adventures with the PHV model Prius

8-16-2010

Slow Commute

This morning was the commute to & from work on the 70 MPH highway. This afternoon was suppose to be the commute on 55 MPH highway.

That turned out to be pointless. 10 minutes into the journey, driving up & down hills, accelerating from a dead stop, you name it... none of that caused the engine to start. Seeing 99.9 MPG throughout the drive makes for a rather uneventful experience.

So, I decided to cut through a neighborhood and take the 70 MPH highway back home while I still had some EV left.

That got things interesting. Brisk acceleration (specifically 3,746 RPM maximum) merging on fired up the engine. I knew that was going to happen. What I didn't know was what would happen when settling down to a cruise at 63 MPH, just above the EV threshold. To my surprise, the display showed only electricity feeding the tires. Huh? Looking at the ScanGauge confirmed it. The engine was only running at 1088 RPM. So basically, all it was doing was just idling... at an amazing 315 MPG. I had no idea spinning with so little load could be so efficient. Sweet!

Overall, the 13.2 mile drive was 70% EV and 30% HV with 0.9 mile of EV remaining. On the gauge, that came to 191 MPG for the drive overall. Gotta love that.
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8-16-2010

Evening Cruise

With the EV sub-packs fully replenished, I was looking for a longer distance destination. My brother welcomed the opportunity to see the PHV model. Perfect! He lives out in the country. That meant a cruise at 55 MPH in ECO mode half of the way there and the entire way back.

It was a bit chilly, only 63 F degrees heading out and 59 at times on the way back. That was less than the ideal 70's experienced so far, which added to the curiosity. 25.2 miles was the drive there. Top speed was briefly at 62 MPH. The fastest RPM was 3,392. The efficiency measured on my aftermarket gauge stated 127 MPG. Sweet!

The return trip brought total distance to 50.5 miles. Engine maximum was 3,405 RPM. The average displayed on the eco-meter came to 78.5 MPG. The EV to HV ratio was 23 to 77.

Overall distance traveled to that point: 162.1 miles. Overall average from that: 82.7 MPG. I'm obviously enjoying every minute behind the wheel... and then some!
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8-17-2010

Back Commute

This was the fun one, probably the most realistic of my driving so far since it included more than just going to work and back. I'd take the suburb route, on roads I take in the depths of Winter when snow & ice traffic is horrible. It's the slowest, but by far the most scenic & enjoyable. That makes for a nice casual ride to unwind from a long day at work... or when you're about to face one.

I knew that would take the most advantage of EV. My stops to document the journey with photos took me a little out of the way. But that's fairly realistic when stopping for food or something on the drive anyway.

There I got a nice photo of the Consumption screen showing 18.5 miles with an average of 99.9 MPG, despite the obvious indication of the engine having been used twice.

For my return trip, I took the back way. This adds about 10 miles to the drive but brings me by my mom's, the lake (we often walk the dog there), the grocery store, the bank, and several retail stores. So, it ends up saving me both driving distance and time on the way home.

At 29 miles, that's when the average finally dipped below 99.9 MPG. At 37 miles, I arrived at the exit to get off the 65 MPH highway and get on to the 55 MPH. At that point, it said 83.8 MPG. 2 miles down the road is where I stopped to take photos (at the military ruins). It was a gorgeous day, absolutely perfect for that.

When I finally arrived at home, the drive came to a total of 54.3 miles and displayed an overall efficiency of 73.0 MPG. Gotta like that. Maximum RPM was 3,636. Maximum MPH was 65. The temperature was an amazing 72 F degrees, so obviously I didn't use the A/C.
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8-17-2010

Long Drive

I didn't have enough time to fully recharge. The final night of PHV opportunity had already arrived and the sun was quickly setting. Missing that excellent lighting wasn't worth the extra electricity. Time to start my long drive.

The journey began with a jump onto the 70 MPH highway, allowing me to witness the ultra-high efficiency gained from the sub-packs despite the speed. I snapped off as many photos as possible than and later when the highway slowed to 60 MPH. That was close. Very little EV capacity remained and I really wanted to capture the 0 RPM experience on the my gauge. Got it!

