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Recharge Wrap-up: Volkswagen adopts CCS Combo plug, Tesla adds Trip Energy Prediction

Volkswagen plans to use CCS Combo plugs as standard for all future plug-in vehicles. The CCS fast-charging allows cars to charge to 80-percent capacity in as little as 15 minutes for cars like the Cross Coupe GTE. This could be a boon to prospective customers, as studies have found plug-in hybrid drivers plug in more frequently than originally expected. Plug-in drivers seem to want to perform as much driving as possible using electricity alone, and VW's plan to adopt the CCS Combo plug could help drivers achieve that. Read more at Green Car Reports. Tesla's 6.1 Firmware update for the Model S includes a Trip Energy Prediction feature. The new feature takes into account things like elevation, speed and predicted driving behavior to estimate the amount of energy used and how much range will be left in the battery after a route is programmed into the navigation system. It can let the driver know if a round trip can be made, and if the driver will need to charge before heading out. The feature updates itself in realtime throughout the drive as well, responding to how much energy is actually being used. Read a rundown of Trip Energy Prediction at Teslarati. The dates for National Drive Electric Week have been set for Saturday, September 12 through Sunday, September 20, 2015. The grassroots celebration of EVs is organized by Plug In America, The Electric Auto Association and the Sierra Club. "We're revved up for National Drive Electric Week 2015, which will offer the public, the media, and policymakers a great opportunity to come check out many of the 20-plus plug-in vehicles on the market," says Sierra Club EV Initiative Director Gina Coplon-Newfield. Last year, more than 90,000 people participated in 152 cities worldwide. Read more in the press release below. National Drive Electric Week 2015-DATES ARE SET SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Jan., 20, 2015-Dates have been set for the fifth annual National Drive Electric Week: Sat., Sept. 12 through Sun., Sept. 20, 2015. Events will encompass two weekends to give planners maximum flexibility and consumers plenty of opportunity to attend. "This promises to be an exciting year for plug-in vehicles," said Tom Saxton, Plug In America's chief science officer. "The BMW i3 will be on the road for the first full year, we expect deliveries of the Tesla Model X, an updated Chevy Volt, and greater overall sales growth than we saw last year.

Ford Mustang Mach-E fails Sweden's moose test

The infamous moose test has claimed another casualty. This time it's the Ford Mustang Mach-E AWD Long Range, which was tested in an electric four-way alongside the Tesla Model Y, Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Skoda Enyaq iV (an electric utility vehicle closely related to the Volkswagen ID.4 that is sold in the United States). According to the Swedish testers at Teknikens Varld, Ford's electric car not only failed to hit the speed necessary for a passing grade, it didn't perform well at slower speeds, either. To pass the outlet's moose test, a car has to complete a rapid left-right-straight S-shaped pattern marked by cones at a speed of at least 72 km/h (44.7 miles per hour). The test is designed to mimic the type of avoidance maneuver a driver would have to take in order to avoid hitting something that wandered into the road, which in Sweden may be a moose but could just as easily be a deer or some other member of the animal kingdom elsewhere in the world, or possibly a child or car backing into the motorway. Not only is the maneuver very aggressive, it's also performed with weights belted into each seat and more weight added to the cargo area to hit the vehicle's maximum allowable carrying capacity. The Mustang Mach-E only managed to complete the moose test at 68 km/h (42.3 mph), well below the passing-grade threshold. Even at much lower speeds, Teknikens Varld says the Mach-E (which boasts the highest carrying capacity and was therefore loaded with more weight than the rest of the vehicles tested in this quartet) is "too soft in the chassis" and suffers from "too slow steering." Proving that it is indeed possible to pass the test, the Hyundai and Skoda completed the maneuver at the 44.7-mph figure required for a passing grade and the Tesla did it at 46.6 mph, albeit with less weight in the cargo area. It's not clear whether other versions of the Mustang Mach-E would pass the test. It's also unknown if Ford will make any changes to its chassis tuning or electronic stability control software, as some other automakers have done after a poor performance from Teknikens Varld, to improve its performance in the moose test. Related video:

Volkswagen rules out more potent Polo R

Volkswagen may be planning ever more powerful versions of its Golf, but don't expect that lust for power to trickle down to the smaller Polo anytime soon as the German automaker has reportedly ruled out the prospect of making a Polo R. This according to Autovisie, the automotive section of Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, in speaking to VW representatives at the launch of the new Polo GTI. Where the previous Polo GTI offered 177 horsepower, the new one packs 189 and is available with either a six-speed manual or seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. The company briefly offered a Polo WRC Street with 220 horsepower, but that was only for a limited edition that Autovisie says will not be repeated for mainstream production. Which may just be for the best, as far as we're concerned, as no versions of the Polo are offered in the US, and we don't need yet another piece of forbidden fruit we can't get our hands on. The decision may seem at odds with the Polo R WRC rally machine with which Volkswagen has been dominating the World Rally Championship for the past two seasons, but was likely made in order to keep the Polo from infringing on Golf territory. VW currently offers the Golf GTI with 210 horsepower and the Golf R with 292, and showcased an even more powerful version with nearly 400 hp.