Any GTAM'ers own an electric vehicle?

[mxs]

Both the Kia and Hyundai both have battery cooling - it's just a fan that moves air through the battery, but it's something at least, but way less effective vs a system that actively uses the AC system to remove heat. But, again, better than nothing, which is what the Leaf (unsuccessfully) and the Egolf have opted for.

There's some interesting reading on the Egolf's lack of active cooling here. I hope the engineering results and real world results end up being the same - sometimes those things don't work out so well, however.

As for the heat pump vs grid heating, don't get too excited about it - heat pumps only work down to about -10C, and cars equipped with them very much do still have resistive heaters that kick in during high demand, or when the outside temps drop too low. When I did some digging VW themselves also mention that it's only ~30% more efficient than the grid heater as well.

My experience with heat pumps, admittedly not recent, was not great - low vent temps that maintained a temperature decent enough, but useless for rapidly heating up a space (which people expect in a car) so electric grid comes into play quickly...and once outdoor temps start to creep too low for a heat pump to work efficiently, you are basically back to grid heating.

Found lots of references to sub 200KM ranges in the winter as well.

Some more interesting reading on grid vs heat pump here, specific to the Ioniq.

I don't call air pushed through the battery compartment active cooling, so that might explain why we are saying different things. Active cooling in my book is what Tesla does for example ... real coolant lines wrapped around battery modules.

I would consider 30% efficiency increase due to a heat pump significant enough. I realize they do come with aux. resistive heater, but so much ultimately comes down to usage as well driving style etc. .... while watching for the range drop. But honestly, for 95% of my drives I am not too worried about it. I don't mind to regen brake obviously, but it will see a lot of pedal to the metal anyway, without watching for some dash indicator to stay in green zone ... LOL .... not a chance.

 

[PrivatePilot]

Agree on your thoughts, and being a lease as you mention, long term negative battery effects are less of a concern in the end anyways for you, but just putting all the facts out there for anyone else reading, that's all.

The resistive heating grid can really kick the crap out of the battery though when you punch it into high gear - It heats up SUPER fast (way faster than any ICE vehicle I've ever owned, hands down) which is really nice, but you see a corresponding range drop, no question, especially on a car like the Volt with a smaller battery to begin with. There's incentive to use it in the "Eco" mode where it uses less power with a reduced fan speed to accomplish the same end goal, just slower/more effeciently.

 

[mimico_polak]

If any Gen1 Volt owners are looking for winter tires I posted a link to a set on the Classified section. I was looking for a set and ended up buying before my friend let me know she had a set lying around. Can't figure out why Chev would switch bolt patterns between Gen1 and Gen2!

 

[PrivatePilot]

Ad you linked to has been deleted, but I see another similar which I think is them...but Volt isn't mentioned for fitment. Not sure if it's actually them or not.

I found a set of slightly used snow tires on Kijiji for $250 in the summer, had them mounted on the existing alloys. Would have certainly considered these alternately, but a bit too late now.

 

[GreyGhost]

If any Gen1 Volt owners are looking for winter tires I posted a link to a set on the Classified section. I was looking for a set and ended up buying before my friend let me know she had a set lying around. Can't figure out why Chev would switch bolt patterns between Gen1 and Gen2!

Revenue generation?

I never understand minor bolt pattern changes. Sure, as a model grows through the years, maybe switching from 4 bolt to 5 bolt is a good idea but minor changes are dumb and unnecessary. VW increased the BCD by 1 cm in the recent past. It seems like a change just to make a change.

 

[mxs]

Agree on your thoughts, and being a lease as you mention, long term negative battery effects are less of a concern in the end anyways for you, but just putting all the facts out there for anyone else reading, that's all.

The resistive heating grid can really kick the crap out of the battery though when you punch it into high gear - It heats up SUPER fast (way faster than any ICE vehicle I've ever owned, hands down) which is really nice, but you see a corresponding range drop, no question, especially on a car like the Volt with a smaller battery to begin with. There's incentive to use it in the "Eco" mode where it uses less power with a reduced fan speed to accomplish the same end goal, just slower/more effeciently.

Fair point. It all takes a little bit of trial and error to work out the sweet spot of running your EV or plug-in like yours. I've seen posts from people who ******* about their range drop at 100% SOC ... to only admit later they are driving now regularly at hwy speed with 24C indoor temp on the dial, with heavy regen on instead of coast, so their system was predicting their range based on most recent historical drives .... Sooner or later they will get it, but not until they post to the internet world about it.

 

[Brian P]

If any Gen1 Volt owners are looking for winter tires I posted a link to a set on the Classified section. I was looking for a set and ended up buying before my friend let me know she had a set lying around. Can't figure out why Chev would switch bolt patterns between Gen1 and Gen2!

Different vehicle platform (D2XX vs Delta II - which was a full redesign). Wheels on the new one - and many other minor bits and pieces - should be same or compatible with the new (rounded shape) Cruze and the 2018 Equinox/Terrain.

