JIMNY IS DEAD

I regularly get between 40 - 42 mpg which with the 40 litre tank ( 8.8 gallons ) equates to 352 - 370 miles, but that is brim to empty. I like to re-fill when the gauge is down to 2 bars and that is the problem for an EV. I can pop into Morrisons, park up re-fill, pay and be on my way in 5 minutes. I don't need to worry as to where I can do that as there are so many filling stations available and the chances of being in a queue is very small. On the other hand, a re-charge can take hours and needs careful consideration as to where you are going to get it and the figures stated by manufacturers for EV ranges are based on laboratory testing and bear little resemblance to actual daily driving.

Roger

I get an indicated 42mpg or so, but it's really only just over 40mpg as the computer is quite inaccurate.  I fill.it up at about 290 miles because it's on one bar by then.

As a rule of thumb, an average EV at its worst - motorway speeds in -10°C with the heater on - does about 60% of the WLTP combined range.  It will do much better without sustained high speeds and in warmer temperatures.

Battery technology is developing fast and now the problem that is mostly holding it back is the production cost. With more and more markets and car brands doing EV, the larger volume and lower production should bring down the cost for the cells.
It is very much possible today to make a battery with double the Amps for the same size and weight of leading lifepo cells, but the cost is many times that of the lifepo cells. I think and hope that a few years from now the production batteries will have reached a level where we get twice the range and half the charging time within the same weight and size. Wich would more or less solve some of the problems with EV's today.

I live in a country with as many charging stations as there are petrol stations. Here there is more or less no practical problems with EV ownership. We do not see EV's stranded with empty batteries on every corner.
25% of all registered cars is an EV and most new cars sold (87% or so) are EV.

This is sad, would I want an electric Jimny no. I have an 18 month old Tesla ( had from new). I drive 11 miles to work down the motorway and it knocks 20 miles off the range. If I go the back road way it takes 12 miles off the range. When it was new, the range was 277 miles. It is down to 261 so it appears to be losing a mile a month. Doesn’t bode well for the long term.
I much prefer to drive my 2009 Japanese import Gen 3 Jimny.

Rogerzilla wrote:

I get an indicated 42mpg or so, but it's really only just over 40mpg as the computer is quite inaccurate.  I fill.it up at about 290 miles because it's on one bar by then.

I’d say 42mpg is about the top end of what the Jimny is capable of and would require a specific driving technique.

My Jimny is sporting a few mods. A good cross country journey and I can get an indicated 37-39mpg. But have never seen 40mpg. Not even when new. Cross country would be non dual carriageway, no town, just country roads and short shifting keeps to about 50mph or under.

If you jump on the motorway and set the cruise at 70mph it’ll do about 32mpg.

Running about I like to use rev range, so make use of all 101hp and the red line. Certainly not thrashing it, but enjoying what it can offer. This works out to about 32-34mpg. Which means the fuel light coming on somewhere in the region of 210-230 miles. And then doing another 20-30miles with the light on.

Last week on a part M5 and part A and B roads including Stroud and Cheltenham, I averaged 45 mpg. I never use high revs and cruise control is pointless in modern day traffic but I still keep up with the traffic - except on the M5 - and I don't have to thrash the motor to do it.
Anyway, this is getting off topic. The Jimny is dead and we may never see it's like again. I had a lot of fun in my SJ and drove all over the UK and won lots of cups in RTV trials. I now have a Gen.4 as my daily driver and I love it and the fact that Jimny drivers wave at each other.

Roger