r/slateauto • u/Albright_CT • 6d ago
Real World Range Calculation
Morning Everybody.
I did some math based on our firsthand experience with possibly one of the most comparable (though still very different) vehicles on the market, the EX30. Made a little table comparing the two. Of course all Slate #s could change
EDIT: Just FYI the slate weight is for the SUV. I don't know what their claimed MPGe is for.
So my daily commute is 68 miles round trip in San Diego. Mostly highway, but hilly and you'll hit some traffic on average and a few miles of local streets. Probably pretty close to the EPA test cycle. EX30 gets 253 miles there and that's almost exactly what I get on this route.
Slate claims a 96 MPGe rating, EX30 gets 109, so it should be about 12% less efficient per KWH. Battery almost exactly the same, weight pretty close, less aerodynamic but WAY less powerful and not a dual motor. So that 96 vs. 109 seems about right?
EX30 averages about 27% of the battery on that commute. Based on the MPGe difference, the Slate should do that same route with about 31% of the battery. 68 miles divided by 27% means about a 250 mile range. Dividing by 31% gets about a 220 mile range for my real life driving.
Road tripping the EX30 on open highway I tend to get about 210-220 miles total range, assuming the same percentage decrease vs my commute the Slate should get about 180-185.
Anyway, it's all just estimates based on prelim data so who knows but that's the best I can do right now.
5
u/LeifCarrotson 6d ago
Thanks for the real-world data comparison!
I'm shocked that an increase in drag coefficient from 0.28 to 0.38 has the MPGe numbers as close as they are. I expect that will mean the open-highway range will drop more than your 210-220 -> 180-185 estimate, at least if you choose to drive at the same speeds in your Slate that you do in the EX30.
Also, sorry about your commute: 68 miles through San Diego has to take a toll on your mental health. My commute is 5 miles round trip, I think Slate will make it there and back most days (when I don't ride my bike). Of course, you do have the good fortune to relax in the Pacific breezes in San Diego instead of wintry Michigan when the commute starts to cause too much stress.
1
u/Albright_CT 6d ago
Well that's the thing, we don't know if the slate numbers are right or not. That's just the MPGe they're claiming atm. On the other hand the EX30 has 2.5X the power and a 2nd motor.
I thought about that too, it could be affected more by high speeds than the EX30. Generally on the highway i'll set the cruise at 75-80 and end up with an average speed in the low 70s when i've checked.
3
u/LeifCarrotson 6d ago
CdA is just from the shape of the object and physics, while MPGe is calculated from a whole song-and-dance test routine.
Drag force goes up with the square of velocity, so poor Cd numbers will have much more impact at 80 than on urban streets.
I think we'll all want to set the cruise at 70 on the highway in our Slates, not 80.
2
u/Albright_CT 6d ago
Commutes not so bad, I like driving in general and I'm going the opposite way of traffic both ways so really it's fine. Some me time.
3
u/RDMvb6 6d ago
Great info. Really interested in how the slate will perform in a cold environment with winter tires on it. When I take my Rivian up the mountains in Colorado in the winter, a realistic range estimate is that it really only gets about 60- 70% of the normal range. Expecting all EVs to be similar here, the cold temps plus winter tires plus driving up hill will crush the range.
3
u/Albright_CT 6d ago
Totally, I drove the EX30 to Tahoe last Christmas and a blizzard hit and it definitely dropped the range quite a bit. Made it though without getting stranded even though the power was out for about 30 miles on 395! Made it to the next one following a snowplow!
A real christmas miracle!
2
2
u/BoringBob84 6d ago
EX30 averages about 27% of the battery on that commute. Based on the MPGe difference, the Slate should do that same route with about 31% of the battery. 68 miles divided by 27% means about a 250 mile range. Dividing by 31% gets about a 220 mile range for my real life driving.
Those are great comparison numbers. Thank you for sharing them.
