Real-life experience

[user 1218]

Hello - I'm looking seriously at an eGolf, but I have a couple of questions I hope you can help with.

These are really more EV questions than eGolf questions specifically - but thought this would be a great place to start!

Wondering a few things (which you may or may not have information about):
- how 'real life' is the range estimate on your car? The eGolf is rated at 201km. But realistically, does that mean 201km or 90% or 105%?
- how dramatically does sitting in traffic affect that range?
- how dramatically does cold weather affect the range? (and at what temperature do you notice?)
- what tools do you use for planning a longer trip?
- what's your experience with public chargers? (cost, availability, functionality, etc.)
- did you install a home charger?

Whatever information you might have would be really useful.

Thank you!

 

[2016golfse]

1) Based on the 24kW Golf, VW's rated range is accurate, and depending on how efficiently you drive, arguably conservative. That said, the displayed range in the car itself fluctuates all the time because the estimate is based only on the last few minutes of driving. Note that you can expect the range to drop as the battery ages. Warranty is to retain at least 70% in 8 years/100,000 miles.
2) Depends on if you're running AC / heat and other accessories at the same time. By default, stop-and-go is less efficient than "going" at a constant speed.
3) Again depends on how much heat and accessories you're running. Expect 20% less.
4) Plugshare to map out available public chargers along my route/destination.
5) You can expect cost (unless they're free) to be higher than charging at home. Something has to pay for the charger itself, right? Availability depends on cost, EV market share, etc. Only you can answer that based on where you live.
6) Not yet. My daily commute needs are small enough that I can charge on 120V overnight.

 

[miimura]

Your questions depend on where you are located. If you told us where you live, we could answer more precisely. I'm in Northern California and "cold" means down to freezing temperature. If you live in Minnesota or Norway, you probably have a different definition of "cold".

 

[user 1218]

Your questions depend on where you are located. If you told us where you live, we could answer more precisely. I'm in Northern California and "cold" means down to freezing temperature. If you live in Minnesota or Norway, you probably have a different definition of "cold".

Good point! I'm in Vancouver, Canada. So winter may have a few odd days below freezing, but generally above that (and raining).

 

[JoulesThief]

I live in Los Angeles area.

It's warm here. I am the exception to the rule. I regularly get 110 miles on a recharge, or more. I drive city traffic only, surface streets and BLvds. Max speed of 45 mph.

I can get 110 to 115 miles on a recharge, and still have 10 to 15 miles left on a charge. I usually recharge when 1/3 of battery charge is left.

I don't use accessories very often, and usually get 6.0 to 6.7 miles per kwh, driving conservatively. Motor has tons of torque, which I never use.

Drive conservative, or like an old man that's retired, and it will reward you with exceptionally low operating costs and cost per mile. Drive like a jerk, not smooth, and hard on the pedals, and your range drops by 1/3 or more. It's all in how you drive it.

I'd get the Level 2 240V 50 amp NEMA 14-50 dedicated circuit and breaker installed at home, and would only very rarely count on public EVSE units, which are usually abused by the people that don't own them. Especially with the 35.8 Kwh battery, it's a no brainer.

Longer trips, the e-Golf I own gets parked... and a VW TDI is employed instead. 800 to 900 miles between a fill up.

Rain increases rolling resistance and range left on the battery significantly. Low temps is more dense air to push through, and the battery is less efficient, chemistry wise.

 

[user 1218]

I live in Los Angeles area.

It's warm here. I am the exception to the rule. I regularly get 110 miles on a recharge, or more. I drive city traffic only, surface streets and BLvds. Max speed of 45 mph.

I can get 110 to 115 miles on a recharge, and still have 10 to 15 miles left on a charge. I usually recharge when 1/3 of battery charge is left.

I don't use accessories very often, and usually get 6.0 to 6.7 miles per kwh, driving conservatively. Motor has tons of torque, which I never use.

Drive conservative, or like an old man that's retired, and it will reward you with exceptionally low operating costs and cost per mile. Drive like a jerk, not smooth, and hard on the pedals, and your range drops by 1/3 or more. It's all in how you drive it.

I'd get the Level 2 240V 50 amp NEMA 14-50 dedicated circuit and breaker installed at home, and would only very rarely count on public EVSE units, which are usually abused by the people that don't own them. Especially with the 35.8 Kwh battery, it's a no brainer.

Longer trips, the e-Golf I own gets parked... and a VW TDI is employed instead. 800 to 900 miles between a fill up.

Rain increases rolling resistance and range left on the battery significantly. Low temps is more dense air to push through, and the battery is less efficient, chemistry wise.

This is fantastic information - that's how I drive too, and get similar mileage to you on my current TDI. I hadn't thought rain would have an impact. That's a new one to me.

Thank you!

 

[JoulesThief]

I live in Los Angeles area.

It's warm here. I am the exception to the rule. I regularly get 110 miles on a recharge, or more. I drive city traffic only, surface streets and BLvds. Max speed of 45 mph.

I can get 110 to 115 miles on a recharge, and still have 10 to 15 miles left on a charge. I usually recharge when 1/3 of battery charge is left.

I don't use accessories very often, and usually get 6.0 to 6.7 miles per kwh, driving conservatively. Motor has tons of torque, which I never use.

Drive conservative, or like an old man that's retired, and it will reward you with exceptionally low operating costs and cost per mile. Drive like a jerk, not smooth, and hard on the pedals, and your range drops by 1/3 or more. It's all in how you drive it.

