EV Discussion thread

Martyn1981

210Wh/mile is brilliant, I take my baseball cap off to you sir. If I recall correctly, I was around 250 with the AWD/LR 3. It did start off a bit better, but went downhill after I downloaded the extra power. But it was fun.

Hopefully Coastalwatch will have numbers, as he got a TM3 about the same time as you (I think), but the lighter standard range RWD, so might make for an interesting comparison.

I did go for a test drive in the new Y. I wanted to know if the RWD felt nice and strong, now that I'm finally growing up a bit, v's the dual motor. TBH I was surprised how powerful it felt, but what shocked me most was the energy consumption over my drive, it was ~214Wh/mile. I drove about 30 miles, roughly half on the motorway, and a hard acceleration from 20-70, the rest of the drive pottering about.

Maybe I just hit lucky circumstances, and my drive did bring down the 'since last charge' total, so others that day must have been a bit more leadfooted.

JKenH

It makes you wonder why any one would buy one of the “cheap” Chinese brands such as Omoda or Jaecoo instead of a Tesla. They probably don’t and the registrations we see are all lease deals. Apparently, from the reviews I have seen the driving dynamics and infotainment are awful.

1961Nick

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82022684#Comment_82022684

My first 2021 M3P averaged 285Wh/mile whereas the current 2025 M3P is averaging 243Wh/mile. The real world range (down to 0%) is around 300 miles… there's probably a few miles left after zero but I have no intention of finding out how many! My Son-in-law has the standard range Highland & the range of that is about the same as my performance model. The main difference is that his takes no time at all to charge from 20% to 80% due to the much smaller battery. Energy use in his sub 200Wh/mile.

The quickest way to drive an EV on a long trip is to keep the speed sensible. If you drive it like you stole it, any time you make up on the road will be lost at the charger.

NedS

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82022821#Comment_82022821

Indeed. Leapmotor were offering their largish C10 electric SUV for around £140/month on lease deals recently. If you just want a really cheap new car, it's hard to argue when it's a fraction of the monthly price of a Tesla.

I doubt anyone would actually buy one though, which makes you wonder where they will all end up once the leases expire in a couple years time.

paul991

Depends on the price

michaels

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82023616#Comment_82023616

You say that but recently I did Alpes to Herts in a day and the charge curve on our Fisker (average 150+ 5% to 55%) made it quicker to drive at 80 and charge more than to drive at 70 and charge less, despite a pretty hefty wh/mile penalty (500 vs 380: cold wet and headwind)

JKenH

I have to say I am impressed with the low consumption of the TM3 - at least what is displayed by the car as energy used (in driving, I believe). Based on the WLTP figures the latest TM3 LR RWD is capable of 466 miles from its 75kWh battery which works out at 6.21 miles/kWh or 161Wh/mile.

Despite not having owned an EV for several years I do still follow various forums and I just want to point out what has been discussed many times in the past (and apparently forgotten) what the car shows as consumed isn’t the same as what your electricity meter will show as going into the car. What the car shows can typically be 22% less or rather the car typically can draw around 30% more from your grid than shows up on the car screen. Tesla app versus monitor discrepancy in kilowatt hours. : r/TeslaModel3

That one kWh shown as consumed on the driving displays we are seeing is closer to 1.3kWh charged by your electricity provider. So 200Wh on the display is probably closer to 250/260Wh/mile - that’s still very good. 250Wh/mile is around 325Wh/mile. If the car shows 300Wh /mile you will typically have paid for 390 Wh.

Let’s get a couple of things out the way before someone else points this out. Firstly it is still considerably cheaper than petrol if you have an EV tariff but at 325Wh/mile if you happen to charge on a standard tariff as some (but not many) do then at 390Wh that is around 10p per mile or roughly what my Golf was costing me before the Iran war.

Secondly, as someone is bound to point out, you are still saving the planet from burning and

Thirdly (and most relevant to this discussion about range) then once the electricity is in your car most if it goes on driving the the wheels round so this that 200Wh/mile can translate to 350+ miles range - that should be no surprise. The more time you spend moving and less time stationary or parked the further your car will travel on a battery full of electricity as you reduce parasitic losses. What I am saying is all others things being equal (weather, traffic conditions, speed etc) you will go further on a battery full if you do your trip in one day than spread it over two. And because of how the Tesla likes to preheat the battery for a charging stop your efficiency will be better on a single battery full than if you have to stop and charge.

Yes, we probably know all that but the way we use our cars makes a difference to their efficiency but sometimes in the interest of posting impressive figures we forget to mention all the caveats

Now many will believe their car is more efficient at charging than has been suggested here but how many people actually have sat down with accurate records of what has been supplied to their charger from the grid, what their charger supplies to the car, what the car records as having received and separately what the car shows as used.

It’s relatively easy to work out accurate mpg figures for a car over a few thousand miles as you have your odometer record for distance and the amount dispensed by the pump on the petrol receipt. Technically it relies on your brimming tank but as this is dangerous and can potentially cause damage it is best avoided so filling it until it clicks off if repeated over a few fill ups should be reasonably accurate. (I have in the dim and distant past when I had 10p off/litre vouchers tried to squeeze a bit more petrol in to get to the next litre and really once it has clicked off even a few extra cc is hard work so the click test is probably 99% accurate).

None of this, though, takes away from how super efficient Teslas are compared to other milk floats😀.

1961Nick

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82023934#Comment_82023934

The Wh/mile achieved at the car is key to determining range whereas the Wh/mile at the meter is relevant to running costs. I have monitored the difference during 5 years of Model 3 ownership & there is no simple number. The monthly range is -5.4% to -9.8%. Factors affecting the loss are battery pre-heating, ambient temperature, Sentry Mode & the number of segments Octopus splits the 6 hour off-peak window into & their length. A 30 minute charging segment can be as little as 10 minutes actual charging after a 10 minute DNO imposed start delay & a 10 minute battery pre-heat. Obviously pre-heating the battery several times during the off-peak window wastes energy & puts up the cost considerably in winter.

Grumpy_chap

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82023934#Comment_82023934

Yes, the 210 Wh/mile is only what the car shows as consumed, so only from that energy drawn from the battery. It does not take into account charging (in)efficiency. I am also unsure whether that is just the energy during driving time or also includes parasitic loads when the car is parked.

The Wh/mile while driving is a useful metric as it is the one that the driver can influence while on the move.

One other observation that I have made and JKH has not mentioned is, in my experience(*), short journeys achieve a less favourable Wh/mile outcome than long journeys. That is similar to an ICE. I have noted various commentators in various places suggesting that an EV should make no difference whether a long journey or a short journey. The logic behind that view makes sense but, in my experience, the impact of conditioning the battery and the cabin still result in the poorer Wh/mile for a shorter journey.

(*) I don't have data to verify this, but it is certainly how it seems to be.

pensionpawn

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82018584#Comment_82018584

My local Kia dealership told me some time ago that plug in hybrids they leased out were returned after their 3 year period with the charging cable still in it's polythene wrapper. The suspicion is that they were popular due the the "EV grant" and were run entirely on fossil fuel…..