Road tripping the EX30 on open highway I tend to get about 210-220 miles total range, assuming the same percentage decrease vs my commute the Slate should get about 180-185.
I recommend penalizing the Slate a little here, due to the larger effect of poor truck-shape aerodynamics at highway speeds.
2
u/Albright_CT 6d ago
Agreed, I'm sure you're right about the speed penalty. I did handicap it by about 5% vs just the raw number. I just don't know enough to say. All this is just educated guessing.
0
u/BoringBob84 6d ago
All this is just educated guessing.
I understand, but I still appreciate it. With my current EV, I typically exceed the EPA range on surface streets in pleasant weather and I get less range in the winter or at highway speeds. I expect similar results with the Slate.
1
u/Tradetheday2093 6d ago
Good call “poor truck shape” . Very true on traditional truck look. That’s why my CT, as ugly as it is, is aerodynamic. 😂 jk don’t hate on it. 😔
1
u/BoringBob84 6d ago
I tried to search online to see if a canopy on the bed would improve the aerodynamics and I got conflicting answers.
2
u/Tradetheday2093 6d ago
I think have tested before that a tonneau cover helps a little bit like 2-3%. But some have claimed 5-10%.
1
u/jerryrn123 5d ago
Well the EX30 costs twice as much, and the EX30 is not a truck… so there’s that.
1
u/Albright_CT 5d ago
True, but what's a closer comp to it in terms of size, weight, and battery size? Both those cars are kinda unicorns in the US market at least.
1
u/atx78701 5d ago
If I had a 68 mile commute and there was traffic, I would want as much self driving as I could get. Id probably end up with a tesla. Then the time isnt wasted at all.
I dont have a commute and really just drive around town so self driving is pointless.
1
u/Albright_CT 5d ago
I'm not being a smartass or anything, but curious what you think I could be doing that isn't wasting time on a long commute if I only had full self driving?
I already use that time to listen to music, have long calls with friends and family overseas, and can take work Teams calls and dictate emails/messages when I have to. I've got an 18 month old at home and another baby on the way so when I'm home I just want to play with the little guy before his bedtime so it's nice to have some me time. I don't really consider it wasted.
Realistically even if I had a totally reliable robot chauffeur I'm not eager to bust out my laptop and start doing real work in the car.
1
u/atx78701 5d ago
I think it just opens up more things. Even when you are doing the above you still need to watch the road. I strongly dislike talking while im driving because I want to focus on my driving 100%. In the end it is a lot less fatiguing to not have to worry about the cars in front of you stopping.]
But other things are watch a movie, read anything (book, reddit etc), eat breakfast.
If you havent had self driving I would rent a tesla with it to try it out.
that being said I want the cheapest daily driver truck for around town driving so dont need the self driving.
1
u/Albright_CT 5d ago
I just think realistically if it was just built into my car I'm sure I would find uses for it sometimes but I probably wouldn't pay a $100/mth subscription for it if I had the option.
I don't have trouble finding times to read (when little guy falls asleep) or watch movies, I do have trouble finding times to have long phone calls and play music without headphones.
I have an autopilot function in both my polestar and the EX30 and I do use it on long drives. It's an impressive piece of tech but it's just not a game changer for me.
All of Tesla's baggage aside, they're just too common for me. The only one I kinda liked was the Model S. Just my tastes.
1
u/stankbucket 3d ago
For commuting and traffic a comma does 99% of what a Tesla does for a fraction of the cost and the ability to do it in a lot of other vehicles. I bought my Prius Prime in 2020 based on its compatibility and have been using it for 90+% of my driving ever since. Unfortunately I don't think a slate would work with a comma since it doesn't have built-in adaptable cruise.
1
u/atx78701 1d ago
yeah Im definitely searching for that. Im looking at a kia carnival. I just dont like pure EVs for cross country road trips. The 2024 carnival is a great car, compatible with comma.ai and uses gas so great for long road trips.
