I wish my Prius would switch to EV mode every time I came to a stop. The electric mode you get by default is nice, but you can only apple 3% power before it switches to ECO (gas) mode. With the true EV mode you can apply a good amount of power from a red light up to 25 mph where you can then apply 30 iMPG all the way to your choosen speed.
Keeping the engine off would be an inefficient use of the limited electricity available. The system delivers overall higher MPG as a result of having the engine startup right away. If you want EV mode for your suburb driving needs, buy the plug-in model.
Wayne Gerdes recommends keeping in Electric only, until you reach 16 mph, and then accelerating to midway between eco and power on the HSI. If you are not reaching 16 mph before switching, you are using too much gas pedal. Beyond 16 mph, you are better off using gas (according to him).
Some people actually want to achieve higher gas mileage. I, for one, would like to encourage them. Every difference is a difference. Add enough of them for a impressive change. Wayne Gerdes is talking about getting 86 mpg.
Accelerating in EV only until 16 MPH is only practical in a traffic jam, or downtown. At the normal traffic lights, doing this will get me shot.
Simply checking tire PSI every Saturday morning would provide more of a gain. Blocking the grille in the winter does even more. I've never been interested in squeezing the absolute most out. 50 MPG average was just fine for me. I've enjoyed summer driving with windows open, put bikes on back, put kayaks on top, and use the A/C when it's really hot.
The point is not to find the one thing which increases one's gas mileage the most, the point is to do all things which increase one's gas mileage.
Yes. I hit EV mode at every stop sign (if I remember). As you note, you can apply decent power and get the car from 0-25 before it turns the engine on. That's significant savings as the 0-25 is a good part of the energy needed. It would be nice if this was part of "Eco" mode, car goes electric to 25 mph if enough charge in the battery.
With AC on, EV only to 16 would take 3 -5 second longer, depends on the slope in my experience, instead of pacing the "norm".
Make sure you have ECO on when you do the EV from a stop sign move. This will keep the AC from triggering engine on.
Yup, that slow would upset people behind you. I'll never understand the obsession with the "most" desire. Squeezing every last drop of gas out of the tank, rather than just stopping at a station when the refill light comes on, is another example. Why?
Well, same as those who mod their cars to get the most HP, after a certain point, traction is the limiting factor. I suppose it is human nature.
Might as well ask why accelerate as fast as you can, to get to the next stop light 3-5 seconds sooner? Wow. You save nothing, while wasting, costly, polluting, limited fuel, bought from people who hate you.
Are you talking about EV mode (button) or the EV you get with ECO mode? To keep in EV/ECO allows so little throttle it is unrealistic in traffic. In EV button mode you can use a lot of input and still drive for free on EV. To me it seems I use the most gas accelerating from a light. If I can always turn that into EV it would be great.
Corwyn is correct. According to Wayne and some other people at CleanMPG.com using EV up to about 15mph then firing the ICE for the rest of the acceleration pulse is more efficient than just firing the ICE immediately upon take off. For those who fear for their lives if they accelerate too slow there is always the EV Mode button which allows acceleration well past the EV section on the HSI and into the Eco and Power ection if you are careful with throttle application. Using EV Mode puts you right at the threshold of tolerable acceleration and I find I actually accelerate faster than most of drivers if I use EV Mode. If I tried to stay in EV without pushing the EV button I would accelerate too slowly or I would blow right past the EV section of the HSI and enter the Eco section which would trigger the ICE to fire. The trick is to useas little EVpower as possible, however. If you use EVMode then you ultimately use more power to get up to speed and you will now have to work harder to regenerate that power vs. just going slower in EV without the mode button pressed. *shrug* For those who don't want to employ these techniques all I can say is don't. Behappy with your mpg and stop trying to toss out your $.02 when the discussion doesn't apply to you. There are a lot of people out there who could use the information to better their mpg or simply have a bit of fun.
