ECO button 24/7

Not that it's always so, but when I've gotten 80 mpg or more on a trip, I actually wasn't using EV mode as much as I would have liked. I'm suspecting it was more about being up in the PWR section when going uphill or accelerating and having more "coasting" time.

 

I find ECO very annoying -- maybe if I only drove the Prius I would get used to it .. the pedal mapping is too off for me. Mine is used by many drivers and I'm always having to tell people that it changes the mapping on the AC. The AC does not work comfortably IMO in very hot weather -- my employees are always taking it off of "AUTO" and manually setting it way down with low speed fan to stay conformable. I also don't like "power" .. it's too far the other way .... although I do use "power" depending not the traffic in the city.

 

Hi LDB -

Jumping offside isn't bad - this isn't football . There is no 5 yard penalty. There is also no 5 MPG penalty!

The area just to the left of midfield, under around 45 MPH, is where the battery drains really fast and, in most cases, is a driving situation where having the engine running (over the center line of the HSI) would result in better long term fuel economy***.

You may eventually discover that at speeds under 50 MPH on uphills or flat ground, you're better off going over the left of midfield, pulsing up to speed (or a bit above ) using the gas engine, then gliding back in the left side of EV mode to maintain speed (or drop down a couple of MPH) on downhills or flats. Repeat and enjoy

Alternatively, just don't worry about jumping offside. Your mileage will be great and you can focus on the road!

Nutritionally yours,
Breakfast


***You'll need to recharge that battery somehow, and unless you have a big downhill coming up, that energy's coming from the engine...and there are less energy losses converting the engine power to battery charge to electric power, etc.

 

The charge gets eaten up fast when you're just to the left of the median on the Hybrid Synergy Indicator. Watch your state of charge: if it's dropping to near half full, I'd kick the HSI over the median, start the engine, just pulse-and-glide for a bit.

 

Yeah, it's too touchy sometimes even in "ECO." I try to avoid spending much time where you're aiming "just to the left of midfield (the center line on the HSI)." That's because unnecessarily heavy use of the battery may shorten its life, and because using engine power directly may cost you less fuel in the end, anyway. Unless you're about to descend a major hill, the engine will have to make up energy you take out of the battery, plus conversion losses.