Roof bars and range?
Discussion
I’m thinking about going EV for a company car into a Skoda enyaq, the 60 is the only car on the list, no chance of the 85.
I do average of 120-150 miles a day which is mainly motorway which I know will be fine for most trips, the issue is I need roof bars, about 60% of the time I carry a set of step ladders on the roof, on my current Passat diesel I see 3-4mpg difference with the steps VS without.
What sort of range difference are people seeing with roof boxes/ other items on the roof?
I do average of 120-150 miles a day which is mainly motorway which I know will be fine for most trips, the issue is I need roof bars, about 60% of the time I carry a set of step ladders on the roof, on my current Passat diesel I see 3-4mpg difference with the steps VS without.
What sort of range difference are people seeing with roof boxes/ other items on the roof?
While your current diesel Passat experiences a 3-4 mpg decrease with roof-mounted ladders, EVs are generally more sensitive to aerodynamic drag, leading to a more pronounced reduction in efficiency.
Studies indicate that roof-mounted accessories can decrease an EV's range by approximately 10% to 25%, depending on factors such as the size and shape of the item, driving speed, and environmental conditions. Given your daily motorway travel of 120-150 miles, it's crucial to consider this potential reduction.
Studies indicate that roof-mounted accessories can decrease an EV's range by approximately 10% to 25%, depending on factors such as the size and shape of the item, driving speed, and environmental conditions. Given your daily motorway travel of 120-150 miles, it's crucial to consider this potential reduction.
No hard data (sorry!), but last summer we did about 1600km/1000 miles on one of our typical long trips with the configuration below, and I don't recall the consumption being dramatically different from what it would usually be (temperatures around 30-35C, Italian and Croatian motorways with moderate traffic).
We dropped the roof box and bars off for the next 4500km. The consumption was probably a bit lower, but not a night and day difference.
A stepladder might have a much more significant impact than a box, though - even a soft one like ours. If there is a cover (that wouldn't act like a wing...), it might help.
As an anecdote, my brother-in-law reported that the (diesel) fuel consumption was roughly the same when towing an empty trailer (with a "stepladderish" profile) and the same trailer with a fairly aerodynamic 1500kg car on top (1300km each way). The return leg coincided with a snowstorm, so the average speed must have been lower. But the route went over a couple of mountains and diesels have a pretty poor regenerative braking...
We dropped the roof box and bars off for the next 4500km. The consumption was probably a bit lower, but not a night and day difference.
A stepladder might have a much more significant impact than a box, though - even a soft one like ours. If there is a cover (that wouldn't act like a wing...), it might help.
As an anecdote, my brother-in-law reported that the (diesel) fuel consumption was roughly the same when towing an empty trailer (with a "stepladderish" profile) and the same trailer with a fairly aerodynamic 1500kg car on top (1300km each way). The return leg coincided with a snowstorm, so the average speed must have been lower. But the route went over a couple of mountains and diesels have a pretty poor regenerative braking...
Edited by PetrolHeadInRecovery on Friday 24th January 07:45
It will depend on the car; some will be more slippery and generally more efficient than others.
On the last long trip, our Polestar 2 returned 2.7 miles per kWh (max range 202 miles) on the motorway legs (over 400 miles) and an average of 2.8 miles per kWh (max range 210) combined over 1341 miles.
This is with a reasonably large but low-profile box.
The trip was in October with average weather, not really that cold, so it would be worse in winter, better in summer.
Our Polestar has a WLTP of 301 miles for reference.
On the last long trip, our Polestar 2 returned 2.7 miles per kWh (max range 202 miles) on the motorway legs (over 400 miles) and an average of 2.8 miles per kWh (max range 210) combined over 1341 miles.
This is with a reasonably large but low-profile box.
The trip was in October with average weather, not really that cold, so it would be worse in winter, better in summer.
Our Polestar has a WLTP of 301 miles for reference.
Quattr04. said:
Thanks to those who replied
Im going to think weather the risk of having to public charge outweighs the extra £100 in bik for a Octavia vs the enyaq.
Pain they won’t just give me a 80, they want people to go electric but only if it’s cheap for the company.
Is that 100£/month? If the worst case scenario is that you'd need to use a public charger for 20 minutes 10 times per year, you'd make 300£/hour charging the car. Im going to think weather the risk of having to public charge outweighs the extra £100 in bik for a Octavia vs the enyaq.
Pain they won’t just give me a 80, they want people to go electric but only if it’s cheap for the company.
(sorry to be flippant - I'm based in the continental Europe, so public charging is not an issue)
Could you not get something like these, that fit in the boot?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Telescopic-Extension-Coll...
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Telescopic-Extension-Coll...
Mammasaid said:
Could you not get something like these, that fit in the boot?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Telescopic-Extension-Coll...
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Telescopic-Extension-Coll...
Would certainly appear to be the sensible solution. I would assume if using the car for work the rear seats can also be folded flat so should have loads of space available as the Enyak a good sized car?
PetrolHeadInRecovery said:
Quattr04. said:
Thanks to those who replied
Im going to think weather the risk of having to public charge outweighs the extra £100 in bik for a Octavia vs the enyaq.
Pain they won’t just give me a 80, they want people to go electric but only if it’s cheap for the company.
Is that 100£/month? If the worst case scenario is that you'd need to use a public charger for 20 minutes 10 times per year, you'd make 300£/hour charging the car. Im going to think weather the risk of having to public charge outweighs the extra £100 in bik for a Octavia vs the enyaq.
Pain they won’t just give me a 80, they want people to go electric but only if it’s cheap for the company.
(sorry to be flippant - I'm based in the continental Europe, so public charging is not an issue)
Plus I can charge at home at 7p per KWH and claim back I think 7p a mile. So based on an average of 3 miles a KWH I should “make” 14p a kw, I think.
Quattr04. said:
That’s a good point, yes the biK on the enyaq is about £12 a month and a Octavia is £125.
Plus I can charge at home at 7p per KWH and claim back I think 7p a mile. So based on an average of 3 miles a KWH I should “make” 14p a kw, I think.
Don't forget about charging losses Plus I can charge at home at 7p per KWH and claim back I think 7p a mile. So based on an average of 3 miles a KWH I should “make” 14p a kw, I think.
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