Fuel consumption on cruise control

[Ashjuneja]

I just went on a long trip from Paris to London and back. On the motorways, I was setting the car on cruise control a lot, and I noticed that when it would slow down, the display which shows power would never go below 0%. However, when I turned off the cruise control and the car slowed down, the power would often go well below 0%, often to -15%. My understanding is that when the power display shows negative power, thats when the battery is charging, and over a long drive helps with the fuel efficiency. As per this, it seems to be less fuel efficient on the motorway if you keep it on cruise control. Is this correct or have I misunderstood something?

By the way, the battery was fully charged when we set off and didnt get an opportunity to charge again. So over approx 1100 km, which included some city driving within London in bad traffic, some city driving back in Paris in traffic, and having only the initial charge, the car gave an economy of 8L/100 km, which is not bad I feel. Is this also the experience others have had? Thanks for your feedback!

 

[bobshure]

Yeah this happens to me also, I often flick it off when I know I need to slow down or I’m going downhill because cruise control doesn’t allow it to get into the negative percentages. It’s a little annoying but I guess it’s another quirk of the car ?

 

[Kerno]

There is no regenerative braking while using cruise control. Probably a lot cheaper to just control the normal brakes than to factor in the dynamic regen as well.

 

[Ashjuneja]

There is no regenerative braking while using cruise control. Probably a lot cheaper to just control the normal brakes than to factor in the dynamic regen as well.

Thanks. That's what I thought, and what you are saying makes sense. That is the way forward for me!