Featured F-150 Hybrid

.... inverter, too.
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I thought that inverter is cooled by the coolant, not the ATF fluid.

 

it'd be doubtful that it'd use ATF. But whether it's refrigerant loops like in an AC, or an ethyl glycol type - not sure .... much less if manufacturers differ. For instance, the Chevy Bolt uses AC compressor heat exchanging, rather than radiator type fluid to cool its traction pack.
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It is it had a separate reservoir in the prius. I have no idea if toyota made the rav4 prime inverter with SiC, like tesla does, that requires less cooling.

 

This off-road TFL test of RAV4 Prime, reminded me of this thread:

They reckon the drivetrain is even better than conventional RAV4 TRD off-road.

So again, mechanical 4x4 with drive shaft is dead in the hybrid application, there is just no point in doing it. A hybrid is just a way to get electricity for electric drivetrain. Anything else is just adding mechanical complexity and also cost (if not today, then in the near future).

 

I recall a comparison review of the first gen hybrid Escape and Highlander, in which they called the Escape, with mechanical AWD, better for off road. There is more than just the AWD or 4WD drive system to consider for off road use. The reviewer has in the video seen Rav4 hybrids fail at getting up steep hills. Yeah it has a weaker rear motor, but that amount is further limited when the small battery is low on charge.

The Rav4 prime has a huge battery, so reduced power to the motors isn't going to be an issue. Though, they didn't test it with 0 EV range in hybrid mode, and they used 6 miles of range to go 0.8 miles. He said it was better than the TRD, but also said it was for light to moderate off roading as it was equipped. It could use a limited slip or locking differential. Torque vectoring with the brakes can mimic those, but it a reactive system; he had to wait for the computer to figure out it needed to use it at times. Not an issue here, but torque vectoring can abuse the brakes under hard driving. One auto mag had destroyed the brakes on a Ford with it during extensive track testing.

The TRD and Adventure Rav4s might be better on more challenging trails, as they do essentially have a limited slip in the rear. The control software also has more nuance with selections for mud & sand, rock & dirt, and snow versus the hybrids' trail. Plus, they have downhill assist control. These differences are probably why the TRD and Adventure rated to tow 1500 more pounds than the Prime.

Then people driving such challenging trails are looking are the 4runner, if they are looking at a Toyota. More likely it's a Bronco or Wrangler, whose hybrid and plug ins keep the mechanical 4WD.

A quick explanation of Toyota's AWD. What Is the Toyota Dynamic Torque Control AWD System? - MotorTrend

 

RAV4 Prime is just an example. It doesn't show all the benefits it could be made, but some of my points definitely materialised.

With EV range at 0, going slow off road, ICE can force charge battery constantly and battery will provide surge of power for short term that is needed. I don't see any problem there and as I said HSD is made so that power is split (hence PSD - power split device) 50:50 to mechanical and electrical path, that electrical power can all be used on the rear if needed. And don't start again with that argument that torque is not split 50:50, I'm not writing about torque I'm writing about power.

Maybe drop a comment on TFL YouTube channel to do that again with depleted battery.

 

It works because it is a PHEV with a big battery. I don't see a BEV designed for it having an issue going off road with AWD. Functionally, a PHEV is virtually the same for the job.

The issue I had was with hybrids without plugs, which is what the F150 will be. These have have battery packs with a total capacity in the 1 to 1.5 kWh range. That is only enough for limited use of the AWD system, not a constant drain for trails like what the video was testing on, and M/G1 doesn't have the power out put to fully power one of the other M/Gs on its own.