I am trying to figure out what the intended use model is of the 2023 Prime. Is the intention that you charge to 100%, leave it in Auto, drive until the battery dies and keep going on HV mode until the tank runs out? Or is it drive until the battery dies, run in HV until you get a chance to recharge? It seems that the default mode on startup is EV mode (although I cannot figure out the difference between this and Auto - Auto never seems to kick in to HV mode, at least in my normal driving that I've noticed), so that leads me to believe the intent is to run in EV until the battery dies rather than in HV mode. Just trying to figure out when it's optional to recharge. I like the idea of avoiding using gas at all, but that doesn't seem like how it's intended to work.
Recharge overnight, drive in EV mode until that capacity is depleted. Plug in at your destination if possible. My wife and I did that for 6 years with each of our Primes. With the 25-mile range (usually got over 30 real-world summer), being able to plug-in at work was great. Now, my wife has chargers available at the community-center where her band practices too. So, most miles are electric-only.
toyotas intentions were to give you a range of options so you can create your own intended use. the only reason it starts in ev mode is for pollution concerns. wouldn't want the engine coming on every time if your intentions are to use ev mode only. feel free to use no gas at all, but keep the tank empty. if you do have gas in the tank, use hv at least once or twicea year to burn off the old gas, and if you refill, rinse and repeat. i keep my tank low, and fill it for trips.
Less gas also means less weight. No point lugging around 30-40 liters (20 to 30 KG) if you don't intend to use them in the near future.
I can't speak to the initial question of "what is Toyota s Intended driving usage" for any Prius, as there are many ways any Prius and even more ways a Prius Prime can be driven, both efficiently and / or not very efficiently. There is really no need to drive the Prime in any of the scenarios mentioned. The buttons are there for the driver to select if and when appropriate and efficient or appropriate to the drivers desires whether it be efficient or not. A driver may choose one of the scenarios mentioned above and just drive a Prime like it's any other car on the road. Or a driver and choose to start in HV mode instead of EV mode. Or start in EV Auto mode as it appears you have done. But just because you select one or another mode at the beginning of a trip / drive, doesn't ever mean you have to stay in that mode until the trip / drive is finished and the car is shut off. A diver in a Prime has the opportunity to select any of the 4 modes (EV default, HV, EV Auto and Charge Mode} whenever the driver chooses, as long as the Prime p;rogramming allows that mode selection at the time the driver pushes the appropriate button. One example of Prius Prime not allowing a mode when selected is, if there is more than 80% charge / SOC in the traction pack battery, and the driver pushes and holds the HV/EV button for 5 seconds and messge is displayed on screen saying Charge Mode is not available. Another is if there is 0% charge / SOC in the traction pack and the driver selects EV mode a message will be displayed on screen saying EV mode is not available. Those two are the most common I've seen.
You set the use model. Toyota lets you pick anything from all-gasoline all the time (and still use California HOV lane stickers for a couple more years), to all-EV for a short distance, to recharge at your convenience. And just about anything in between.
I have no idea what Toyota intended the use model to be, but I now only drive the thing in EV mode or Hybrid mode. EV mode for lower speed driving, and Hybrid for freeway driving. I tried auto mode a couple times, but it frustrated me that it remains in EV mode when I jump on the freeway. The battery drains quickly going 70-75 mph. My use case for this vehicle was to find the cheapest CA HOV lane eligible vehicle. My use case for this vehicle expires the end of next year, at which point I’ll sell the Prime to my daughter (she loves the car; I’d rather drive something that doesn’t sound like a lawnmower) and move onto something else.
EV Auto wasn't really explained clearly with the last gen and it seems like it isn't explained in this new gen either. Toyota simply said it blended between EV and HV mode but it seems to just operate like EV mode unless you floor it. Once, I did switch to HV mode to let the engine do its warm-up cycle and once that was done, switch back to EV Auto. All I noticed is that it stayed in EV mode during the highway drive, kicking in the engine only when I accelerated to pass (as opposed to EV mode which would've kept the engine off). But the weird thing is, if you didn't pre-warm the engine in HV prior, I don't think EV Auto would've kicked in the engine either. So it doesn't seem like a useful mode. I'd just stick with EV or HV mode and you can decide how to blend the two systems yourself.
I'm not keen of Ev Auto either , I tried it in Charlevoix QC and did not like the feeling . Started cold in EV,switched to EV AUTO as expected the car choosed to run EV but while climbing a steep hill the ICE kicked in as expected but no warming period or maybe a few seconds only ( not easy to estimate warming time when you face a steep hill) ......did not enjoy it ....prefer choosing HV for warming up time. In EV Auto , no way the system can estimate proper heating time facing a hill or a sudden floor request. As you say if you desire EV auto you should use HV mode first and when the engine has done it's warm up cycle , then go to EV auto. In my opinion a proper implementation of calling EV AUTO just after starting ,should call for a warm-up ICE routine before permetting EV AUTO operation.
There are times when the Prime can not intuit all possible variables. When Prime was first introduced there were some reports of engine shake at EV switchover to engine On, especially at colder ambient temps nearer freezing temps and going up an incline steeper than a gentle rise. I also experienced that engine shake during our Primes first winter pre warmup cycle and it (the engine) came on going up an incline. The shake was much less severe at the switchover in the same conditions as above and on the coasting / gliding decline. As temps warmed up the next spring the shaking at engine on switchover begin to and finally disappeared completely, so much so that it was difficult at times to even feel the engine was On.
In my 2023, if I run out of EV at a higher speed (60mph plus on the highway), there's a minor little shudder when the engine first kicks in. Barely noticeable at lower speeds. Other than that initial switchover, it's extremely smooth and I wouldn't be able to tell when it's running or not most of the time other than the EV symbol on the speedometer or multifunction display or whatever Toyota calls it.
