I get more mi/kWh with brake regen off???

socktucker

Active Member

Joined
Sep 17, 2025
Messages
3,707
Reaction score
3,324
Location
Silicone Grease It
Cars
Lucid Air
I've been driving around a few miles here and there, same routes, one trip with regen bracking off, and same trip back with it on.

I get more miles per kwh with regen OFF, by about 15%, which seems counterintuitive. Anybody else try this?
 
I've been driving around a few miles here and there, same routes, one trip with regen bracking off, and same trip back with it on.

I get more miles per kwh with regen OFF, by about 15%, which seems counterintuitive. Anybody else try this?
There are many variables. It depends on terrain, elevation, ambient conditions, etc. Coasting is always the most efficient type of driving. With regeneration turned off, if you're not using mechanical brakes at all you will get the best possible range. Once you start using the mechanical brakes instead of regenerative breaking, that's when efficiency will decrease.
 
I've been driving around a few miles here and there, same routes, one trip with regen bracking off, and same trip back with it on.

I get more miles per kwh with regen OFF, by about 15%, which seems counterintuitive. Anybody else try this?
One 2 of my previous evs I used coasting or auto regen mode because they had a blended braking system. Since Lucid doesn't have blended brakes I haven't tried it.
 
One 2 of my previous evs I used coasting or auto regen mode because they had a blended braking system. Since Lucid doesn't have blended brakes I haven't tried it.
I actually prefer to have no regen braking, feeling like an ICE car that way.
 
I actually prefer to have no regen braking, feeling like an ICE car that way.
I don’t disagree with you, but Lucid does not use regeneration to aid in braking when you press the brake pedal. It is mechanical braking only. Some EV’s do use regen when you press the brake pedal. Therefore, it is much less efficient to use the mechanical brakes then to simply let off the throttle in a Lucid.
 
interesting!

I wish that the "creep" model worked like it does on a Tesla (like an automatic transmission), from what I can tell I have to have it also set to roll (which rolls like a manual clutch). I can't figure out the exact triggers. For example if set to HOLD and CREEP, it will move with my foot off the brake once or twice "so creep>hold", but then never again! After a couple times it goes to brake "hold>creep". So I don't really understand how it prioritizes brake hold vs creep.

in my whopping 2 weeks of ownership, that's the only thing Tesla does better.
 
Regenerative braking is very convenient and relatively efficient for stop-and-go driving or in-town use, where you'd be on the friction brakes otherwise.

For freeway driving , where you'd rarely touch the brakes, coasting down is more efficient - particularly if you are the kind of driver who is constantly cycling on and off the accelerator in an effort to maintain a constant speed. This means a string of small over-accelerations, each followed by a regenerative deceleration.

When you use regenerative braking, you get something like 60-80% of the kinetic energy back as battery charge. That is, you lose 20-40% of the energy vs losing 100% with friction brakes. By comparison, you lose nothing by coasting.

Even though I know this, I leave OPD on all the time, because it's more convenient and feels natural to me.
 
One 2 of my previous evs I used coasting or auto regen mode because they had a blended braking system. Since Lucid doesn't have blended brakes I haven't tried it.
My GV60 uses blended braking as well and I enjoy driving the same way I always drove (like I stole it).

For those of you who don't know about blended braking systems: an initial press on the brake pedal invokes regen. Only a hard press or a deep press will invoke the friction brake. I think blended braking, done right, is better but it is more complex to implement well than just having the brake pedal always invoke the friction brake.
 
Regenerative braking is very convenient and relatively efficient for stop-and-go driving or in-town use, where you'd be on the friction brakes otherwise.

For freeway driving , where you'd rarely touch the brakes, coasting down is more efficient - particularly if you are the kind of driver who is constantly cycling on and off the accelerator in an effort to maintain a constant speed. This means a string of small over-accelerations, each followed by a regenerative deceleration.

When you use regenerative braking, you get something like 60-80% of the kinetic energy back as battery charge. That is, you lose 20-40% of the energy vs losing 100% with friction brakes. By comparison, you lose nothing by coasting.

Even though I know this, I leave OPD on all the time, because it's more convenient and feels natural to me.
This is indeed true. I would argue I am fairly even keel on preventing cycles. However, I have found putting it in the coast mode makes a marked difference in efficiency all the same (+.1-.3 m/kWh).

Further evidence of efficiency gains is observing a notable lower overall efficiency when using Dream Drive compared to manual (-.1-.2 m/kWh). The car allows for essentially zero "drifting" from set speed and uses regenerative breaking judiciously.
 
I don’t disagree with you, but Lucid does not use regeneration to aid in braking when you press the brake pedal. It is mechanical braking only. Some EV’s do use regen when you press the brake pedal. Therefore, it is much less efficient to use the mechanical brakes then to simply let off the throttle in a Lucid.
Maybe unrelated, but I’ve noticed Swift mode has less regen.
 
Hi All. I'm new to Lucid and this forum - greatly appreciate any advice! Took my new Air Touring (20" summer tires) to the White Mountains in NH this past weekend and was disappointed by range. I had acceleration set to "smooth" and regen set to "high." I hadn't realized what a significant impact changes in elevation would have on range. I'm sure that highway speeds didn't help either. Besides turning off regen, any other advice for maximizing range? I am considering 19" rims with winter tires for the ski season. Any brand/model recommendations for rims and tires? Are Lucid's rims my best bet? Thanks!
 
Are you all manually calculating miles/kWh, or does the car tell you somewhere?
 
this is also why i'm learning how my air GT acts. I had a taycan 4s and no regen was by far the best way to get efficiency because when you lifted off the pedal, it truly coasted like you were in neutral of a manual car. The couple of other EVs I've owned since, including this one, there is still a slight slowdown so I figure that's why the one pedal drive is as good or better than using no regen at all.

If the Lucid coasted like the Taycan does, it would probably be more efficient to have no regen.
 
I beleieve the Taycan has a 2 speed transmission which also helps
It does, but the 2nd gear only hits at higher speeds. I used the no regen to coast around most areas even if not on highway. It's crazy how it mimics the feeling of being in neutral. Combine the easy float/coast with blended braking and it was the best of both worlds for around town and i haven't seen any ev anywhere as efficient in those situations (non-highway, not gridlocked traffic)
 
I really liked the blended braking of my Audi. All regen was triggered by the brake pedal. All braking was accomplished through regen above 5mph. Lucid of course has chosen a different way, and I'm fine with that. My Lucid is about 17% more efficient than my Audi, even though it weighs about 400 lbs more, so you can't argue with Lucid's engineering decisions.
 
I really liked the blended braking of my Audi. All regen was triggered by the brake pedal. All braking was accomplished through regen above 5mph. Lucid of course has chosen a different way, and I'm fine with that. My Lucid is about 17% more efficient than my Audi, even though it weighs about 400 lbs more, so you can't argue with Lucid's engineering decisions.
I learned long ago not to argue with engineers lol
 
Back
Top