EV Strategy Question

mishk99, describe your commute in some more detail, i.e., lengths of the various legs, terrain, traffic density.You may have another option.

 

Total length of commute 14 miles
Start off on EV Mode + ECO Mode: local streets for approx 2 miles. 2 stop signs and 4 traffic lights.
AC kept at 73 F, fan speed set manually to 2 bars
Before Merging on highway - switch to HV Mode + ECO Mode: ramp up speed quickly to 64 mph.
Drive 8 miles on Cruise Control + ECO Mode - light or no traffic
For the last 4 miles of the trip - Switch to EV Mode+ECO Mode while cruising at 60 mph
Slow down before exiting highway, still on EV Mode+ECO Mode.
Exit highway, drive 0.5 miles to parking lot, still on EV Mode+ECO Mode.

For the past week I have averaged 82-90 mpg with this pattern on morning commute.
Afternoon commute on the way back is around 70 mpg - probably due to more AC use.

 

can you do it on back roads?

 

Yep! That 60 mph section just kills you! If that is your only choice! It is what it is.
Like bisco says back roads would be great But! if none. Just Enjoy!

 

Hills are the other thing. Rather than cruise control, I find that, if traffic lets me, it helps quite a bit to try and pick up a bit of excess speed going down them, and let the car slow a bit as you go up - but don't slow so much that you need to accelerate again, that kills you.

Also, as has already been said, an almost unnoticeable incline can make a significant difference to mpg if it lasts for long enough.

 

Its not a very hilly area, but there are some noticeable inclines. No backroads option either.

I just wonder if its best strategy to leave some EV for the return trip. or to use it all up in morning commute.

Also - the 1st 5 mins to warm up the car take the most mpg - so as a rule of thumb im guessing we should always try to have EV on for the 1st 5 mins?

 

I don't think the Eco, Normal, or Power modes have any effect when cruise control is engaged. Anyone know otherwise?

 

not on the throttle, but probably on the hvac.

 

I'm still not sure which drive modes are which with the PIP
ev/hv,
eco,
ev/hv and eco,
power,
or none ( all dash drive mode lights off ).

suppose-in I should read the manual, again.

 

That is one thing I love with this car. It drives like 6 different cars...HV in each mode and EV in each mode.

 

well, ev and hv are self explanatory, are they not?

 

No
I know what they are supposed to mean, but in reality what they are is still just a fleeting concept of someones elses description of what they did yesterday.

 

There are two places where you see EV and HV.
1) On the button along side the ECO and PWR buttons. Its a change from the previous mode (EV or HV) each time you press it. The car will automatically revert to HV or, it will stay in HV when you press the button, if conditions do not allow EV.

2) On the HSI display there are two icon sizes.
If you are in HV then the car is held in the basic hybrid mode and the HSI will show you if you are just using electricity or a combination of electricity and gas. If you are just using electricity a little EV will appear in the left side of the display icon. If you are in the EV mode a larger icon on the display will show EV when you are just using electricity and it will be blank if the ICE is running such as when you go over 62 mph. The EV will come back on when the ICE shuts off.

If all this still bothers you I would suggest selling the car

 

Simplifying, so some of this is a lie... But:

HV drives mostly like a normal Prius, recycling regenerated energy and a small amount of the initial main battery charge for low load/speed and the ICE for anything else.
EV tries to drive using main battery charge if there is enough, but the ICE will come on if you go too fast (about 63mph real, 68 nominal on the speedo for you, 10 mph less for me with the European model). It will also come on if you accelerate too hard, turn the heating on, you accelerate even moderately when it is near freezing outside, or if Jupiter aligns with Mars while the moon is in the 7th house (see the FAQ).
ECO as a setting smooths out the effects of a lead foot. As a light lit on the HUD it tells you that you are driving in an economical way.
PWR, as I understand it, is the reverse of ECO and gives you a faster response to a hard push on the throttle. I don't have experience of this as the European model doesn't have it. Instead, we have...
EV City, which makes it even harder to force the ICE on when in EV.

Hope that helps. The main post in the FAQ thread, which gets amended for things added to the thread later, is very well worth reading and rereading.