UK Peugeot Ion - Winter range @ 65 mph

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GRynners

Member
Joined
Aug 6, 2014
Messages
7
Location
UK - Llandudno
Have spent some time searching, and this forum has been a great find as am seriously considering an EV as a car for my wife. Her big concern is using the heater at motorway speeds and how much this will limit the range.

Her commute is generally a 45 mile round trip (occasionally 62 miles) with no charging points en route. It's relatively flat (A55 in North Wales to Bangor). What I haven't really seen on forums or on youtube etc is an example of what the charging needle shows at this kind of sustained speed, and how much difference the heater really will make. Yes, there are some estimate (can lose as much as 40% range?).

We have a garage so it would be possible to pre-heat the car I guess (I'm thinking electric fan heater for 10 minutes before leaving!)

Maybe I'm being over ambitious, but with no opportunity to borrow one for a 'proper' road test on the roads we normally use, hopefully you can give some real world feedback!

Thanks,

Paul
 
Her commute is generally a 45 mile round trip (occasionally 62 miles) with no charging points en route.
Not to discourage you, but that is going to be tight. I don't know what your winters are like, but I've seen my range go down to 40 miles on a -9F morning with heat going full blast on a level 45 mph road. The heater alone could be a 10-15 mile hit.

The furthest I've traveled on one charge was 78 miles, all at or below 45 mph, mostly at 25-35 mph.

If there is a main road that runs along the highway at 45-50 mph, combined with a combustion heater than can be added to the car relatively easily, that would work...or if she can charge at work.

Charging at work would be the easiest thing, since that effectively takes her commute to 22-31 miles, which is doable at highway speeds with heat.
 
No, the i-MiEV is not a car to drive fast. At 70 miles/hour that's not very stable and will have autonomy for something like 45 miles. With the heater less then 40 miles. And if the wind is going against you, and if rains, it turns things worst.

Unless your wife change and do the trip at 45 miles/hour simply forget it.

I know some man who did 100 miles with an i-MiEV (certainly going very slow) but I don't know a single woman that did 65 miles with it. My wife only feels secure driving it for 25 miles and when she gets it to only three bars... it feels like the end of the world is coming in 10 minutes.

I drive one for 3 years and 4 months, more then 43000 miles. I know like few what is driving one. Can do 140 miles with one charge if I want. But I would never buy one for my wife if she needed a car for a 45 mile trip every day.

My advise is - FORGET
 
your wife could do it but she would need to be able to charge at work. I she cant then I would stay away from this great little car.

My commute is 80 km round trip. (50 miles) at 55-60 mph. I can easily do it without charging at work at the moment at 25+ celcius daytime temps. In the winter here anywhere from -10 to +10 c I can make it but I get home with only one or two bar and that is with minimal heater use.

Charging at work for you with 240 volt power would top up the battery entirely and make the ride home easily achievable with the heat on.

I have no problem with the imiev at 60-65 mph but I don't see strong winds where i am.

You get maximum economy from this car by driving it alot. I have 20k km on mine in 8 months and it has saved me a bundle on fuel.

And a final note, I get much more range from it now compared to when I first bought it. Learning to drive efficiently maximizes range.

Pete
 
Thanks for your thoughts. Found another interesting post on the "i'er iChart: The iMiev Range Chart. ANY VOLUNTEERS?" thread, which would suggest it is borderline possible. If it were me I would probably give it a go.

Will have to see if I can part justify with running as a 3rd car for 6 months to give it a real life trial..! :geek:
 
I think most people that drive on the highway with the imiev for those type of distances drive about 50 mph. If that is possible and your winters are not too cold you can do a 45 mile trip. The flatter the road the better.

In winter with electric heat you tend to use it sparingly to clear the windows and try to stay warm but it's not like an ice car that has plenty. It's really the distance that forces you into that heat miser mode.

