Motorway speed power consumption

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id73
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Post by id73 »

Planning first motorway trip from London to Devon.
Model is ID3 Family and will be using aircon, CarPlay and driving around 70-80mph. Forecast says about 20 degrees.

Any idea what sort of kWh/mi economy to expect given above situation?

Not sure whether the Family model is 58 or 62 kWh battery?

Warminster id
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Post by Warminster id »

Hi
I guess between 3.2 and 3.4. If you don’t keep the a/c on all the time and slow down a bit you could get 4.
My return trip from Cambridgeshire to Warminster was 4.3 but outbound was 3.9 I put this down to strong headwinds so consider that as well.
After my long journey I’ve decided not to worry about consumption too much and enjoy the ride, the car is so good on long journeys, have fun getting to Devon and even more when there
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Deleted User 192

Post by Deleted User 192 »

1. The speed limit is 70
2. I don’t work in kWh/mi but you should get a range reading of 220-240 miles I expect, so I guess that makes it about 4kWh/mi
3. Battery pack is 58kWh usable, 62kWh total
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Daveion
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Post by Daveion »

On motorways I manage around 4.1 miles/kw in a similar set up to your own but I drive more conservatively. Maybe 240 mile summer range.
Driving at 80 mph will consume 30% more power than driving at 70 mph. After tens of thousands of miles I have driven on motorways and the stupid avoidable accidents that I have witnessed I drive at 65'ish mostly in the inside lane where I can move right or left onto the hard shoulder.
60mph is a 43% saving over 80 mph.
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colonelpurple
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Post by colonelpurple »

Does anyone know the most fuel efficient speed ? I heard it was 40_50 ?
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Deleted User 192

Post by Deleted User 192 »

colonelpurple wrote: Wed Jul 07, 2021 5:27 am Does anyone know the most fuel efficient speed ? I heard it was 40_50 ?

The slower the better, due to rolling and wind resistance.

But who is going to drive on a motorway at 40-50 or less?

Best just to drive the car and not worry too much about consumption, route plan a stop into your journey, have a look at the ABRP app to help you.
MotMot
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Post by MotMot »

Drag from wind resistance increases exponentially with speed. Hence to crack 200mph you’ll need a 600-1000 bhp beast of a car, but only 60-100 to break 100mph. Etc.. back of the fag packet calculations etc..

Obviously there’s a sweet spot between pissing off other drivers, the legal minimum (50), the speed limit, getting caught by the feds, the traffic and what you feel like. As well as how much of a hurry you’re in and how it’ll hit your consumption 😁

For me it’s about 65-75 depending on what I’m following or if the motorway is empty.

Also if you want to make up time without hitting consumption then it seems that going faster down hills makes quite a difference. On my ‘commute’ every other week from Manchester to Hull this is really clear on the M62.. I can potter up the hill (from Manc) at 60 or so but wizz downhill at 80 and still hit the negative m/kw figures…

ACC makes a big difference imho too..
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Post by MotMot »

(Edit) alternatively find a national express coach to slipstream 😂
colonelpurple
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Post by colonelpurple »

I didn't mean do 50 on a motorway, I just meant in general the most efficient speed

This is interesting:
https://insideevs.com/news/445471/vw-id ... fficiency/

extract:

Results at 90 km/h (56 mph):
  • range of 413 km (257 miles)
    energy consumption of 135 Wh/km (217 Wh/mile)
    available energy capacity of 55.8 kWh (out of nominal 58 kWh net/62 kWh total)
Results at 120 km/h (75 mph):
  • range of 271 km (168 miles), down 34.4% compared to 90 km/h
    energy consumption of 205 Wh/km (330 Wh/mile)
    available energy capacity of 55.6 kWh (out of nominal 58 kWh net/62 kWh total)
The ID3 really has superb range. Another test of range:
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G43FAN

Post by G43FAN »

There's no legal minimum speed limit on UK motorways, there is in some countries e.g. Germany but even then it's specific to lanes and the rule is something like the vehicle must be capable of 60 km/h (I think) on a flat road.
In the UK you can get pulled for dangerous driving if you are driving too slowly but there is no minimum legal speed limit.
Deleted User 192

Post by Deleted User 192 »

colonelpurple wrote: Wed Jul 07, 2021 6:49 am I didn't mean do 50 on a motorway, I just meant in general the most efficient speed

Did you consider this when driving an ICE car? Why worry about it now you have an EV?

(not being obtuse, I'm genuinely interested in your thought process)
MotMot
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Post by MotMot »

G43FAN wrote: Wed Jul 07, 2021 7:48 am There's no legal minimum speed limit on UK motorways, there is in some countries e.g. Germany but even then it's specific to lanes and the rule is something like the vehicle must be capable of 60 km/h (I think) on a flat road.
In the UK you can get pulled for dangerous driving if you are driving too slowly but there is no minimum legal speed limit.
I believe in the highway code it states that you must be travelling at least 50mph before joining a motorway. AFAIK this is widely interpreted as the 'minimum'.
But it was a good few years since I last read that :D
colonelpurple
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Post by colonelpurple »

scott28tt wrote: Wed Jul 07, 2021 8:11 am
colonelpurple wrote: Wed Jul 07, 2021 6:49 am I didn't mean do 50 on a motorway, I just meant in general the most efficient speed

Did you consider this when driving an ICE car? Why worry about it now you have an EV?

