Real life fuel consumption

[Cslwtfatboy]

Had the chance to really test the fuel consumption over some long runs over the last 2 weeks and thought I would share the 2 different scenarios.
640 mile round trip to Scotland with 4 passengers and fully loaded with 4sets of golf clubs and luggage. Started out with full tank of fuel and full charge on electric and motorway speeds of a pretty constant 70-80 mph the car performs effortlessly . Very quiet and easy drive with other 3 passengers commenting on the comfort and ride quality. Didn't have chance to charge the car at all and it returned an average of 33 mpg.
Second scenario today towed my jet ski 195 miles with 3 passengers and 500 kg trailer and including a full charge and tank of fuel returned 28mpg. Again the car towed at 65- plus on motorways and a roads and was more than capable.
The everyday use for this car is normally used by my wife for running local trips , school runs and shops with a charge after each trip and a tank of fuel tends to last about 3 weeks with fuel consumption not even registering on the gauge. I would say we average 1200 miles from the 40 litre tank .
If you are going to do fast motorway miles buy a deisel if you are doing local trips with the ability to charge its a great car .
Hope this is helpfull to any newbies.

 

[userx]

how far do you get EV only ? my car does 18 miles and with the battery depleted driving 60 miles /h on the flat steady with the air con off 22 miles to the gallon

 

[Cslwtfatboy]

It really depends how heavy you are with your right foot and what sort of speeds you are doing. I find that localised driving at 30-40mph using regenerative braking and not accelerating hard can get 28 miles with aircon on. As soon as you are at dual carriageway speeds it's about 20 miles range.
Even when the battery gets to empty and at lower speeds the cars engine does not seem to come on for long and I have achieved 40 miles without the fuel consumption gauge showing any mpg. There's no doubt the car is very fuel efficient at low speed and if you have the ability to plug in regularly it's a great car .

 

[Hypermiler]

with the battery depleted driving 60 miles /h on the flat steady with the air con off 22 miles to the gallon

You should be getting 35-40 mpg I would have thought, your figure off 22 suggests you are (have/got):
1. towing
2. charging
3. 4 up, boot full/roof box
4. Flat tyres
5. In sub zero temperatures
6. a faulty car
7. into a very strong headwind!

That mpg might be expected at 90mph but not 60mph.
Cheers
H

 

[aitchjaybee]

with the battery depleted driving 60 miles /h on the flat steady with the air con off 22 miles to the gallon

You should be getting 35-40 mpg I would have thought, your figure off 22 suggests you are (have/got):
1. towing
2. charging
3. 4 up, boot full/roof box
4. Flat tyres
5. In sub zero temperatures
6. a faulty car
7. into a very strong headwind!

That mpg might be expected at 90mph but not 60mph.
Cheers
H

Hi userx. I gave a similar reply to your posting of the same question here : http://www.myoutlanderphev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=723
May I suggest post a question once, not twice on 2 different threads or the forum will be duplicating effort in trying to help you. Maybe if you haven't had a response for a day post again, but they were only 10 mins apart!

 

[gwatpe]

I have confirmed that the average fuel economy returned from 2 identical PHEV over many thousands of km each in similar driving trips over the same roads is more related to the car and not just the driver. It seems that the battery performance is very key to the success of achieving high fuel economy. For approx 3000km each, one PHEV returned 7.2L/100km and the other 6.2L/100km. This was mainly highway driving with about 10%EV driving.

It may not be your driving style that is giving you poor fuel economy at all.

 

[Tyke]

[back-of-an-envelope-calculation-mode: on]

I make those ^ figures to be about 40 -45 mpg

[back-of-an-envelope-calculation-mode: off]

That is similar to what I am seeing on long runs where ICE usage is >>>>> than EV usage.

 

[maby]

I would agree with that rough calculation. After three weeks of mixed-mode driving, I did a reasonably careful calculation and I'm seeing around 53 mpge (note the "e") - that is taking into account both petrol burned and electricity charged.

This usage consists of a total of around 50 miles between Monday and Friday - almost entirely EV and relatively slow plus about 150 miles at weekends - mostly motorway and mostly petrol. My original modelling (I am a mathematical modeller) indicated I would probably get between 55 and 60 mpge - but that was not taking into account winter conditions - I still expect to see something like that from April onwards.

 

[I8Binners]

Over 2100 miles I am average 44MPG which is low but I do long distance driving and knew it would be. On a 42 mile journey I do quite often with a full charge I average 94MPG

 

[xnox]

i registered on fuelly, and only two fill-ups so far. Did a trip to stonehenge (fully loaded car, heavy traffic, ended up burning fuel in traffic jams) and some city trips with charging. Currently at 43.8 mpg as per fuelly calculation =/ not happy, I see others post 90+ mpg on fuelly with PHEV, I'll wait and see when I start daily commute to the office all electric. Off to cambridge this weekend.

 

[tlongdon]

First day of using my Atlantic Grey GX4hs

Full battery, Eco mode, 2 miles to the M32 in Bristol, up to the M5 and along to Reading (J11) on ACC set at 80mph.
With traffic, was averaging c. 70mph. Office is 1/4 mile from J11. 80 miles in total. AVE=40mpg

Charged at work. Full battery, same return journey, same settings, same speed. AVE=38mpg

No heat or aircon on.

Fuel economy seems to be about right from my reading on here. It matches the FL2 it replaces which averaged 38mpg on the same run (although was able to cruise faster than 80...

