EV info

Not very well.
IF the temperature is above about 70F, and IF the battery charge is up, THEN you can use it to move the car around. Unless you depress the throttle more than a bit.
Otherwise, the engine will start.

It's useful if you just want to move the car, say, out of the garage/carport to wash or something. Or if it is parked under a bedroom window and you want to move away before the engine starts.

 

It is not very useful. It only works at very low speed and very very slow acceleration. You're not really going to run into many situations where you will actually be able to use it successfully. The normal functions of the car do a good enough job in turning off the ICE when it is not needed.

 

get a great deal now on a used pip, or wait for the new one in late 2016.

 

if you already know how to float then the EV mode is almost useless...

I've only used it when I know the engine would kick in if I accelerated normally in my neighborhood.

 

I find the EV has very limited but quite useful use to move the car without needing the ICE to turn on (polluting and wasting fuel since it will be cold or because simply not necessary to do the job).
I use it to move the car within the parking lot in my office at the end of the day when going the gym's facilities and starting (and interrupting) an ICE warm up cycle would be polluting and unnecessary.
And when I need to move the car out of the garage where I live, for any reason, without the need of the ICE.
The EV mode has perfect sense when the engine is cold, or after a break and you are sure you don't need to the ICE to move the car for a short stretch of road (e.g. in parking lots).
Otherwise with a warm engine and charged enough battery, and not pressing hard the accelerator, the ECU does a good job in using what is best in that moment. So, for example, arriving in the neighbourhood and slowing down, you will hardly every use the ICE. A sort of implicit EV mode, in that case.
If I didn't have the EV mode button, it would be annoying. It is actually helpful.

 

Thanks all, this thread is very informative for a newbie.

Last light, with a first time full EV charge (just got my car a few days ago), I encountered everything that was said here except I haven't tried EV mode when the car was warmed up to operating temp.

With the engine was cold, I also experienced the acceleration was insanely slow and I was in a residential area.

While going up hill (30 degree incline), well... Forget about that, it reminded me of the childhood train that chanted "I think I can... I think I can..."

Question: it is a good idea to switch to EV while cruising at a constant speed? Example: accelerate using either HV or Eco, then once at crusing speed, switch to EV? 40 mph

Trying to find other ways to utilize the EV in addition to parking lots, etc.

This thread probably explains why the price difference between used prius plug in and used regular prius are non-existent.

Thanks

 

Using EV mode when driving normally does not help and brings no benefit. The ECU of the Prius will know when to switch to electric drive only and shut off the ICE as long as it is efficient to do so and then turn on the ICE automatically.

Could you please explain better what you mean? the Prius Plug-in, at least in Europe, is 10k€ more expensive than the base model....

 

Thanks for the info Pakitt.

While searching/researching a purchase of a used Prius, I have found that the prices on a used plug in, in a lot cases, were priced less than an equivalent regular prius (same year, mileage, etc).

In some instances, I have seen used older base Prius with higher mileage priced higher than a newer low mileage plug in prius. It is very strange.

I know if I had bought brand new, the plug in is about $7,000 usd more than the base prius.

The price anomaly only applies to used and I don't know the reason why. There are a few other priuschat who also purchased within the last few months that have encountered the same as I have, used plug in prices are lower than used base prius.

 

Ok, now I understand - it is really interesting to see there is not price difference in the used versions of both models.
I never really looked for used Priuses here in Europe so I cannot comment.
The Plug-in Prius EV mode is quite different though than the one of the regular Prius.
One can drive up to 100km/h and for about 20km (if I remember correctly) with the Prius Plug-in EV mode.

 

The 3rd gen Prius will give somewhere around 15 seconds of reliable EV, at startup. I appreciate that's a laughably short window, but with that I manage to get the car out of the garage and into the driving, say for washing. Maybe 4th gen will increase that to (say) 30 seconds, hope hope.

 

I think this thread is talking about using the EV mode in non plug in Prius. I believe that the plug in should use the electric motor automatically more than the non plug in and is less likely to use the gasoline engine to charge the hybrid battery. I'm not a plug in owner so maybe plug in owners should address this.

 

Thanks royrose. Opps.

I saw EV and equate that with the button on my console. Then I saw the post above yours that said 15 seconds in EV mode and realized, this must be about something else.

 

This is exactly why Toyota put an EV mode in the Prius since the first gen. It isn't about use during regular driving, but to avoid turning on the engine for short moves of the car, or, according to the manual, to avoid disturbing your neighbors in the wee hours with engine noise.

On the non plug in, over use of EV can lead to reduced fuel economy. The battery will need to be recharged after EV use, and all energy for the car comes from gasoline. Just let the car do its thing if you aren't interested in learning to feather the pedal for glides.

The incentives available to new plug ins, and the rapid improvement in batteries and EV ranges, depresses the used car prices.

 

the nice thing on the gen III is the hsi, and ability to see how much pedal pressure will kick on the ice. this was impossible in the gen II.

 

I second what packitt says.

I installed a home-made EV button in my Gen 2 several years ago, and I do find it convenient for doing things like shuffling cars in the driveway, which I have to do on a regular basis, without starting up a cold engine for < 30 seconds.

Of course, as others have mentioned. Over using it or in the wrong situations can hurt the fuel economy, so one has has be smart about it.

Just one more button in my cockpit. ;-)

 

Lol, thanks Tideland, though I never really went anywhere, just been mostly lurking the last couple years.

373K Km and counting on ol' faithful while I await the PIP2. ;-)