About a year ago I got a ride in my nephew’s friend’s Tesla model 3 with the larger battery.
I had never been in a Tesla before (or for that matter any fully electric automobile or hybrid). First impression was that the 3’s interior was a bit spartan, but that it was extremely quiet and rode very impressively. And the awesome acceleration was well beyond that of any car I have driven or ridden in over the past 50 years!
They are very nice cars. In fact, in my view, Skoda makes the nicest interiors of all of the VW group and good exteriors as well. I have had an Elroq since November last year and am very pleased with it. It drives well and is very comfortable.
I hope you are not relying on the 356 range figure, as I have yet to see anything like that range yet, more like 320 max so far, but warm days of summer may see an improvement. In the depths of winter, more like under 300. Even so, it has not been an issue for us as by the time we need a charge on a long trip, I will need a pee, food or just a break anyway.
Yes.. I am looking at the new 2026 version of the model 3 which I understand is slightly less spartan, and they have (re) introduced some more traditional driving controls such as indicator levers. Hopefully I can comment more once I have test driven it.
Having had one or more EVs for over 7 years I am well aware the WLTP figure is just a lab test but it at least allows comparisons to be made between vehicles. On our current cars I would say in optimum conditions (warm weather, no ancillaries on, driving at sensible speeds) we can fairly consistently get 85-90% of the quoted figures, but not sure we have ever actually achieved or surpassed them. Winter probably sees us at about 75%. We rarely charge our cars to 100% anyway, in accordance with the manufacturer advice.
The apparent inaccuracy of WLTP figures upset many new EV buyers but I doubt many quoted mpg figures reflect actual use either. WLTP is also pretty hopeless for assessing real world hybrid use, but that is another matter entirely.
Bruce
Is that to say that you cannot ‘fill the tank’ every time you go for a fill-up?
Why market ev’s in these terms.
It is like in the old days you have a 7 or 8 gallon tank for fuel, but really only ever put 5 gallons in at a time. I do not get it.
Batteries will last longer if not routinely charged (and particularly left at) 100%.
When needed they can be charged to 100%.
And the longevity mentioned most likely is only applicable to the battery’s life after it’s removed from the car. They are proving very resilient. Taxis always charge to 100% and there are many cases noting over 500k km travelled.
This only applies to one battery chemistry NMC another LFP is actually better charged to 100% every time.
.sjb
You can do as you wish but do you run your ICE vehicle from totally full to almost dry every time? Or do you fill up when it is convenient?
A charge to 80% is better for battery life (same with your phone and other rechargeable devices etc), so why charge more if you won’t need every single mile of range before you have an opportunity to charge again?
Bruce
As you say, WLTP is just a lab test that puts cars through the same process for comparison and is indeed not a lot of difference with ICE cars testing in terms of actual on the road results will vary.
When we had an MG ZS EV it was about 220 miles range in winter and up to 260 in summer with a WLTP of 273 miles. It will be interesting to see what the actual range we experience this summer in the Elroq. The largest indicated range from the guessometer in the car is about 330 miles with a consumption rate of about 4.1 m/kw. I have only charged on public chargers a couple of times so far, but when we did, it charged quite fast, but did not get up to the max 175 kW as per spec. When we charged, the battery was over 35% charged, and I did not do any pre-conditioning.
We only charge to 100% at home when preparing for a long trip, otherwise, just to 80%.
I hope you enjoy your Enyaq as much as we do our Elroq.
When you are on a fast charger, getting to 80% is very fast. After that it slows down, almost to a trickle as you approach 100%. Little and often is the way to go. When you stop, if there is a charger available plug in. At home you’ll find that the cheap time is five or six hours, so with six you can only add 42kWh anyway. Day to day we charge to 80%. We are in France at the moment and before leaving we changed to 100%, to maximise the use of cheap power.
As mentioned above charging to 80% then moving, on a public charger is about efficiency. Journey time is shortened by charging as quickly as possible. It can take almost as much time to get from 80-100% as it does from 10-80%. The last 20% will be slow.
There is no issue filling to 100% and we do before a long trip to maximise the cheap charging at home. It is however kind to the battery life to charge to 80% as best practice. Normally for us 80% represents 250 miles of range and this will last us for a week or more driving locally.
We charge both the R5 and Capri to 100% every time. I’ll sacrifice the very minor degradation over the years for the convenience. YMMV (literally, on this occasion).
I think that is generally a reflection of the charger, not the car. My EV6 can in theory charge at 250kW but even on a charger shown as offering that or more such a rate is rarely seen. It is one of the reasons I think quoted charging times aren’t so crucial when comparing specs. Once a car can take 150 or above then it is generally complete after ‘a tea and a wee’ at a commercial charge provided you aren’t down to the last few percent. That is fine for us.
Bruce
I knew someone some years ago who would never put more than 2 or 3 gallons in their car, saying that it seemed pointless putting more in, because you are just carrying around more weight. On a diving trip one time when I went in his car we missed one dive because he ran low on petrol and we had to go out of our way to find a petrol station.
True, either the car or charger can be the limiting factor. 175Kw charging is the max for the 77kWh Skoda battery system and I think for us it was the battery that was the limiting factor when we charged. The Skoda shows the Kw the car will accept (before plugging in) calculated by the BMS using SOC and temperature. It seems reasonably accurate as it was close to the charge rate we actually experienced but perhaps a small amount conservative.
It was not an issue for us either with time for a comfort break and/or a coffee and something to eat.
All batteries whether they be in the car or in your phone don’t like to be run totally dry or be charge and left connected at 100%. Generally the sweet spot for longevity is not less than 10% and not more than 90% and if you must go to 100%, disconnect immediately as soon as you get there.
While they are smart enough to stop charging at 100% they don’t stay there for long and the built-in software will keep activating the charge on and off as they dip to 99%.
I think the “drain it to zero and recharge to full” came from older battery tech of decades past which certainly worked better that way. But modern batteries can even have thermal runaway if left charging at full. There have been a few recalls in fact and recommendations by some manufacturers to charge them in the driveway, not the garage for safety.
Yes…why waste more time than necessary filling up at a petrol station…
…and also easy in this case to calculate mpg, from the last fill up (brim the tank) to this is fairly accurate measure of petrol used since last fill up, so mileage at each fill up is recorded, as well as quantity of fuel, and cost. I have kept records like this for all vehicles I have owned since passing my test!
I appreciate the advice (though often conflicting) about recharging batteries.
This certainly isn’t true of my Kia EV6 /Zappi which once it reaches its target stops charging and won’t start again until reconnected.
.sjb
Best of luck in your search for a new EV! 