I've had my '02 about 10 weeks now and am very happy with the car. I average around 50-54 mpg depending on terrain and roads - no complaint there. I find that I monitor the bar graphs and try to maintain 50 mpg or better when ever it is possible. I tried using the other screen with the pictures and arrows and find it all but impossible to maintain a zero arrow glide. I don't know if it is because of the roughly 2 second delay on the screen update or because the roads around here are not perfectly flat. What I find is that the slightest pedal movement takes it from battery-to-wheelpower back to wheelpower-to-battery and back and forth. It is almost impossible to hold it at no power flow for more than about a second or two. I have tried this at speed of between 20-40 mph with no luck. What am I missing, or is it harder to do this on a classic? In anycase, I find that watching the mpg display gives me 50+ mpg which I think is good for a classic which was rated at only 52/45 or 48 average by EPA.
On my '05, I can only manage to glide if going under 42, or if going down a significant hill when going over 42. If I'm going 50 mph on relatively level ground, gliding wont happen. However, when going over 42, I can get it into a psuedo-glide state, where it shows the engine being used, but the mpg shows between 95 and 99.
I think the main problem is that the '02 is a bit different than the '04+ and I don't think it really likes to 'glide' like the current model does. Looks like you have to update your hardware!!
Think I'll stick with the current hardware, not worth the upgrade for the slightly better gas mileage
It depends... ... I have been experimenting with pulse/glide myself over the past few days. It seems to me that if the ICE is cold then it is almost impossible to glide. Either the ICE provides power to the wheels or the MG1 is engaged for regenerative braking. Once the engine is warmed up and my speed is less than 45 mph (ish) then I can find the sweet spot using the pedal where there are no arrows to/from the battery. Over 45mph I'm not sure I've been able to eliminate the arrows. I've also tried to accelerate only using the ICE with no arrows to/from the battery, so the battery is only charged from regen. To my surprise my mpg has improved a few notches and I'd say since I started doing this a few days ago my mpg is up to just under 50 from around 43 - 44. I should also say that this has been with the A/C on only about 40% of the time, which probably accounts for 2-3 mpg...
Me too when I want to "glide". However, I find that the most productive thing for me to do is keep the battery high in these moments so I "feather" to keep the green arrow going to the battery. I try to show as much interest in keeping the battery up as the car itself does. N or glide is for longer trips when you have some long downhills. Don't get me wrong, when I see an opportunity to do so, I always shift to N. But the battery must be in good shape for me to do so.
