gbb
Squire
- Location
- Peterborough
Clearly when turning it "off" it's not logging your miles, as you've just surmised.
The mpg claims for ICE vehicles are for standardised tests which include starting up, and a mix of different speeds. There's an "urban cycle" (lots of stop start, lower max speeds) an "extra urban cycle" with less stop start and more cruising at a set speed to represent a longer drive across A roads and motorway. They are all done inside on a rolling road for consistency. They're only useful for comparison i.e. if car A claims 50mpg on the combined cycle and car B claims 55mpg you can be reasonably sure that car B is slightly better on fuel. Unless they've fiddled it. What you can't say is you will get those figures in real world use.
The instantaneous figure your trip computer reports is only helpful to understand when you're driving economically and when you don't. It's quite easy to make it show ridiculously high mpg by backing off the throttle slightly.
EDIT: it seems the tests have changed a few years ago so you can't directly compare new figures with old. https://www.parkers.co.uk/what-is/wltp-worldwide-harmonised-light-vehicle-test-procedure/
Tbf, I always assumed the only way to achieve stated figures was the way I described. Clearly its nigh impossible to achieve headline figures with 'normal driving style'. I drive for economy 99% of the time and maybe, maybe in the summer with tyres slightly over inflated and on a long run could get somewhere near but....
Anyhoo, we can be sure ebike manufacturers are equally clever at finding some way of calculating exactly whats needed to achieve the maximum, equally, 99% of us will never replicate those conditions. It is a good comparison between make tho.