[olkarz]

Hello everyone! I've test driven the Karma for the 1st time yesterday and I'm REALLY impressed. I'm SERIOUSLY considering trading my 745iL in on the Karma.

What type of mileage are the owners truly getting on a full charge on your cars???

Currently I get 27-29 MPG on the hwy in the 7-Series with 1 passenger and without the A/C running. With the A/C running and up to 4 additional passengers I average around 25-27 mpg on the hwy, depending on the elevations.
City I average between 22-25 mpg with on a 60 mile round trip drive to work and back home per day.

Just trying to ascertain what the trade-offs will be with of the purchase.

Thanks for listening to me gripe!

Mike

 

[WATTGAS]

@olkarz - welcome to the forums!

I typically get somewhere between 36-42 miles on a single charge. That's with the AC running. Your range can also vary based on factors like flat versus hilly terrain, how much regenerative braking you do (e.g. standard regen, Hill 1, or Hill 2) and weight in the car. I had about 1/2 a tank of gas (~ 5 gallons) when I brought the car home 5 months ago, and I've used about 1 gallon since. So the extra gas is really just extra weight IMHO, and I've found there really is no reason to fill the gas tank to full if you're going to be driving in Stealth mode without the ICE kicking in to re-gen the battery.

I personally don't think it's a car to drive around with 4 adults in all the time. The back seats are a little tight for tall people and leg room can be limited based on how far back the front seats are.

As for your work commute, you would want to see if getting access to an outlet near your work parking spot is possible. Charging times on the regular 110V charger can be anywhere from 12-15 hours. So I think you'd have a pretty good chance at recharging enough to get back home on battery only. If you want it to be a no brainer, get a 240V charger at work. Maybe either through some company like Chargepoint installing one that is owned by your employer, or see if a large outlet (like a dryer) is available.

If possible, have someone like HarleyGuy, FiskerPhilly or Lormax perform a pre-purchase inspection. It's worth the extra time and expense and could spare you avoidable repair costs down the road if you get a car that has some hidden problems. If you provide them with the full VIN of the car, they can look up the cars history, what recalls were completed, etc.

Good luck and if you get the car, be sure to post pictures. I love driving this car today as much as the day I drove it off the lot. It's truly unique.

 

[Nin ja]

gas milage average depends on how much electric verse gasoline you use. on gas only about 25mpg. electric range varies, but 32 miles per charge is about the min.

I avg 110 eMPG, I tend to drive less then 40 miles a day and sometimes I do about 60-70 mile trip. I use it for recreation most of the time, so I have low miles. the biggest concern is how long I keep the gas in the tank - I still have a half of tank.

 

[WATTGAS]

Good point Nin ja on usage patterns, and I agree that cost per charge versus cost per gallon is another consideration. During "Super Off Peak" times, my cost per kWh is 4.1 cents. So I can fully charge my Karma for about $0.80 and get 36-42 miles on that charge versus 25 miles on a gallon of premium gas at anywhere from $3.50-$4/gallon. Conservatively, you could argue that my cost using pure electric charging at cheapest charging times is ~ 1/6 the cost of gas. I'm currently at 116 eMPG and climbing and that's primarily due to the ~ 19 gallons of gas I used to drive the car from CA to AZ when I bought it.

 

[FiskerPhilly]

Great stuff guys, keep it coming cause I get these questions all the time and the only real answers come from you guys as consistent commuters that keep track. The best thing is that there is no good or bad here, only tradeoffs depending on how you drive and charge.

 

[olkarz]

Thanks for all of the input! I really appreciate it. I'm really looking forward to purchasing the car. Too bad that Nalley BMW is being such jerks with the trade-in on my 7-series!!

I'm really looking forward to getting out from underneath the $2k-4k maintenance every year. Don't get me wrong...I'm very meticulous about keeping the car looking and running like it was just delivered from Germany, so I have every single little quirky thing replaced with new parts as the pop up.

 

[Shiraz]

Well get the car before the prices go up try to get an Eco sport interior doesn't deteriorate as fast my advice to you I traded my m6 to get this car I can't tell you how many head turns I get and it's a collector now it was one of the original few made under 60k dollars with low miles is a good buy don't pay any higher eBay has a few listings now for about 56 k car looks clean

 

[LonePalmBJ]

I track all of my gasoline consumption carefully and over the last two full years my total MPG is just north of 200 miles per gallon. The Karma is my daily driver in Atlanta.

 

[olkarz]

I track all of my gasoline consumption carefully and over the last two full years my total MPG is just north of 200 miles per gallon. The Karma is my daily driver in Atlanta.

That's good to hear! What's the longest trip you've taken in your Karma? Are you seeing the total combined mileage at or above the estimated 230 miles? I'm originally from SC and often drive there to visit with my extended family. I'm my 7-series and can make the trip there and back on a tank of gas, but the tank is 25 gallons not 10 like it is in the Karma...