I believe the ACC 'over-reacts' somewhat, the Charge/ECO/Power dial was flicking around like a heart monitor. I don't believe, even in ECO mode, the car is choosing the best driving style to improve MPG. So I'm a little disappointed, given that one major reason for purchasing was the ACC.

I'll try the same daily commute in the new year (off work til then, lots of sub-30 mile trips on pure EV I hope!). I suspect driving myself, with better anticipation than the ACC and a slower acceleration to resume speed, I'll improve on this mpg. Would be nice just to get over 40mpg on this trip.

Fortunately if nothing else, petrol is cheaper than diesel, so there's the only fuel economy saving for now. PHEV will come into its own for short journeys of course.

And as a company car driver, the BIK more than makes up for it. But I'd be a tad disappointed if I'd personally purchased the car for my own use basing it solely on fuel economy.

 

[DrSlackBladder]

First day of using my Atlantic Grey GX4hs

Full battery, Eco mode, 2 miles to the M32 in Bristol, up to the M5 and along to Reading (J11) on ACC set at 80mph.
With traffic, was averaging c. 70mph. Office is 1/4 mile from J11. 80 miles in total. AVE=40mpg

Charged at work. Full battery, same return journey, same settings, same speed. AVE=38mpg

No heat or aircon on.

Fuel economy seems to be about right from my reading on here. It matches the FL2 it replaces which averaged 38mpg on the same run (although was able to cruise faster than 80...

I believe the ACC 'over-reacts' somewhat, the Charge/ECO/Power dial was flicking around like a heart monitor. I don't believe, even in ECO mode, the car is choosing the best driving style to improve MPG. So I'm a little disappointed, given that one major reason for purchasing was the ACC.

I'll try the same daily commute in the new year (off work til then, lots of sub-30 mile trips on pure EV I hope!). I suspect driving myself, with better anticipation than the ACC and a slower acceleration to resume speed, I'll improve on this mpg. Would be nice just to get over 40mpg on this trip.

Fortunately if nothing else, petrol is cheaper than diesel, so there's the only fuel economy saving for now. PHEV will come into its own for short journeys of course.

And as a company car driver, the BIK more than makes up for it. But I'd be a tad disappointed if I'd personally purchased the car for my own use basing it solely on fuel economy.

Same model/colour here! I love the ACC, but I have to agree it reacts a little too quickly for those concerned with burning petrol. Of course you can feather the acceleration by increasing the set speed in intervals via the steering wheel control if you're that bothered or bored! Otherwise it basically floors the power until you reach set speed. If you're anything like me, you'll quickly improve your anticipation and paddle use and quickly beat that 40 mpg for your journey. Learning how to coast in B0 really does extend battery range when you're on the level or downhill. And yes, on shorter journeys the PHEV will of course deliver great economy assuming you can charge regularly….I don't use any petrol on my work commute of 20 miles each way and access to charge at each end.

 

[greendwarf]

First day of using my Atlantic Grey GX4hs

But I'd be a tad disappointed if I'd personally purchased the car for my own use basing it solely on fuel economy.

Welcome tlongdon to the joys (and sometimes pain) of the PHEV - but it depends what your consumption was before. I was getting under 30mpg with my 2.0 Avensis estate (presumably less weight but more aerodynamic) for a long journey, so anything above that is a bonus, even @ £1.07 per litre, plus its all EV for day to day driving in London.

In fact, I estimate that the loss of interest (opportunity cost for any accountants out there ) by buying the car is balanced by the savings on fuel and Road Fund tax - so the lovely new car is effectively "free"

 

[Ozukus]

First day of using my Atlantic Grey GX4hs

Full battery, Eco mode, 2 miles to the M32 in Bristol, up to the M5 and along to Reading (J11) on ACC set at 80mph.
With traffic, was averaging c. 70mph. Office is 1/4 mile from J11. 80 miles in total. AVE=40mpg

Charged at work. Full battery, same return journey, same settings, same speed. AVE=38mpg

Am surprised your only getting 38-40mpg when starting off with a full battery at both ends.

I have a GX3h and my return commute is from near junction 5 on the M4 taking back roads to J13 then round the bottom of the M25 to junction 3 getting off at the Chislehurst roundabout with about 1 mile of back roads to home, being a 60 mile journey. Leaving the office with zero battery as no charge points yet at the office, in Eco mode, with a comfortable cabin temperature, I'm getting around 45mpg with a speed range of stationary (it is the M25) to 75mph dependent upon traffic conditions.

 

[maby]

First day of using my Atlantic Grey GX4hs

Full battery, Eco mode, 2 miles to the M32 in Bristol, up to the M5 and along to Reading (J11) on ACC set at 80mph.
With traffic, was averaging c. 70mph. Office is 1/4 mile from J11. 80 miles in total. AVE=40mpg

Charged at work. Full battery, same return journey, same settings, same speed. AVE=38mpg

Am surprised your only getting 38-40mpg when starting off with a full battery at both ends.

I have a GX3h and my return commute is from near junction 5 on the M4 taking back roads to J13 then round the bottom of the M25 to junction 3 getting off at the Chislehurst roundabout with about 1 mile of back roads to home, being a 60 mile journey. Leaving the office with zero battery as no charge points yet at the office, in Eco mode, with a comfortable cabin temperature, I'm getting around 45mpg with a speed range of stationary (it is the M25) to 75mph dependent upon traffic conditions.

Most of tlongdon's trip is at high motorway speeds and the hybrid systems will be contributing very little to the propulsion of the car. If he were to come down to around 60mph, he would get far better figures. At 80, you are approaching the point where the electric motors stand aside altogether and it becomes a 2 litre petrol car.