[BobTwaalf]

I own a website called http://MyPerfectAutmobile.com and own a Volt on which I blog regularly. The car is great!
I have always owned a convertible, since in Califronia I can drive with the roof open 7 out of 10 days.
Fisker seems to be the first to want to come out with a convertible and the car is awesome looking. I need a fourseater minimally as I have two young kids. So I'm very interested. Any update or info on this car would be much appreciated.

Bob T
http://MyPerfectAutmobile.com

 

[Wimbledon]

Welcome to FiskerBuzz.com.

Our members always have the latest Fisker information and updates posted on this forum, so if you are interested in Fisker I encourage you to check-in regularly.

Congrats on the Volt -- the more PHEVs on the road, the better.

 

[Soflauthor]

Welcome.

I'm curious. What kind of all-electric range are you actually getting with your Volt? Thx.

 

[BobTwaalf]

Before I answer that question I have to tell you a few things. I bought the car in order to support my website http://MyPerfectAutomobile.com . So I'm driving it like I would a regular car, but also test it to see how it works under different circumstances. So in order to see how it reacts when out of battery I deliberately did not charge it on the second day I owned it for a few days and drove hundreds of miles. Naturally my Volt had to use gasoline those trips. I'm also not a Hypermiler (trying to squeeze the most out of a gallon or the most out of a charge).
Right now I'm getting about 28 miles to 30 miles on a charge. This is all highway driving at 75Mph. When I'm driving in the city it has a chance to use the regeneration and the mileage goes up. I know this because when the Volt is fully charged it will tell me the range based on my driving habit. Last week instead of flying from San Jose, CA to Portland, Oregon I drove my Volt to see how it would drive, a 10 hour trip non-stop. I had the cruise control at 78 Mph most of the way in CA. In Oregon they seem to drive slower so I had to lower the cruise speed. The Volt drives like a luxury Cruisemobile. Very comfortable. Like a Buick Electra. ( I like that name, appropriate). I tested to see how fast it would go but the limiter came on at 100Mph with a message on the console saying that the Volt is limited to 101Mph.
In Mountain mode it will charge the battery deliberately using the engine and even when the battery was empty at the end of your trip there will be 13 miles added when you turn Mountain Mode off.

One of these day I will drive it just in the city and see how much I get in the city. I know from experience it will be a lot more. The regeneration will add tons of miles for sure.

Bob T
http://MyPerfectAutombile.com

 

[joshwoodsMPA]

My name is Josh, I am the webmaster for www.myperfectautomobile.com. This last week Bob loaned me the Volt and I have had considerable time to drive it around Portland, OR.

The Volt has 2 forward driving settings. D and L. The D setting allows for a little regenerative deceleration. The L allows for more aggressive regenerative deceleration, to where I can hold 25-30 miles per hour on a city street and the heads up display shows that I am in regenerative deceleration.

When driving in stop and go traffic and in the city, using the D mode, I get 30-35 miles on the battery. In the L setting I can squeeze out 40 miles from the battery, fully charged to empty. As a comparison driving on a highway with no traffic I get 28-30 miles from the battery. Adding 5% to that if there is traffic.

Josh

 

[Soflauthor]

Thanks, Bob and Josh. Very useful/interesting data.

I have to wonder whether the data you report -- actual usage about 70 - 80% of manufacturer's claims for all-electric range -- will hold equally for the Karma. I suspect it will, but we won't know until Fisker gets the car into our hands.

Also have to wonder how a/c (I live in FL where it's about mandatory for 6 months a year) will impact all electric range.

Anyhow, thx for the replies.

Roger

 

[BobTwaalf]

I have been driving typically with the heat on, radio on , GPS on . In the evening lights on.
The manual says that having the seat warming on is more efficient than having the normal heater on.
Like I said, one of these days I will drive around town and see what I can squeeze out. I'll have to remember to turn everything else off.
I have been told that when you race a Tessla you get maybe half the distance on a charge. Also range claims are probably for 55Mph. When you drive 75Mph your range and MPG drops significantly. Remember that wind resistance goes up by the square of your speed. That is why at higher speeds your MPG drops significantly with any car.

Bob T
http://MyPerfectAutomobile.com

 

[ct-fiskerbuzz]

... Also range claims are probably for 55Mph. When you drive 75Mph your range and MPG drops significantly. Remember that wind resistance goes up by the square of your speed. That is why at higher speeds your MPG drops significantly with any car.

Bob T
http://MyPerfectAutomobile.com

It's actually worse than squared, generally. (It's nonlinear due to laminar vs turbulent flow, so there's a curve once the laminar parts of the flow start to break up, too.) In most cars the "most efficient" speed tends to be somewhere around 45 mph. Electric cars with no transmission may be different, we'll have to observe!