Please humour my fancy here. lol Me wonders what the sweet spot is for maximum range for the Aptera. Does anyone know? For example, if driving a 250 mile Aptera, is there a speed sweet spot on a smooth highway (and any other conditions) where one may get a much farther reach on one charge? And what might that best-case scenario range be? For example, with a Kandi K27 if one does not employ environmental controls such as air conditioning or heat or engage the "Sport Mode" and instead drive solely in "Eco Mode", with the windows up and at a constant 37.5 miles per hour on a smooth dry road on a pleasant day you can get more than 105 miles of range instead of the 59 mile EPA range. That's 78 percent more range and is very significant, even if it is not realistic for everyday driving. But it is still good to know because, it is good to know what to attempt to do to get the most possible miles if needed. I know this is fantasy for now until I get a response , but, for example, such a 78 percent increase would, in theory, allow a 250 mile Aptera reach up to 445 miles.
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I am sure there is a small number of Aptera fans that will go to extremes to stretch the mileage just as a challenge. For me, I intend to enjoy driving mine under what ever conditions happen to be on the roads at the time and will feel comfortable because of the combination of efficient design and distance before requiring a recharge
Sorry Mick, & no offense, but the bottom line is Aptera efficiency is about 250% of any other EV, which is itself far beyond any all-gas car like a Honda Insight. But who cares?! Aptera goes day-to-day on "INFINITE" efficiency with just the sun charging it.
My $6k BEV goes 25 miles just on the electricity it takes to refine a gallon of gas from crude oil. So compared to the average 25mpg US car I'm getting infinity mpg? & Aptera is better!
Just 5 years ago I went straight from an all-gas "ice" like the Insight to an all-electric "bev", so I too still sometimes forget how different they are.
From a practical standpoint, max range for an EV is pretty much "the lowest speed". Period.
BEVs like Aptera get ALL energy from electricity, & have no manual transmission, so the principal is NOT the same.
Max efficiency is probably closer to 20mph, like my own BEV. VEHICLE internal efficiency may max out around 25-30mph, but aerodynamics is by far the biggest factor, increasing with the SQUARE of speed.
So again, bottom line, Aptera is 250% as efficient as any other EV, all of which are far better than any car that's dragging around a gas engine. But wait! Who cares?! It goes 1,000 miles on one charge!
The lowest speed at the highest gear ratio. In my Honda Insight that is 35 mph in 5th gear.
But I don’t think you can get an Aptera with a manual transmission. But the principal is the same. maximum efficiency is probably 40 ish mph, but that would mean never driving on the highway. On the highway the best efficiency is the lowest legal speed.
Just go with the rest of the traffic speed so you don’t cause an accident & kill someone while “hyper-miling“! Stay out of the passing lane when not passing!
When reading Aptera's answer below, please keep in mind that unlike a gas car (with idling losses & no regen gains) EV efficiency is MUCH better when slow, since air drag increases exponentially with speed..
Add the fact that before charge-speeds skyrocketed & battery prices plummeted, slightly older, lower-range EVs were useless for road-trips. So they were optimized for city speeds, increasing the already large difference between city & highway range. Now high-range EVs like Aptera can be biased toward high-speed efficiency, where it's really needed to try to partially overcome the HUGE aerodynamic penalty. For example, 2 times the vehicle efficiency at 2 times the speed will still not compensate for its air drag quadrupling at 2 times the speed (drag goes up by the square of speed)...:
Aptera's updated FAQ spreadsheet, lines 422 & 423*:
"At the moment it's optimized for the EPA highway, yet we recognize that people drive faster than that on the highway. There is a baseline of energy usage simply for the system to operate at some modicum of efficiency, and at that speed (about 25 ~ 30 mph) the vehicle starts getting more efficient the faster it travels. These are very general terms as the speed and torque of the system are big players in the powertrain efficiency. That said, initially the system will be based for efficiency at higher speed and then with some motor hardware and controller firmware improvements we'll extend that envelope to the lower speed regimes.
"controller and motor tuning will initially be biased for higher speed and then we'll work to extend and broaden the torque/speed efficiency regime."
*Line numbers change when they delete older lines above.
Efficiency – a calculation
http://aptera.nu/?p=67
In 2019 we had a BMW i3 and since 2020 a Renault Zoe 400. At 80kmh off highway they do really great. On highways I found 110kmh to be practical for speed and range. That translates into 68 mph
Line 302 of Aptera's FAQ Spreadsheet says AWD only makes a few % difference.
Moderate A/C (78F) when it's 90F out doesn't affect my EVs range. Apparently the battery is so much more efficient when warm that it compensates for the extra power use.
I had a 2000 generation 1 Insight hybrid (I think a 0.22 cd) that could draft better than most. It sold new for $25K+ and I think Honda lost money on every one. It was built for economy, having 996cc, 3 cylinders, 5 speed, 10 gallon tank and no cruise control (not enough power). I think it was a 5.2kWh battery. I bought it 2 years old at 25K miles and half price. I averaged 62.5mpg for the next 115k miles.
In my experience its best drafting was about 100’ behind a tractor trailer (two truck lengths) and would easily take you over 70mpg in a dry 90+ with AC on. At that distance you could feel the car being pulled along, any closer and mileage would decrease. My second generation Insight could not come close. Best ever mpg was in southern GA behind an oil reclamation tractor trailer (there is about 6” clearance between the box and the ground). I did 70 mph on the interstate for 2.5 hours at 92.5mpg, again 90F+ and AC. Best on a generation 2 was 55.5 mpg on over 550 miles but that is another story.
I would not think an Aptera would get that 50% increase in efficiency that I experienced with an Insight, but hope to get the chance to find out next year.
There are lots of hypermiling tips on the internet
Here is one:
I understand the Aptera ranges are based on the EPA 67 mph But remember ALL is being confirmed as the Dev vehicles are being made and tested
Anticipated range hits might include:
AWD
Off Road
Exceeding the ~500# limit of the vehicle