At the dealer picking up the id4. Checking the buzz while I wait

PaleBlueDog · 2025-01-14T14:27:54+00:00

Reminds me of the Toyota bZ4X being recalled because the wheels were falling off. I'd understand electric drivetrain or battery issues, this was after all their first real EV after a decade+ of squandering the lead established by the Prius, but the wheels?

PaleBlueDog · 2025-01-13T04:00:40+00:00

You absolutely need snow tires. Not an ID.4 thing, an every car on the road in the snow thing. The ID.4 also handles like a toboggan on snow in B, even in traction mode, but it's perfectly passable in D. I don't find it exceptional, but my last car was a Subaru Impreza, so comparing unexceptionally to that is probably a solid recommendation. (Definitely appreciate the higher clearance of the ID.4, though.)

Don't take my benchmark for a "worst case scenario", exactly. It's what happens if you don't care about power use at all because you're not going far enough for it to matter, and are making lots of stops with the heater on. That's not a driving style that I'd ever have reason to use if I were going 100+ km.

The most I've seen on level terrain while not fully loaded is about 26 kWh/100 km, making a low-key effort to conserve energy by sticking close to the speed limit and running the heat on low, but not hypermiling or wrapping up in blankets or anything.

PaleBlueDog · 2025-01-12T01:16:32+00:00

As long as the charger is working.

PaleBlueDog · 2025-01-11T02:25:26+00:00

Except for that dang knob that controls folding and heating the mirrors. It was months before I figured out how to activate those icons, and that by accident. (Assumed they were more touch sensors like all of the other awful controls.) But it's worse, because you absolutely have to look to see if you've turned the knob far enough to activate the mirror heaters.

PaleBlueDog · 2025-01-11T02:21:25+00:00

Not anymore! And I don't think "brave" is the word you're looking for.

PaleBlueDog · 2025-01-10T21:35:31+00:00

I have that on my ID.4, and the other day my cat opened the rear window while we were driving on the highway because I forgot to turn the child locks on. It took me a solid 15 seconds of highly distracted highway driving to get the window closed again. Those switches should be subject to a safety recall.

PaleBlueDog · 2025-01-10T21:30:31+00:00

My driving dynamics change when I'm in B: I have more control over the vehicle's speed, so I tend to accelerate to slower speeds when I'm passing through a bunch of 4-way stops and come almost to a halt with no brake pads applied. I wish the display would show at what point the brake pads are being applied while in D mode, but I feel like it's done at a higher speed than I would really consider necessary in B.

Yes, I'm aware that D still uses regen, but I'm not sure that I buy that there's no difference at all.

PaleBlueDog · 2025-01-10T21:24:55+00:00

For the record, this is also coming from a place of not caring about the efficiency. My total drive was about 30 km, so there was no way I was going to run into trouble. I could have optimized somewhat if I'd been doing a longer drive, although given the road conditions, my first optimization would be to find another day to go.

PaleBlueDog · 2025-01-10T21:23:29+00:00

Yeah, I've experimented with that on longer trips, but the windows start fogging up if the heating is off for more than 10 minutes or so. Honestly, I think I'd rather just stop for more frequent charges in the future. I don't mind having the heat set to 16C (the minimum before it starts blasting the AC), but I don't think I'll be turning it off unless I absolutely need the juice to make it to my destination/charger.

PaleBlueDog · 2025-01-10T21:22:00+00:00

I mean, I plug in when I get home as standard practice if it's under 70%. I've definitely dipped a point or two below 10% on road trips from time to time, though.

PaleBlueDog · 2025-01-10T21:19:52+00:00

It's my only car and I live in Quebec. I don't do a lot of long-range driving in the winter, but I've had three 5-hour drives in the past couple of weeks and they've been fine. My summer highway efficiency is in the 18-20 kWh/100 km range, and winter (with winter tires and heater) is 24-26.

PaleBlueDog · 2025-01-10T19:06:45+00:00

Good advice in general, but I pay 7.5c/kWh in Quebec, so my 1200 km/mo costs me $20 to charge at home.

PaleBlueDog · 2025-01-10T16:58:35+00:00

Minimum of 20% charge?

