Atrocious Winter Range

[steveyfrac 73]

I Believe that is referred to as the 'SmartElectric' driving style.

I've seen 35 kWh / 100 km before... but never for a full trip!

[steveyfrac 73]

So, Today, we're running The Test. I have a little over 60% charge. I'm going to try not plugging in and driving home. Worst case, there is a mall with a 240 charger about 75% of my way home, that I can stop at, and only be delayed for an hour, if I feel like I'm not going to make it. We'll see how it goes.

[tolsen 630]

Bring a diesel generator set just in case.

[steveyfrac 73]

Luckily, hydro is pretty much everywhere, and I have a 100' extension cord in the trunk for the purposes of this test. Car has lost charge over the course of the day thus far, and is reporting an expected range of 41 km remaining for my 27 km commute, so, I should be able to scrap by with the skin of my teeth, as it were.

[steveyfrac 73]

Well, the results are in, and I have to say... the car passed my "test" with flying colours. It's -14 out there right no, and she didn't flinch. My commute, as I've said before is 27 km each way. My trip to work burned a little less than 40% charge leaving my with 60% for the trip home, but obviously, no pre-heat. When I got back into the car around 7:00 tonight, it was down to about 57% ish. The estimated range remaining was 29 km, so I had 2 km of wiggle room. Not confidence inspiring, right? During the first half of my trip home, the range remaining estimate, and the distance I had to travel to reach home played tag, continuously swapping which value was bigger. By about km 15 though, I had regained my 2 km lead for estimated range. That value continued to grow the rest of the trip. I got home with 20% SoC left, and an estimated 8 km of range remaining.

So, turns out, yup, I can totally round trip the car, with lots of breathing room. With heat on, as well.

Some take-aways. The SOC gauge is non-linear. And how it is non-linear is different in different weather. During the summer, the first 20% of the gauge was the biggest slice. That's definitely no longer true. I blow through the first 20% like it's water over a falls. Now it seems like the section leading up to 20% SOC is larger. That took forever to burn through.

The range-remaining indicator is quite conservative. I knew it was conservative, but going from 'you'll barely make it' to, 'You could have travelled nearly 30% further on that amount of charge' is more than I would have bargained for.

Because I didn't plug in at work, I did only have 2 of 3 power bars, so kickdown didn't work. Mind you, I only really feel the need to use kickdown if I want to drive like an ass, so the loss was entirely theoretical. I doubt I would have had the traction anywhere to use it anyways.

[Alex 21]

Battery temperature plays a big role. Perhaps the car doesn't properly compensate for the way the battery will warm up and work better once it starts being used? At ambient after sitting all day the battery can only deliver 29 km, but after a few K it warms up and the car recalculates?

[Jaguar 16]

Well, the results are in, and I have to say... the car passed my "test" with flying colours. It's -14 out there right no, and she didn't flinch. My commute, as I've said before is 27 km each way. My trip to work burned a little less than 40% charge leaving my with 60% for the trip home, but obviously, no pre-heat. When I got back into the car around 7:00 tonight, it was down to about 57% ish. The estimated range remaining was 29 km, so I had 2 km of wiggle room. Not confidence inspiring, right? During the first half of my trip home, the range remaining estimate, and the distance I had to travel to reach home played tag, continuously swapping which value was bigger. By about km 15 though, I had regained my 2 km lead for estimated range. That value continued to grow the rest of the trip. I got home with 20% SoC left, and an estimated 8 km of range...

Congratulations. I didn't think you'd have any difficulty making the trip. I've always been able to count on 80km in any weather (as long as I'm not flogging it). I guess the lesson is that we cannot rely on the estimator to be accurate until the SOC is less than 20%. And I am sure you would have gotten much more than 8km out of that last 20% SoC.

[SmartElectric 31]

Some take-aways. The SOC gauge is non-linear. And how it is non-linear is different in different weather.

...

The range-remaining indicator is quite conservative. I knew it was conservative, but going from 'you'll barely make it' to, 'You could have travelled nearly 30% further on that amount of charge' is more than I would have bargained for.

...

Because I didn't plug in at work, I did only have 2 of 3 power bars, so kickdown didn't work.

I've experienced exactly what you found and blogged about it, but not as detailed as you just did, thanks for the excellent post!

Ref:

http://mysmartelectricdrive.blogspot.ca/2014/03/range-experiences.html?showComment=1418705981446

[dmoonen 54]

Good to hear Steve. I think Alex makes a good point about battery temp.

[SmartElectric 31]

Just finished a 45km trip in -10C after a long overnight cold soak.

Averaged 27 kWh / 100 km with heat on full, rear window defrost and two seat heaters on max.

Average speed 80 km/h, with about 15 take off's from red lights using kick-down.

Came home with 35% battery remaining. For the last 10 km, the range estimate dropped 2 km.

As noted here, the gauges are not reading linear values, there is a bunch more range left under 40% than you would expect.

Edited January 10, 2015 by SmartElectric

[RunSilent 15]

Works fine in the deep cold, just the range goes down by 50% from the summer, and if you cold-soak at below -20degC, you lose power output too, which is a problem climbing hills on a divided-lane highway. It was -29degC in the morning when I drove to work, left the car to sit outside for 10 hours without being plugged in, and then I drove home on the highway at -24degC. Lost about 3% SOC during the day, probably to the battery heater. Overall though, I am really happy with the car in the deep cold, and this is my first Smart, how well it does in the snow.