I'd get the Level 2 240V 50 amp NEMA 14-50 dedicated circuit and breaker installed at home, and would only very rarely count on public EVSE units, which are usually abused by the people that don't own them. Especially with the 35.8 Kwh battery, it's a no brainer.

Longer trips, the e-Golf I own gets parked... and a VW TDI is employed instead. 800 to 900 miles between a fill up.

Rain increases rolling resistance and range left on the battery significantly. Low temps is more dense air to push through, and the battery is less efficient, chemistry wise.

This is fantastic information - that's how I drive too, and get similar mileage to you on my current TDI. I hadn't thought rain would have an impact. That's a new one to me.

Thank you!

I envision my e-golf, the 2015 with the 24.2 kWh, as having about 2 to 2.5 gallons of equivalent diesel fuel range, but it's electric, before it needs filling up. About 11% of the TDI capacity. The North American 2017 or 2018 version in USA will have 3 to 3.75 gallons equivalent, of diesel TDI range. YMMV but I find that pretty realistic. The e-golf, for my needs, is strictly an urban crawler. Stop and go driving, conservative use of regenerative braking, and no idling is where it makes it's bread and butter savings, stuff anything with an internal combustion engine doesn't do well at. On the open road, the TDI is more efficient in use of time and refilling / recharging. Much higher energy density in diesel fuel, per pound hauled around.

 

[nestor]

I have a 2017 e-Golf for two weeks now and I'm located in Spain.

The guess-o-meter is a little bit confusing at first. I charge the battery at home to 80% and it shows 180 km range. I take the highway (I live next to it, about 500 meters) and it starts to decrease quickly to 160 km in the first km, then it keeps "realistic". When I arrive to the city, the guess-o-meter decreases slowly, sometimes even increases range.

I couldn't measure full range yet, but I managed to drive 175 km with one 80% charge (40 km highway at 120 km/h, 100 km road at 80-90 km/h and the rest urban city about 30-50 km/h) with a 12.9 kWh/100km average and about 5% battery left. That was in optimum conditions, good weather (20-25 ºC, no rain or wind) and not much traffic.

 

[eeeeek]

22 months of ownership with my 2016 eGolf. Here are my findings:

- how 'real life' is the range estimate on your car? The eGolf is rated at 201km. But realistically, does that mean 201km or 90% or 105%?
I base this off miles. Feel free to convert. The stated range is 83 miles. I realistically get between 75-85.

- how dramatically does sitting in traffic affect that range?
This actually improves my range. Stop and go traffic increases my range. When my commute was 25 miles, 15 miles of freeway carpool lane at 75 mph and then 10 miles of stop and go to the city center, I would watch my range increase as I hit the congestion.

Now, my commute is 13 miles of all surface streets. I get a much better range.

Old commute: Freeway and stop and go traffic: 3.5 miles/KWhour
New commute: All surface streets. stoplights and stop and go: 4.2 miles/KWhour

- how dramatically does cold weather affect the range? (and at what temperature do you notice?)
On cold days, it takes away about 10% of the range.

- what tools do you use for planning a longer trip?
I use my s/o's Land Rover.

- what's your experience with public chargers? (cost, availability, functionality, etc.)
The used to be fantastic. now, with more electric cars, they are often all full. I don't count on them anymore.

- did you install a home charger?
Nope, I just use the provide 110 plug and charge overnight.

 

[RonDawg]

how 'real life' is the range estimate on your car? The eGolf is rated at 201km. But realistically, does that mean 201km or 90% or 105%?
- how dramatically does sitting in traffic affect that range?

I have an older 24 kWH Golf, and the EPA range estimate of 84 miles is pretty accurate. You may see higher estimates, if so make sure it's the EPA and not the one used for Europe, which is a LOT more optimistic.

how dramatically does cold weather affect the range? (and at what temperature do you notice?)

With electric cars, the biggest source of range drop in winter is the use of the heater/defroster. Some electric cars use a heat pump which uses less battery than a resistive-style heater (think portable space heater). I don't know about the 2017/2018 model, but on the 2015/2016 eGolf the SEL uses a heat pump but the lesser trim levels use the resistive heater.

what tools do you use for planning a longer trip?

PlugShare is your friend if you drive an EV. Available in web, iOS, and Android. It tells you not just where they are, but for public charging stations what network it uses (some require you to have a membership to use them), how much it costs, and user experiences.

Like some others, I do relegate longer distances to an ICEV. But for me that's only once every few months. I only drive the ICEV once a month otherwise just to keep everything lubricated.

what's your experience with public chargers? (cost, availability, functionality, etc.)

DO NOT rely on them for regular charging. They can be occupied, or broken, or ICE'd (blocked by a non-EV). Only use them for supplemental charging to get to your destination and have a backup plan in case you run into a problem.

Some charging stations are free, others you must pay for, and can get quite pricey especially if you use a Quick Charge unit. With free charging stations don't be surprised to see them "hogged" (occupied by an EV/PHEV that has long since finished charging). If you are at a train station or Park and Ride don't expect the owner to come back for several hours.

did you install a home charger?

For the first 9 months, no. My range needs are such that I could get away with just 120 volt charging. I decided to get one anyway because at the time (2013) it was uncertain as to whether the 30% Federal tax credit for installing such a charging station would be extended. It eventually was, but AFAIK no longer exists for consumers (only businesses) after 12/31/2016. However some states/municipalities/local utilities do have programs, check here: https://www.chargepoint.com/products/home-station-incentives/