T8 public charging

[Rojah]

I have used the Ecotricity "pumps" a number of times at motorway service stations and at Warrington IKEA. No problems so far with charging from the type 2 a/c charging cable, though one has to position the car carefully as the a/c cable is so thick and rigid it can be a struggle to bend into position.

I noticed that there were other Ecotricity 240v a/c charge points, and these require a mannekes type 2 plugs and cable. Quick search of eBay, a 5m cable suitable for Volvos are about £110, so I have ordered one to carry about in the boot, just in case.

My only comment about motorway services is that the Ecotricity charge points seem to be infested with Nissan Leafs. I was changing up near Chorley whist Saturday papers, and an annoying Eco Leaf type flushed me out of Costa Coffee to complain that I was hogging the charge point, having been hooked up for 73 minutes. I can see this leading to Chargepoint rage next! (though to be fair, he probably had a point..but he kept babbling on about a charge buddy app, though at the time my coffee was more important that listening to him).

BTW 7000 miles, average 44.5mpg

Thanks Rojah

[AB-UK]

Is yours the bronze colour?

[yeoman]

BTW 7000 miles, average 44.5mpg

Thanks Rojah[/QUOTE]

I think your MPG is quite good. I recently test drove a T8 and found you need a foot a light as a blooming feather, not to set the combustion engine going!

The vehicle I test drove had an average of 21MPG( the driver did admit he was driving at about 120MPh for some time as he wanted to see "how it felt at that speed"...(Lucky for him the speed camera guys were otherwise engaged)

I'd be happy with sort of MPG.

[Clan]

Originally Posted by yeoman

BTW 7000 miles, average 44.5mpg

Thanks Rojah

I think your MPG is quite good. I recently test drove a T8 and found you need a foot a light as a blooming feather, not to set the combustion engine going!

The vehicle I test drove had an average of 21MPG( the driver did admit he was driving at about 120MPh for some time as he wanted to see "how it felt at that speed"...(Lucky for him the speed camera guys were otherwise engaged)

I'd be happy with sort of MPG.[/QUOTE]

There is not much help at all from the hybrid system there , 44 mpg is not getting much benefit at all . When the system is being used favourably you should be getting well over 100 mpg , is there a lot of motorway driving ?
I know of 2 or 3 V60 Hybrids averaging 130+ mpg they are being used in favourable conditions of course .

[yeoman]

Originally Posted by Clan

I think your MPG is quite good. I recently test drove a T8 and found you need a foot a light as a blooming feather, not to set the combustion engine going!

The vehicle I test drove had an average of 21MPG( the driver did admit he was driving at about 120MPh for some time as he wanted to see "how it felt at that speed"...(Lucky for him the speed camera guys were otherwise engaged)

I'd be happy with sort of MPG.

There is not much help at all from the hybrid system there , 44 mpg is not getting much benefit at all . When the system is being used favourably you should be getting well over 100 mpg , is there a lot of motorway driving ?
I know of 2 or 3 V60 Hybrids averaging 130+ mpg they are being used in favourable conditions of course .[/QUOTE]

I suppose if you drove like a geriatrician,charged your car daily, never use your audio,turned off the AC as you need several layers of tweed attire to keep warm (even in the summer),you should get 100+mpg on average.

[Philip Fisher]

Originally Posted by Clan

I think your MPG is quite good. I recently test drove a T8 and found you need a foot a light as a blooming feather, not to set the combustion engine going!

The vehicle I test drove had an average of 21MPG( the driver did admit he was driving at about 120MPh for some time as he wanted to see "how it felt at that speed"...(Lucky for him the speed camera guys were otherwise engaged)

I'd be happy with sort of MPG

There is not much help at all from the hybrid system there , 44 mpg is not getting much benefit at all . When the system is being used favourably you should be getting well over 100 mpg , is there a lot of motorway driving ?
I know of 2 or 3 V60 Hybrids averaging 130+ mpg they are being used in favourable conditions of course .

I am sorry but I dont believe 100mpg is possible in the real world. Even driving normally ie. Not hoofing it has given me 22 mpg on one fill up and 25 on the next. To be averaging 130 mpg they must be just on electric most of the time.....

[Clan]

Originally Posted by Philip Fisher

I am sorry but I dont believe 100mpg is possible in the real world. Even driving normally ie. Not hoofing it has given me 22 mpg on one fill up and 25 on the next. To be averaging 130 mpg they must be just on electric most of the time.....