[steveyfrac 73]

Other than the range degrading more than I expected, the car is awesome in bad weather. Instant heat, heated seats, etc make for comfortable motoring. It also has great stability control, and I can't make it throw it's tail out despite considerable effort.

[darren 192]

The ESP really is MILES ahead of the system on the 450 CDI. It used to drive me nuts how quickly it would cut power at the slightest wheelspin, but on the ED, it just keeps motoring on, and you hear the ABS quietly pulsing to bring you (or keep you) in line. Quite impressive.

[Accept2 10]

My commute is 6 or 7 km, depending on route, each way. I havent noticed any degrade in range obviously...........

[steveyfrac 73]

So, After driving my car into the 'HV Battery Reserve' range every day for the better part of two weeks, with no other changes, my car appears to have gained 10 km of estimated range. This is despite my history average energy consumption remaining constant through this time.

I'm becoming convinced that the car is pre-programmed with a worse battery capacity than the battery actually has, and has to relearn it after multiple drives into low state of charge. If you look at the people who have had the most success with their cars, they're the ones who have been willing to drain the car right down, allowing the car to get the best possible read on how much capacity the battery actually has.

Food for though?

[Jaguar 16]

So, After driving my car into the 'HV Battery Reserve' range every day for the better part of two weeks, with no other changes, my car appears to have gained 10 km of estimated range. This is despite my history average energy consumption remaining constant through this time.

I'm becoming convinced that the car is pre-programmed with a worse battery capacity than the battery actually has, and has to relearn it after multiple drives into low state of charge. If you look at the people who have had the most success with their cars, they're the ones who have been willing to drain the car right down, allowing the car to get the best possible read on how much capacity the battery actually has.

Food for though?

Good point. You may be right. I find that the range estimator, given its general inaccuracy (until you get well into HV Battery Reserve territory), can be the cause of range anxiety. I seldom ever look at it. My commute is quite short, however, so range isn't really an issue for me. The car gives me what I need and more, so I'm happy with it.

[SmartElectric 31]

Yup totally. I can drive like a lunatic both ways with the heat cranked. LOL

Me too. This is my second winter in my Smart ED, and I thrash it soundly daily. Heat is practically instant, even in -20C and the car is always pre-conditioned and defrosted before I even step foot out the door in the morning. EV's have their place, especially with commutes like mine (50km max round trip with side trips).

I recently did 60km in -18C with full heat and averaging 100km/h on my commute plus two side trips (where car cooled down in between).

Returned with 10% SOC left.

The car showed the usual "low battery" at 20% SOC, and then "---" estimated range on the dash when I was less than 10%.

Agree that anything more than 60km is out of my comfort zone on the 10 coldest days of the year.

[steveyfrac 73]

So, I live where we just got some snow seriously dumped on. It was pretty bad, though I've totally seen worse.

It did let me see how the Smart would handle in terms of range in inclement weather. Turns out... it hardly seemed to make any difference. It typically takes me 40% of my SoC to make it to work. And today, despite long periods of sustained traction control action, it took me 41%. That's reassuring, because one of my 'Range Anxiety' type fears was, will I be able to get home in a snow storm. Turns out: Yes...

[darren 192]

My only concern with getting to work today was with the ground clearance, since we live on a closed-loop side street, and probably won't get plowed until this evening. My CDI would sometimes "float" over deep snow, with the wheels barely touching the ground.

I did some recon on foot before leaving, and the windrow at the end of our street wasn't too bad, so it looked like i would make it. It was close a couple of times, but the key is conservation of momentum: Don't slow down, don't stop… just floor it and keep on going!

[SmartElectric 31]

That's one thing about my Smart ED.

CANT DO DONUTS!!

Not even in reverse.

OH, the horror!

Anyway, I made a video of my discovery last winter of the effectiveness of the Smart ED traction and stability control:

http://mysmartelectricdrive.blogspot.ca/2013/11/smart-in-snow.html

[darren 192]

When the reluctor rings went on my old cdi, the lack of ESP made donuts (well, TimBits, actually) not only possible, but a frequent occurrence.

[steveyfrac 73]

I've not been able to get the traction control off either.

[FlossyTheSmart 81]

I believe Marchanna confirmed that the usual 451 trick for disabling traction control worked on the EDs. Unless they disabled it on the newer ones?

[Huronlad 186]

It is a pretty easy procedure. With the key in position 0, press and hold the clock set button(or the ED equivalent), then press and hold the trip button(or the ED equivalent), turn the key to position 1 and wait for the TC light to start flashing, put the car in the run position.

Edited February 5, 2015 by Huronlad

[YUGreen 4]

Hey all, I left my ED parked for the past 3 days -- Sat, Sun and Mon during the worst of the cold snap. unfortunately, For the first time ever, the car was locked up this morning -- could not put it in drive. I re-activated charge and depart and left it for another 30 minutes or so. Finally, it was willing to engage and I drove to work with no issues. This did not happen at all during cold days/nights last week -- curious if anyone else had similar issues this morning. Unfortunately, I have to park outside at home (but always plugged in). At least now, I know what to expect.