(not being obtuse, I'm genuinely interested in your thought process)
sorry, is it not allowed to ask this ?

I have read some on this but always interested in info other people have come across

I travel at the speed I want, I dont care about range, but its interesting to know that if you are going x, if you go x+10 you are at the efficient horizon
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Higgy
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Post by Higgy »

A rough test I did the other day on the motorway was around 3.2miles/kWh at 80mph, and 3.7-3.9 at 70
Air con on and around 18degC.
ColinID3
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Post by ColinID3 »

I have found it is easy to regularly get 200 usable miles (20-30 miles left in reserve) by setting the speed limiter to 73mph, (it is so easy for the speed to creep up if you don't), plus use the A/C to pull the temperature down at the start of the journey, maintain with fresh air ventilation after that.
I've done 7,500 miles to date at least half of that is long distance motorway driving.
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Daveion
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Post by Daveion »

ColinID3 wrote: Wed Jul 07, 2021 9:32 am I have found it is easy to regularly get 200 usable miles (20-30 miles left in reserve) by setting the speed limiter to 73mph, (it is so easy for the speed to creep up if you don't), plus use the A/C to pull the temperature down at the start of the journey, maintain with fresh air ventilation after that.
I've done 7,500 miles to date at least half of that is long distance motorway driving.
Hi Colin
What is your long term average miles/kw?
I have done 3,000 miles in 6 months with a LTA of 4.2m/kw that includes the really cold start to the year. Im interested to see if my conservative driving makes much difference.
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Post by Deleted User 192 »

colonelpurple wrote: Wed Jul 07, 2021 8:20 am
scott28tt wrote: Wed Jul 07, 2021 8:11 am
colonelpurple wrote: Wed Jul 07, 2021 6:49 am I didn't mean do 50 on a motorway, I just meant in general the most efficient speed

Did you consider this when driving an ICE car? Why worry about it now you have an EV?

(not being obtuse, I'm genuinely interested in your thought process)
sorry, is it not allowed to ask this ?

I have read some on this but always interested in info other people have come across

I travel at the speed I want, I dont care about range, but its interesting to know that if you are going x, if you go x+10 you are at the efficient horizon

Of course you can ask whatever you want.

I was genuinely interested in why you were asking, as I mentioned.

Thanks for answering.
OllyExeterID3
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Post by OllyExeterID3 »

scott28tt wrote: Tue Jul 06, 2021 8:09 pm 1. The speed limit is 70
2. I don’t work in kWh/mi but you should get a range reading of 220-240 miles I expect, so I guess that makes it about 4kWh/mi
3. Battery pack is 58kWh usable, 62kWh total
Absolutely point number 1. - you're breaking the law going about 70 so shouldn't be going above this.

Main sweet spot for me, cruising at 65-66mph gives a 4miles/kWh on the motorway. Even better with ACC because you can 'latch' to a car in front which can help (many-a-time I have cursed a lorry for leaving the motorway when I was slipstreaming it.
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Post by monkeyhanger »

In a car that can cost pennies to fuel with Octopus GO, I'm amazed how efficiency obsessed some people are. If you're doing a 210 mile round trip and want to get there and back without stopping to charge, I could understand that, but to obsess about tootling around at 55-60 miles an hour to perhaps save literally a couple of pence totally astounds me.

In the Summer with a dab of aircon:-

60mph cruise speed ~ 4.4mi p kWh
70mph cruise speed ~ 3.6mi p kWh
80mph cruise speed ~ 3.2mi p kWh

Unless you're embarking on a 200+ mile journey, drive it like you stole it or drive it like a nun might be the difference of saving £3 a month.
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G43FAN

Post by G43FAN »

OllyExeterID3 wrote: Wed Jul 07, 2021 11:58 am
scott28tt wrote: Tue Jul 06, 2021 8:09 pm 1. The speed limit is 70
2. I don’t work in kWh/mi but you should get a range reading of 220-240 miles I expect, so I guess that makes it about 4kWh/mi
3. Battery pack is 58kWh usable, 62kWh total
Absolutely point number 1. - you're breaking the law going about 70 so shouldn't be going above this.

Main sweet spot for me, cruising at 65-66mph gives a 4miles/kWh on the motorway. Even better with ACC because you can 'latch' to a car in front which can help (many-a-time I have cursed a lorry for leaving the motorway when I was slipstreaming it.

I hadn't thought of the significance of slipstreaming.. I now picture a future where there are pelotons' of EV's migrating along the roads with the fool hardy clearing off alone in the distance only to be caught at the end of the journey when they have had to preserve their remaining battery..
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