I have been driving a Prius for ten years and was very happy with my fuel consumption, despite never really understanding the EV mode. Now that I just got my new Prius V (2018), I am conscious that it uses more fuel and I am wondering whether I should use the EV mode to get a better average fuel consumption. When is it appropriate/useful to use the EV mode?
Personally I just let the car computer handle Eco/Ev/Power mode. I figure it's smarter than I am. I do closely follow the speed limits, easy on the gas accelerating, etc. Around town I consistently get 45+ MPG where I do the majority of our driving. Not sure what that translates to in Oz... Bottom line is I let the car do it's thing so to speak...
Sometimes you need to reposition your car in a parking lot (You unloaded the luggage at the lobby but need to park in a space) in that scenario allows not to start the engine to go 30 feet. Otherwise, ignore EV mode. The computer will make better decisions than you can.
using ev mode unnecessarily will decrease you average mpg's because the car is forced to recharge it using gasoline which is less efficient than using gas for propulsion.
With my old Prius (2010, not v) I had it on automatic mode most of the time. With my new v I am experimenting more. UK mpg and US mpg are different I just realised. I assume you are US based. Here is a conversion calculator. Your fuel consumption seems good for a v I think.
Too, if you're viewing the website on a phone, location is not that visible, you need to click on a user's info.
I use EV when I'm moving the car a very short distance. Say out of the garage to the parking pad for a car wash. When I don't want the ICE engine to power up both for MPG/Econ/green reasons and because I'll only move the car 30 feet and that warm up is the worst possible in terms of creating contaminants in the oil and on the catalysts. Other than that I drive 99% of the time in ECO mode just because it is my preference. I might put in in power mode once every three months when I know I'm going to have to rocket out of a street entrance into traffic. Mostly I just wait. Safer. I've gotten used to it and have driven cars with less than 25% of the HP the v has so, for me, acceleration isn't the big thrill/need is is to some. Play with it, see what you like.
@Mendel Leisk is right. Let the car decide when to run the engine in traffic jams unless you know of some extenuating circumstance coming up. About the only thing I can think of is if the road is about to descend and you see traffic starting to open up a little bit allowing you to run the battery down a little extra knowing you're about to do some coasting and regenerating. Otherwise, the computer knows what it's doing.
Is it that much of a difference? When I get stuck in bumper to bumper and the car never gets past 5 to 10 mph why not stop using gas and switch to EV? What I have observed is that after about half an hour, the EV is mode gets disabled because the low battery. iPhone ?
At low speeds, level roads, it should stick to electric-only motivation, without the need to push the button? And if it drags on long enough, it'll run the charge down to two bars, which I hate...
Post 3 & 11. When repositioning car in garage, driveway, lot. That's what I do in an effort to keep the ice from starting. I'd agree let the computer operate ev & ice in commute.
This V is in Eco mode (over on the right) but the computer has chosen EV operation. (over on the left) It will not help in bumper to bumper traffic, but I find that the computer trusts Cruise Control more than it trusts my foot on the accelerator. It will use EV operation more in Cruise Control. (over 23 MPH) I can go somewhere near 43 MPH in EV operation while not in EV mode. The engine needs to be warmed up and the HV Battery needs to be 'full'. I sometimes make it 1.5 miles if I am cruising at a steady speed at 29 MPH (I could not find a picture with the vehicle moving, no one is brave enough to be taking pictures of the dash at 40 MPH)
