I recently spoke with a friend about his efficiency experience with his M3 LR, so he was surprised to hear I was getting ~430-470 miles of range per charge consistently for the greater part of the 9 months I’ve owned my LR M3 RWD.
How?
1. Driving behavior
To jump right in, I commute 50 miles roundtrip a day, from Petersburg, Va. to Richmond, Va. for work. 87% of the driving consist solely of highway driving (43.5 of these miles are highway only!). Aside from family trips to North Carolina and southwestern Virginia, around 300-400 miles back and forth, the car hasn’t seen much deviation from the aforementioned daily commute.
2. Driving environment
For the forum members who are not familiar with the east coast and Virginia in general, the region is not flat by any stretch of imagination. The highways curve and vary relatively immensely in elevation for extended periods of driving up and down the Virginia I-95 corridor. Additionally, the average temperatures from October-April range between 30-50 degrees Fahrenheit; which we know our batteries don’t like! It should be noted that I have rarely utilized the battery precondition settings and will discuss why I haven’t later on. I was still averaging about 205 wh/mi when battery regen was limited by upwards of 90%. Since 19APR19, I have seen a consistent ~160-170 wh/mi at 85-95 degree Fahrenheit for 250+ miles.
3. Vehicle and driving details
Of course, the aero wheels are on! On warmer days 80F+, the AC is set to 67F at a fan speed of 2. This is done religiously. YES I am comfortable as if I were sitting on a cloud. I am not overly heat-tolerant; in fact, I rather dislike the heat. In colder weather, the AC is set to 75F and the fan speed at 2. Here is the kicker ladies and gentlemen, I travel at an average speed/ range between 57-62MPH. Sure, I am "that" guy, but when EAP/AP/FSD (whatever we call it now...) is on, I do nothing but enjoy the ride the entire way.
4. Charging behavior
I continually cycle between 10%-70% SOC. Rarely do I do more, rarely do I do less. Every 2 weeks, on a Wednesday, I charge to 95% and run the battery down to about 10% for a full cycle to ensure battery longevity. More than 90% of my charging/fuel is free courtesy of BMW ChargePoint station, located conveniently next to my domicile. Of the 3,300 kW I have used to push my car 17,000 miles, 3,000 have been free according to ChargePoint data. I do have a 240V at home, but it rarely sees action. I do not keep the battery plugged in when its charged to the set SOC capacity, so I do notice vampirism. I am willing to change this habit if someone can present evidence of the benefits of such, beyond Tesla recommendation etc. I am not a SOC expert but have pieced this together over the last few months, from sources ranging from E-Tusk down to forum users just like you.
If I left anything out that you'd like to know, please feel free to comment and I will answer to the best of my abilities.
Very respectfully,
Creighton
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Still spending about a third of what I would have spent on gas on a 40 MPG car for my 100+ mile commute! This on $0.13 / KwH overnight on my TOU plan.
