I have a conference up in Arrowhead in the next few weeks. I'm considering taking my S60, as the conference center has a EV charging station. Assuming I have 150 rated miles at the foot of the mountains (Redlands area), how much juice should I expect to use on the way up (about 25-28 miles up Highway 18)? Do any of you forsee any difficulties? (Note: I did see a thread on this awhile back, but I believe the person making the drive did so in an 85, and headed towards Big Bear as opposed to Arrowhead).
you'll make it no problem. I did it in an 85, loaded with 1200 pounds of cargo, 105 degrees outside, 220 miles range leaving LA, got to arrowhead with 60 miles remaining BUT I drove like an absolute maniac with AC blasting. Full throttle all the way up the mountain tires smoking upon arrival.
Just got back today, and wanted to give a quick review before our next meetup - So the drive from the City of San Bernardino at the base of the mountain on Route 18 to Bluejay, which is the first little village at the south end of Arrowhead (about 16 miles away and up more than 3000' of elevation) cost me about 12.4kWh. I started at the bottom with 162 rated miles of range and arrived there with 117 rated miles to spare. The drive down was fantastic. I ended up gaining back about 2.3kWh, and added 8 rated miles to my range. In the end, I could have made it to Arrowhead without a charge mid-way from North OC. I haven't done the math yet, but I might have even been able to make the whole trip without a charge at all - and that's in a S60!
To add another data point, yesterday we went from Manhattan Beach to Snow Valley ski area (just outside big bear) and back to Manhattan Beach in our Signature P85 - started off with 250 mi range (range charge) and returned home with 13 mi left.