We had the car for 4 days. I had to leave on a trip for work and while gone my brother in law came into town. They horsed around with the car a bit and came back home without plugging back in. Then her brother said she and the kids should travel (60 miles one way) to see my nephew's basketball game. After looking at the charge (180 rated), I suggested plugging into the 14-50 and range charge until they left, heat it up while plugged in, drive no more than 70mph, and keep the heat down just to be on the safe side. Temps were in the single digits and the car was to sit outside a few hours. She said they probably wouldn't go and I left it at that.
Later, out of sheer boredom in the terminal, I pulled up the app and noticed the car was "driving" and the range had dropped significantly. I looked at the location tab and watched her driving in excess of 85mph with big speed changes, likely racing her brother while on the interstate! I called to ask what she's doing and told her to slow down or she won't make it home. I asked if she'd charged it any like I suggested. Nope. I then ask if she brought the charge cord to charge while they sit. NOPE! I was sick, I wanted her to turn around because we just don't intimately know the cold weather behavior of this car. I decided this would be our "failure is not an option" winter test.
While parked, I monitored the state of the car. When she unlocked the car and opened the door I killed the climate control from 1000 miles away(how cool/creepy is that?!?). I knew she was going to do a show and tell of the car and wouldn't realize the car would be heating up for her, killing precious energy. Rated range was now 94 miles. Temp was 5F. 60 miles home with a headwind of 20kts. I instructed her to drive no more than 55 and to set "range mode" to "on". To conclude a long story, she easily made it home with 31 miles remaining. Range mode and 55mph gave nearly 1 to 1 rated/actual used. However, the app and it's ability to show the speed of the car and charge level allowed me to call and give instructions, preventing the car from ending up on a flatbed.
Later, out of sheer boredom in the terminal, I pulled up the app and noticed the car was "driving" and the range had dropped significantly. I looked at the location tab and watched her driving in excess of 85mph with big speed changes, likely racing her brother while on the interstate! I called to ask what she's doing and told her to slow down or she won't make it home. I asked if she'd charged it any like I suggested. Nope. I then ask if she brought the charge cord to charge while they sit. NOPE! I was sick, I wanted her to turn around because we just don't intimately know the cold weather behavior of this car. I decided this would be our "failure is not an option" winter test.
While parked, I monitored the state of the car. When she unlocked the car and opened the door I killed the climate control from 1000 miles away(how cool/creepy is that?!?). I knew she was going to do a show and tell of the car and wouldn't realize the car would be heating up for her, killing precious energy. Rated range was now 94 miles. Temp was 5F. 60 miles home with a headwind of 20kts. I instructed her to drive no more than 55 and to set "range mode" to "on". To conclude a long story, she easily made it home with 31 miles remaining. Range mode and 55mph gave nearly 1 to 1 rated/actual used. However, the app and it's ability to show the speed of the car and charge level allowed me to call and give instructions, preventing the car from ending up on a flatbed.