[Sturob]

So I’m nearing a year with my ‘24 i5 M60, which I pretty much love.

However.

Every month my app shames me with a report stating that my efficiency (kW/mi) is lower than most other drivers. I’m in the 2.6-2.8 ish range.

So now I pay attention to it, but … like, should I? I don’t drive like a demon, as far as I can tell. I am usually in the Personal mode; I have messed with Sport and Efficent but mostly stay in Personal. I don’t drag race at stop lights. My tires are aired up and my alignment is good and I don’t have a bunch of bodies in the trunk.

Nor do I seem to suffer on range. The number (miles remaining) does seem to have a lot of self-doubt but I have no trouble keeping between 80-20 SOC charging very seldom. It’s an in-town driver.

I do live in a hot climate so the AC runs a ton.

I guess I have no basis of comparison since this is my first BEV. With an ICE or even a hybrid, I would always calculate my MPG when I filled up, a drop from what seemed to be normal would make me investigate further.

Everything seems great but I do feel shamed by my monthly efficiency numbers, but I ask the forum: should I be? Should I drive a month in Efficiency mode and see if it’s any different?

S

[dsgs]

Lots of things affect range. Hills, tire type and wear, heat, going very fast, short trips, freezing weather, headwinds...

As they say, "your mileage may vary."

You can try a controlled test if you are concerned something may not be working properly. Find a flat road, drive 60 mph, with light/no winds, set the cabin to 72F, with ambient outside air temperature around the same. Let us know what you see on the efficiency display (you can set the dash to display current energy consumption). Also try, in the same conditions, just sitting at a stop.

For me, at idle in nice weather, the car bounces between 0.7 kW and 1.4 kW (I think the AC compressor turns on and off). For flat, boring driving around 60 mph, I get between 18 and 20 kWh/100km (3.45 mi/kWh to 3.11 mi/kWh).

[Sturob]

I think the best I’ve seen is 3.2 mi/kWh. I apologize for using the wrong units before. Right now for some reason the only part of myBMW that isn’t working is the Efficiency section.

It is a lot of stop and go travel, and a car this big does take oomph to get going from a stop. I’ll try to do a more controlled test, though, that’s a good idea.

S

[Roki_014]

You obviously got the m60 to have fun, its a shame you dont have it in sport all thr time to enjoy it to its full potential, i dont care what the app says.
Remember, you are paying for it, so enjoy it !

[Sturob]

Also true…

Maybe I’ll do some of both. Try Sport (I do like the red and blue lighting also), mess around in Efficient also just to play with it.

I probably have not really taken advantage of all the stuff I can fiddle with.

S

[Roki_014]

Originally Posted by Sturob

Also true…

Maybe I’ll do some of both. Try Sport (I do like the red and blue lighting also), mess around in Efficient also just to play with it.

I probably have not really taken advantage of all the stuff I can fiddle with.

S

Dont forget to use boost!!!

[Sturob]

BOOST!

Oh and that efficiency thing in the myBMW app has a “community average” which is 2.8 miles/kWh. So I’m not far off without trying to be efficient.

S

[SkykingUSA]

I think the biggest single factor to efficiency is the way you drive. Try driving very cautiously with no speeding, and with gradual easy acceleration. If you need a guide, make sure you never exceed the 50% power mark in your instrument cluster gauge.

I did a test with my car. I drive the same 20 mile round trip at least twice per week - from home to the tennis courts and back. One time, I drove the car in Personal mode, and another day, I drove the same trip in efficient mode. It essentially made no difference to my efficiency numbers for the trip. That tells me, that even though I'm in Personal mode most of the time, I drive conservatively by default so the efficient mode doesn't help me a lot. Try the same type of test if you can to see if efficient mode makes a difference for you. If it does, then you are probably a more aggressive driver by default than I am. From a stop light, I usually keep to power level between 25% and 50% to get the car moving.

Regarding whether you should be shamed or worried about it... probably not. As long as you are getting the range you need, and the numbers are not so low as to think there could be a mechanical problem, just have fun. I used to be very concerned about efficiency when I first got the car, but now, I don't think about it as much, and just enjoy the driving experience. If I were to go on a long extended road trip, I may try to be more efficient, but day to day, I don't worry about it much anymore.

[patriotsfan]

One other thing that seems relevant based on my testing is that climatization does not appear to be reflected in efficiency statistics.

For example - last night I had my car climatize for about 20 minutes (longer than anticipated) for my drive home in about ~35 degree weather. That return trip has been averaging me about 2.6-2.8 mi/kWh with similar weather without climatization (or 2-3 minutes at most). Last night my return trip home was 2.9 mi/kWh despite having dropped 2% state of charge during the warming up and being down ~8% for the trip overall when it's usually a 5-6% drop.

All of this is to say that it would appear that you can game the monthly statistics with ample climatization usage. The more you use it - the better your efficiency numbers look because that electric usage isn't accounted for as best as I can tell.

[Scrapula]

I’m driving with outdoor temps in the 30’s and 40’s. I heat the car while plugged in, so I don’t have to waste battery heating the car. I’m getting 2.0 miles/kWh. I was much better last winter, but it was extremely mild with zero snow. It’s not winter yet, so I expect my efficiency to drop. During the summer, I was around 3.6 but only ran the air conditioning for a couple of days. I also have a lot of hills, but I use the BMW nav to put my on the most efficient roads without steep climbs. If I had to drive a lot in the winter, I would probably keep an older gas car.

[RichardInCA]

Originally Posted by Scrapula

I’m driving with outdoor temps in the 30’s and 40’s. I heat the car while plugged in, so I don’t have to waste battery heating the car. I’m getting 2.0 miles/kWh. I was much better last winter, but it was extremely mild with zero snow. It’s not winter yet, so I expect my efficiency to drop. During the summer, I was around 3.6 but only ran the air conditioning for a couple of days. I also have a lot of hills, but I use the BMW nav to put my on the most efficient roads without steep climbs. If I had to drive a lot in the winter, I would probably keep an older gas car.

Wow - that’s a huge difference. Have you seen what the draw is with heating etc. on that you are normally using during driving but at a standstill so that the car gives you the power consumption level rather than the efficiency number?

[Scrapula]

Originally Posted by RichardInCA

Wow - that’s a huge difference. Have you seen what the draw is with heating etc. on that you are normally using during driving but at a standstill so that the car gives you the power consumption level rather than the efficiency number?

In the spring/summer I’m not using A/C. If it’s not raining, I will put the window down.

I haven’t experimented with the heating. I always have the seat heater on and the steering wheel on. The temp is at 73. I don’t want cold air blowing on me. If I turn off climate control, the windows fog up. It’s usually raining, so I can’t open the window to help.

The snow tires I have supposedly have micro crystals embedded in the tread for ice traction. Those could affect range, although Nokian says they have low rolling resistance and are great for EVs. I did not get their EV specific tire, though.


Overall, I just don’t worry about it, since I just plug in at home.