Gutless in EV mode

You are claiming that these issues stem from EV.

I suspect that the root of these issues is that you have the vehicle in ECO mode. PWR mode will handle much better for you.

 

If in doubt or you know the drive will be demanding, that's exactly what EV-Auto is for.

For predictable drives, like the daily commute. It's easy to know whether the default EV is enough.

 

I guess because I had a previous Prius I'm used to the capabilities or lack there of, of this vehicle. As john1701a said, EV Auto is my friend, but I don't push it. If I'm in places where there's lots of hills., ie the Grapevine, I just leave it in Power mode also. Keeps me out of trouble. I don't like driving in the Trucker's lane(s) if I can avoid it.

 

I have mine on Power mode now and I feel it's more powerful than my Honda Odyssey

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

Just remember, 100% throttle is 100% throttle no matter what mode you are in. In PWR mode you don't have to push as hard to get to it, but at the bottom, it's still the same.

If you've got it locked to EV only, then there is no ICE to help until you reach battery levels or speed levels to make it kick in. That's what EV Auto is there for.

 

As @Mark57 and @MikeDee said, floored is the same in any mode -- 100% throttle. The lack of power was from not combining the ICE with the electric in EV only mode. The perception that you have more power in PWR mode is just that -- a perception -- because the power comes with less pedal travel. Read the manual. I'm sure it's in there.

 

one of the big complaints with the pip is that the engine comes on when you mash the pedal.

 

If it did, I wouldn't have bought it.

Even if it did, it would make no difference unless the engine were already warmed up because the car won't let the engine run a high power during warmup.

I have one very difficult merge on one of my common routes. I just plan ahead for this one, which I always do in Ev only. If this merge was a problem for you, you shouldn't have attempted it.

The car still doesn't perform as it should or as Toyota claimed it would. If it produced the 76kW they said it should (or 68kW as others have stated Toyota Europe said it should) it would perform better than it does.

 

I've posted that information in a thread with an easily searchable title. Ev and Hv, that is, since I've never used Ev Auto. It would be the same as Ev on a cold engine and the same as Hv on a warm engine, most likely.

 

I ran a 0-60 test in Ev mode | Page 2 | PriusChat

 

If someone does have a known merge, hill climb etc where they know they will need ICE, or even just prefer to have it, would the best thing be to switch to HV a couple of miles or so prior?

 

Could you provide Google Map or Google Earth coordinates for the ramp?

This would help us understand distances and grades.

Thanks,
Bob Wilson

 

The European version would always do that - there's no "never use the engine" mode.

If you ask for full-throttle it starts the engine to give maximum power. Its default "EV" mode is the equivalent to the US "EV Auto", and even its "EV City" would also use the engine in the same circumstance.

I guess they figured "pure EV operation" was a big US selling point, so made it not only an option, but the default there.

Not sure how you'd even measure the electric 0-60 time in Europe - you'd struggle to stop the engine from coming on.

Wonder if there is a regulatory thing - is it acceptable to have a mode setting in a car that inhibits the response to maximum accelerator pedal? The fact that the "pure EV" mode isn't available at all in Europe makes me wonder if there is some regulation that prevented it.

I doubt that's correct. Previous Priuses will run the engine at high power when they'd rather just be warming-up if the pedal is pushed hard enough. So I'd expect high power almost immediately. Maybe not maximum power, but certainly a boost from electric-only.

 

Previous Prius didn't have this much power in Ev. To be a boost from EV the engine needs to be flat out because the difference between Ev and Hv is so small. In fact, Ev is more powerful until about 25mph even against a fully warm engine.

Because of the power split system, engine power doesn't just add to electric power.

 

I integrated these numbers to get a distance from the starting point. Ev is actually ahead until 35mph. Even with Hv's superior high-speed acceleration it's still less than a car length ahead by 50mph (only a 10 foot advantage). It's a just less than 2 car lengths advantage by 60mph. To give you an idea how small that is, the recommended distance between cars at 60mph is 12 car lengths (2 seconds).

In other words, the difference between Ev and Hv for highway merging is so small one might consider it negligible.

 

That's assuming a start from zero. If someone is heading up/down an on-ramp at say 30mph and decides their little Prius can out muscle a big-rig, would you get a different result if you looked at the delta between 30 and 75mph?