What can I expect?

[SilentHill]

Hello all,

 

I am supposed to pick up a 2017 Fusion Energi Platinum on Wednesday, and I really only know what the sales people are telling me, so I'm coming here to get some real world analysis.

 

This is my commute:

 

To Work: 63.6mi (5.1mi City)

From Work: 63.6mi (5.1mi City)

 

Approximately what do you think I will see MPG wise assuming the following:

 

I will leave my home with a full charge, but will not charge at work.

 

about 10 red lights and 2 stop signs during the city portion, no heavy foot.

On the highway, adaptive cruise control set to 75mph. Minimal to moderate traffic expected.

 

It's the NYS Thruway, so of course there are some bends  and slight hills, but nothing crazy.

 

thoughts?

[murphy]

Drive the city portion in EV Only.  Drive the high speed portion in EV Later.  If you use Auto it will use all of the battery and then switch to hybrid mode.  High speed driving using the battery will use up the battery really fast.  Air drag increases with the square of the speed.  I can't give you a mpg estimate.  I'm retired and only do local driving.  My engine hasn't run since April.

[SilentHill]

Drive the city portion in EV Only.  Drive the high speed portion in EV Later.  If you use Auto it will use all of the battery and then switch to hybrid mode.  High speed driving using the battery will use up the battery really fast.  Air drag increases with the square of the speed.  I can't give you a mpg estimate.  I'm retired and only do local driving.  My engine hasn't run since April.

 

Let's say that I could charge the vehicle at work, for free. Would than make a difference? EV Only until highway then, auto? or still go to EV later?

[murphy]

Let's say that I could charge the vehicle at work, for free. Would than make a difference? EV Only until highway then, auto? or still go to EV later?

If you can charge at work then you can use all of the battery on the way to work.  Going to work is easy.  Going home is more difficult since you have to preserve enough battery so you can drive electric in the traffic near home.  Electric driving is more efficient at lower speeds.  Actually so is gasoline driving but the gasoline range is a lot bigger.

[jeff_h]

Congrats to the OP on your new ride!  Once you get a few trips under your belt as the baseline established, try comparing the MPG when setting the cruise at 70mph and it will be somewhat better.  You would really get an improvement by going a steady 60mph but I suppose that's too slow for those running in the daily "Rush Hour 500" - good luck!

[jsamp]

Assuming you only use EV on the city portion and EV later on the hwy, I'd estimate ~39MPG for your commute.  The hwy portion I have you at mid-upper 30's and the EV portion brings that up. 

 

If you use a full charge for the round trip, meaning some of your hwy is EV that would yield ~43MPG, however I would recommend against that.  75MPH on EV is pushing the battery too hard, which reduces battery capacity over time.  It also reduces the miles you get per charge just because you're pushing so much air.

 

Of course YMMV.

[SilentHill]

Thanks Everyone!

 

Do you guys think this is the car for me? I spent a lot of time looking, and I liked the idea of using EV for part of my trip and Hybrid for the rest.

[murphy]

Thanks Everyone!

 

Do you guys think this is the car for me? I spent a lot of time looking, and I liked the idea of using EV for part of my trip and Hybrid for the rest.

Only you can decide that.

One thing you may or may not be aware of is when it gets cold the efficiency of the battery goes down.  I get about 10 miles when it is below freezing.  The heater in electric mode is a 5 kW resistance heater.  Energy used for heating is not available for moving the car.  If you plan to preheat the car, connected to the power company, on cold mornings you need a 240 volt EVSE (Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment) [Many people incorrectly call it a charger, the charger is built into the car].  The one that comes with the car maxes out at 120 volts x 12 amps = 1440 watts.  That's about the same as a high end toaster.  At 240 volts x 16 amps = 3840 watts it is possible to preheat the car before you leave.

 

There is a lot to unlearn with this car.  There is no correlation between engine rpm and vehicle speed.  The accelerator pedal tells the computer what you want.  The computer sets the engine rpm for maximum efficiency.  It is an Atkinson cycle engine instead of the common Otto cycle engine.  It will sound different because of the blow back into the intake manifold since the intake valve opens when there is still exhaust pressure in the cylinder.

[SilentHill]

Only you can decide that.

One thing you may or may not be aware of is when it gets cold the efficiency of the battery goes down.  I get about 10 miles when it is below freezing.  The heater in electric mode is a 5 kW resistance heater.  Energy used for heating is not available for moving the car.  If you plan to preheat the car, connected to the power company, on cold mornings you need a 240 volt EVSE (Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment) [Many people incorrectly call it a charger, the charger is built into the car].  The one that comes with the car maxes out at 120 volts x 12 amps = 1440 watts.  That's about the same as a high end toaster.  At 240 volts x 16 amps = 3840 watts it is possible to preheat the car before you leave.

 

There is a lot to unlearn with this car.  There is no correlation between engine rpm and vehicle speed.  The accelerator pedal tells the computer what you want.  The computer sets the engine rpm for maximum efficiency.  It is an Atkinson cycle engine instead of the common Otto cycle engine.  It will sound different because of the blow back into the intake manifold since the intake valve opens when there is still exhaust pressure in the cylinder.

 

Thanks,

 

I was wondering if this would be the best type of car for my commute in general? Keep in mind that i'm in the Sub 30K price range.

[murphy]

What is your definition of best?  Fastest trip, operating economy, maintenance costs, etc?

 

It is a great car.  The only improvement I would like would be for it to have a Tesla battery (100 kWh versus 7.6 kWh).

[jj2me]

The heater in electric mode is a 5 kW resistance heater. [ ...]  The one that comes with the car maxes out at 120 volts x 12 amps = 1440 watts.  That's about the same as a high end toaster.  At 240 volts x 16 amps = 3840 watts it is possible to preheat the car before you leave.

 

That's a great explanation.

 

 It is an Atkinson cycle engine instead of the common Otto cycle engine.  It will sound different because of the blow back into the intake manifold since the intake valve opens when there is still exhaust pressure in the cylinder.

 

Thanks, I have wondered about that, whether that curiously low grumble from our 4-cylinder was maybe piped in by the audio system to make it sound more robust.