Spark trip, efficiency, and range logs

[rosiegirl]

My husband and I leased 2 Spark EVs this weekend. Curious, when both are fully charged they both only show a range of 72 miles instead of what I thought would be 82. Should they be showing about 82 at the end of a full charge? On the plus side, I took my car on the freeway to work today and after driving 15.3 miles I only used 3 miles of battery time.

 

[Blackmamba]

My husband and I leased 2 Spark EVs this weekend. Curious, when both are fully charged they both only show a range of 72 miles instead of what I thought would be 82. Should they be showing about 82 at the end of a full charge? On the plus side, I took my car on the freeway to work today and after driving 15.3 miles I only used 3 miles of battery time.

I think that's just an estimate made by the car's electronic brains, based upon previous driving habits. Assuming other people road tested the cars before you got them, the low numbers probably are a result of high torque curiosity.

The more you drive the cars, those numbers should self adjust to more closely reflect the kind of range your driving styles would give you. So don't worry, as long as you don't hot rod them too frequently your actual range will be higher than 72 miles.

 

[SanDiego]

My husband and I leased 2 Spark EVs this weekend.

A matching set of Spark EV's. Awesome!

I totally agree with Blackmamba's reply; you'll be seeing much higher range estimates once the car reads your driving pattern.

 

[scotte]

Just as the other posters said, it will adjust itself based on previous trips better over time. At the dealer people test drove the car at full throttle, probably.

Has anyone else noticed that it defaults to 4.4 mi/KWh when resetting the trip mileage? Or do you see something different? Curious if that's a fixed default.

Here's my new efficiency record :

 

[rosiegirl]

thanks for the insight on our 2 new Sparks and the range. On my second day driving today, I showed a high of 98 miles and low of 69 miles after driving 15.34. So, guess I don't really have to worry about the range right now. Happy so far.

 

[drivefast]

curiosity: do you use one spot in your garage, or 2 spots, for your new cars?

on a more serious note, how do you deal with having 2 charging stations, so you can charge both cars at the same time?

 

[rosiegirl]

curiosity: do you use one spot in your garage, or 2 spots, for your new cars?

on a more serious note, how do you deal with having 2 charging stations, so you can charge both cars at the same time?

Ah, the garage. Haven't used it since we moved in 12 yrs ago; but we might get around to clearing it out now since we can finally fit both cars in our small 2 car space - more like 1 1/2. We don't have our 240v charging stations yet and plan to get 2. We have only had these cars since Sunday but we have been doing a lot of changing back and forth in and out of the driveway since only the first car in can reach the plug. We still have our other 2 cars and all of our vehicles must have preferential parking passes, which naturally the news ones do not have. My husband was passing a kidney stone last night so I had to move around all 4 cars to get the 2 Sparks charged up for today. Hope it will be easier and go faster with the new charging stations.

 

[drivefast]

OMG. you (actually your husband) seem to have way bigger problems than shuffling chevys around! wish him get well soon from us.

 

[rbroders]

Took my first long drive today: to the beach! It was 23mi each way so I figured 46total would be easy enough. Five miles into the trip we ran into a major traffic jam though. I got really worried that we'd run out of juice and there was no turning around either.

I think the super slow traffic was actually good for it because we made it with no problems.
Start range (full charge): 72mi
End range (after 46mi): 50mi.

For people that have owned this car for a while, what is your "minimum range" comfort level? Has anyone had to get towed due to dead battery?

Curious -- Bob

 

[rickp]

I've found that the indicated range on a full charge is influenced by your driving and electric use in the previous period between charges.

I tend to drive in L which means higher regeneration throughout the drive. And I do not use AC unless it is really warm. After the next charge, I am getting 92 or so indicated range miles.

When my SO drives it, she keeps in in D and runs the AC all the time. After recharging, the max range is somewhere in the high 80s.

It seems to be more of a guideline than an actual range. And as many have experienced, you can go significantly farther than what the charge meter states (which is good that it is conservative). If you manage your drive to not exceed the indicated range after a full charge, it is unlikely you'll reach a critical state.

 

[TonyWilliams]

For people that have owned this car for a while, what is your "minimum range" comfort level? Has anyone had to get towed due to dead battery?

Curious -- Bob

Watch this video where we towed the Spark EV in and out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPsgnI4vRoQ

 

[rbroders]

I saw the video - very cool. Its nice to have a tow ready when you need it!

You said the car was power limited at 90. How did that feel? I assume you still managed 100km/hr. My house is on a pretty high hill, so I worry that power limiting will prevent me from making the last 1/4mi to my charger!

--Bob

 

[scotte]

I tend to drive in L which means higher regeneration throughout the drive.

I believe this is a myth. The Spark is equally efficient with regard to regeneration whether driven in "D" or "L", and in my (unscientific) tests are that "D" results in about a .5 mile/KWh improvement in efficiency over "L".

The Spark has two braking systems - regenerative and traditional brakes. The traditional brakes only take affect when absolutely required (panic stop) or below a couple miles an hour to bring the car to a full stop. Don't underestimate the amount of drag required to generate 30+ KWh of energy!

 

[TonyWilliams]

You said the car was power limited at 90. How did that feel? I assume you still managed 100km/hr. My house is on a pretty high hill, so I worry that power limiting will prevent me from making the last 1/4mi to my charger!

It stayed on cruise control at 100kmh/62mph ground speed. You may not make the hill at 100km/h, but I think you'll make it.

 

[SparkMoore]

Got my Spark EV about a month ago. Thought I would test how far I could actually go. Normally I've been charging long before I ran out of juice. I set a personal best record over the last few days. During my normal commute back and forth to work, taking surface streets, with at least one substantial change in elevation (hill climb and descent of perhaps 1000 feet) on each of four legs, temperatures ranging from 60 to 100 degrees. Typical distance driven in any one leg was approximately 20 miles, with the balance of the miles being made up of miles driven around home or work during miscellaneous errands. Maximum speed was perhaps 55 mph for maybe 5 - 8 miles overall. I would guess my average speed would have been around 30 - 35 mph. I typically had the radio on and my phone plugged in to the USP port for charging. When the warning came on about the power being low and whether to turn off the radio, I kept the radio on. My start and final stop point was the same charging station, so same elevation, overall. Driving was in L mode. I averaged 5.7 mi/kWh and got a total of 102.7 miles, with the range indicator showing I still had between 7 and 9 miles left. I would post an image of my miles, but don't know how to do that.

Interesting note: When the range indicator got below 10 miles, I got a warning message on the dash saying, "Propulsion Power is Reduced." The car became noticeably less responsive in terms of acceleration. It still got up to 45 mph, but it took longer than normal.