When I drive the PiP in EV Boost mode, the gas engine rpm stays very low, so is the engine sound. It sounds like it is just idling since it revs at 1,000 rpm. When I am going 75 mph, the engine revs at very low rpm and I had a hard time keeping it below 80 mph. My mind is tricked into believing I am going slower than the actual speed. I think I am using the sound of the engine to judge the speed or something. It felt like I am driving a different car, one with two more cylinders. EV Boost is when you are in EV and go above 65 mph. ICE comes on and blend gas with electricity. Is it just me? What are your experience in the EV Boost / Blended mode?
That's how I figured out that the ICE performs a warm up cycle before providing actual drive power, even when you're accelerating. All the motive power still comes from the traction battery until the ICE has finished warming up.
Wait, what is EV boost mode? Just driving in HV when you've got an EV range charge? If so, I can't say that I get the same feeling as you, though I never drive above 60mph, and most often below 45mph because of traffic.
EV Boost is when you are in EV and go above 65 mph. ICE comes on and blend gas with electricity. I am not talking about during the warmup but after that and during normal operation.
Well, I guess that explains why I've never experienced it.... I've never driven the car at that speed!
The nature of my commute is such that I almost always have more EV miles charged from the wall than I have non-highway miles in which to use them so I have been using the surplus during EV boost on the highway for several miles. I experience the same sensation as usbseawolf describes once the engine has run up to temperature. It's a very smooth power delivery.
I think Toyota needs to do a better job of marketing the performance aspects of electric drive. There is something very satisfying about the way near-maximum torque is available at all speeds. The Tesla has been marketed that way, and BMW is showing us that in the i8.
I was on the beltway yesterday and was able to open my PiP up and was pleasantly surprised with the power delivery at 65+. Almost feels like a baby turbo.
I do this on freeway also... Just wondering... If you keep using this EV turbo boost... Would the battery worn out?
Actually, it could last longer. When the engine joins in at faster speeds to contribute power, you'll notice that the draw-rate from the battery is reduced. Each 1.0 mile of estimated range will be consumed over roughly 1.5 miles.
Another way to put it is, it feels like a different gear ratio -- like going into super overdrive. A totally different experience.
It is actually easier on the battery because the work is now split between the battery and gas engine. The engine gets normal work out also, eliminating the need for forced start (engine maintenance mode) or worry about gas going stale (no need for premium gas). Battery gets to discharge at slower pace, stretching the miles out. Say, if you get 12 miles on pure EV, you can get 18-24 miles EV boosted.
Yesterday I passed another vehicle on a long mountain straightaway (one lane in each direction). I typically use the car for commuting and rarely find a reason to test the acceleration limits of the PiP. I was in EV mode initially, then passed the vehicle around 65 mph. Asking for sudden, strong acceleration would have triggered the ICE regardless of the 62 mpg threshold. But I must say, the car can really move when asked to, even at this high starting speed.
Yea, that speed is where near max gas power and electric motor power can combine to near peak power. Prius passing power is deceptively quick. 0-30mph, 30-60mph and 60-85mph are about the same (5 secs). Deceptive because we are conditioned by a step-gear cars that suffers in passing power delivery. Love the eCVT. PiP eCVT is more refined because ICE revs lower and feels taller gear due to more electricity pumped in.
I'm sure that if the internal combustion engine hadn't been the dominant power supply for automobiles for the last 120 years, and we were all accustomed to using something like steam or electric power, we would find the ICE unacceptable. The power-curve, which only delivers full power gradually, as RPM increases, would seem like a real pig, and the fact that a gearbox transmission is required, would have taken it right off the table as a possible contender as an alternative power source.
