Driving in winter, eco-sliding, cable costs, buying a plug-in hybrid, cold batteries & Hitler jokes.
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- Опубліковано 10 вер 2024
- After enjoying Christmas in summer (the way it should be) down in New Zealand, I had to learn what it was like to own an electric car in winter. This meant effectively learning the characteristics of the car all over again.
I was eager to discover exactly how much range the average electric car driver loses in the depths of winter, and there’s really only one way to find out: a series of cold weather comparison tests.
I also got to test-drive a BMW i3 which was nice, but it had a gas engine in the back, which made it less nice, and I had the chance to see an i3 being dismantled in a BMW service centre in Auckland. Fascinating stuff.
After years of wanting one I also bought a plug-in hybrid (an electric-assist bicycle) which, thanks to our destroyed climate, I was able to test-ride in the very middle of winter. In fact, this winter was so warm that I had trouble finding a day cold enough to really test the battery’s cold weather performance.
Some extra stuff in this video include turning off the traction control and doing ‘eco donuts’ in the snow (highly recommended in a rear wheel drive!), making lame Hitler jokes (the result of watching too much ‘Allo ‘Allo), plenty of glorious technical failures, meeting friendly electric car owners, and even appearing on the nightly news.
It wasn’t easy compressing around 7 hours of footage into 14 fun-filled minutes but I reckon the finished result is pretty entertaining with all the boring bits removed.
Check out www.kiwiev.com for more videos, photos and entertaining electric car related stuff!
Charge the car so it´s fully charged 30 minutes before leaving. That way it is a tiny bit varmer than if you charge it when arriving at destination. Also always preheat the car when plugged in.
You also should do everything you can to keep the car dry inside, remove snow from shoes, clean carpets after driving, dehumidify late in autumn so upholstery is dry. Take a pair of old socks, fill with cat litter clay and put under seats, never drive when recently taken a shower etc etc.
Even if you are not using heater, use fan to ventilate the car...
Drifting an I-Miev !! Classic !
Hello Gavin, great video as always.
We just bought a new 2016 iMiEV this past December and have driven it in -28c temperatures without any issues (the iMiEV will easily do 80km with the heater on at -25c). You failed to mention this but you can preheat the car before departure which drastically reduces battery consumption, and the heated seats help you stay nice and warm.
I would maybe recommend that you upgrade your winter clothing before installing a gas heater. Dressing more appropriately for the winter will keep you warmer and more comfortable when driving full electric. Lastly we invested in heated boot insoles (thermacell). The heated insoles has kept our toes and feet warm plus you don't waste electricity by trying to pump unnecessary heat into the car footwell (think wearing a sweater indoor and turning down the thermostat to conserve energy).
Brian
+Frosty Canada Look at 4:25 the Peugeot seems like they cheapened out on the keyfob which the Canadian i-Miev has (greetings from Toronto). The i-Miev has the fancy keyfob with the screen & antenna which allows the preconditioning doesn't seem to be the key used here.
+Trades46 I wasn't aware that the iOn didn't come with the remote to preheat the car. Poor Gavin. :( , I now understand why his windows were so frosted. We wouldn't have considered an iMiEV without the remote. Being able to preheat / cool the car + controlling the charging time is what makes using the iMiEV such a joy to use.
Frosty Canada
The fact you brought an i-Miev in Canada is even more of a surprise for me. Our winters are savage and even more so if you live up North. Also we severely lack the EV charging infrastructure the States & Europe enjoys.
I would love a pure EV. However, the range anxiety & Canada's unforgiving winters (and the fact I can't afford a Tesla) means I lean more to the Fusion Energi & Volt than the Leaf or i-Miev.
+Trades46 Hello, when compared to the other makes and models the iMiEV was the logical choice. Our daily commute is a 60km round trip between Montreal and the north shore (secondary roads / highway driving with lots of stop and go traffic) and that where the iMiEV shines. It's crazy to think that you can get a used 2014 model with super low miles for under 14k (nuts really).
+Frosty Canada continue ...we had the choice between the Nissan leaf, Ford Focus and or the Kia Sould and the Mitsubishi iMiEV was the clear winner.
I'm not saying the other cars were bad (all excellent really) but we found that the Mitsubishi i was the better fit for our needs, and we think people buy more electric car than what they really need.
The iMiEV is well built, uncomplicated to use, has three way charging, reliable batteries, etc, plus It seats four, decent trunk size, and it covers 95% of our daily commuting needs, plus Québec has an extensive charging network, with an ever expanding level 3 charging. You get over the range anxiety after 1-2 weeks of use. :)
Big improvement in video quality! way to go man
+Zimpaz Thanks mate!
Loved hearing you speak Slovak... I didn't understand anything, but I loved it :D well I did understand the subtitles ;)
+theRealRindberg Haha, I try not to speak Slovak on camera because my ability is so bad it sounds like I've just had a stroke!
cant7think7clearly Well to me it sounded perfect... maybe because I don't speak any Slovak ;) or... maybe because Sweden and New Zealand are so much alike, almost the same ;)
(I'm from Sweden)
+cant7think7clearly dude your Slovak speaking is great :D im from slovakia and you sound legit xD
Nice video! I've always been intrigued by the iMiev, seems like a cute little car. I completely agree with what you said around 00:50, I got my first EV in the summer so it sucked once winter came around. I planned the second one a bit better, buying it in the winter so summertime range was a pleasant surprise.
