Hybrid electric battery range

All Vauxhall Grandland related discussions
Coatgallou
Posts: 232
Joined: Sat Oct 31, 2020 7:53 pm

Post by Coatgallou »

Hi Zice,
Great to hear you have completed 7700 km (4800 miles) on only two and half tanks of petrol. Reading some of the posts here, I'm sure many hybrid drivers would be interested in some pointers. What sort of journeys are you doing and do you get to charge regularly.
I have seen some calculators on manufacturer websites, allowing the input of regular commute milage you may undertake and this is calculated for savings against the mpg of standard vehicles. The results show a 3 year saving but what is evident is that where longer distances are undertaken, business use typically, the saving is dramatically reduced.
Short commutes where it is possible to use only electric, fantastic, why wouldn't you cut those costs.
It would be interesting to know of other drivers experiences and maybe a tally of their mpg rates.

zice
Posts: 20
Joined: Wed Oct 21, 2020 7:09 pm

Post by zice »

Coatgallou wrote: Sat Nov 21, 2020 8:24 am Hi Zice,
Great to hear you have completed 7700 km (4800 miles) on only two and half tanks of petrol. Reading some of the posts here, I'm sure many hybrid drivers would be interested in some pointers. What sort of journeys are you doing and do you get to charge regularly.
I have seen some calculators on manufacturer websites, allowing the input of regular commute milage you may undertake and this is calculated for savings against the mpg of standard vehicles. The results show a 3 year saving but what is evident is that where longer distances are undertaken, business use typically, the saving is dramatically reduced.
Short commutes where it is possible to use only electric, fantastic, why wouldn't you cut those costs.
It would be interesting to know of other drivers experiences and maybe a tally of their mpg rates.
my driving profile (daily under 50km) and charging options (normal socket in the garage) is what made me choose a plugin hybrid, full stop.

the point is, it's not the car that chose me, it's me who chose the car.
that's why for me it's a very green & economical solution. For the 5-10% of times i'd be doing long trips, i could care less if it would gobble even 15l/100km.
oh yea, and a freakin fast car when i need it to

with the amount of information around (internet, users, manufacturers, reviews...) and a simple calculation based on driving & charging profile, there is simply no excuse for anyone to buy a PHEV and then complain it's crap, worse/heavier/slower/more expensive/less economical than a 2l petrol/diesel/whatever.

Maybe sounds harsh but it's the reality. Imho the governments did pretty good to introduce compulsory language & math in school, so that people can read and do simple calculations also later in life :) But it's up to them to put them to use :) Ideally before buying anything...
Coatgallou
Posts: 232
Joined: Sat Oct 31, 2020 7:53 pm

Post by Coatgallou »

I couldn't agree more, that why I don't have the phev. If I were doing 20 mile, short runs, then able to charge, it would be the best option but I don't. I have done the maths but I don't think many do. I also don't think the manufacturers paint the true picture for anyone doing business miles. They do point out the tax saving by having the phev though.
zice
Posts: 20
Joined: Wed Oct 21, 2020 7:09 pm

Post by zice »

Coatgallou wrote: Sat Nov 21, 2020 12:16 pm I couldn't agree more, that why I don't have the phev. If I were doing 20 mile, short runs, then able to charge, it would be the best option but I don't. I have done the maths but I don't think many do. I also don't think the manufacturers paint the true picture for anyone doing business miles. They do point out the tax saving by having the phev though.
spot on.
congrats to you and others for doing the sensible thing (a.k.a make an educated choice) :)
can't really shift the blame on manufacturers or marketing, though. Don't forget we're in a transition phase, pretty much all "green" cars out there are compliance cars, so they don't get whacked on fleet-wide emissions.
still, for some users they are exactly what they need.
for some..well, for at least the decade ahead, diesel is still the long-hauler choice.
Coatgallou
Posts: 232
Joined: Sat Oct 31, 2020 7:53 pm

Post by Coatgallou »

