If I am road tripping, I will set the cruise control at 80mph and the car consistently performs at 2.4 miles per kW if it is decent weather. I know that I can rely on 200 miles per charge to 100%, again, in good weather. I have an "old" '19 and I feel that the car is meeting expectations. In the end, when I plan charges on a trip, I like to plan them about 183 miles a part (I use full AC or heat as required and that is with three people and full luggage). That keeps the cars computers from yelling at me. I know that I have a solid 20 miles left even with the car complaining.

Do I want more range? YES! I think that 350 miles will be my sweet spot. Right now there is no flexibility. One day I am going to roll into a remote EA at 3% SOC and it is going to be out of order and I will be in trouble. I'd like to have 20% purely for emergencies, but my range is such that I use that buffer regularly on road trips. At home I never really go below 20%

 

It’s no different than a gas car, really. High speed, among other things, reduces efficiency. Whether I’m driving our Chevy Bolt or a Tesla M3LR, high speed will reduce efficiency. It’s especially true for the e-Tron because of its size.

I think your main issue is not being familiar with EV cars (no dig on you). I believe once you accept their limitations, then you can learn to appreciate EVs. But that is a journey in and of itself

I bought my e-Tron knowing full well of its 204-mile range. I am happy to report that since the November software update, and now that days are getting warmer, my 2019’s efficiency has been going up from 2.4 to 2.6 mi/kWH on the freeway at 75 mph. And mind you, i have my summer 21-inch wheels on.

 

Understand the range numbers were based on 65 mph highway speed and not 90 mph, and understand the effect of speed on range and the trade off you choose. I don't have anything specific to the e-tron, but with the Tesla Model X, you can see how much range is impacted with temp and speed. The impact is significant - about a 25% reduction in range going from 70 mph to 90 mph. This is due to aerodynamics, and the same happens in gas cars too.

 

Fact of physics is that wind resistance rises with increasing speed. Therefore the range will go down the faster you drive.

What speed(s) should the government require for range testing?

124 MPH?

Somewhat slower, if so what speed?

 

Definitely drive it how you wish but have realistic expectations.
The EPA range figure (and even the more absurd WLTP) is a rather rosy estimate range and is tested in rather low speeds. this is not dissimilar to the EPA mileage numbers for ICE cars.

Even ICE cars take a significant mileage and range hit at higher speeds but is less noticeable. due their higher range and poorer aerodynamics. EVs take a bigger hit due to its much higher efficiencies at lower speeds.

If you look at the green line at the graph provided by Weth, going from 40mph to 80mph, you're looking at 350 to 225 miles(35%) reduction in range. Compare that from 40mph to 70mph where you're looking dropping to 260miles(25%). So you can take into account, is that extra 10mph worth that extra 45mile range hit? You may save yourself a charging stop.

Unfortunately owning an EV needs more planning and is more complicated than an ICE car.

Edit: In my experience, I got about 200mile range when cruising at 70mph in efficiency mode at 100% when I did my trip from San Jose to LA region and San Diego and back. Realistically, I charged from 10-20% to 80% giving me about 150-ish real driving miles with a decent buffer before having to stop. I didn't mind since the kids needed the stretch their legs and have potty breaks but I can understand the frustration with trying to bang out an entire trip as fast as possible.

 

It will fluctuate a lot, and it isn’t the e-tron it’s the fact that so much can affect EV efficiency.

One time I drove 224 miles straight at 80mph, using the cabin heater, with 20 miles left when I stopped to charge. Another time I drove into a 30mph headwind at 75mph and only managed to get 120 miles before I had to stop. My friend has a Model X and only made it 188 miles in sub freezing temps with 3%, barely made it to the charger.

Just as an estimate based off of my road trip experience, at 90mph you’d lucky to get 160 miles and still have enough range to comfortably make it to the charger. It’s possible to get 200+ at 75-80 but only on a fair, calm day.

For comparison if you had a Model X you may get an extra 30-40 miles at 90 but still nothing near the 300 EPA they claim.

If it’s a battery issue you should be able to tell by how many kWh it takes when you charge up. Each 10% is about 8.5kWh so if you stop to charge at 10% and it takes about 76kWh then that adds up to 100% capacity.

 

WLTP average speed is 47 km/h, EPA is 48 miles per hour highway.

EPA has multiple cycles. Range and energy consumption estimates come from using two or more of this. The US06 is the fastest cycle, part of the five cycle test, and touches 80 MPH.
https://www.epa.gov/vehicle-and-fuel...rive-schedules

Many cars are tested on just two, the "city test" and the "highway test".



"Highway test"

 

I really appreciate all the feedback it helps me understand again thank you to everyone

 

Increasing speed just doesn’t increase drag, (and hence inefficiency) in a linear fashion. In fact if you increase speed from 40 mph to 80 mph, drag quadruples not doubles.

if you plan ahead using something like ABRP you can input your expected average speed into your route calculation and it will let you know where to charge based on how much SoC you want to still have in the battery when you arrive at the charger.