I have noticed that one thing that affects my EV range significantly that I haven't seen much here are hills. I am talking about the obvious hills you can see but also the slow gradual inclines that you might not recognize as a hill. Some commutes seem to take more EV than other commutes of the same distance, climate, and speed. What I want, is an app that I can keep up on my phone that constantly that will let me be more familiar with which parts of my commutes I may want to switch to ICE. I know it could be possible the auto EV/HV function could do this but I honestly don't trust it as I have seen it stick with electric at times it really should not be thus far. There are some free apps I see but I can't see that they automatically update as I drive. Anyone else have any suggestions ?
Not an answer to your main question but there's a great free tool to choose routes that are the flattest. Google Maps. Create a route and then select via bicycle, instead of car. It will choose the flattest route. Play with that in EV mode. I've gotten over 40 miles actual EV miles this way many times depending on temps, speed, etc. I don't use ICE ever unless I have to.
Over time, my eyes have gotten kind of calibrated to where I really notice small changes in grade (the only kind we have in this part of FL). You can also see the change if you're looking at the Hybrid System Indicator to see how hard the car is working. You eventually learn where it's at on level ground and notice it move to the right as you start going up small grades. It's amazing how an almost invisible slope can change your rate of energy use by a pretty dramatic amount. I also see a big change in the mpg bar when I'm running in HV mode.
agreed. but the ironic thing is, if you're in hv on those slopes, you mostly use ev with the engine continually topping up the battery. i'm not sure there is an efficiency advantage.
Same here, but I got the idea that KMM was just trying to conserve EV range as much as possible. Best miles per kWh would come from level or downhill.
Thanks for the Google trick. I may try one of those bicycle routes to work next week. I also like that hey show a graph of the elevation int he lower right. This might just work rather than the app. As for the other replies, I think it depends on which costs more in your area. For most people it would be gas that costs more than electricity so I guess what we would want to do would be save the inclines for EV use. Unless choosing a different route could extend the EV range enough to get you to the next charge.
if your goal is the lowest cost, agree on the price of fuels and getting the most out of the cheaper one.
I've used it with great effect. I have a weekly trip that runs around 115 - 120 miles and I can only partially charge @ the half way point. There's nothing needed on the way so I can choose whatever route I want. The bicycle route feature will have the least elevation change. If it tries to take you somewhere inappropriate for a car the first time, just drive around it and it will dynamically reroute.
Another big factor is wind speed and direction. I just discovered this website and I LIKE it! www.windfinder.com
You may want to emphasize the caution about following directions when using Google Maps or a GPS in bicycle mode! True story: I was driving around the central circular roads in Canberra, Australia, and mightily confused by driving the wrong way around roundabouts whilst sitting on the wrong side if the rental car and shifting with the wrong hand, when the GPS suddenly said “Take an immediate left!”, I started to do that until i saw I would be driving left directly onto a bicycle path! Lesson learned.
I had more of that in my original version but I removed it. Frankly, I didn't want to insult the OP's intelligence. It's like telling someone that a hotdog tastes better if you roast it. At some point, it's not up to me to tell them to use a stick and not their hand.
