[cav8tor]

So I noticed that sometimes the bar next to kWh/100km and the range turns orange intermittently, usually when I accelerating up hills and at a lower charge state (less than 30%) or anything else that puts a big demand on the battery. It seems to be saying "watch your lead foot, you don't have a lot of charge left".

My question is (after looking in the manual and not finding anything) is does anyone know what the criteria for the bar turning orange or have found any documentation on the range assistant other than the manual which seems to be of limited usefulness.

 

[SeattleCat]

I thought it went orange when You were using way too much energy. I got it to 122 kW / 100 miles the other day and it was definitely not its default color.

We can probably work out how it works by experimenting on it

Citizen scientists attack

 

[XC90_Dinosaur]

I think activating the range assistant will tell you what is going to be limited. No idea about what are you asking specifically. Mine says it will limit the functionality of the AC. After that I drove kinda hard and never checked back with that range assistant. Anyway I have longer than usual trip tomorrow and will see.

 

[SeattleCat]

They are talking about the bar on the left side. It changes color.

 

[XC90_Dinosaur]

They are talking about the bar on the left side. It changes color.

No idea...

 

[arijaycomet]

You’re talking about the top left bar that shows the MIN/MAX range, has a color change, and a triangle pointer, correct? I’ve noted the color change, the triangle at the top, middle, or bottom, but without any real rhyme or reason.

My hypothesis is that the othe 3x items (climate, speed, drive style) aggregate into that in some combined fashion. But i haven’t yet tested this to see how accurate this guess is… nor do I really think it matters. I pay more attention to the other matters, but—- TBH — I’m going to heat/cool myself to comfort, and drive the speed i feel best. So overall the only thing that might change is drive style, but I usually do good there (I dont make hard corners, at least not in XC40; maybe in the Polestar2)

IMO, the app is good to remind you to drive smoothly, but at the end of the day, its more useful as a “estimated range based on current weather, climate, driving style” — than anything else.

 

[Paul1117]

You’re talking about the top left bar that shows the MIN/MAX range, has a color change, and a triangle pointer, correct? I’ve noted the color change, the triangle at the top, middle, or bottom, but without any real rhyme or reason.

My hypothesis is that the othe 3x items (climate, speed, drive style) aggregate into that in some combined fashion. But i haven’t yet tested this to see how accurate this guess is… nor do I really think it matters. I pay more attention to the other matters, but—- TBH — I’m going to heat/cool myself to comfort, and drive the speed i feel best. So overall the only thing that might change is drive style, but I usually do good there (I dont make hard corners, at least not in XC40; maybe in the Polestar2)

IMO, the app is good to remind you to drive smoothly, but at the end of the day, its more useful as a “estimated range based on current weather, climate, driving style” — than anything else.

So I noticed that sometimes the bar next to kWh/100km and the range turns orange intermittently, usually when I accelerating up hills and at a lower charge state (less than 30%) or anything else that puts a big demand on the battery. It seems to be saying "watch your lead foot, you don't have a lot of charge left".

My question is (after looking in the manual and not finding anything) is does anyone know what the criteria for the bar turning orange or have found any documentation on the range assistant other than the manual which seems to be of limited usefulness.

i did a Google search for more detailed information but the returns are just what was contained in Volvo’s press release. Maybe others will have better luck. I guess we’ll have to figure it out on our own.

 

[MMK]

I took a 60-mile round-trip. When the battery was at 51%, I had activated the "Range Optimizer - ON". A message pops up reminding that AC might be limited. The whole way back, same route, speed, traffic, temperature and driving style, nothing appeared to be limited BUT I'd noticed that it took 35% one way (without optimizer) and on way back it was 30% w/ Optimizer On. Definitely more experiments to be done before a 'comfortable' conclusion. Moreover, we're talking about a Car that's set to 90%. Upon entering car, it sometimes show 91% or 89%. That' alone is a +/- 1% with the Car stationary.
To quote Arijay's comment..... "I’m going to heat/cool myself to comfort, and drive the speed i feel best"

 

[Homer]

I took a 60-mile round-trip. When the battery was at 51%, I had activated the "Range Optimizer - ON". A message pops up reminding that AC might be limited. The whole way back, same route, speed, traffic, temperature and driving style, nothing appeared to be limited BUT I'd noticed that it took 35% one way (without optimizer) and on way back it was 30% w/ Optimizer On. Definitely more experiments to be done before a 'comfortable' conclusion. Moreover, we're talking about a Car that's set to 90%. Upon entering car, it sometimes show 91% or 89%. That' alone is a +/- 1% with the Car stationary.
To quote Arijay's comment..... "I’m going to heat/cool myself to comfort, and drive the speed i feel best"

The factors that the driver can influence to extend the range are speed, driving style and climatization settings.