As with everything, there is a tipping point and the Phev is no different.
For the short commute these are fantastically green vehicles and probably remain 'green' for longer commutes but at some point they will break even with conventional ICE vehicles before their economic value falling away.
Currently, for me, the figures don't justify the purchase. If I were to achieve the mpg you are getting I could save £1000 (ignoring electricity cost) on my annual fuel costs as I average 14000 miles and have returned 56mpg in a 3008 diesel.
We do have to progress though and I do look forward to the time when it becomes the best choice all-round.
Grandlad
Posts: 20
Joined: Fri Aug 10, 2018 12:15 am

Post by Grandlad »

The range quoted isn't an absolute figure, it is a computer estimate based on recent consumption of energy. It's now the middle of winter, and perhaps the heating is on? If you drive around in electric mode the only place the energy for the heater to come from is the drive battery. Drive around with the heating off and you'll find the range goes back up.
Grandland Hybrid4 Ultimate. Moonstone Grey, uprated charger.
den3el
Posts: 4
Joined: Mon Oct 25, 2021 7:52 am

Post by den3el »

My 5 cents here too.
I own GrandlandX for 2 months now. After 2 weeks of usage, the indicated started showing 32-34km of battery range, instead of 52 as it was for the first 2 weeks.
But after a couple of rides, I realized that the actual capacity is slightly larger than 32-34 km. I took several test rides around and in Amsterdam. With the mixing driving mode on the highway 100km/h and in the city, with the traffic, with 2 or 3 stops I managed to drive around 37km and when I got back home - the battery still was showing the capacity of 2 or 3 km. Purely electric mode.
The weather condition was typically Dutch/British of the current season: 15 degrees, wet and windy.
So, I suppose that many factors affect driving. Perhaps, even the fact of how your charging station behaves. Some charging stations might stop once the battery charge is more than 90%, and the indicator will be showing that the battery is full 100%. However, it will not be full yet.
The best hybrid experience is when you have your own charger or at least a public one near the house. So, you can charge it every day or even a couple of times per day.
I hope my answer helps.
Grandland X Hybrid
Moss5
Posts: 86
Joined: Mon Jul 27, 2020 5:24 pm

Post by Moss5 »

Since 1st of September, my Hybrid has been using ICE only.
A message advised that my fuel was too old and denied use of electric mode.
It has taken 7-weeks to consume the remaining ¾ of a tank of petrol.
With the fuel gauge under a quarter of a tank, I refuelled with 20-litres. Thankfully, the computer recognised that ‘new’ fuel had been added and allowed the car to default to electric mode.
In future, I will keep the fuel level below ¼ of a tank so that ‘Old’ fuel can be consumed in less than 7-weeks.
With fuel delivery problems in the UK, this was the worst time to deny me the use of electric drive.
2020 Hybrid 4
huffy
Posts: 50
Joined: Wed May 23, 2018 9:23 pm

Post by huffy »

That's interesting about old fuel. I last put any petrol in my car six weeks ago and have still only used a quarter of a tank to do about 600 miles, got about 33 miles on a full charge today. Looks like I'm going to have to use the car on ICE more.
Not sure about delivery problems, the media put out a story about a hand full of petrol stations running low on fuel and demand then went up by 500%.
The media and then the panic buyers created the fuel shortage, they love to create their own news.
Grandland X Hybrid 4
Moss5
Posts: 86
Joined: Mon Jul 27, 2020 5:24 pm

Post by Moss5 »

You are right, tailbacks to enter the filling station are quite newsworthy and only cost the price of a drone and an SD card.
I did not have to queue for my Esso 99 octane 5% Ethane @ £1.42/litre. I would like to fit a drain tap to the Grandland and use it a a source of fuel for my generator and grass mower. The generator has been purchased because a government minister advised that there will be power cuts this Winter. I would not use it to charge the Grandland, but have proved it can keep the oil boiler/central heating/broadband router and TV going.
A hybrid vehicle just fits with my 'be prepared' mentality. I have a wood/coal back-boiler to help me through an oil crisis, but everything requires elecricity.
2020 Hybrid 4
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