 

[alexofsb]

Mileage

You have had pretty good responses and advice across the board, but I get way closer to 45-48 miles per charge.
My MPG to date (took delivery 1/2012) is 356 mpg, BUT I seldom drive more than 20 -25 miles in a single trip. I add about 1 gallon of gas every 4-5 months, just to keep the fuel somewhat fresh. Getting closer to the 50 miles range in Stealth Mode is achievable, in my opinion, but depends on how heavy your foot is. Really, it is sooo easy to accelerate even to 35-40 mph and feels sooo good, BUT you will cut your Mileage to the range other owners are talking about ( < 40 miles). Also it will depend on your average speed of your commute. If it is all on a freeway and you want to go 65-70 MPH, you will undoubtably get in the mid 30's. When you are in traffic and going very slowly, it is more economical and a great feeling to be in stop and go traffic and not using any significant energy letting the Solar Panel operate your ventilation system. My 110 volt wall connection charges me at about 3.2 miles per hour being 'plugged in'. So an 8 hour work day should give you 25 miles of charge. More when you get home w/overnight charge.

Absolutely love my car and virtually no real issues for over 2-1/2 years.http://www.fiskerbuzz.com/forums/images/smilies/smile.gif

 

[olkarz]

You have had pretty good responses and advice across the board, but I get way closer to 45-48 miles per charge.
My MPG to date (took delivery 1/2012) is 356 mpg, BUT I seldom drive more than 20 -25 miles in a single trip. I add about 1 gallon of gas every 4-5 months, just to keep the fuel somewhat fresh. Getting closer to the 50 miles range in Stealth Mode is achievable, in my opinion, but depends on how heavy your foot is. Really, it is sooo easy to accelerate even to 35-40 mph and feels sooo good, BUT you will cut your Mileage to the range other owners are talking about ( < 40 miles). Also it will depend on your average speed of your commute. If it is all on a freeway and you want to go 65-70 MPH, you will undoubtably get in the mid 30's. When you are in traffic and going very slowly, it is more economical and a great feeling to be in stop and go traffic and not using any significant energy letting the Solar Panel operate your ventilation system. My 110 volt wall connection charges me at about 3.2 miles per hour being 'plugged in'. So an 8 hour work day should give you 25 miles of charge. More when you get home w/overnight charge.

Absolutely love my car and virtually no real issues for over 2-1/2 years.http://www.fiskerbuzz.com/forums/images/smilies/smile.gif

Thanks AlexofSB... I work at night and it's all highway to the gig, so I set the cruise control at 65 for the straight stop with no stop and go traffic. In the mornings on the way home is the complete opposite though....

I have to say the Fisker Buzz Community is very identical to the Bimmer Forums Community. Everyone loves their cars and are always willing to provide great advice. Once I get the results back on the VIN research I'm beaming in anticipation of purchasing the Karma. Of course...my mechanic to warning me to stay away from the Karma at all costs:angel:

 

[Fabulist]

@olkarz The familiar phrase "Your Mileage May Vary" has never been better suited to any car than it is to the Fisker Karma. There are a number of long threads discussing this topic, none more entertaining than this one.

The bottom line appears to be that if your charge-to-charge travel is short enough to be in pure EV mode, your gas MPG is essentially infinite (the Karma does fire up the ICE at regular intervals to exercise it and to check for emissions status, so it is not actually infinite). But if you have to engage the ICE, for additional performance or due to travel greater distances, the overall MPG tend to drop pretty quickly depending on the gas/battery ratio. The longest I have driven my car in a single day was around 260 miles, and by the end, the MPG was around 25, which is what you expect from the ICE alone.

Thanks AlexofSB... I work at night and it's all highway to the gig, so I set the cruise control at 65 for the straight stop with no stop and go traffic. In the mornings on the way home is the complete opposite though....

The critical questions for you will be: (1) how far away is each leg of the commute, and (2) can you charge your car at "the gig". If you can travel both legs on stored electrons, you may only have to put gas in your car once a year. In contrast, if you have to travel 100 miles between charges, then your MPG will not be stellar. It all depends on the route.

On the charging issue, if your car is going to be sitting idle while you are at work and you don't need to drive around during your work time to go to meetings or visit clients, etc., setting up level I charging from a regular plug would actually help a lot on your return leg. 8 hours of charging at 110V is good for almost half a battery worth of charge (25 miles indicated).

I was not really thinking about the effective MPG when I bought this car, but once I started driving it, the number of miles I could travel between fill-ups became an intellectual exercise and object of fascination and I found myself trying to drive as smoothly as possible to get the best mileage. Judging by the posts here, and the folks who sent in photos of their mileage to Fisker's Face Book page, I may not have been the only one.

Edited to add:

Here is another thread where owners discuss their average MPG.

And just for the record, here is a screen shot from my energy flow screen showing my personal best mileage on one tank of fuel. Surprisingly, compared to some folks here, this is barely average.