Speed

Driving style

Climate regulation
Each icon has a meter that indicates the energy use. When the meter changes color from blue to orange the driver should check their energy use for more economical driving.

 

[arijaycomet]

@MMK keep in mind that there are elevation changes taking a route that would result in a "reverse" on the way back. In other words, the best way to fully test a delta is a ROUND TRIP.

Example: drive from HOME to DESTINATION and then BACK HOME. That would be your "baseline" sample. Then perform the same test with whatever changes you want to make doing the same EXACT round-trip.

What you tested is not valid data because the return trip may have been all downhill, whereas the out going trip could have been uphill. Hence the "round trip" (or at least "same total route, same direction, same conditions").

I've figured out the display on my Polestar and the triangles/carrots indicating which way you are trending. But IIRC the XC40 Range Assistant screen is quite different looking than the P*2 so I'll refrain from replying more in detail here until I can review my wife's XC40 and speak correctly in terms of the visual differences.

 

[MMK]

@MMK keep in mind that there are elevation changes taking a route that would result in a "reverse" on the way back. In other words, the best way to fully test a delta is a ROUND TRIP.

Example: drive from HOME to DESTINATION and then BACK HOME. That would be your "baseline" sample. Then perform the same test with whatever changes you want to make doing the same EXACT round-trip.

What you tested is not valid data because the return trip may have been all downhill, whereas the out going trip could have been uphill. Hence the "round trip" (or at least "same total route, same direction, same conditions").

I've figured out the display on my Polestar and the triangles/carrots indicating which way you are trending. But IIRC the XC40 Range Assistant screen is quite different looking than the P*2 so I'll refrain from replying more in detail here until I can review my wife's XC40 and speak correctly in terms of the visual differences.

You're right -- actually it was indeed Home - Destination - Home (Total 60 miles) x 2 within 30 minutes apart. I'd left my phone at friend's place after getting home, so had to head back out again. Hence, it should be exact round-trip. Same route, speed, driving trend, climate - No changes. BUT...... gotta experiment several times over for sure.
Now, I'm curious over Dec or when weather gets to the 30s.....curious to see what max is showing. At this point, it looks like based on my driving and routes, I'm getting an average of 200 miles. Will be curious how much that changes once cold weather rolls around....

 

[arijaycomet]

CLICK the thumbnails to VIEW LARGER --

Above, the first image (from left to right) should be familiar to anyone on v1.7 here as that is the XC40 screen. Second screen I find interesting because "range optimizer" is a strange choice of words, but more on that in a moment. Third screen is from my Polestar 2 which runs same v1.7 software and AAOS.

My FIRST observation here that is interest is that the XC40 has a blue bar that moves up/down I think -- but that is there instead of the "triangle pointers" that are on the Polestar. So as you are driving and your consumption is better/worse the XC40 shows a blue bar going up/down but the Polestar shows a little moving pointer/diamond (triangle) that oscillates. This also moves up/down the projected range to show if you are trending above/below average. Basically, in both of the Polestar meters the goal is to stay white, away from "bad/red" zones. In the case of the XC40 this is displayed by means of where you want LESS blue at the bottom bar, but MORE blue at the top bar; overall I prefer the Polestar's method for those 2 "bar" displays.

Second observation (comparison) then are the 3 energy usage zones. They are the same labels, but in the case of the Polestar, those 3x "rectangles" will go red in hue (to their left end) and will use wording that basically spells out that you need to chill the heck out! LOL .... in that regard then I actually prefer in this case the XC40 as it shows "energy usage by means of blue dials" -- so its funny, this is backwards preference here.

Third and final observation--- the "Range optimizer" is poorly worded, because as you know (see 2nd photo) it then explains that at the moment this changes only (?) the HVAC max output. Plenty of cars have this, both of my Porsche Taycan had ECO modes for the HVAC system to add range; this is nothing new, EV/PHEV have had this for years. However, what is interesting is that I personally think the wording on the Polestar is more intuitive ("eco climate") -- and, to that point, turning it on does NOT bring any sort of "are you sure?" query. It is on, or off-- nothing pops up. Thus far the weather in Ohio hasn't gotten cold enough for me to see any benefits from it (and I haven't owned my Polestar during super hot weather either).

Anyhow.... this seemed the appropriate thread to share these photos since I know many are curious about the delta between he CMA platform Polestar 2 as it compares to our CMA platform XC40 P8 Recharge. Enjoy!

