PiP Owners: What is Your EV 'Mileage'

You're overdoing it. Just enjoy the ride and drive like you want. After all, driving should be a pleasure, not worry.

 

Well, you can enjoy and worry.
Driving at constant 55+ mph on HV, saving the EV miles for city drive - where it is most needed, is clever and thoughtful while easing on the battery.
At constant 60 mph in HV on flat ground the car will probably return 57-58 mpg to any driver.

 

Going 55MPH here on the freeway, even in the "slow" lane will subject one to road rage, with obscene finger gestures at the very least. I assume that it is the same in southern California.

 

In southern California you would get pushed out of the slow lane by grandma if you drove that slow

Now there are days on my commute home that I can only wish I could drive that fast

 

Nope, b/c traffic keeps anyone from driving that fast.* =)

*Mostly Los Angeles for most waking hours of the day.

 

In OC on the 405N in the morning, its somewhat of a speedway (past Irvine). The far left lane is often doing 85mph (as is the carpool lane), same for a lot of the Newport Beach travelers who join the 405N from the 73.

 

I don't do 101 all that much, but 880 on the wrong side of the Bay... speed limit 65. Don't see too many doing 75. Can actually pull off 55 in slow lane because there's so many entries and exits. But it varies. Speeding tickets expensive, not many risk that by doing 80 MPH.

 

But what if want to use up the remaining charge (because I will charge nearly immediately after the freeway driving)? Can I be in EV mode at 65MPH (when gas is mixed and the battery is drained at an acceptable rate)? I'd prefer to drive at 60MPH in EV but that doesn't sound good for the battery.

 

Generally I'm able to do between 65 & 75 on all the roads in the Bay Area. Of course, this dependent upon the time of day, traffic, etc. 75 tends to be at the upper end of my comfort zone. I prefer to be around 72. By far I'm not the fastest person on the freeway, especially on 280.

 

What? No patience to try that with your own PHV?

55 MPH is a not a concern for me. Of course, they're aren't long stretches around here to travel at that speed anyway. And you'll likely want to save the EV for later.
.

 

Can't do over 62 mph in EV, but I seriously doubt going 60 would cause any long term battery problems (would be terribly poor design if it did).

 

I drove 64 and the EV light remained on. I think it just blends with the HV.

 

The EV light on means no petrol is consumed. At speeds over 62ish however the ICE spins. The energy for the spin in EV mode is coming from either the battery or kinetic.

 

You misunderstood me, sorry for not being clearer.
in 55+ mph I meant 55 or 60 or 70 or whatever speed you like to drive (and traffic permits). All these speeds are advised in HV mode IMO (of course, above about 62 mph it's not your decision).

 

In my CTh, EV light is off when no petrol and above 72 km/hr (i.e. engine spin), coming back on when slowing to below 72 km/hr (i.e. engine rests).

 

There are so many things to experiment with (and so many variables)...I can't wait to start driving! Certainly the cold weather driving I will have to find out first hand.

(I need to be better at being patient, I know..).

 

Im interested to know if HV mode driving characteristics will differ whether the EV charge is full or depleted. A std Prius performs completely differently if the battery charge is maxed out.

 

I've never had my 2010 Prius battery drain into the purple. Toyota engineers fixed this issue while delivering 5mpg more than on the previous models.

My 2006 Prius did this often - had to becareful when passing on a hill.

 

nah, they just changed the colors so you wouldn't panic.

 

Yeah that gauge wasn't telling you how full or not full the battery was in absolute terms.

All it was saying is it is more or less than min max.