MG4 collection day

[JockoT]

I believe, rightly or wrongly, that the manufacturer sets the max and min charge to 80% - 20% so that 100% is actually 80% of fully charged with the same the other end.
That is why Tesla was able to temporarily increase the range of cars trying to escape Hurricane Irma in September 2017.

[trollbait]

Yeah, EVs and hybrids have buffers in the battery built in. That's why there is an usable capacity listing for the batteries. Then some let you set lower full points for charging. Tesla allows a real full charge for long trips. Regular fast charging can still be bad for the battery's long term health.

In the case of the hurricane, it only involved certain Teslas. Some of the shorter range models have the larger battery installed, but it's software locked. Tesla unlocked them for evacuation.

[Draigflag]

Originally Posted by LDB

Depending on what sources you believe, if you charge the battery as slowly as you conveniently can and keep it in the 20%-80% charged range it will significantly prolong battery life. Not sure if that's true but if I had gotten the EV I was considering I planned to test the theory.

This is a widely respected theory in the EV world. Then again, there's a fleet of Teslas that do airport runs near Gatwick here, three of them are on 300,000 ish miles on thier original batteries and are apparently on 84% capacity still. Unless faulty, batteries should outlive the car itself.

[trollbait]

Need to define slowly in regards to charging. The fast charging that can degrade a battery if used most of the time is the really fast public chargers that can charge an EV from 10% to 80% in under an hour. The charge rates of a home charger, even a faster one, or Level 2 public charger aren't a risk in that regard.

The general capacity loss of Li-ion batteries in the lab, and being seen with most EVs, is a fairly quick loss in the 2 to 3 years. Could be as high as 10%. After that it levels off to a really low rate; almost flat. It should hold to that for 8 or 10 years, maybe longer. Then it will go into another period of fast decline.

[LDB]

My understanding, from EV shopping last year, is charge it to almost 100% if you are about to leave on a long(er) drive that will consume down to below 80% without stopping and run it down to 10% or so if on a long trip to maximize driving. For general use, stay in the 80%-20% window. And charge as slowly as circumstances allow in each given instance. But I've eaten and slept since then so who knows.

[Draigflag]

The degradation will vary depending on the chemistry too, not just charging patterns, environmental factors and age. There's always going to be extremes at each end. The taxi driver that's done 300,000 miles in 4 years with a healthy battery, or the old lady who only does 2000 miles a year and has lost 20% already.

The MG4 has two different batteries, both have thier pros and cons. The standard range has a phosphate type battery which can be charged to 100% everytime, is cobalt free and lighter too. But the long range has a standard lithium ion battery. Time will tell which is better, probably not a lot in it. We won't be doing many long trips in Mum's, so it will be charged mostly to 80% on the 7KW home charger, which is considered slow. I think the max we saw was 80, rated higher but shared with a Mercedes so the power was split between the two. Was still up to 97% before I even finished lunch ha.

[trollbait]

tl;dr there are steps you can take to help preserve the battery if you want, but the software and design already does that good enough that most drivers won't have to worry about it.

The 20 to 80 percent charge range can apply to any Li-ion battery. Nearly all BEVs have a built in buffer of 15% to 20% split between the full and empty ends. Some have a larger buffer, and the software is programed to unlock the unusable portion to compensate for normal capacity loss.

Many BEVs allow charging to another percentage point, but not above the software's 'full' level. Li-ion is happiest in the 30% to 40% if being stored, or the car parked for some time. Tesla is to only one I know of that allows charging into the upper buffer to near 100%, and then there are confirmation screens warning of the risk.

The above applies to 'typical' Li-ion chemistries; NCM, NCA, etc. LFP(lithium iron phosphate), found in the Model 3 RWD and some Chinese models, can be safely charged to 100% without concerns. Which helps make up for its lower energy density.

In order to minimize charging times on trips, you want want to arrive at the charger at as low as safely possible. The low state of charge allows a faster charge rate to start, and over a larger portion of the charge time during the trip. You stop at 80% because the rate rapidly drops to protect the battery. The rate isn't much better than a level 2, and charging that last bit can take as long as the 70% of charging.

[LDB]

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https://survey.simpcar.co.uk/index.p...5750&newtest=Y

[Draigflag]

To everyone's surprise, the X Power edition is already hitting UK shores and is in UK showrooms. Rumours were it would be another year at least, but hey, the Chinese get things done, and done quick.

I'm awaiting a call from my dealer for a test drive, hopefully within the next two to three weeks. The stats are officially twin motor AWD with around 430 BHP, a 0-60 time of 3.8 seconds, top speed of 124 MPH and a reduced range of 239 miles. There also a larger battery but it's not available on the X Power for some reason, however that gives a 325 mile range on the top spec trophy model, which also has a more powerful than before motor option of 248 BHP and a 0-60 time of 6.5. Both are priced at circa £36500 which makes the X Power some kind of bargain for the Supercar like power output. Can't wait to try it!

[LDB]

I'd go for whatever has the best economy and if that is equal then with whatever has the most range. I'm sure even the lowest power output model is plenty peppy.