 

[MMK]

Using Arijay's picture.
1) Is it suggesting that based on current speed, driving behaviour etc, you're looking at 180 miles remaining.
Does the 210 miles suggest that's what you COULD be getting if Range Optimizer is ON ? When selected it turns blue
2) Observation: Seems like when Optimzer is ON, the "blue bar" is maximized all the way to the top i.e. 210 miles

Thoughts ?

 

[arijaycomet]

Look at it this way--- HVAC off is MORE savings that HVAC ECO, right? So here is my take:

1- 210 miles is the MAX range the car things you could given the BEST CASE SCENARIO ... now how you achieve that best case could be through a myriad of methods. Tail wind? Driving down hill? No HVAC? Range extended HVAC/eco mode? etc....

2- I did not see what happens to the blue bar with the eco mode on, but will experiment later. Also curious how that visualizes on the Polestar vs XC40 (since the two clearly show things differently). But ... that def helps. However, my take away is that when the car shows "low consumption" (Polestar 2 view) that the HVAC eco mode will have zero impact. the wording doesnt change -- and the range doesn't change -- but I should look if my diamond changes -- I have not taken note-- but will report back later if/when I have more data points

 

[MMK]

In the real world, I won't be driving down to < 10% ..... love the "look" of the Range Assistance, the average miles remaining is great for a quick glance...BUT it's always good to know how to interpret the data. I'm so observed over the 5-10 miles or 1-5% battery ranges. HAHAHHAH

 

[cav8tor]

Using Arijay's picture.
1) Is it suggesting that based on current speed, driving behaviour etc, you're looking at 180 miles remaining.
Does the 210 miles suggest that's what you COULD be getting if Range Optimizer is ON ? When selected it turns blue
2) Observation: Seems like when Optimzer is ON, the "blue bar" is maximized all the way to the top i.e. 210 miles

Thoughts ?


View attachment 1666

I think the Estimated range shows what the min (110mi), average (180mi) or Max (210mi) range could be given your current SOC. As opposed to when on a route where the car knows where you're going, the Range assistant doesn't (e.g. will you be going uphill, downhill, highway, stop and go city driving...) so has to give a max, average, min set of values that you could get out of the battery.

I think the Consumption is averaged over a small time frame (a few seconds?) as it changes quickly depending on what you're doing. When I needed to accelerate quickly to get on a highway once it went up to 50-ish kWh/100km and the bar next to it went orange (was below 30% SOC at the time). At that point the range showed a low of 75km, average of 120km and max 160km. The bar beside the range would also go orange at around the same time.

 

[B-mtrd]

I’m really not going to bother with range assist for the next couple of months unless I’m doing long x-country trips. I find it very difficult not accelerating heavy constantly, I’m sure is the child in me

 

[arijaycomet]

I’m really not going to bother with range assist for the next couple of months unless I’m doing long x-country trips. I find it very difficult not accelerating heavy constantly, I’m sure is the child in me

Even on a long trip, I’d rather stop to charge for a few extra minutes, while having been comfortable temp wise. That said— going 5mph over the limit instead of 10 over will save range. But… i dont need a screen to remind me of this. I do like that it shows a more accurate range depiction. But as @cav8tor said above— when you plug in a nav, it calculates elevation, etc — and seems pretty darn accurate anyhow. I guess the thing is: more data is usually better, so long as we understand what it means.

 

[cav8tor]

Even on a long trip, I’d rather stop to charge for a few extra minutes, while having been comfortable temp wise. That said— going 5mph over the limit instead of 10 over will save range. But… i dont need a screen to remind me of this. I do like that it shows a more accurate range depiction. But as @cav8tor said above— when you plug in a nav, it calculates elevation, etc — and seems pretty darn accurate anyhow. I guess the thing is: more data is usually better, so long as we understand what it means.

My experience, and in all the comments I've seen is that when planning a route the arrival charge estimate is pretty darn accurate. From what I've seen it's usually been on the conservative side too overestimating by a percent or two a lower arrival SOC than what actually happened.

 

[arijaycomet]

My experience, and in all the comments I've seen is that when planning a route the arrival charge estimate is pretty darn accurate. From what I've seen it's usually been on the conservative side too overestimating by a percent or two a lower arrival SOC than what actually happened.

Agree fully. We did a 1,000+ mile journey a few months ago in the XC40 and would almost always leave the charger when we hit 15% SOC arrival to next charger. And, almost always arrived 17-18% SOC during that trip. That said, you may find this changes in the cold/winter as the heat usage may drain more power than anticipated. It’ll be interesting to see. We have a trip around XMAS that will be similarly distant (1000+ total miles) and will start off in below freezing temps for the first portion. I’ll be sure to share my findings.