You can always give it a try and install a diesel heater like some of us did if it becomes too uncomfortable. With that kind of distance I would look for charging along the way so you have some peace of mind just in case. When push comes to shove, In winter we all make It home by getting off the highway, drafting, and/or freezing in the car. The question becomes can you do this day in day out. I would suggest you keep the diesel heater in you back pocket. Not literally.

Maybe someone with a uk imiev could chime in. Martin.....?

Don.....
 
Most of last winter, I went without heat by choice. For my 15-20 minute commute, it wasn't a problem. Between a coat, gloves, and a heated seat, I was comfortable, though a heated steering wheel would be great.

Is there an outlet at her work near where she parks, and can she use it?

Even if it wouldn't work for her, how about your driving needs?
 
Every human being is unique. Individuals of this specie that borns and grows with a certain degree of comfort ends feeling that some things are indispensable to their lifes, when in fact they aren't (in fact, we just need to drink some water every day and eat some organic thing, not even every day). Most humans WILL NOT give up the ice for an electric car, simply because that gives them a certain degree of comfort that they aren't prepared to give up. I understand that. It's human nature.

And I have to say that us, who drive electric cars, tends to soften their weaknesses. And some of us do ridiculous things at the eyes of 99,9% of the world population who have a car, just to achieve some things that were easily done with a combustion car.

If their is a doubt that the car satisfy your needs and you don't swim in a lot of money, my advise is don't buy it.

Many i-MiEV owners became lovesick with their car. I recognize I'm one of them (maybe the most lovesick of all :? ). Don't change it for any other car, even a Tesla (and yes, I could). But I recognize that most people will simply hate it. Their is a degree of human psychology that makes the difference.
 
PV1 said:
Is there an outlet at her work near where she parks, and can she use it?

There is a Chargemaster unit at the supermarket across town, but it's only 3kw and 2 hour parking. Not really that convenient at all.

PV1 said:
Even if it wouldn't work for her, how about your driving needs?

I drive about 1,000 miles a week in a company car. But between us we drive about 10,000 private miles a year. A lot of this would be longer trips to see relatives, but I definitely think it could be worth a punt for the balance of these private miles. And once we had one I am sure if would inevitably be used / attempted for the work run. At the moment we have a Volvo V50 as our second car. Perhaps an Ion and a small ICE car would be the best solution in the medium term.

Have applied for a 7kw home charging point now, so am certainly stepping up my intentions!
 
Perhaps is better for you an electric car with:
- more battery (and range)
- a heater based at heat pump, not resistances (in the UK are not expected extremely low temperatures in winter)

For example, Leaf 2014 or Renault Zoe (the latter with leased batteries). BMW i3 or VW e-Golf can be also contenders, but the heat pump is optional and $$$.

The iOn is somewhat limited for your needs, I think.
 
If you have an updated browser try Green Race, this is a simulator for electric cars.
http://www.jurassictest.ch/GR/
About Peugeot, I am not sure they still sell cars with a 16 kW-h Battery. I think they now sell their car with a 14.5 kW-h Battery.
And even if you get a 16 kW-h battery, for battery protection the car calculator will not allow you to use all of the battery capacity but may be only 90 or 95 % of this capacity, I do not know if somebody have the exact numbers.

With Green Race, to match my energy consumption, I have to put the scale from eco to sport on two third.
 
BlueLightning said:
If you have an updated browser try Green Race, this is a simulator for electric cars.
http://www.jurassictest.ch/GR/
About Peugeot, I am not sure they still sell cars with a 16 kW-h Battery. I think they now sell their car with a 14.5 kW-h Battery.
And even if you get a 16 kW-h battery, for battery protection the car calculator will not allow you to use all of the battery capacity but may be only 90 or 95 % of this capacity, I do not know if somebody have the exact numbers.

With Green Race, to match my energy consumption, I have to put the scale from eco to sport on two third.

The Jurassic test website is quite interesting, but I guess the results are so variable based on driving style etc. Think only way to know is to try for myself!
 
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