even though I live close enough to work where I don't have to do that. I also find myself keeping to the far right lane at/5 over the speed limit on the freeway, rather than rushing like everybody else.

 

[user 1485]

Awesome, thank you both!