High Wh/mi in city driving

[Rove]

Got a question. What is your average Wh/mi driving in city stop and go traffic. Mine seems really high (mid 500's to high 500's). Just got the car 4 days ago and I'm curious. I'm not really stepping on it either.

 

[TaoJones]

When a lot of time is spent in the car but not moving and then with the AC on, for example during a long conference call on the side of the road, Wh/mi will appear higher.

 

[Rove]

In my case,i am moving. I'm new to electric cars which is why I'm asking if such a high Wh/mile is normal

 

[ArtInCT]

How many miles is your typical city trip?

 

[Rove]

pretty local- I would say 5-10 miles per trip.

 

[ptsagcy]

It's been really hot in NYC lately and the A/C takes a lot of power to initially cool the car down. On longer trips the Wh/Mi will come down as you drive. Two suggestions: pre-cool the car while it is plugged in, before you drive; and turn off the rear a/c if you don't have passengers in the third row. It doesn't affect the 2nd row.(There is a separate a/c unit for the third row)

 

[Rove]

It's been really hot in NYC lately and the A/C takes a lot of power to initially cool the car down. On longer trips the Wh/Mi will come down as you drive. Two suggestions: pre-cool the car while it is plugged in, before you drive; and turn off the rear a/c if you don't have passengers in the third row. It doesn't affect the 2nd row.(There is a separate a/c unit for the third row)

I'll give it a try. Thanks.

 

[umeshunni]

I did 3 drives within San Francisco this morning on city streets and here are my stats along with a comparison to 3 longer distance freeway drives later in the evening.

(note that SF is very hilly and we live in a valley within the city and need to drive over hills both ways)

3 miles @388.5 Wh/mi (home to car wash) downhill but with lots of stops and turns
2.3 miles @642.1 Wh/mi (car wash to home) uphill in relatively clear city traffic
5.6 miles @ 431.3 Wh/mi (home to waterfront) in bumper to bumper traffic

after that, we drove out to the suburbs on freeways
41.2 miles @ 326.7 Wh/mi
and then to Alameda for dinner, mostly on freeways:
25.1 miles @ 257.5 Wh/mi
Alameda to home (SF) on freeways, again mostly on freeways:
18.2 miles @ 338 Wh/mi

 

[Rove]

I did 3 drives within San Francisco this morning on city streets and here are my stats along with a comparison to 3 longer distance freeway drives later in the evening.

(note that SF is very hilly and we live in a valley within the city and need to drive over hills both ways)

3 miles @388.5 Wh/mi (home to car wash) downhill but with lots of stops and turns
2.3 miles @642.1 Wh/mi (car wash to home) uphill in relatively clear city traffic
5.6 miles @ 431.3 Wh/mi (home to waterfront) in bumper to bumper traffic

after that, we drove out to the suburbs on freeways
41.2 miles @ 326.7 Wh/mi
and then to Alameda for dinner, mostly on freeways:
25.1 miles @ 257.5 Wh/mi
Alameda to home (SF) on freeways, again mostly on freeways:
18.2 miles @ 338 Wh/mi

Thanks. In NY the roads are mostly flat but this helps. Looks like I need a bigger sample size.

 

[Rove]

so I think the culprit was the rear AC. I turned it off and my Wh/mile is much better. In a 15 mile drive today through the city, I ended up with around a 380 Wh/mi average.

Thanks for the help.

 

[aesculus]

It should get better once you have about 1500 miles on the car too for tire break-in.

 

[mf66]

I've been thinking the same thing. Live adjacent to chicago. City grid layout. Flat, flat, flat.

Commute is 8 miles. Most trips are 2-3 miles. Grocery store, dinner, etc. car does well on highway but my average is 420 wh/mile. A lot of that is city driving with AC on.

 

[shadows]

I have been noticing something strange, and a pattern that is almost consistent every single day. The wh/mile when I go from home to work (9 miles one way, and pretty flat) in the morning averages about 270, which is amazing every way I look at it. The same commute on the way back (hotter in the evenings over here) almost always, irrespective of the conditions, average closer to 400. My driving style is the same, not much traffic and takes the same amount of time each way. If the heat is the only explanation, I guess I get it, but I have tried without a/c, but it still is 400 or above!

 

[bikeandsail]

The watts/mile is not accurate relative to rated miles lost for short drives. My experience is a 5 or 6 mile drive uses maybe 8 miles range even if the watts/mile is near rated.

 

[joebob73]

I have been noticing something strange, and a pattern that is almost consistent every single day. The wh/mile when I go from home to work (9 miles one way, and pretty flat) in the morning averages about 270, which is amazing every way I look at it. The same commute on the way back (hotter in the evenings over here) almost always, irrespective of the conditions, average closer to 400. My driving style is the same, not much traffic and takes the same amount of time each way. If the heat is the only explanation, I guess I get it, but I have tried without a/c, but it still is 400 or above!

I have observed this as well. In my case, there is a very slight decline going from home to work and when I return, it goes "uphill." This is a very slight elevation change and I did not notice it before when I drove a traditional ICE. But in my X, even subtle elevation changes have an effect.