I picked up my new 2010 Prius IV 6 days ago. Lovin it so far. I do have a question. Does anybody ever use EV mode and when do you use it. I really can't see using it.
Yes. When there's no traffic behind me pulling away from stop lights, and returning home, up this one hill in the neighborhood, where the speed limit is 25 and it's hard to go any faster because of cars parked on either side of this steep, squirrly road.
Yes! When I'm stuck in a traffic jam and won't be going more than 25 mph. Or when I'm in a long stop - waiting for a drawbridge or long light. Also good for drive thrus. Anywhere you're stopped or crawling, it's great!
Maggie, You do know that if you leave it in any of the other modes when stopped, or crawling, that the car remains in electric mode, unless your battery is very low (and in which case you would not be able to go into EV mode anyways.)... So, if you are hoping to simply not have the ICE turn on, you can do that from any mode. The only time that I really use the EV mode other than when showing the car to someone, is when I am in the underground garage by my office. Otherwise, I stay in ECO mode all the time.
Thanks, that's what I thought but, are you not running off of the battery during those situations anyway? Does EV offer any movement twds a better MPG over just keeping the car in ECO mode?
Your message was posted after I had already posted my reply but this was my point. It is the same in ECO mode, so why ever use EV? I read in the fuel economy area that EV could actually cause your overall MPG to go down in certain circumstances.
There's also stealth mode, up to 47 miles per hour where the car will run on battery only. You have to just be good at driving the Prius or lucky to go into stealth mode, as there are no controls for it.
I've been using it around the neighborhood...not sure its worth the bother, and I likely won't use it at all 6 months from now, but its a cool feature.
Yes, intellectually, I know you're right. But I have a new button to push so I do. I also stay in ECO mode and use PWR briefly to hop on the highway. So, why do you use it in the underground garage?
The EV button seems to make the gas pedal even less sensitive and easier to stay in electric-only compared to the ECO button. So yeah, you can do the same thing without the EV button, but it seems to be just a bit easier with the button on. I use it on the last (very short) uphill right before my house to keep it from kicking on the ICE before I get to the driveway. Then I can coast on the way out next time and get some of that charge back. I also like it for parking lots and such where exhaust fumes and pedestrians don't belong together.
I tend to use it in the underground garage primarily because I like sneaking up on people. I too, tend to go into PWR from time to time, yet I know that there is no difference in the total throttle response, it is a mental thing.
This document DRIVING-MODES was created to point out differences and summarize this heavily discussed 2010 Prius topic. The intent was to keep it as simple as possible. But sometimes a little bit more info can be helpful. Comments & Suggestions are welcome. .
Thanks for the link John, that was helpful. I will use EV when pulling out of the garage. Right now the engine comes on while I am hooking up my seat belt. I can see using it in drive-thrus as well.
I use it daily... in my underground parking at the office... it's 4 floors underground, and it let's me go about 20 -25 kph all the way down without adding more carbon monoxide to the place!! Plus on the way down the battery charges up with "light" pressure on the brake...
Only useful use I found was to impress people and waste gas at the same time. I'm also waiting for the winter to plug my block heater and let people believe I'm charging the car. More seriously, simply consider the fact than while in ECO mode, when you switch to EV, the "Eco" indicator goes away, as using the EV mode is not ecological. Using EV mode means draining the battery (losing part of the energy in doing so) to power the motor (again losing part of the energy in doing so), then have the engine drive the motor/generator (losing part of the energy in doing so) to push current to the battery to charge it (losing part of the energy in doing so). It is then more efficient to have the engine power the car (losing part of the energy in doing so).
I love to use it in Walmart or any large store.When in the parking lot i love to creep up behind someone and then beep the horn and scare the $rap out of them..It works great on old people and little kids. Relax...it's a joke.
