Hwy vs City Miles on PHEV Longevity

Highway miles will use the ICE more often.

 

Driving on a highway is rather easy for both the EV or hybrid side since keeping a steady speed is very efficient. The Hybrid mode is more efficient because it is switching between both powertrains. Its acceleration that's the killer for any powertrain. I've used EV mode in my Prius Prime on the highway and switched between that and charge mode. Depending on distance its sometimes more efficient to use the charge mode to get back into EV mode especially for the last leg. This is very dependent on weather and road conditions.

 

Highway driving requires more constant torque to keep the car going but city driving requires more torque burst to get the car going. Which one is more detrimental, I don't know. Same for tires. Tires have to grip the road more to go against air drag while driving on an highway but city driving requires more grip to overcome inertia (when accelerating) and kinetic energy (when stopping) while requiring less grip while driving since the lower speed means less air drag. Again, which one wears the tires more? I don't know.

 

What kind of hwy driving, what location, which mode(s), what speed and how far? etc.
What kind of city driving, which city, which modes(s), fastest speed, traffic pattern(s), rush hours and how far? etc.
You probably still wouldn't be able to give a definitive answer that will satisfy everyone
and probably not even anyone.

 

With BEVs, it sounds like the high instant torque on starts leads to quicker tire wear. City will lead to more wear if that is true. The regen system means the friction brakes see little use either way.

As for the drive systems. Well, ICEs are just violent devices. The near explosions and multitude of moving parts mean lots of vibrations. Combined to the high heat can lead to wear and break downs. At steady speeds, the system hits an equilibrium with less jarring changes in load, and there is plenty of air flow for cooling. Stop and go traffic puts more stress on things, plus the idling isn't good for oil, and that can lead to other issues.

In contrast, an electric motor is gentle in comparison. The shaft and stator only rotates, and is spun by a non physical force. Motors just last longer by their nature compared to engines. Most end up being retired because of something else on the unit breaking, or to switch to something more efficient. For an EV, city or highway miles likely isn't going to make a difference. I don't think long periods of max speed would be good, but that is far above highway.

 

And there's your answer. More mpg's=more ev miles/less ICE use.

 

That's gotta spark debate.

The one thing I can think of that's tough on engines is short trips, when the car doesn't get warmed up. One strategy we use now, with increasingly limited need for a car, is if we've got to be somewhere across town later in the day, then earlier that day: do the short-run, heavy item shopping trip and/or recycling chore. In short: consolidate trips.

Also, if going downtown, where parking is convoluted and expensive, take transit. Kind of off-topic though.

This is hybrid-centric thoughts. I suspect the Prius Plug-Ins are inherently tough on engines, especially when the bulk of your driving is EV, punctuated by engine cold-starts just a mile or two from getting home.

 

Better not leave a space for someone to slip in!

 

I have a 2017 Prime. Purchased in 2018. It is 2024 now. The range on my dash I get in Spring Time show 23 or so miles. During the colder months it can dip to 22.5 miles.

The PHEV battery will degrade. It will degrade less the slower you drive. So if you drive with the BLUE color, I am sure the battery will last long. I drive with the RED color and that could be why I have my miles degraded.

But then again the battery is 7 years old. So maybe it does not matter?