Going on vacation with an e-car?
Don't overestimate the range
Created: 05/04/2022, 10:35 am
By: Olga Krockauer
Another holiday or business trip with an electric car needs to be well planned.
© Marijan Murat/dpa (archive image/symbolic image)
If you are planning another holiday or business trip with an electric car, you should plan enough time.
What else should you, as an e-car driver, be aware of?
In practice, the range of an e-car is often much smaller.
This is due to the power consumption of the e-battery, which cannot be precisely calculated.
If you follow a few rules, you can increase the range of your e-speedster quite a bit.
The range of electric cars is constantly increasing
Drive faster, get further?
Unfortunately, this is not always true – at least not in relation to electric cars.
The gap between the information provided by the manufacturers and the real
ranges of electric cars
is due to the fact that car manufacturers mainly base their calculations on city and intercity journeys.
If you often drive on
highways
, you use up the battery charge faster.
E-cars sometimes
barely manage more than 400 kilometers
with a full charge.
The range of electric cars has increased steadily in recent years.
However, this well-known problem is still perceived as a challenge, especially on longer journeys.
Because another vacation or business trip only works with good planning and sufficient time buffer.
According to the ADAC test, the larger models such as the
Tesla Model 3
(in the ADAC test: 305 and 425 kilometers depending on the version), the
Mercedes-Benz EQC
(335 kilometers) or the
Hyundai Kona
(435 kilometers) were the clear range Winner.
Power consumption is important for the range of an electric car
The larger the
e-battery
,
the farther your e-speedster can go?
Not necessarily.
In its realistic Ecotest, ADAC showed that the range of an electric car – across all brands – depends heavily on power consumption.
High speeds or low temperatures also
have a negative impact on the range
.
Thus, under real conditions, the energy is not fully used for the drive.
In the summer, electric cars lose around 20 percent of their range because of the cooling of the battery and the air conditioning;
up to 40 to 50 percent of the range is lost due to the heating in winter.
E-car range in winter: That's what matters
As soon as temperatures outside fall below zero,
the energy consumption of an electric car increases
- and the range decreases.
This varies a little from model to model.
But the reasons are mostly the same.
On the one hand, the heating of the interior, including the windows, steering wheel and seats, draws power from the drive battery.
On the other hand, the electric battery is also heated: The battery needs a temperature of 20 to 40 degrees Celsius for the electrochemistry to work best.
The larger the battery, the more energy is required.
According to ADAC.de
, drivers of e-cars have to reckon
with this loss of
range
in winter (on short and commuter routes):
Range by car model | at +14 °C | at - 7 °C | Loss |
---|---|---|---|
Fiat 500e | 244 km | 182 km | 25% |
Renault Zoe | 351 km | 244 km | 30% |
Hyundai Kona electric | 215 km | 147 km | 32% |
Ford Mustang Mach-E | 300 km | 202 km | 33% |
Lexus UX300e | 224 km | 141 km | 37% |
Nissan Leaf e+ | 332 km | 210 km | 37% |
VW ID.3 | 324 km | 162 km | 50% |
Source: ADAC.de
Tips for e-drivers: reduce power consumption, increase range
With these tips
you can reduce the power consumption of your electric car
and
increase the range even in cooler temperatures
:
Preheat your e-car before
driving – while it is still charging.
This can be done via app or programming.
Depending on the model, about 15 minutes is enough.
Give up the car heater and
use the heated seats instead
.
Some brands have a savings function.
The driver's seat is primarily heated: Use this if you are traveling alone.
Even if you
switch the heating to forced air
, you warm up the interior faster.
Short journeys
with long idle times
in between cause the interior and the battery to cool down.
Avoid
these to increase the range of your electric car.
Park safely
in garages and multi-storey car parks.
In this way you avoid extreme cooling of the battery.
When fast charging, it is more effective to do it in the evening after driving when the battery is still warm.
Because a cooled e-battery severely limits the charging performance.
It is therefore more effective to
charge
with high power than in the morning before driving.
Driving
in Eco mode
reduces or eliminates wheel spin.
This also saves energy consumption and increases the range.
When braking, your electric car recovers energy.
But when it's cold, this process, also known as recuperation, can be noticeably weaker.
You should therefore adjust your
braking behavior
in
winter
.
Consider buying a
heat pump
, which some manufacturers offer separately.
How to increase the range of your electric car
Not only in winter: In general, you can do something to get as far as possible with your electric car:
Anticipatory driving
takes on an additional meaning with electric cars: Accelerate gently and do not brake to a standstill.
Let the vehicle roll to keep consumption as low as possible.
Even if driving an electric car is particularly fun, driving too fast is counterproductive
.
The slower
you drive,
the further
you get.
This also applies to the motorway: a speed of 100 km/h or less is ideal.
If you increase the
tire pressure
,
you reduce the rolling resistance and the range of your e-car increases.
The recommendation of the manufacturer still applies as a guideline here.
But: About 0.5 bar more is no problem and can already improve the range by a few kilometers.
The aerodynamically optimized rims do the same!
Tidy up your vehicle regularly to
reduce weight
.
The loaded roof rack can also have a negative effect on the range and does not have to be taken along unnecessarily.
Because: Reduce the driving resistance, increase your e-car range.
Don't use the air conditioner
because it uses a lot of energy.
Use
the vehicle's recuperation: As soon as you take your foot off the gas, the wheels drive the engine.
In doing so, it feeds energy back into the battery.
If you can set the level of recuperation on your electric car, choose as high a level as possible, especially in city traffic.
In principle, it is worth
thinking about the
specifics of your own mobility behavior before you buy an e-car.
Do you tend to drive long or short distances?
Do you travel a lot in the city or only in the surrounding area?
This helps to decide on the right model.
A larger e-battery makes more sense over long distances, for example.
You can also find out where you can charge your e-car for free.
(OK)