Good Use for EV Mode?

Can you guys tell me if this maneuver is a good use for EV Mode?

So you are in left turn lane waiting to cut across a busy, fast moving street into a parking lot. I hit the EV Mode button to get a little more power out of EV without using the ICE. MPG-wise it is probably a wash or even slightly not as efficient, but I hate firing up the ICE for only a second or two. I figure that can't be that great on it if done a fair amount.

I apologize if this comes off as a newb question, but that's what I am.

I wouldnt do that. Surely you want to get across a fast moving road as quickly as possible so as to avoid being side swiped? Let the engine fire up in that instance, heck floor it if you have to and then use the EV once you are in the parking lot.

Assuming the situation isn't dire, that's something I do too. If things suddenly get tense the ICE will cut in anyhow.

- Chris

Was seems right isn't always.

I was downtown running out of time to get a function and I got off the main drag on to side roads, gunning it all the way. When I got to my destination, I figured my FE would be dismal... it was quite the opposite.

With that said, I don't know why I drive around in ECO like an older person.

That's what I was thinking. Plus when you are in EV mode, the power is very immediate and seems more substantial than when in ECO.

Don't worry about MPGs in a situation where the only thing you should be concentrating on is safely getting across the street. Start driving the car in normal mode, it will respond more naturally and you will not notice any reduction in efficiency! Once the engine is warmed up transition is virtually seamless and the HSD is designed to turn the ICE on and off without any harm no matter how often it happens!

I find that driving in the Normal Mode is much better for me. It gives me two things:

1. power when I need it

2. I accelerate using ICE on slower/local roads moderately to about 30 mph and then restep on accelerator to get into EV and try to just maintain speed using this. It's amazing how far you can go on EV using this technique.

IF anything in the crossing a busy intersection case, I would use the Pwr Mode rather than EV

It's not like the power isn't there if you need it, in any mode.

Power mode gives you faster acceleration than the other two modes.

PWR Mode (Power Mode): Want to accelerate a little faster? Power mode provides an immediate response when you step on the gas. This is probably the least efficient mode, but it helps when you need to keep up with traffic and/or merge onto a busy interstate.

If you want to get a quick start from a dead stop, it’s easiest to do with Power mode.

Power mode.
EV mode turns off the second you accelerate too hard, which isn't hard at all.

You guys are all missing the point of the OP.

No it does not. This is a common misconception, but it has been refuted so many times I would expect it to go away.

All modes in the Prius have equal power. The only difference, from a power standpoint, is pedal response. I suppose you could argue that you lose a thousandth of a second pressing the pedal farther, but that's an academic argument.

Tom

For a step function input, ECO mode has a several hundred millisecond delay compared to Normal mode.

I haven't used PWR mode recently enough to remember, but suspect it also has a different propagation delay through its temporal filter (or lack thereof) compared to Normal mode.

It could be that some folks are noticing some feedforward compensation. Drivers who apply slower (and more economical) pedal slew rates are less likely to notice.

It feels like to me as well as stated that it has quicker acceleration.
Do you have anything you can point me to that states it has equal power?
So are you saying the different modes is just a useless novelty?
If you floor it in power, eco and normal mode the acceleration is going to be the same?

After doing a little research. You say I am wrong about the little faster accelerating.
I do not know anything about cars when it comes to the mechanics of them but here is what I have found.

From Toyota site:
" Power mode increases throttle
response for additional get-up-and-go."

And...this is what I found on increased throttle (taking pieces of the article from Wikipedia)

Throttle response or vehicle responsiveness is a measure of how quickly a vehicle's prime mover such as an internal combustion engine, can increase its power output in response to a driver's request for acceleration, such as a pedal being pressed.

Fast throttle response allows a vehicle to regain its speed quickly after cornering

Throttle response plays a major role in driving pleasure as this gives the driver more control over the vehicle's acceleration or deceleration.

I'm not missing it, I just don't think it's a very valid one.
Any amount of power you try to get out of the car to "cross traffic" is going to turn the EV mode off for "excessive power". I just don't see what you expect to gain out of this, and over the course of a tank I would wager that you see no difference in fuel economy. A waste of human energy IMHO.

Remember, you are still driving a gas powered car... not an electric one.

Reread the OP. I'm not shooting for more FE. The point is that I hate the ICE firing up for just a split second just to turn off.

A Toyota graphic approximation of the throttle pedal mapping in the various modes has been reposted to PC many many times, and it clearly shows all modes having the same power when the pedal is floored. Same power means same acceleration.

But these diagrams don't speak to the time filtering or time delays applied to the pedal input.

Other discussions have pointed out how many non-hybrids routinely adjust the pedal to respond strongly to slight position changes, especially at the low end, providing an illusion of increased power. My spouse's car old car is so tuned, providing a feel I don't care for. Likewise, she didn't like my old 'unspirited' non-hybrids. The Prius PWR mode is playing the same game.

The time response, or filter delays, of the Prius modes has not been so well discussed here.

You mean to tell me in ECO mode you will have the same acceleration as power mode?

"A Toyota graphic approximation of the throttle pedal mapping in various modes…etc."

Do you have a link?

Why does Toyota state Power mode increases throttle response for additional get-up-and-go?

Explain throttle response from my previous comment increasing power output in response to a driver's request for acceleration and regaining speed quickly after cornering.