New owner haven't got a clue. Help and tips needed please!

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Hi everyone - I am in similar boat to OP. I have a new Sept 2017 Outlander 4h.
It has the EV button to use electric only but I haven't used this much yet, although I have tried out the ECO mode and the B3, B2 paddles etc.

We have a Chargemaster point at home. This is my first EV.

Most of the week I drive local journeys that can be done just on battery. Today I did a country roads trip that is about 13 miles each way and got back with 2 miles left.

But I have noticed that on full charge vehicle doesn't show 33 miles (the supposed max) but usually somewhere between 25-29. Am I doing something wrong?

Is it better to switch to pure EV mode when driving locally?

My other main weekly journey is about 30 mins including fast A road. I can get there on battery only but usually empty when I arrive. How should I approach this journey mode wise?
Thanks for any advice!
 
No, youre not doing anything wrong.

The ‘range’ figure quoted is not very accurate, and is known on here as the ‘guessometer’ as it generally bears no resemblance to reality. It attempts to use your previous trips to estimate how far you will get if you continue to drive in exactly the same fashion, but if you drive in a different manner to what it expects then the quoted figure will be off.

You’d be better off monitoring your actual range covered, rather than worrying about what the guessometer predicts.

You also need to bear in mind that the quoted maximum range of 32-33 is only ever possible in very friendly, ideal conditions. In the real world, a maximum range of around 25 miles is more realistic, and in winter that will drop to closer to 20.

Also remember that the default for the car is to generally use up all battery first before switching to petrol, so you shouldn’t need to worry about pressing buttons if your journeys can all be achieved on battery only. And there’s nothing wrong with arriving home with empty battery, that’s actually what you should be trying to achieve as its more efficient to run the car on battery than it is on petrol.

There are lots of different schools of thoughts about what buttons to press and when, but to be honest you can forget all that and just drive the car without doing anything. Once you get more familiar you might want to experiment with different strategies, but they will only ever make a relatively modest improvement to your efficiency.
 
You're very unlikely to get to the theoretical maximum range of 33 miles unless you live somewhere pan flat and relatively warm (Dubai or parts of Queensland would probably qualify). Like all manufacturers' consumption/range estimates, the tests are conducted in ideal conditions, with perfect road surfaces and over-inflated tyres.

Here in the relatively chilly and hilly Chilterns, I often struggle to get 20 miles electric only range in the depths of winter.
 
From my admittedly short experience, on a longer run it's a good idea to use Save mode on the open road to preserve battery range for the urban parts your journey or for traffic queues, when being under electric power makes the most difference.

The guessometer takes a plunge as soon as the heating is on, and the amount it deducts from the battery range seems unrelated to the actual power being drawn by the heater at any given time.

Steve
 
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