Range question

[Michael Fisette]

I'm new to the whole EV experience but one of the big selling points with Lucid was battery range. We've had our DE for a month now and only been driving local, charging with the "daily" setting. Yesterday we decided to take a trip out to see our son who is about 110 miles away. We had things charged up to about 78%, with miles reading 368 so figured no problem at all. Unfortunately, when we reached the destination the range was already down to 180 miles, having only completed the first leg. Most all the driving was 4 lanes or interstate driving between 65-80 MPH. We ended up stressing on the way home, but made it back with about 25 miles left on the battery indicator. So we start out with 368 miles of range for a 220 mile trip and barely make it back. Realizing that the range is an estimate and road conditions, speed, etc all factor into the actual range, we were shocked at how far off that calculation was. Are we missing something, or should we be talking to Lucid customer service?

I am 3 months with my Dream. I have consistently received 70% - 75% of “remaining miles.”

 

[Coltonw011]

I think a really tough thing for people to understand is the InsideEVs 70 mph range test is a tough benchmark to hit. Tom mentioned having some altitude increases, but he is at a constant 70 mph. As most people have said, nobody truly sticks to 70 mph for their whole drive. Seeing the EPA 520 range (19” wheels) unless charging to 100% and having perfect driving conditions, is just not going to happen. You can hypermile it, but that ain’t always fun. The simple truth is, it will go farther at 80 mph than any other EV out there. Drop to 70 mph, go even farther. Range debates are always going to happen, and if this is someone’s first EV they will have to go through the learning curve I went through when I naively thought my Model S would go 373 miles.

 

[Lucken]

It's impossible and silly to generalize how much range any one person needs, other than yourself. There are a myriad of conditions that alter what a given person needs. Location (warm, cold), frequency of trips, where the trips are generally taken, high speed charging along the route, access to a 2nd ICE vehicle...on and on.

So there is no 'ideal' range that can be recommended universally. Some people make out perfectly well with EVs that only have 150 mile range.

 

[hmp10]

The simple truth is, it will go farther at 80 mph than any other EV out there.

This is the true bottom line.

It may be because the Lucid's battery pack is bigger, it may or may not edge out Tesla on Cd numbers, the powertrain efficiencies may or may not be as much better than others as Lucid claims, or any of the myriad of other points over which naysayers like to wrangle.

But, at the end of the day, no matter where and how you are driving, you can go further in a Lucid Air than you can in any other EV . . . and by a wide margin.

 

[MikeTz]

We just did a round trip of about 250 mi this weekend using mostly cruise control at 70 to see how close to epa we could get.

Ended the weekend with 3.4 (or 89% or the EPA rating assuming 3.4 x 118kwh, 401miles)

The interesting this is when DRIVING the car, we tend to average 2.8-3.0. So ACC on highway driving produces dramatically more efficient usage. This is great for a long road trip, but given how large the range is, doesn’t super matter for general driving.

Multiplying 3 x the battery size times the SOC works great for both the Tesla and the Lucid.

 

[Lucken]

But, at the end of the day, no matter where and how you are driving, you can go further in a Lucid Air than you can in any other EV . . . and by a wide margin.

On that we can all agree. As to how important that is to a given prospective buyer, as is also true with horsepower, remains to be seen.

 

[Sandvinsd]

This is the true bottom line.

It may be because the Lucid's battery pack is bigger, it may or may not edge out Tesla on Cd numbers, the powertrain efficiencies may or may not be as much better than others as Lucid claims, or any of the myriad of other points over which naysayers like to wrangle.

But, at the end of the day, no matter where and how you are driving, you can go further in a Lucid Air than you can in any other EV . . . and by a wide margin.

Yes. If you cannot deal with the Lucid Air's range, then no EV will be sufficient for you. Whatever mileage you are getting in an Air, you will get AT BEST 75% of that range in any other EV. Realistically the Air will be double the range since most EVs are in the 250 mile EPA range. I'll say it again, I have been waiting for a 500 mile / 1000 km EPA range EV minimum before I would convert to an EV for my "trip vehicle." Looking forward to my AGT!

BTW... we have not even begun the discussion about battery degradation over time. What is 500 miles of range today is not that 50k, 100k miles later. Our Leaf had 151 miles EPA range when new. Now it is about 130. I am hoping that the thermal management will be better on the Air. Nissan stupidly went to an Air cooled system which means the battery degrades faster than other EVs.

 

[Napoli]

Yes. If you cannot deal with the Lucid Air's range, then no EV will be sufficient for you. Whatever mileage you are getting in an Air, you will get AT BEST 75% of that range in any other EV. Realistically the Air will be double the range since most EVs are in the 250 mile EPA range. I'll say it again, I have been waiting for a 500 mile / 1000 km EPA range EV minimum before I would convert to an EV for my "trip vehicle." Looking forward to my AGT!

BTW... we have not even begun the discussion about battery degradation over time. What is 500 miles of range today is not that 50k, 100k miles later. Our Leaf had 151 miles EPA range when new. Now it is about 130. I am hoping that the thermal management will be better on the Air. Nissan stupidly went to an Air cooled system which means the battery degrades faster than other EVs.

Out of curiosity, what model year is your Leaf and how many miles are on it?

 

[Sandvinsd]

Out of curiosity, what model year is your Leaf and how many miles are on it?

I have a 2018 Leaf with 60k miles on it. Have not yet lost the first bar on the battery, but according to the OBD2 readings with the LeafSpy, I am on the cusp. The first bar represents 85% of the original battery. (12 bars total). Each one after that is about is about 6.5% until the last.

