2024 Equinox EV low efficiency

[iub4pu]

Just purchased an Equinox EV 2RS. I am coming up on my first 1000 miles. I am reading about people getting 4.0 mi/kwh but I am getting nowhere near that. When I look at the lifetime number it is 2.7 mi/kwh!!!!! It doesn't seem to matter much what kind of driving I do (interstate, hwy, city) the best I've ever seen is about 3.1 mi/kwh. What am I doing wrong? I am a first time EV buyer. Should I have the dealership service department look at this? At this efficiency, my range for 100% charge is only 230 miles. I know there are many factors, but this is a huge difference from what I'm reading other people stating they are getting.
Typical drive has been 80% highway/interstate driving, 20% city. A/C set to 68, outside temperatures have been 80 - 90 degree F, highway/interstate driving 65-75 mph, have not driven in rain, no real wind, almost entirely daytime driving.
Would like some input as to what I should do, or what I am doing wrong.

 

[ricklack]

Are you using Top tier electricity? Sorry, I couldn't resist, I know nothing about EVs.

 

[stanwagon]

I live in a cold climate (9500 ft elevation) so I cannot say what %age the AC uses. Check the screen that says what %age of your energy is going to AC. Your high temperatures should help out the efficiency. Driving a lot at 75 mph would hurt it. I drive only about 20% of my miles on interstates at 65 mph. I am getting 4.1 mi/kWh on my 2024 AWD Equinox EV (low air resistance here at 9500 feet) So your numbers do seem excessively low.

 

[iub4pu]

Thanks for your reply Stanwagon. This is what I have learned since my original post. I made a 450 mile trip, mostly interstate and highway miles. The only difference was that I turned on One Pedal Driving. For that trip, I averaged 3.4 mi/kw!!!!! That is a significant increase. So far that has held up since I've been home. Yesterday, I made a trip of 50 miles and I set the OPD to high. I got 3.9 mi / kw. I can't believe that OPD could make that big of difference but it has. It has put my mind at ease about the efficiency that I was getting. I'm now at 1600+ total miles driven and my lifetime efficiency has come up to 3.4 mi / kw from the 2.7 that I was at.

 

[stanwagon]

That is very interesting. It seems to indicate that there is a lot of mechanical braking going on without the OPD setting on. That is odd. I have a RAV4 Prime (plug-in hybrid) and the Equinox. Touching the brake on the Toyota one sees the regeneration immediately. I would not have thought Chevy was different, but something is going on. Background: I bot a Bolt in 2017 and put 70000 miles on it. That got about 4.3 lifetime (rating is 3.9). There was the battery recall/replacement. As noted, the Equinox is getting 4.1+, though its rating is 3.2. I do not know if the Ultium battery on the new car will suffer in winter as much as the Bolt did. Outside temp makes a huge difference. Note that heated seats and steering wheel are often adequate, and they use MUCH less energy than the resistance heater. It is possible the Equinox has a small heat pump. Teslas do. Bolt did not. Anyway, of course with the Bolt I loved the very aggressive braking (regen) when one lifts off the accelerator. So on the Equinox I immediately set that setting to HIGH, as you have presumably now done. Note the AUTOHOLD feature, which I like (tho not relevant to energy use). From a BOLT user forum I learned that the lower air drag here near 10,000 feet makes a huge difference to fuel economy so that explains my good numbers. [[I actually wrote a paper on some of the ways the Bolt and Tesla measure economy. Send me a private message or look me up (I am Stan Wagon) and I can send you a copy if you want.

 

[sdeck]

I just moved from a 2017 Volt (RIP BECM failure at 180 K) to a 2026 Equinox EV LT. Highway speeds, using brake pedal, high acceleration, and HVAC are major efficiency killers in Volt. Assume same here. I love the Nox EV though. Bigger, quieter, more comfortable. Be perfect w/ CarPlay

 

[stanwagon]

Just an update here: 1.5 years with my Equinox EV (Silverthorne, Colo.) Lifetime rate is 4.2 mi/kWh. Now it is cold here at 9500 feet, so for a few months it will be about 3.4 or 3.5. I find it essential to keep the regenerative braking on HIGH. That way, on snowy or slick roads, the instant I lift off I get good deceleration. I never touch the brake pedal. My E'nox is 2024. I believe the 2026 advertises greater range, but still with 85 kWh battery so GM is getting more efficiency out of the battery.

 

[sdeck]

I have a 50 mile one way commute in the Colorado foothills. Gain about 1000 feet going to work. Average around 3.3. Coming home on the downhill, it’s around 4.7.

 

[stanwagon]

SGM uses mi/kWh; the total rate for your trip is the "harmonic mean" of your two values: HM(3.3, 4.7) = 3.88 mi/kWh for your 100-mile trip. That is of course nicely greater than the rated efficiency (3.2 for 2024). Lower air resistance helps a lot.

 

[Haddock]

Just an update here: 1.5 years with my Equinox EV (Silverthorne, Colo.) Lifetime rate is 4.2 mi/kWh. Now it is cold here at 9500 feet, so for a few months it will be about 3.4 or 3.5. I find it essential to keep the regenerative braking on HIGH. That way, on snowy or slick roads, the instant I lift off I get good deceleration. I never touch the brake pedal. My E'nox is 2024. I believe the 2026 advertises greater range, but still with 85 kWh battery so GM is getting more efficiency out of the battery.

I hear you, but is it advised in slippery situation to tune of regenerative breaking as it can put you in to a spin.

 

[stanwagon]

I hear you, but is it advised in slippery situation to tune of regenerative breaking as it can put you in to a spin.

Interesting comment. Thanks. I do try to put it into Snow&Ice mode (AWD) when roads are white.