HV/EV button (taking advantage of it)

You are right. That's why I'm getting 14.8 to 15.1 EV miles after charge.

 

So is the moral of the story to keep HV on? I usually run on EV by default, then once the EV portion runs out it kicks into HV mode. Overall on a 25 mi one way commute I've been getting about 75 - 85 mpg depending on speed and how much lead was on my foot.

I will try it this evening and see if the overall mpg goes up. Overall if I end up using less gas while still depleting the EV portion to 0% on my commute it will make the most sense.

 

Glad you posted this. I've experience the exact same thing with strategic use of HV versus just letting EV run out and continuing on in HV.
I make a 16 mile trip to a marina where I have a boat very often. It's not only the distance but the hilly GA terrain that prevents traveling the whole thing in EV.
So, I've been experimenting with different combinations of EV and HV.
Last night I traveled the distance with a 340 MPG average by using HV to climb the steep hills and switch back EV for level driving and especially the downhills because the regen increases and stacks my EV range.
(Just as Paradox has demonstrated and reported...I've only recently been convinced how really great a technique this is. Thanks Paradox!)

Previously I've gotten 160MPG and 180 MPG on that same trip with techniques that involved depleting EV range early, or climbing hills. What a difference!
I was knocked out at the end of trip, looking at the display totals when I shut down.
My kids get into the whole strategy thing too, coaching and reminding me when they think I should switch. : )

I think the warm up cycle is important too if you plan on using HV. Don't wait until you need the ICE to goto HV, because it still mush warm up, and will still use EV range during the warmup. Go to HV in a low demand area and let it warmup while its still efficient, then you can climb the hills with gas only, which seems more efficient.

I've also conclude its best to switch to HV manually on a long trip, just before EV range is depleted, to you can regen and build EV range back.
If you let the automatic switchover to HV happen, after EV range is exausted, you cant it back.

 

I would put it on EV for short trips in the city. For longer trips, HV is better.

 

Well sure, of course that is the basic idea behind a plug in hybrid.
But I think the point of this thread is techniques to handle a trip moderately beyond the PiP's full EV range.

I was in a situation today where 5 seconds of HV usage (with 0.1 mile of EV range) got me an additional mile of EV travel. How? That 5 seconds of HV got me up a hill that I then regened down and gained more EV range and traveled all the way home. Had I not done it the whole distance would have been in HV using gas.

My current tank is at 102 MPG and 340 miles traveld. That is mostly work roundtrips at 94 miles each, and local EV driving.

 

Since my 1st Fillup, I've been Resetting Trip A and EV Display 1 for each driving segment and leaving Trip B and EV Display 2 for Fillup stats. My one-way distance to work is 14.6 miles, 55 mph max. Average speed 25 - 30 mph.

I usually turn on HV and let the ICE warmup on a flat stretch in the middle of the distance. I stay in HV until the available EV Battery is within 2 miles of the GPS Miles to Destination. That way I get enough EV to get within a half mile of destination with the regen when back in EV mode. Then I hope to run out of battery and auto-switch to HV to use up some of the HV battery.

Sometimes, I forget and stay in HV too long and have a little EV battery left when I get there.

What is Strange is on 2 different days going in the same direction, I had 0.3 EV Battery when I got there, but one day I got 195 mpg and the other day I got 366 mpg. Why the difference ???

Then going the other direction and having auto-switched a half mile before destination, one day I got 278 mpg, another day I got 107 mpg and the other day I got 346 mpg. And I'm driving the same way each time.

I can't yet figure out why the big swing, but I'll keep recording the data.

 

Very cool John! Do you think you might be able to create a video capturing this scenario?

Thanks again for the post -

 

What's that white stuff on the left and right side of the road? I've never seen that before...

 

Occasionally there's something white on the mountain peaks around here. Wonder if that's the same stuff.

Is getting the most EV miles the same as maximizing MPG? For example, when getting on the freeway, should I use HV to accelerate and burn a lot of gas, and save the EV for slower driving, or use EV and then switch to HV at 50 or 55 mph?

I sold my last manual transmission car 25 years ago, but it feels like I'm back shifting by hand again.

 

John,
I normally switrch to HV when I jump on the highway, but noticed when I go into HV I lose .5 -.8 off of the battery. It looks like the engine returns about .3, within a few minutes.

Today, I hit HV about .5 mile before entering the highway, same result with the drop in EV.(flat road condition)

Do you know why this happens, or if there is a way to avoid this loss?

Today, I exited off the highway with what I lost, but had to use coasting to achieve this.

Mike

 

Mike,

I have observed the same issue, and I'm fairly certain the PiP is going through the "ICE" warmup cycle, which is spinning the engine, but keeping the load fairly light, until the engine has reached the 130 degree temp... Once it's warmed up, the EV mile # pretty much stays the same, or will actually go up with some downhill coasting.

The trick is to use the ICE sooner, to have it warmed up and availbe before your EV range is nearly gone.... Because at that point, you can't regen EV miles (once its switched to HV only)

 

I love this car. It's insane how efficient HV mode is, and with strategic use of the button..... With 11.4 miles EV range and a 47 mile trip to work with rush hour traffic, I got 89 MPG for the trip

And that's 96 % freeway

The best I could ever hope for in my Gen II was 59 MPG with perfect technique. So 11 miles of ev range capacity gained me 30 mpg, by me choosing when to use it. AWESOME

On a trip like that my strategy is EV to and from interstate, HV for highspeed portion and then switching between EV/HV during slow speed travel, relying on HV to climb hills and EV for flat, decents and braking, which gains me more EV range thru regen. And not exausting my EV range completely until the end of the drive.

 

Most people think about buying the PiP because of the efficiency and fun of driving in EV mode. The HV mode doesn't get the credit it deserves...it is an amazing improvement in of itself!

(The HV mode efficiency should, by itself, sell the car)

 

It appears that fast acceleration early in ev or hv mode starts the ice, which then stays on if switched to ev, to warm itself up. It stays on until it decides to turn off, independent of your toggling hv/ev. In demanding condition ice switches on then off in ev.