What range can I expect commuting from Marin to SF?

[polymathic]

New here, and thinking of leasing an eGolf SE for my Fairfax to USF commute. The roundtrip is about 45 mi, with the 101 section at normal 75mph+ speed. What range can I expect? The car will be used to do this commute twice a day, morning for my wife (at work the car should be able to get a 3-hour charge), and afternoon me (with another option to charge for a few hours). What range can I expect? Will I need to be charging it both times at work? Trying to get a sense before I pull the trigger. I don't want to stress out about running out of juice on this little commute. Thanks for sharing any info!

 

[bizzle]

You'll need to charge it at work to give yourself a comfortable cushion. You'll get about a dozen miles in those hours of charging at the 3.2kwh rate.

 

[polymathic]

Thanks, bizzle. What ranger are you getting driving on the highway at 75+mph?

 

[bizzle]

I don't take mine on the freeway very far. The speed limit down where I'm at is 70 and I only hop on for about 10 miles, but the range drops fast at 75+.

 

[RonDawg]

With electric cars especially, speed kills...your range. At 75+ MPH, you will use up the battery VERY quickly. You definitely won't make it on a round trip.

Another factor to consider are hills. In the OP's case, it's the hills leading up to the Waldo Tunnel. Combine that with 75+ MPH speeds and you could be using up the entire charge just going one way, particularly on the steeper southbound direction.

Also what kind of charging is available at work? At 120 volts you will only get about 5-6 miles/hour of charging, less if you are not willing to slow down. If you have L2 at work and it outputs at least 4.8 kW, I would step up to the SEL (or wait until a faster charge package is offered on the SE) since you need a quick turnaround time.

 

[egolfinator]

Hi- I drive in from Marinwood and typically return home with about 1/3 of a charge left.

I can't emphasize how important the 7.2 charger is for me: getting home and reaching a full charge in 2+ hours is a huge benefit. I realize the lease price on the SE can be tempting, but considering reliable access to always-functioning charging stations in the real
world being what it is, it's simply not a great bet for someone driving in and out of Fairfax twice each weekday.

 

[JoulesThief]

What you are hearing is that the 3.6kwh charger on board the SE is not adequate for your turnaround need, and no matter how you slice it, you need to slow down to extend the range of the battery, 60 to 65 mph is more reasonable, and legal. 75 mph is not legal anywhere in California on public roads.

If you insist on driving 75 mph, get something with a diesel or gas motor where you can go longer and farther between filling up, be it a fuel tank or a traction battery. Or buy a Tesla, with extended range.

The bad thing about a 3.6 kw charger is that you only get 3.6 kwh if the charger is on residential 240V, and most public chargers are not on residential 240V, they are on commercial 208V, which more than likely sags to 200V or under, basically giving away 20% of your charge rate, so now you are down to close to 3.0 kw added to the battery per hour, before even including the additional 5 to 10% efficiency loss of charging a battery.

 

[polymathic]

Thanks, this is helpful. If I get one, it will definitely be a SEL.

 

[bizzle]

Thanks, this is helpful. If I get one, it will definitely be a SEL.

You also have the option of the SE with fast charge and a 7.2Kwh charger.

 

[RonDawg]

Thanks, this is helpful. If I get one, it will definitely be a SEL.

You also have the option of the SE with fast charge and a 7.2Kwh charger.

That option JUST became available and someone here posted that he or she got the second one sold at the dealership (Capitol VW in San Jose). The option is not yet mentioned on VW's website.

http://www.myvwegolf.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=685

 

[JoulesThief]

I am about at my 90 day review point for my 2015 SEL. It's winter, there's no way I would settle for standard headlights instead of the brightness and visibility of the LED headlights on the SEL. These old eyes can see sooo much better with LED's... to me, it's worth the additional price of admittance. YMMV... but LED's are super easy on the battery and low draw in current.

 

[DepletedZPM]

I am about at my 90 day review point for my 2015 SEL. It's winter, there's no way I would settle for standard headlights instead of the brightness and visibility of the LED headlights on the SEL. These old eyes can see sooo much better with LED's... to me, it's worth the additional price of admittance. YMMV... but LED's are super easy on the battery and low draw in current.

From a couple of drives in the new SE, its halogens are still way better than the ones I've seen in Priuses, ranging from my 2003 first generation car to a 2015. There's much better visibility over a wide swath of the road. Granted, the e-Golf is the first VW I've driven since my dad's 1970's Dasher, so maybe the modern non-EV Golfs also have superior headlamps.

 

[JoulesThief]

Test drive both on a dark unlit country road, and you'll better understand.