So long, petrol stations
Learning to keep it EV-only.
One of the very exciting things about life with the Grandland plug-in hybrid is seeing whether I can get to Grantham and back on one battery charge.
Yes, you might think I should get a better hobby, but the Sainsbury’s in this storied town – which invented the caterpillar track, Margaret Thatcher and run-down charity shops – is exactly 15 miles from my house. When I fire up the fully charged Grandland at home it generally predicts a range of 31 miles, meaning I could do the round trip with one mile to spare. This has gone up from the 24-mile range the Vauxhall was showing
when it first turned up, so I must be doing something right.
There are two modes for electric driving: a freewheely one where, when you lift off, the car seems to accelerate; and a regenerativebraking one, which does the opposite. It’s cleverly variable, though, so when you lift off at 20mph there’s not much slowing, but do the same at 60 and it tries to put you through the windscreen.
You can flip between the two to see what suits you best. On my first Exciting Trip to Grantham, I went regenerative the whole way and had run out of juice on the return leg before I left the A1, needing to actually use some petrol for the last four miles home. Crazy.
Since then I’ve opted to freewheel like a kid on his bike on downhill and straight stretches, but nip over to regen to slow for corners and junctions, and for downhill stretches. On Exciting Trip to Grantham 6, I got home with four miles of range to spare. I nearly cried with happiness. It goes to show that actively managing the powertrain has huge benefits. In this case, a third more range by driving differently. My wife took the Grandland on Trip 7 and trashed a tyre in a pothole, less than a mile from home. Vauxhall Assistance and the RAC were brilliantly ecient, but the replacement Michelin Primacy 3 cost a hefty £192, negating (and some) all the cost eciencies. I was not excited about that.