I got talking with someone at Green Drive Expo about the 15 miles range of the PHV. The conclusion we reached was that if we have 15 miles of selectable EV, the more prudent thing to do is to select it when it best suites the need. So this evening I decided to think about my morning and evening commutes. The goal was to identify those areas where my normal mileage takes a hit. I never exceed 45 mph, so that's not a problem. Below is what I have come up with as a plan for using the selectable EV mode in order to use as much as possible during the day and to remove those areas that would currently require the ICE and currently pulls the average MPG down. Note: the morning and evening commutes vary a little close to home. This is due to topography and traffic patterns. 48.4 34.9 13.5 1 Morning Ave. Speed Dist. (mi) HV or EV HV Dist. EV Dist. 2 1 40 1.40 EV 1.4 3 2 40 2.60 HV 2.6 4 3 50 0.80 EV 0.8 5 4 35 1.30 HV 1.3 6 5 45 0.90 HV 0.9 7 6 45 1.10 EV 1.1 8 7 45 2.00 EV 2.0 9 8 40 1.80 HV 1.8 10 9 45 1.00 EV 1.0 11 10 40 1.20 HV 1.2 12 11 25 1.60 HV 1.6 13 12 45 1.40 EV 1.4 14 13 35 4.40 HV 4.4 15 14 40 2.80 HV 2.8 16 24.3 16.6 7.7 17 18 Evening Ave. Speed Dist. (mi) HV or EV HV Dist. EV Dist. 19 1 40 2.80 HV 2.8 20 2 35 4.40 HV 4.4 21 3 45 1.40 EV 1.4 22 4 25 1.60 HV 1.6 23 5 40 1.20 HV 1.2 24 6 45 1.00 EV 1.0 25 7 40 1.80 HV 1.8 26 8 45 2.00 EV 2.0 27 9 45 3.50 HV 3.5 28 10 40 1.20 HV 1.2 29 11 40 1.80 HV 1.8 30 12 30 0.40 EV 0.4 31 13 30 0.50 EV 0.5 32 14 35 0.5 EV 0.5 33 24.1 18.3 5.8
My plan is easy. On those days when I'll have the charging-station at the ramp reserved, I'll take the scenic route... which only has a top speed of 55. So, almost all EV, both directions. For others, it's a jump onto a 70 mph highway just a few blocks from my house in HV. Then after 9 miles of that follows about 7 miles of 55 or slower... perfect for half EV there and half on the way back. .
Tony, be sure to bring this table with you to your next appointment Joking aside, I doubt it will matter in the summer. Winter will be different, and I think the best approach will be ICE first to heat up the cabin, then EV to drain the battery by the next charge.
I'm sure that when it gets brutally cold I'll change strategies, but the first 1.4 miles of EV are there because in that relatively short range, there are four stoplights, two of which can run up to three minutes. Currently, this has me just sitting there idling (and cursing). Often, the EV button won't work and in extreme cases I shut down. But once past that, the 2.6 mile next segment is 40mph of straight driving with only two stoplights and plenty of visibility to time the lights. In other words, I plan to strategically hold off on the warm-up cycle until I know I won't just sit there and idle. Of course, this is all just a mental exercise until I actually get the car. But for now, I just want to stimulate some conversation and get people in the habit of thinking that they don't have to use their entire 15 miles all at once. They don't have to think that their entire EV range will be shot in the morning and that if they can't charge at work their entire evening commute will be in HV mode.
I suffer from the same malady you carry, and have mulled over efficient EV use more than once too I keep concluding that until we know more details of cat warm-up, cool down, and energy costs in EV or ICE mode to heat it up, strategies to eek out that extra 800 feet of EV driving for the next hypermiler competition are uncertain. I like your comment that people should approach the car with flexibility in mind. That *is* one of the PIP's true advantages over a serial plug-in design.
I presented a similar idea a couple years ago as to my approach for maximizing my ev range in the Priis PHV. How and when you use it will be important for the longer commutes. I'd like to know if the PHV has a distinct glide capability like the Gen 2.
yeah, that's the good news/bad news of the PHV. The good: unlike the prototype, you can turn EV mode on and off. The bad: like the prototype, the PHV is still based on the GenIII Prius and has a very finicky glide. In an afternoon of PHV driving, I was able to acieve a confirmed glide once.
For me it would depend on who drives it. If I can convince my wife to switch cars, its half 55 and under and half 65 mph for her 13 mile commute to work. This would save us the most gas. If I drive it, it would be all electric for the whole 2 miles to work, then maybe another 6 around town taking care of customers for my second job and shopping. Hmm I may never use gas. My in-laws are 9.9 miles away again on 55 or less, so it may take a while for me to use a tank of gas. I use a tank a month, so based on that, I'd be in Chevy Volt company using a tank of gas every 6 months.
Yeah I found the newer the model year the tougher it is to get it to glide. It's actually trivial to get my car to glide but my daughter's car, a 2006, was pretty tough. Of course it may not be the car mechanics that are the problem. Since the car "learns" from the driver how it likes to drive. I attribute it to the nut behind the wheel. I think you and I can make the PHV learn to coast with a "flick of the foot". My guess is we'll have to be "one with the car".
Your 1.4 mile situation was the exact reason why I got Coastal's EV mod for the Gen 2. I could EV out of parking lots and wait until I see a gap in traffic before I let the engine turn on. My commute is only 6 miles. I can easily make a round trip (assuming it's not the middle of winter) in EV Mode. (Before anyone asks, taking the bus would 4x my commute time)
I think what's particularly harder in the Gen 3 is hitting the high-speed glide. The PIP's higher true glide speed should help minimize that problem. Also, Ken@Japan indicated that Japanese hypermilers have found that it makes little difference to overall efficiency for P&G in the Gen 3 as long as they keep EV use close to 0 in the HSI bar.
