5.4L supercharged V8 vs EQC running costs

[markjay]

My guess is that if you set your CC to 77mph, and drive 400 miles on UK motorway, your overall average speed for the journey will typically be around 60-65mph, due to all of those things I listed above. That on a good day.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

I’ve put in some long stints but it’s rare.

Haha! We can both go 6 hours ... when the kids were little we either stopped halfway or drove through the night while they were asleep. The latter is really tough though, particularly on unlit motorways.

On the seats ... weirdly I find our 2007 Vito better than our 2019 C Class for long runs (we've used both to do the trip to Germany). When I go to see my mum (who is in a care home down south) it's around 3.5 hours each way and in the C Class I'm in some discomfort by the time I arrive:

View attachment 146286

I have no problems in the Vito though. It does have optional 'comfort' seating but it's more basic than the C Class.

I think the difference in comfort is in a large part due to the angle of your legs. It’s more comfortable to have your legs pointing down than it is out straight (relatively), especially over long periods.

Try sitting on your bed with you back against your head board and then sit on a comfortable dining chair. Most people will fee the difference in minutes never mind hours. Cars are not so extreme but the amount of time spent is more so.

The effect is accelerated and amplified for those with health issues relating to the back, hips, legs and posture. It’s one of the reasons I like to drive long distances in an SUV or city car, rather than a saloon or estate, because the driving position for both back and legs is more upright.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

I wasn't referring to the police... I have yet to drive on a UK motorway that has no traffic hold-ups, no slow traffic, not temporary speed limits, no average speed cameras, no variable speed limit, and no roadworks... certainly not on a 400-mile stretch! If you know of such a motorway in the UK, do share...

The closest I ever got to that was probably 200 miles on the motorway to Devon or Newcastle in the middle of the night in the mid-nineties.

I used to get up early and be on the road at 0400 or 0500 and be waiting at the other end for somewhere nice to open up for breakfast.

Not been like that this century in my experience. Don’t I sound old.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

My guess is that if you set your CC to 77mph, and drive 400 miles on UK motorway, your overall average speed for the journey will typically be around 60-65mph, due to all of those things I listed above. That on a good day.

I don’t drive fast, I’ll drive at or close to the speed limit, or keep up with the main flow of traffic. An average speed in the 50s would be good progress, and 60s would be great, if travelling in the day or evening, and without resetting the trip computer just for the free-flowing motorway sections.

 

[clk320x]

M / KWH at 75 mph is going to be something like 1 to 1.5 miles/KWH

around 350wh/mi at 80 mph on the French Autoroutes

 

[pioneercollector]

A couple of years ago i did drive myself and Mrs PC from Bran in Romania to Budapest, It was on a Sunday ( Lorries and commercial vehicles are banned from driving on a Sunday! ) Cruise control set to 80MPH ....700KM in around 8 hours... one stop for fuel and a 'comfort break' ..... So yes it is entirely plausible and very achievable! And i wasn't in an MB, i was actually in my trusty 20 year old Shogun 3.0l V6 petrol....

 

[clk320x]

A couple of years ago i did drive myself and Mrs PC from Bran in Romania to Budapest, It was on a Sunday ( Lorries and commercial vehicles are banned from driving on a Sunday! ) Cruise control set to 80MPH ....700KM in around 8 hours... one stop for fuel and a 'comfort break' ..... So yes it is entirely plausible and very achievable! And i wasn't in an MB, i was actually in my trusty 20 year old Shogun 3.0l V6 petrol....

that’s about 400 miles

You could do that at 80mph in any half decent EV and stop for about 2x 20 mins fast charge top ups.

 

[philnewmerc]

There is no attraction as such. What you’re describing is just driving at or around the speed limits of the fastest roads in the UK.

You may find it boring but that’s what the majority of the UK population do most of the time, and it’s what the law says too.

So if driving at 60-70 mph is boring then it’s not really driving an EV that’s boring, it’s driving in line with speed limits that’s boring.

Fair enough analysis. Personally I like speed where appropriate. In town though I'm a slow driver, but surrounded by people absent-mindedly doing 35 mph. That speed in that environment (if kids, pensioners and pets are sometimes crossing the road, then 20s plenty imho) is far more dangerous than me on the motorway blowing EVs into the weeds.

