Macan EV Range concerns

[Awaz]

what’s the point of shelving $130K on a Porsche if I have to limit myself to 70mph

Do you not get caught breaking speed limits?

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[David Y]

Aloha all. New to this forum (thanks). Just thought I add my data point, Macan 4 with 21” tires. Mine said 321 mi (516 km) at 80% - seemed a bit optimistic?

 

[USMA81]

Uphill…. (Average speed is low because the data includes a bit of in-town driving too, but most was highway)

Downhill…

 

[dgkhn]

ICE vehicle's are equally affected by aero-loads, but have much bigger "batteries" (fuel tanks) and cost to fill them is less time - and they do not take the hit for battery/cabin heating…since heat is a waste product - but you'll find increased fuel economy for driving slower in an ICE - but most people don't care

@daveo4EV, thank you, as always, for laying out what expectations ought to be about range, and in particular the effects of temperature and speed.

I have an additional thought to supplement this. I think most people realize that speed affects economy, but may wonder why speed seems to have a bigger impact on EV range than ICE range. And also, may wonder, why wheel size has a measurable effect on the range of an EV, but is rarely if ever mentioned with respect to ICE range.

This is my own way of looking at it: the issue is, maybe ironically, how much more efficient EV's are than ICE cars at converting potential energy to motion*. So, while it is true that a gas tank contains much more potential energy than an EV battery, when you look at how much of that energy is converted to motion, the battery wins by a long shot.

Why? Because (relying on various sources which are consistent with each other but whose accuracy I have not personally verified), much more of an ICE car's energy is spent (largely "wasted") on generating heat, compared to an EV. (Basically, the potential energy in the battery or gas tank is converted to just two things: movement* and heat. The numbers I've seen are that 30% of an ICE car's energy is converted to motion, while over 90% of an EV's energy is converted to motion.)

So, while the same factors (other than battery temperature!) affect both ICE cars and EV's, that ICE heat wastage (give or take--going faster generates more heat due to the friction of the air and the tires) is going to happen no matter how fast you go--you are only affecting the remaining 30% of potential "motion" energy by going faster (or by turning heavier wheels, or creating additional air friction by turning inefficient wheels), whereas in the EV, you are impinging on a much higher fraction of the available energy. Similarly, on heating the passenger compartment: the ICE is using "waste" heat that is being generated anyway, while the EV needs to use energy that would otherwise create motion to keep the passengers comfortable.

An alternate way of looking at this: when your car is "on" and just sitting still, (ignoring keeping passengers comfortable), the idling ICE is burning gasoline and just creating heat (so just "wasting" that energy), while the EV is using virtually no energy. Then think about this as the cars start moving, 1 mph, 10 mph, 50 mph, 80 mph. So much of the ICE car's energy is going to "waste" heat no matter what, while the EV energy usage is being so much more consumed by that V^2 factor.

Also, at low speeds, not only is the EV "engine" creating relatively no waste heat, but then the EV is also recovering most of energy that the ICE wastes as heat in the brakes. This effect is largely non-existent on the highway, while the V^2 effect becomes more and more apparent.

*Edit: to be more precise, when I say "motion," I think technically it would be more precise to say "acceleration". That is, the potential energy is converted to acceleration or heat. Once the car is in motion, then the energy converts to heat (from friction) to maintain the motion. When slowing, in the EV, much of the energy is recaptured, while in the ICE, it is converted to more heat in the friction brakes).

 

[nikdulac]

Thanks! I’m on the coast so no elevation, although I went skiing up in the mountains today and the range is pretty good. It looks like speed is the biggest range killer on that car.

 

[nikdulac]

you’ll have plenty of range when it warms up- for cold you have to compromise on the speed just a bit… while it’s cold

Appreciate it - I think I’ll survive. Also the extra 5% charge might do the trick even though it’s a little stressful to get home with <10 miles left. Problem is when it warms up it’s time for the 911 to come out of the garage - I do like to go fast

 

[Yves]

150miles is just low, my iX in winter conditions and highway at 75 - 80 will do easily 200 miles and more. While all explanations in the above post hold true it’s just a severe disappointment …

 

[tmrqs]

150miles is just low, my iX in winter conditions and highway at 75 - 80 will do easily 200 miles and more. While all explanations in the above post hold true it’s just a severe disappointment …

Doesn’t seem OP is going 75-80 that said.
How does your iX fare at 90? 95? 100?

 

[Yves]

Doesn’t seem OP is going 75-80 that said.
How does your iX fare at 90? 95? 100?

I was under the impression 80 … that is what I drive … but at 90 I would still reach 200 miles I guess …
There is a noticeable difference between the 2, WLTP the Porsche was higher rated than the iX in reality is the other way around …

EDIT: Now 68 miles average is ok, I can easily go 250 miles at that average speed …
Which in my country translates 80 miles if you are doing highway …

 

[Petzi]

150miles is just low, my iX in winter conditions and highway at 75 - 80 will do easily 200 miles and more. While all explanations in the above post hold true it’s just a severe disappointment …

@Yves: i am reading your (many) posts always with interest. what i do not understand: you state that you have an bmw and an porsche ev but never talk about your own experience with the porsche although you take ever opportunity to criticize the porsche. do you have one? will you get one?

 

[Yves]

@Yves: i am reading your (many) posts always with interest. what i do not understand: you state that you have an bmw and an porsche ev but never talk about your own experience with the porsche although you take ever opportunity to criticize the porsche. do you have one? will you get one?

I have both, have the Macan since October …

 

[Yves]

@Yves: i am reading your (many) posts always with interest. what i do not understand: you state that you have an bmw and an porsche ev but never talk about your own experience with the porsche although you take ever opportunity to criticize the porsche. do you have one? will you get one?

I have talked about my Experience long time ago
Porsche drives like a Porsche but the software is like 2 to 3 years behind the BMW and the efficiency is like 10% worse than my iX, the iX is on 22 inch wheels and the Porsche is on 20’s, so in reality I guess it’s more like 15% worse efficiency with 10% smaller battery, WLTP wise the Porsche was better …

 

[SGHProductions]

Still extremely disappointed with the Macan EV Turbo range. The car drives amazing… but this is worse than the Taycan 4S i had before. Yes it is cold … but the car is in my garage.

 

[mikeright]

I have been independently recording all kinds of parameters associated with each trip I take for quite some time. Specifically, I am trying to understand in a "scientific" way whether there is a key factor responsible for such a disappointing range.

It's still early, but now that where I live we alternate between days of 5°C and others of 20°C, I can see that the impact of outside temperature is huge. Even a variation of just 4-5 degrees Celsius in the same route and driving style has a much greater effect than expected. And yet, under optimal conditions, the vehicle’s actual consumption—at average speeds equivalent to a low-level WLTP—results in high consumption levels.

These data, combined with those shared by a colleague in the thread about turtle mode and the vehicle stopping before reaching 0%, make me think that the battery’s "insulation" or its "lack of proper conditioning" could be the cause.

I insist that it is still too early, but I am already starting to see a trend in that direction in my data.

 

[Tacoman]

I live in sunny south Florida...so....my range expectations are high (fingers crossed)

Will know in April(ish)

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