 

[jsharpe]

I'll agree the suggestions already been mentioned but also go in a somewhat different direction. Once you realized you were consuming much faster than expected, if you had the option of swinging by a fast DC charger (e.g. EA 350kW) a relatively painless ~10 minute stop on the way back could have saved you the anxiety at the end. I personally find the slower chargers a pain for EV road trips but the fast ones completely change the experience.

 

[MoniputerLM]

First trip. ~300 miles. Left with full charge of 466 miles. Weather was cold, low 30ish most of the trip. Heater and A/C were on all of the way. Tried to turn A/C off but windows fogged up. Went only 210 miles and stopped to charge because had only 80 miles left.

Charged using Electrify America station, at a Walmart, with 350 KW charger and got over 200 miles in ~20-25 min? (didn't time accurately). The DE seemed to charge faster than the Porsche next to me.


Forget to mention speed. Average was around 70mph.

 

[SaratogaLefty]

First trip. ~300 miles. Left with full charge of 466 miles. Weather was cold, low 30ish most of the trip. Heater and A/C were on all of the way. Tried to turn A/C off but windows fogged up. Went only 210 miles and stopped to charge because had only 80 miles left.

Charged using Electrify America station, at a Walmart, with 350 KW charger and got over 200 miles in ~20-25 min? (didn't time accurately). The DE seemed to charge faster than the Porsche next to me.

I am not sure if these number are common with other EVs, just reporting.

200 Miles is about when I would probably want to stop and stretch, etc. anyway. I'm guessing your mileage was significantly impacted by the cold weather. What kind of speed were you cruising at?

 

[MoniputerLM]

200 Miles is about when I would probably want to stop and stretch, etc. anyway. I'm guessing your mileage was significantly impacted by the cold weather. What kind of speed were you cruising at?

Forget to mention speed. Average was around 70mph.

 

[Steveinarizona]

First trip. ~300 miles. Left with full charge of 466 miles. Weather was cold, low 30ish most of the trip. Heater and A/C were on all of the way. Tried to turn A/C off but windows fogged up. Went only 210 miles and stopped to charge because had only 80 miles left.

Charged using Electrify America station, at a Walmart, with 350 KW charger and got over 200 miles in ~20-25 min? (didn't time accurately). The DE seemed to charge faster than the Porsche next to me.

I am not sure if these number are common with other EVs, just reporting.

So you were getting about 50% of the estimated charge. Assuming one wants to normally follow the 80% charge suggestion, that would have about 420 out of a 500 mile range estimate. Then taking 50% of that turns into 210. I can live with that IF there are enough available EA fast chargers.

 

[hydbob]

So you were getting about 50% of the estimated charge. Assuming one wants to normally follow the 80% charge suggestion, that would have about 420 out of a 500 mile range estimate. Then taking 50% of that turns into 210. I can live with that IF there are enough available EA fast chargers.

Dep is only 451...lol

 

[mac26mac]

Driving an EV means having to completely re-educate yourself on nearly every aspect of driving. I've driven electric since early 2019. Though my intro to electric was back in the 90's when my city was part of a great (and failed) electric experiment.

Here's a few things:

Cold weather: This is a range killer. My Etron gets MAYBE 110miles (down hill with a tailwind) in the extreme cold (35 or below). In the summer, I can usually stretch for 200.
Proper tires, wheels etc.: Properly inflated tires makes a world of difference. Keep an eye on it. I have a compressor in my garage. I keep my tires at the appropriate inflation (cold).
Speed: The faster you go, the less range you have. It an exponential curve. The difference between 70 and 78 is huge.
Ancillary systems: Certain items (climate control, heated seats, ventilated seats, massaging seats) may or may not affect range. For example, cooled seats in my etron do NOT affect range (according to the computer), but heated seats do(!?). The massage feature on my etron does not affect range (?!?), but maybe it does in the Lucid? (Don't ask me, I've only managed to drive that car 320 miles in two months...and nearly 200 of that was yesterday).

 

[mac26mac]

Have 21" tires and weather was in the 50's but dropped to the low 40's on the trip back. We had it in smooth the entire trip and I was expecting some degradation in performance, but more than 30% seemed extreme.

No, not at all.

 

[Neurio]

Convenient article published today:

All the Things That Drain Your EV Battery

And, yes, there’s way more to it than just driving hard and turning on those heated seats.

www.wired.com

 

[Lucken]

Driving an EV means having to completely re-educate yourself on nearly every aspect of driving. I've driven electric since early 2019. Though my intro to electric was back in the 90's when my city was part of a great (and failed) electric experiment.

Here's a few things:

Cold weather: This is a range killer. My Etron gets MAYBE 110miles (down hill with a tailwind) in the extreme cold (35 or below). In the summer, I can usually stretch for 200.
Proper tires, wheels etc.: Properly inflated tires makes a world of difference. Keep an eye on it. I have a compressor in my garage. I keep my tires at the appropriate inflation (cold).
Speed: The faster you go, the less range you have. It an exponential curve. The difference between 70 and 78 is huge.
Ancillary systems: Certain items (climate control, heated seats, ventilated seats, massaging seats) may or may not affect range. For example, cooled seats in my etron do NOT affect range (according to the computer), but heated seats do(!?). The massage feature on my etron does not affect range (?!?), but maybe it does in the Lucid? (Don't ask me, I've only managed to drive that car 320 miles in two months...and nearly 200 of that was yesterday).

Gotta be something wrong. The lowest I’ve seen on my 21 Sportback is 160 in the NY winter with 170 being more typical. 110 is just crazy low.

 

[hmp10]

For example, cooled seats in my etron do NOT affect range (according to the computer), but heated seats do(!?).

That's not really surprising. I think that seat cooling occurs just by running a fan to force air from the cooling ducts through the foam of the perforated seats. Heating the seats means running electrical current through high-resistance wiring, a very energy-consumptive process.