Driving a plug in hybrid needs a completely different method to anything else , It becomes or should become a new goal to get the best mpg by doing things differently , otherwise why spend so much extra for it ? If you are getting 44 mpg its probably running on the engine most of the time . ( 25 mpg then engine all the time ) how often do you plug it in ? Have you explored the other driving modes and displays ?
I would be devastated if i bought a volvo hybrid and was only getting 44 mpg let alone 25 mpg .. there has to be a lot of research done before deciding this is the car for you or me .. and yes it is quite possible to get over 100 mpg , that is the whole point of this very expensive highly complex technology . It isn't a case of either diesel or electric , there are blends of both either or none , and charging the battery on the move by using momentum and braking . Actually if it is being driven correctly it shouldn't ever need new brake pads . i hope you manage to improve the fuel consumption by at least half to start with then go for the 100+ mpg when you have got used to it and learned more .

[Philip Fisher]

Originally Posted by Clan

Driving a plug in hybrid needs a completely different method to anything else , It becomes or should become a new goal to get the best mpg by doing things differently , otherwise why spend so much extra for it ? If you are getting 44 mpg its probably running on the engine most of the time . ( 25 mpg then engine all the time ) how often do you plug it in ? Have you explored the other driving modes and displays ?
I would be devastated if i bought a volvo hybrid and was only getting 44 mpg let alone 25 mpg .. there has to be a lot of research done before deciding this is the car for you or me .. and yes it is quite possible to get over 100 mpg , that is the whole point of this very expensive highly complex technology . It isn't a case of either diesel or electric , there are blends of both either or none , and charging the battery on the move by using momentum and braking . Actually if it is being driven correctly it shouldn't ever need new brake pads . i hope you manage to improve the fuel consumption by at least half to start with then go for the 100+ mpg when you have got used to it and learned more .

I think the whole subject is clouded by plugging in and not plugging in, so let me try and split out the two:

If you don't ever plug in:

The car runs on unleaded and when you slow down it charges the battery whilst the engine cuts out. When you accelerate again it uses this regen electric to drive the car. So far so simple. But the regen does not recover all your momentum in fact in my experience if you coast to a stop you might recover 20% as electricity. So the whole hybrid power train increases your efficiency over a T6 by lets say about 20%, if you are driving in and around the city when you slow down and accelerate a lot. Having driven a T8 for the last 1200 miles I reckon that in these circumstances, with lots of city driving, a gentle right foot and gentle braking you might, and I mean might, get 35mpg. Let's not forget that this is a 2.3 tonne SUV.

If you do plug in:

If you plug in enough, then you can do a million miles per gallon, or a billion in fact. The notion of plugging in, and then using your free miles of electric to boast your stated mpg is a bit misleading. Take the example above and assume that the tank is a comfortable 10 gallons. On unleaded alone your range is 350 miles. If, on one tank, you plug in 5 times, and get a full charge, then you boost your range to 450 miles and your effective mpg goes to 45mpg (but remember your base use of unleaded remains at 35mpg). Plug in 10 times and we are up to 55mpg and so it goes on. Plug in 100 times for one tank and your mpg is 235, I am sure you get the picture. If your electric is free then I guess there is some validity to quoting an mpg of 235, if you pay for the electric then there is less validity.

I would be very interested where this 100mpg you have quoted comes from, and how it is achieved, because as a T8 driver I do not think it is possible in any situation other than plugging in constantly.

Volvo have produced a lovely car with a great tax co2 percentage which I really like a lot, I am not disappointed in the car, I was never so naive as to believe the official mpg. Fundamentally they have not managed to rewrite the rules of physics, nor have they produced a continuous motion machine.

[Rojah]

Philip,

I could not have articulated what you have just said any better, thank you and well done!

By the way, I regularly get over 100mpg, before the battery runs out in about 19 to 20 miles, then as a petrol hybrid the 100 + mpg is diluted by the 34mpg I tend to get from then on. Perfectly acceptable and certainly better than the two RX Lexus I used to drive, and infinitely better than my Plug In Prius....

Quite frankly the T8 is the best car I have ever had, and with the added bonus of 5% bik tax with a near 45mpg overall, no congestion charge etc etc.

I note also in the Daily Telegraph they have a long term XC90 diesel struggling to get 30 mpg. Now that would make me really unhappy!

Cheers for now

Roj

Oh and someone asked previously the colour of my T8 = white

[Paulj1]

went out in car this weekend.....

I have a ecotricity card and a Charge your car card, so went to a charge point.... unauthorised user message..... didn't work

Went to shopping centre, charging posts need a female to male 21 pin connector, volvo don't supply that so no charging.

Went to IKEA, only one cable with 21 pin connector other bay had different connector... no charging

went to shopping centre.... got in bay this time with 21 pin, cable to short, moved car, cable is pulling on connector, so wouldn't start charging, still not sure charging point recognised my card.... no charging.

Have ordered a cable..... a new learning i guess.