 

[mimico_polak]

Different vehicle platform (D2XX vs Delta II - which was a full redesign). Wheels on the new one - and many other minor bits and pieces - should be same or compatible with the new (rounded shape) Cruze and the 2018 Equinox/Terrain.

Cool thanks for the info. I rode in the new Gen2 Volt and it's so much nicer on the interior and ride....wish I could've afforded it! LoL Anyway I updated the link for the tires. Thanks guys.

 

[mxs]

So you guys better be ready for more boring EV posts from me, because I just signed a 3 year lease for 2018 Soul. Should be fun .... me and my wife are looking forward to learning what changes EV in our garage will bring.

Normally , I am careful about recommending any dealerships, because I consider it very subjective. But, considering there is a few out there who understand the EV game early, I am going to say, give Lockwood in Oakville a try. Pretty easy and transparent dealing, overall knowledgeable and nice people.

 

[PrivatePilot]

Awesome, looking forward to hearing details from the Kia/Pure EV perspective. Congrats.

When do you take delivery?

 

[mxs]

Wednesday. This is the only brand with cars in lots. Hyundai has few base Ioniqs scattered around and that's pretty much it (of course not counting Tesla). Once I confirmed the car drives well enough, it was sort of easy decision.

 

[Brian P]

Is this replacing the Mini? It's surely not replacing the Volvo?

I had a Kia Soul as a rental from the airport in Louisville (gas engine) and it was decent enough. It's much nicer to drive than the Rio/Accent.

 

[mxs]

You've got that right. The Volvo stays to be a long distance and towing car. Should be good for another 3 years easily.

The Mini, while currently trouble free, has 132K and you know what they say about German design cars past warranty. Plus premium gas (were the Volvo easily lives with regular), so yes, it was a candidate to go sooner rather than later.

Let's make one thing clear, the Soul is not Mini, handling driving wise .... But we came to conclusion that it really doesn't have to be. Plus the Soul is much much more nicely equipped. It's only 15cm or so longer than Mini, so pretty close footprint, which you know is so important with my garage.

The fight has already started, who will get to drive it .... I think I win for now, mainly due to the 5 free and always empty DC fast chargers, which are just 2 mins from my work. You know where I will be eating my lunches ... LOL .... I cannot believe, I will experience free driving. Crazy.

 

[PrivatePilot]

r now, mainly due to the 5 free and always empty DC fast chargers, which are just 2 mins from my work. You know where I will be eating my lunches ... LOL .... I cannot believe, I will experience free driving. Crazy.

Be careful, it's addictive. Next thing you know you're on the plugshare app looking for free chargers (and even plain old receptacles, if you're going to be somewhere long enough) wherever you go.

 

[mimico_polak]

Be careful, it's addictive. Next thing you know you're on the plugshare app looking for free chargers (and even plain old receptacles, if you're going to be somewhere long enough) wherever you go.

That app is good but gets annoying when a few people start calling out and shaming other EV drivers for not keeping to the 4hr limit where I park...sometimes people are in meetings and can't be moving cars every 4hrs. I've seen lots of snarky comments. Outside of that it's a good feature.

 

[mxs]

With my usage, I don't think I have to go out of my way to get free juice. The one by my work is just really comfortable and empty (I am sure this will change in a couple of years time ..... otherwise, I am pretty sure I will juice up at home from the L2 Bosch charger (16A) Kia gives you a voucher for. I will probably just upgrade to 30A one and have Kathleen to pony up half of the difference, since I saved them money for install ... LOL

 

[Brian P]

16 amps at 240 volts is 3.8 kW ... The car has a usable capacity of 30 kWh so it's about 8 hours to take a completely full charge from flat empty ... less than overnight. Might as well just take the charger that they give you.

Your commute is ideal for this.

On Monday I have to visit a customer that would be on the outer end of what a Bolt could do without a top-up ... St Thomas.

 

[mxs]

Oh no question I am taking the voucher .... But if Bosch lets me upgrade it for reasonable difference to 30A version, I will probably do that, since I put 40A line to the garage. It should not cost me more than 200$ and it will be good enough for future larger battery packs.

I was also going to say that considering our driving patterns is big part of the decision. Once you conclude you could make most of your driving with a given range, choosing the car is sort of easy. Most of the cars are more than good enough for ordinary daily commute. Availability seems to be a bit of limiting hurdle at the moment, but that will be history come spring 2018.

 

[mimico_polak]

With my usage, I don't think I have to go out of my way to get free juice. The one by my work is just really comfortable and empty (I am sure this will change in a couple of years time ..... otherwise, I am pretty sure I will juice up at home from the L2 Bosch charger (16A) Kia gives you a voucher for. I will probably just upgrade to 30A one and have Kathleen to pony up half of the difference, since I saved them money for install ... LOL

On the flip side you could charge at work for free and not bother paying for it at home...

 

[mxs]

I cannot charge at work, like directly where I park during working hours. But I can go have a lunch at the DC charging lot ....

But, I will not be mad if I have to top-up at home .... Even if I do charge only at home, I will save close to 6K for the duration of the lease. Good enough for me and my conscience... ;-)