I first drove to my sister's place. Visited awhile. Then jumped in the Prius again to visit my best friend. 32.3 miles at that point. Only 4% EV and 96% HV. The drive home changed it to 2% EV and 98% HV for a total of 64.7 miles.

Take a moment to think about the efficiency.

With so much non-EV travel and distance well beyond the "14 mile" range, I bet there are many who won't believe the 69.4 MPG average was actually achieved. Delivering such high numbers is certainly not what certain people are hoping for from a so much smaller capacity battery-pack. That should make the automotive industry stand up and take notice!

That entire long drive worked out really well. Data for the drive back (well after the sub-packs had been totally depleted): maximum speed 71 MPH, maximum engine 4,474 RPM, maximum temperature 198 F degrees, and 61.2 MPG on the gauge.

Overall distance traveled since I got the PHV at that point was 298.2 mile displaying an average of 79.4 MPG. Sweet, eh?
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8-18-2010

Hill Climbing

With most of my research complete, it was time to seriously play with the EV. Not just anything timid either. I really wanted to push it.

Living near the bottom of a steep valley (great for sunsets, terrible for biking), my location was ideal for this. Well after midnight, I'd have the roads to myself. I unplugged the PHV and headed off into the night.

Starting from a dead stop, I squashed the pedal well into what's consider the "white" zone on the regular 2010. That's when the engine runs but is still within the efficiency range rather than power (the second half of the eco-meter). On the PHV, that's a greater range of EV available for you. And it certainly was! Wow!! I was shocked.

The Prius shot up the 1/3 mile stretch hitting the 40 MPH limit at a brisk acceleration rate. That was amazing! It was the discovery of the magic demonstration to perform for someone "on the fence" about whether or not to purchase the PHV. I can't wait to show others that. In fact, I couldn't wait myself. So, I went around the neighborhood and did it 3 more times!

The experience instantly became a memory I'll cherish for many years to come. That amount of EV power will really antagonize the antagonists. They've been claiming hard-acceleration below the 100 km/h (62.1 MPH) threshold isn't possible. Clearly, they're wrong.
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Yup, but there's lots to share prior to getting to those particular photos. Basically, the false floor just turns into a real one filled with battery and sits about 2 inches higher. Otherwise, the hatch area above that is identical.

Here's other photos in the meantime...

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More available on album pages 154 & 155.

 

This particular shot was a moment I hadn't anticipated...



It's quite remarkable how high MPG gets when the EV sub-packs are contributing power beyond the engine-off threshold.
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8-15-2010

Exploration

That opportunity earlier in the day was a rush out the door. There was little time with the sun quickly disappearing and not even enough charge to make it to my destination using only electricity. Oh well. That's what this next trip was for.

It was late in the evening and the Energy Monitor showed there was 14.0 miles of EV available. That was my time to explore. What an amazing opportunity! There was little traffic and the darkness would make photo taking easier.

My decision was to take a drive that included a long suburb climb up, a long stretch of flat suburb, a long suburb decent down, then a jump onto a 65 MPH highway. That was good variety to give me the chance to quickly familiarize myself with the finer points of this enhanced hybrid system.

I hadn't reset the trip-meter. So only 3 miles into the drive, the average consumption showed 78.5 MPG even though the engine hadn't started since leaving my garage. Seeing that actually frustrated me. I ended up resetting a few miles later. That worked out well. I got a great shot of the Consumption screen showing lots of 100 MPG segments with two dipping just below 50 MPG for the acceleration on the the highway. It was my first chance to see the RPM still at 0 even though the Prius has exceeded 46 MPH.

Eventually, the EV sub-packs both became depleted. To my delight, each following minute segment confirmed efficiency was pretty much identical to the 2010 at that point.

Statistics from the ScanGauge revealed the 33.8 mile trip averaged 84.6 MPG. That really makes me wonder what the overall average will be in the few days when I have to return the PHV.
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There's still more new photos, like this particular one...



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