Actual MPG on 2020 Countryman Hybrid?

1392 Views 5 Replies 3 Participants Last post by mike1967, Apr 3, 2020

ntrainer

Discussion Starter · Mar 28, 2020

I'm writing from the U.S., where I find it is difficult to decode hype from fact (and, perhaps, where we are speaking to a particularly slippery showroom salesman). Our showroom salesman was telling us that while it's true there is an "all-electric range" on the 2020 Countryman S E that's quite low (some say 13 miles, some say 16), and there is an mpg rating of 27 mpg, this 27 mpg figure is based on "all gas" operation... and that in practice, most people will drive this car in a sort of "normal" mode that maximizes the engine's ability to operate as a hybrid. He claims he has customers who are going about 400-500 miles before they need to refuel. Since the gasoline engine is just under 10 gallons, that would translate to a 40-50 mpg rating.

Is this true? Those of you who own one of these hybrids: Please set me straight. What sort of mileage do you usually achieve?

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dgl

· #2 · Mar 31, 2020

ntrainer said:
I'm writing from the U.S., where I find it is difficult to decode hype from fact (and, perhaps, where we are speaking to a particularly slippery showroom salesman). Our showroom salesman was telling us that while it's true there is an "all-electric range" on the 2020 Countryman S E that's quite low (some say 13 miles, some say 16), and there is an mpg rating of 27 mpg, this 27 mpg figure is based on "all gas" operation... and that in practice, most people will drive this car in a sort of "normal" mode that maximizes the engine's ability to operate as a hybrid. He claims he has customers who are going about 400-500 miles before they need to refuel. Since the gasoline engine is just under 10 gallons, that would translate to a 40-50 mpg rating.

Is this true? Those of you who own one of these hybrids: Please set me straight. What sort of mileage do you usually achieve?

Maybe I can help ..........I have had my Mini PHEV for about 12 months now .........I am retired and a volunteer on the canals in England so my journeys are short , less than 10-20 miles I typically get 16-18 miles from battery alone . This has depended on ambient temperature for charges etc , so in Winter 16 miles in Summer 20 miles on battery alone . But of course heater , seat warmers , lights a/c will impact on distances achieved .
Also on a longer journey (these are in Imperial units not US gallons etc) my tank+ batteries will take me about 240 miles , but after 230 miles I have 100 miles left in the tank/batteries ..........this is because of the regeneration . So far I use need about 9 miles per Kw petrol consumption is 63 MPG (imperial) and regeneration (recuperation) is 12 miles per Kwatt.......this is real data from a user that wants to keep cost down and as green as I can be .........hope this helps .

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ntrainer

Discussion Starter · #3 · Mar 31, 2020

Thanks for the information, dgl. The way our salesman pitched the PHEV to us was quite different than how you're using your car, so that's interesting in and of itself. He suggested that using the car on "all-electric" mode wouldn't be fuel-efficient for most people. Instead, he suggested that we would use the "hybrid" mode for the most part, and thus the real question (for me) is how many miles you can go in this "hybrid" mode -- plugging in every night to get the electric motor up to snuff -- before needing to refuel.

Our journeys are likely to be short on a daily basis, and we would not use this car for longer family trips (as we have a station wagon for that). It would be used for commuting -- first for our daughter's school as she begins driving, and then when she heads to college (or university as you would say in Britain) it will become my husband's car. His job is about 19 miles from home, so that's 38 miles each day, with daily charging.

Do any of you use your PHEV this way? What kind of mileage are you getting in that mode (understanding that the mileage is different in summer or winter, or whether you live in a hilly area or not, or whether you drive with a "lead foot", etc. etc.). Just looking for a round figure, no need to get too technical. ?

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dgl

· #4 · Mar 31, 2020

ntrainer said:
Thanks for the information, dgl. The way our salesman pitched the PHEV to us was quite different than how you're using your car, so that's interesting in and of itself. He suggested that using the car on "all-electric" mode wouldn't be fuel-efficient for most people. Instead, he suggested that we would use the "hybrid" mode for the most part, and thus the real question (for me) is how many miles you can go in this "hybrid" mode -- plugging in every night to get the electric motor up to snuff -- before needing to refuel.

Our journeys are likely to be short on a daily basis, and we would not use this car for longer family trips (as we have a station wagon for that). It would be used for commuting -- first for our daughter's school as she begins driving, and then when she heads to college (or university as you would say in Britain) it will become my husband's car. His job is about 19 miles from home, so that's 38 miles each day, with daily charging.

Do any of you use your PHEV this way? What kind of mileage are you getting in that mode (understanding that the mileage is different in summer or winter, or whether you live in a hilly area or not, or whether you drive with a "lead foot", etc. etc.). Just looking for a round figure, no need to get too technical. ?

Im not surprised the sales person did not have all the details , you have to use one of these cars to know the difference ..........the other thing thats different is using the recuperation as a brake to recharge the batteries , so the regen acts as a brake (the indicator on the dashboard tells you when your charging), so its slightly different way of driving !
Just to say that you will not get 38 miles ...........what i do is I drive in Electric mode in built up areas and then switch to save mode out of town (country roads) to extend the range(and pollute less in towns) , so in save mode you will recharge the batteries when braking or going down hill hence you can do more than the 16-20 miles by using the engine (or if this is too complex just put it in auto (but that will select batteries as preferred power source). Having visited the USA last year I think you are better positioned with charging points , so perhaps there is , or might be a charge point at his place of work ! ?
I have a government sponsored charger (3.8Kwatt) and this takes 2 hours to fully charge the car (typically)........

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ntrainer

Discussion Starter · #5 · Mar 31, 2020

My husband wouldn't have a charger at his place of work (at the moment... who knows in 2 years), but we would plan on driving in that "Auto" mode just so we don't have to think about it. I think the salesman might have known "all the details" but was unwilling to commit to any figure, which was frustrating. He told us that figures vary wildly depending on how you use the car -- which, as I've researched more, is a fair point -- but that the way the PHEV is rated also isn't a "fair" rating because it assumes you first use up the electric power, and then switch to all-gas, so the car is rated at 270-300 miles per tank of gas. He says his customers get much more than that. I'm trying to understand if he's "blowing smoke," so to speak.

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mike1967

· #6 · Apr 3, 2020

there is some other info that need to be counted in, ie service costs ie brakes will last for ever near enough more so on electric mode all the time, tyres get more load on electric cars as power is not pulsed ie electric motor just keeps a strong load on them when a engine has pulses of power from a 4 cylinder 4 stroke engine this gives gaps in power so Tyre recovers where electric motors kill off tyres for a past time when driven with slight[y heavy right foot, big issues come with age and time will tell how well the battery will last in colder country less and warmer better really hot country's time will tell if any when get old start to fail and maybe fail etc, mini are planning to source the battery's and electronics from china i seen somewhere that will be interesting dont see much last to long from their to be honest. gone is the day where bmw products are built for a customer now its about what money can be made form us all it would seem many issues with many engines and systems over the years that never rarely get fixed is my view on them , built to last warranty times then buy new for sure

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