Always a joy to watch your video
Well, it seems that the Ion is more suitable for Greece where I live, than for Slovakia. -12° you say? That's not a country, that's a fridge! The thermometer rarely goes lower that 10° here.
In Canada, it gets to -35 in the winter and +35 in the summer.
Just stumbled up on your videos. Great content! Keep it up
Pre-heating while plugged in and a set of after market 12v start heaters should work pretty good. The seat heaters use alot less energy than the resistive heater.
Yep, the two plugs are what add to the price. The cable insulation is also *slightly* better (outdoor rated).
bought a used I-Miev in January here in Minnesota. turned out to be a great car for Tucson. i will survive my poor mans Tesla.
do you know if you can park/store the imev outdoors in winter time? it gets down to below 0f sometimes each winter, normall stays 0-20f all winter though
The Mennekes charging cable... Its not only the plugs. The charging cable includes the power wires and control wires + some electronics for the charger and car to communicate each other.
I´m lucky that i have a warm garage with an outlet! :D I´m from Finland and i´m going to buy Citroen C-Zero so it´ll be a test of the Asian build quality!
do you think it is possible to setup autopilot eon interface on ion ?
The BMW i3 is fun isn't it Gavin? I used to hate BMWs but I swore getting me into the i3 was one of the first BMW that I thoroughly enjoyed, even if the time I spent in it was short. Range is decent too; perfect for Canadian winters.
I love to see familiar roads. My girlfriend is from Bratislava and I am from Vienna and we often drive over this border crossing that you showed. BTW: I have just ordered my second E-Car, a Renault ZOE R240. This is to me the ideal electric car. Maybe we could meet some time in like 3-4 months, when I take delivery...
+Oliver Drobnik Awesome! The Zoe is a great looking EV. By all means, next time you're in Bratislava drop me a line and we can meet up!
+cant7think7clearly how would I message you? I didn't find any contact info on your website...
+Oliver Drobnik Whoops. I need to add that to my website! Send me an email me at gavinshoebridge@gmail.com :D
Great video, enjoyed your journey and info.
It doesn't look bad...that's what an "adventure" is all about
Should have your own tv show ,great
What device/ program are you using to get the data that you have displayed on the video?
It seems to be CANION
Brilliant video, thanks.
8:00 Exactly. The plugs are damn expensive. I saw one Female 32A on Ebay selling for 90,97 Euro. Seems that Menekes want's to earn on royalties or what.
how is you Slovak so good, holy crap
Name of the app?
Were you able to quick charge along the way or were you challenging the car's limits?
Did you put 46000km on your car in a year? Or it was second hand? (Either way, it's impressive with practically a 100km range)
OK. Your test is telling me that Tesla's Subzero Package does have sens here in Slovakia.
Good looking forester @1:00. :D
How adversely does the heater affect your range?
+Rick Ramalho Unfortunately quite a lot! In fact I think I'll install a little "parking heater" next winter to solve that problem.
Great video!
If you could would you want to build your own EV again or would you rather buy a high end EV like Tesla (if money were no issue)? I.e. what is more interesting: the building or the fact that it's electric?
+theRealRindberg I mean what's the more appealing part of EV? The engineering or the environment part?
+theRealRindberg Great question. I think the best part of an EV is being able to 'disconnect' from the oil industry. I love cars, but being addicted to gas just feels wrong. The environmental/cost savings are just massive cherries on the top!
Have you ever thought about building your own range-extender? It might help with the stress in those lengthy drives. Have a look at this link:
www.eptender.com/
Instead of petrol, maybe you can tow extra batteries with solar panels on top?
Thank you for all funny and educating videoes! (H....r socks hahaha!)
Could you share how you read all the data from your car? Where can I buy this equipment?
Thanks!
Looks like a phone app, maybe connected to the OBDII connector?
@@Tore_Lund canION application (android) and OBDLink LX Bluetooth "dongle" in OBD connector
@@jandedek6273 Thank you!
@@Tore_Lund There is some more adapters here evpositive.com/evbatmon-for-i-miev.html but the OBD link LS and MX are the only one which i see by my self working.
10:38 Well are they off to Fugging? (which as spelt as an "F word" no seriously it was!)
Here is the heating solution a guy in Wisconsin came up with for winter heating in his I-miev.
ua-cam.com/video/3RHiDYGPZlY/v-deo.html
The car can only lock using the key fob😲
No, it locks with the key also.
Great Video
Good to see that you are having fun but dont do it in NP NZ
really depressing, I love electric cars but this Peugeot is only for urban use not for long journeys , it is not worth the effort to drive without heating, you can get health problems from sitting in the cold
I drove the imiev version 80 miles in the summer in Georgia, USA. It performed well. But yes, it performs worse in the winter. The range will always be lower in the winter.
bad video .... that you can make.... why? you have to think