EV city mode modificaton

My reasons for purchasing a Prius, won't allow me to use the "Power Mode" button. Haven't used it as yet, haven't had the need. Am I missing something? Given the option, I would prefer the "City Mode" over "Power Mode".

 

no, but we won't mind if you decide to pioneer it!

 

The Power Mode simply changes how far you have to depress the pedal to get into the PWR range on the HSI indicator. The Power Mode does not run the car in the power range unless you actually depress the pedal far enough to enter that range. The ECO Mode does not prevent you from using the power range, it simply requires a further depression of the pedal to get to that range.

Does the City Mode actually prevent entering the power range? That seems unlikely as it would be dangerous if the power were needed in an emergency situation.

 

No, it is just like like the ECO and POWER buttons, in that all it does is tweak the power demand curve from the throttle, so that you have really floor it to get the ICE to turn on. It's in the European models to comply with zero-emission zones in some cities there.

 

No, it doesn't. It's like the EV mode button in a Prius Liftback which just makes it a little harder to turn on the engine. From Mobility Choice:

 

Have the EV-City button but have yet to use it in 4 months of driving.

In the brochure it states that it permits greater use of the accelerator before the ICE kicks in. Doesn't quantify it mind you.

 

Turn on the ECO Mode and get the same result. The so called City Mode does not prevent use of the power area on the HSI indicator.

 

Interesting mod. We first need to figure out if the pedal behavior is the same between ECO and EV CITY modes.

We'll also need to compare:
- Top EV speed
- Max EV Power (kW) draw from battery

 

I just read a Euro PiP review and the author said that the ICE came on at 59MPH.. and he said that's 8MPH more than Toyota's published max EV speed. I do recall someone saying the max EV speed for the European model was less, for some unknown reason.

Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid car review • The Register

 

I expect that was me in an early post on here - my ICE turns on at an indicated 58 and-a-tiny-little-but-not-quite-59 on level ground. That's a true 54ish mph. Your top speed's higher than ours in EV, for sure.

City mode damps the throttle hugely, and really suppresses acceleration, but you can turn on ICE with a sharp pedal press if you choose. I use it a lot.

 

I haven't used EV-City Mode, but the throttle response should be different compared to ECO Mode based on the description of EV-City Mode.

ECO Mode has low throttle response when the accelerator is depressed slightly and ramps up to high throttle response when depressed hard.

EV-City Mode should have a normal throttle response until somewhere midway where you hit the PWR range of the HSI and then it will have a low throttle response before ramping up to high throttle response when depressed hard.

 

I began to edit my post in line with your para 3, which is a pretty accurate description: still lively enough at lower speeds, and then hit something of an accelerative wall at 35ish.

 

too bad, i thought you could floor it.

 

afaik, no. on the bright side, the more you drive it, the better you get at not starting the ice without looking at the screen. the only time i have trouble now is getting on the highway in an uphill situation, trying for as much ev power as possible without firing the ice. no problems around town anymore.

 

Again, I haven't used EV-City Mode, but based on its description, it should. Drivers are pretty sensitive to the amount of acceleration based on the amount of accelerator pressure they are applying, so below the PWR range of the HSI, you should feel the car is responsive. When you hit the boundary of ECO and PWR range, the throttle response drops so the car now feels sluggish which is a sign to not push the accelerator further. This should easily be done without looking at the HSI (what you are calling the power graphic display).

Actually, Bonefish Blues has used EV-City Mode and he already answered this, perhaps not so directly:

Actually, the acceleration wall at 35 is a little surprising to me. Is the acceleration wall really speed dependent (always at 35) or is it actually acceleration dependent (approaching the PWR range of the HSI)?

Have you actually used EV-City Mode? I was under the impression you haven't, which (and I don't mean to sound harsh, but just factually accurate) by definition means you don't know.

 

no problem, i was responding to, 'do we know how to implement it?' i don't think we do, do we?

 

Ah, sorry, I thought you were answering the first question about how it behaves. For the second question, I would also answer, "AFAIK, no."