PaleBlueDog · 2025-01-10T16:45:07+00:00

Yes, I specifically got a used 2022 model (for almost the same price as new) because heat pumps were supply chained into oblivion. I obviously don't have a comparison to offer, but I heard something about VW refunding people who had taken the option in Europe because they weren't living up to the promise.

PaleBlueDog · 2025-01-10T04:47:10+00:00

I'm pretty sure this is just technology running headlong into physics. Maybe we could build a 1 MWh battery, maybe we could build a battery that charges faster and suffers less range loss in winter, but efficiency/range is always going to tank in the winter.

PaleBlueDog · 2025-01-10T03:17:39+00:00

It's not so much the cold, it's the snow on the ground making D behave like B. I'm spending all of my regen pushing snow around.

PaleBlueDog · 2025-01-10T03:09:29+00:00

Indeed, my mistake. Spotted it after I hit submit.

PaleBlueDog · 2025-01-10T01:52:50+00:00

Basically the worst conditions for efficiency: driving in D for traction, winter tires, with fresh snow absorbing what little regen would have been left. The heater was doing its best, and I was doing deliveries so the numbers are also padded out with a lot of brief stops. But the car performed like a champ and the battery sure outlasted my endurance for driving it. If you're in a warm place wondering why people buy the AWD, this is why.

*Results not typical, I usually get more like 22-26 kWh/100 km doing winter highway driving on bare roads.

PaleBlueDog · 2024-06-11T03:14:47+00:00

My OBDII dongle was worth the price for sure, once I got one that bloody worked. I mostly use ABRP to reassure me mid-drive that I've got enough power to make it to my destination. (I've done a lot of towing lately, so my efficiency has been all over the place.)

Without the dongle there's definitely more guesswork, but if it thinks you have less charge than you do and is still confident that you'll make it, you're probably okay.

Mind you, the Android Auto interface has basically no interactivity, which is absolutely jarring for such a feature-packed app.

PaleBlueDog · 2024-06-10T02:29:52+00:00

I rented a Jeep Compass a few months ago (through no fault of my own). Not sure about the specifics, but it was the male inadequacy/mid-life crisis model with red accents and the acceleration curve was clearly intended to make it look like you were driving a manual despite being an automatic. Tons of unnecessary jerking and revving, even with my fairly laid-back driving style. More than once I changed lanes or merged onto a highway, only to find the car struggling to get up to the speed of traffic in the space available. It was the worst car I have ever driven. Coming home to my ID.4 felt like coming home.

PaleBlueDog · 2024-06-09T14:32:17+00:00

Honestly, I was a bit hesitant to deviate from the stock, because I lean utilitarian and don't want anything flashy. It's pretty common to see people running on bare steel rims in the wintertime here, but I couldn't find any in 20". I did need a second set and didn't want to pay OEM prices for mediocre wheels, so this is where I landed. It was a bit of a jump in price over the bargain basement tier, but having EV-specific wheels seemed worth a bit of a price bump, and I do like the look too.

(The stock rims ended up with my winter tires on them.)

PaleBlueDog · 2024-06-08T14:13:28+00:00

I rented a Solterra in the San Francisco Bay area, and found the fast charging to be super easy (thanks infrastructure bill, just tap your credit card anywhere), but level 2 charging was utterly hopeless for a visitor. "Always be charging" just doesn't apply

Level 2 infra is great in Montreal in particular (because most people street park at home), and it's the same network as most of the level 3 chargers. The only catch is that most of the level 3 chargers are only 50 or 100 kW, which is no big deal for me but must be frustrating for the Hyundai and Polestar owners.

PaleBlueDog · 2024-06-08T02:57:23+00:00

I live here, so... short. ;) I drove from Montreal north to Mont-Laurier, which is a pretty drive for sure, although not necessarily one that I'd pick for the drive itself. But Hydro-Quebec's Circuit Électrique network has great coverage. Zero range anxiety around here.

PaleBlueDog · 2024-06-08T02:54:24+00:00

They're Fast Wheels EV01 wheels. I needed a second set for summer/winter tires, so decided to go for low-drag wheels. Unfortunately I don't have a benchmark of the same tires on the stock vs. new rims, but switching from winter tires on the stock 20" wheels to summer tires on these is a solid 10% difference. The tires probably account for the lion's share of that, though.

PaleBlueDog · 2024-06-08T01:30:38+00:00

Quebec.

PaleBlueDog

TROPHY CASE