 

[philnewmerc]

I’m guessing you don’t drive much on smart motorways?

If the sub 70 speed limit is on i tend to stick to it as it'll be because it's too busy anyway and I'm not a an Audi driving Muppet. But if not and it's not too busy I just slow to 75 for the camera locations which are not that frequen

 

[clk320x]

If the sub 70 speed limit is on i tend to stick to it as it'll be because it's too busy anyway and I'm not a an Audi driving Muppet. But if not and it's not too busy I just slow to 75 for the camera locations which are not that frequen

Every gantry seems to have the camera markings underneath, but Waze only shows some as having cameras, do they all have markings but only some have cameras then?

 

[philnewmerc]

There is no attraction as such. What you’re describing is just driving at or around the speed limits of the fastest roads in the UK.

You may find it boring but that’s what the majority of the UK population do most of the time, and it’s what the law says too.

So if driving at 60-70 mph is boring then it’s not really driving an EV that’s boring, it’s driving in line with speed limits that’s boring.

60-70 is pretty slow on a UK motorway... You'll be overtaken constantly. Not a criticism but it's not for me, well not until i feel my faculties failing anyway. But it's a fair analysis: I'm not EV ready due to my speed.

 

[philnewmerc]

Every gantry seems to have the camera markings underneath, but Waze only shows some as having cameras, do they all have markings but only some have cameras then?

The twin yellow caneras will be on the left hand side and yes the markings don't automatically mean a camera. TomTom will point them out reliably because transport England tell them.

 

[philnewmerc]

that’s about 400 miles

You could do that at 80mph in any half decent EV and stop for about 2x 20 mins fast charge top ups.

That's good to know . What speed of kwh is required for that?

 

[philnewmerc]

Most people in the UK - and members of this forum - live in the kind of place you describe as hideous, and would love to have an AMG that they could drive at 90-95 mph just because because they enjoy speed.

I and others would understand why you want to hold on to having a lovely Victorian home and a supercharged V8 luxury car, it sounds wonderful, but it also sounds a lot like what some might call “privilege” though.

Lol. Bait taken
Apologies. PVC porticoes are fine if you like that sort of thing. My house costs a lot to run, like my car, so I am sometimes envious of new builds and their non-leaky roofs and warm garages... A bit like my view of old V8s vs EVs.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Lol. Bait taken
Apologies. PVC porticoes are fine if you like that sort of thing. My house costs a lot to run, like my car, so I am sometimes envious of new builds and their non-leaky roofs and warm garages... A bit like my view of old V8s vs EVs.

Good job I took a bite of that bait then, as nobody else might have. Like I said some might interpret what you write as a modern interpretation of privilege. I don’t, but someone might.

 

[clk320x]

That's good to know . What speed of kwh is required for that?

any supercharger will do, the new ones are 250kW peak now… older ones are 150KW peak which is still very good.

 

[clk320x]

The twin yellow caneras will be on the left hand side and yes the markings don't automatically mean a camera. TomTom will point them out reliably because transport England tell them.

Are there no cameras on the back of the gantries? I’m sure I’ve seen those on the M25?

 

[BTB 500]

you would need a very miserable copper to nick you at any less than 80 mph (10% plus 2....so 79 mph being there usual tolerance point).

The National Police Chiefs’ Council enforcement threshold was dropped by 1 mph a few years ago ... 10% +2 is now the point at which an FPN would normally be issued (and hence what most fixed cameras are set to). So best stick to 78

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

The closest I ever got to that was probably 200 miles on the motorway to Devon or Newcastle in the middle of the night in the mid-nineties.

I used to get up early and be on the road at 0400 or 0500 and be waiting at the other end for somewhere nice to open up for breakfast.

Not been like that this century in my experience. Don’t I sound old.

Anyone remember the Alan Clarke claim for his fastest time from Plymouth to Saltash in his Little Silver (911) at night back in the mid 80’s ?

From memory he claimed an average of 70mph with peaks of 120 but I can’t be sure

 

[philnewmerc]

Are there no cameras on the back of the gantries? I’m sure I’ve seen those on the M25?

I rarely go to that there Londinium (and not in the car) but I would have thought I'd be the same but cannot guarantee that