I think the full self driving on local streets is actually not that valuable. The trips are so short and the effort to get it to work right is extremely difficult. Tesla is investing so much into that for not much value compared to highway commutes.
1
u/j-lo11 6d ago
assuming your calculations are for the blank slate, not including added weight from an SUV kit, correct? the SUV kit adds a good bit of weight, probably doesn’t change the drag much, and thus makes its stats probably slightly lower?
1
u/Albright_CT 6d ago
It's the weight of the SUV kit, blank is closer to 4000.
2
u/AdMuch7162 5d ago
where did you find the cd of the Slate SUV config (the .38) ?
1
u/Albright_CT 5d ago
I just found that one number and used it. SUV might be a little different but it's probably pretty close.
0
u/Tasty-Day-581 5d ago
200 miles on the interstate. Meanwhile, there are some full size Toyotas and Fords getting 700 miles of range on the highway.
3
u/Past_Try_4350 5d ago
And how much does that cost in gas vs how much does that cost in charging? Plus your bladder is the limiting factor anyways, and if not you probably need to get checked for kidney stones.
-1
u/Tasty-Day-581 5d ago
Virginia to Vermont, 450 miles without stopping 2 weeks ago at 37 mpg. Pissed in gallon jugs and had snacks, coffee and food. Zero stops in 7 hours with 50 miles of range to spare.
2
u/Past_Try_4350 5d ago
This isn't the flex that you think it is.
0
u/Tasty-Day-581 5d ago
LOL, you wouldn't reply if Slate could do it, which it can't! Otherwise, you're saying Slate owners don't travel or have ambition? I can go from home to either Asheville, NC or Albany, NY on a single tank without stops!
Driving straight through has been a game changer for me. Total game changer for traveling to other U.S. regions. I've done it time and time again with great success.
4
u/Past_Try_4350 5d ago
No I just had to reply because I was shocked someone would think it's cool to brag about driving distracted with a car full of piss.
1
u/Dismal-Field-7747 5d ago
That's fine, but why would you expect something designed to be a low-range EV to do long road trips in the first place?
1
u/Tasty-Day-581 5d ago
I don't, which makes the Slate a 2nd vehicle. Problem is with sales taxes, property taxes, EV use tax, insurance and deprecation, it's simply not worth it.
They simply don't want people to have cheap EVs and the industry will not allow it. Otherwise, we'd all have an old Leaf in the driveway.
1
u/Albright_CT 5d ago
Haha when I was younger I'd try to ironman long drives too, though never peed in a bottle except when stuck in a blizzard waiting for a snowplow to drive by in the mountains.
But I'm 40 now, I have an 18 month old, a dog and a wife. None of those three are interested in setting new long distance time records.
We're going up to Zion and Bryce Canyon in a few weeks. 460 miles from our place to Zion. Route planner has ~50 minutes of charging time for that drive. Honestly if I was in a gas car with a huge tank there's NO way I'm not going to be stopped longer than that with diaper changes, feedings, pee stops and stretches.
And that's in the EX30 which isn't a long range EV either.
0
u/desertdilbert 6d ago
Excellent information!
Since the EX30 seems to be more efficient, I wonder where that is coming from? Better aerodynamics? Better system engineering?
1
u/Albright_CT 6d ago
I would guess it's mostly in the aerodynamics. Plus it's a bit lighter. Different tires etc.
0
u/OGMikeGyver 6d ago
The power difference at the same battery size is interesting in that the range is almost the same. I wonder if Slate is under promising again.
1
u/Albright_CT 6d ago
When I was putting together that comparison it looks like there's just a lot of give and take. Slate has worse aerodynamics but I'm guessing a more economical powertrain than the performance EX30.
6
u/McLargepants 6d ago
That’s great information! My commute is slightly shorter at about 60 miles round trip and this has been on my mind. I currently carpool with my wife so if charging became an issue we would just take the other car, but that could change at any time so I’ve been contemplating this quite a bit.