High speed range fail in the Kia Niro

Range fail

So I had a roughly highway 100-mile drive to make with just about 200 miles of range and of I went without paying much attention. Then I noticed what was going to be a total range fail.

That is, I was in no way going to get the 200 miles the car promised and was going to be close to using all the range in the single 100-mile trip!

I began comparing the miles added to the odometer to the miles subtracted from the remaining range, and it became clear that I was using twice as many range miles than was being recorded.

For the record, this is not a complaint, as it was in fact the most useful range has ever been in my experience. The Polestar used to count down by 10s above 100 miles range and by five below 100 remaining. Completely unhelpful.

Also for the record, I was on cruise control at 74 miles an hour. Yes, speeding…

Once I had done the math, I reduced to 62 mph. I hit the sweet spot the first time, meaning that the miles added to the odometer began a one-to-one relationship with the miles lost to range.

In effect, by not paying attention, or knowing this information in regard to the Niro, I threw away ~70 miles of range to impatience. I could easily have done the trip at 62 mph and passed an occasional slowpoke with little loss.

Finally, another for the record, I often use the freeway or interstate for short hops and have never looked at the range results. I will be sure to stay in the vicinity of 62 mph going forward.

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