Elios Mileage Range Vs Storage

[Gregw]

The Elio has an 8 gallon gas tank with a range over 650 miles, no car I've ever owned had or needed that kind of range. Why not reduce the tank to 4-5 gallons and use that saved space for additional storage?

 

[Gas-Powered Awesome]

Because the purpose of the Elio is not to move a bunch of stuff efficiently and affordably, it's to move people efficiently and affordably.

 

[Sethodine]

~650 mile range, on my 55-miles-per-day commute, means I can go about 12 days between fillups. That's about 2 and a half work weeks, or two 8-gallon fillups per month.

I like those numbers. Those are some nice numbers.

 

[Gas-Powered Awesome]

Realize you are unlikely to get 650 miles on a tank.
You will probably not get 84 MPG. That's maximum MPG at steady-state highway speed.
A more realistic MPG is probably 60-70 MPG in mixed driving, so 500-ish miles/tank is more likely.
I'm A-OK with that.

 

[Gregw]

If it's commuter miles, you're always near a gas station, so a range of 250 miles is still a lot. On the highway, 375 is what my car gets now and it's never been a problem. I want to take my Elio on journeys, long journeys. The first full summer I have mine, I'm going to do a US perimeter tour, camping along the way. 12,000 + miles and a little extra storage would make a difference and I see little down side on fuel tank size.

 

[Sethodine]

Realize you are unlikely to get 650 miles on a tank.
You will probably not get 84 MPG. That's maximum MPG at steady-state highway speed.
A more realistic MPG is probably 60-70 MPG in mixed driving, so 500-ish miles/tank is more likely.
I'm A-OK with that.

True. I was thinking:
84mpg Highway = 90% of my drive time
49mpg City = 10% of my drive time

(0.9 x 8) x 84 = 604.8
(0.1 x 8) x 49 = 39.2

604.8 + 39.2 = 644 miles. I figured working the calculation as "volume of gas by time, multiplied by milage" was a more accurate way to measure, even though real-world driving is rather slippery. And my commute is probably not quite so far as I calculated, because getting just 35mpg on a good day I can usually eek out 7 days between fillups.

 

[Trusting]

With a full 8 gallon tank you're carrying around a lot of extra weight and that translates into lower gas mileage. The only thing I don't like about the idea of a slightly smaller gas tank and increased storage space, is that I didn't think of it first.

 

[Gregw]

With a full 8 gallon tank you're carrying around a lot of extra weight and that translates into lower gas mileage. The only thing I don't like about the idea of a slightly smaller gas tank and increased storage space, is that I didn't think of it first.

Pass it around as your idea, I don't mind. Maybe if it gets talked about enough it might get incorporated into the production version.

 

[3wheelin]

The Elio has an 8 gallon gas tank with a range over 650 miles, no car I've ever owned had or needed that kind of range. Why not reduce the tank to 4-5 gallons and use that saved space for additional storage?

I'll leave that 8 gallon gas tank alone only because reducing it's size to 4-5 is not much space gained. Remember ELIO is an "and" vehicle for those days you're driving alone. If I want to save weight and gain more mileage, then I simply put 4-5 gallons of gas instead of a full tank, problem solved!

 

[Gas-Powered Awesome]

I doubt decreasing the size of the fuel tank would increase storage. The tank is in otherwise dead space under the passenger seat. You can't extend the trunk into that area because the rear wheel is in the way. So you would get a tiny area maybe accessible from the front of the rear seat? A hatch on the side? Just not practical.

As for long journeys: Again, not the stated primary purpose for the Elio.

For your travels, pack light, or remove the rear seat for more storage, or take a vehicle more practical for long journeys. An Escalade would be comfortable.