I meant to say that being in EV mode or HV mode or switching between them does not effect how cruise control behaves, at least in my experience.
I use a third choice for highway driving. I basically do what you describe in choice #2. I agree that it make sense to warmup the engine while moving and use HV mode for the highway. But when the engine warm-up is complete, the PiP will begin to refill the EV miles lost during the warm-up and this will affect your MPG...unless, you press the EV/HV button twice. (So you'll still be in HV mode) The PiP will then remember the current EV miles as the new "target EV Miles" and will stop charging more. You can then complete the freeway portion in HV mode without the MPG lost to charging. You won't have as much EV Miles remaining because you cancelled the charge but chances are you'll still have enough EV miles for the city portion of your trip and the freeway part will be more efficient. Anyone else is doing that?
I didn't realize it did this. That makes sense though. So after about a minute you just hit the EV/HV button twice?
Exactly. The PiP remember the "target EV miles" when you press HV Mode just like the cruise control remember the speed when you turn it on. If you reset HV mode by cycling to EV mode and back to HV mode (hitting the button twice), the PiP will set the new EV target to your current charge level and will stop charging right away. I think this is more efficient overall.
Yes, I agree. However, it'll screw up the EV mile tracking (hence lower EV ratio) and get a boost in the HV MPG since you'll get 50+ MPG during the warmup. If you don't care about the accuracy of EV ratio and focus on the maximum efficiency of the overall system, I would say it is the way to go.
Some day the nav system will talk to the other computers and the car will be able allocate EV itself based on knowing where you're going, the road and traffic characteristics en route, and whether there is a charging station at the end of the trip. Unless, of course, the PiP engineers are not as compulsive as the Pip owners. But if they weren't, the PiP wouldn't be as good as it is.
