Gliding

So the Prius feels like a regular ICE car. If Toyota didn't do that, the average mainstream buyer would probably not like how the car feels on a test drive which would probably steer them away from the Prius.

Alternatively, it would be nice if lifting off the pedal gave the most efficient regen. I'm not sure about the Gen 3's, but for the Gen 2's, I believe it requires a feather touch on the pedal to get the most efficient regen. Anyhow, it would be nice if the behavior was customizable.

 

I do wish some present owner would answer the "glide" question.
I've asked several times in the last few days.
And does its "glide" ability differ in different modes EV, HV etc.?

 

So gliding seems to work in EV mode on the PHV with just a light touch on the accelerator pedal.
What I do is just rest my foot touching the pedal. This leave just a sliver on the
bar past the regen line. In the "arrow" mode display this does seem to stop the arrows
though it feels like the electric motor is engaged. Foot entirely off the
accelerator does regen. It seems to be much easier to glide in pure EV mode at least
for me. I'm still experimenting.

 

The car gets the same EPA 50 MPG as the non-Plug-in in non-EV mode, so obviously the Hybrid Synergy Drive is still active. I suppose you can charge the battery all the way down a mountain.

 

Hey guys,

I tried to answer this in another thread but will give you might thoughts again here.

First off, I apologize for not understanding all your technical words but if by "regen" you mean does the car recharge in EV mode while gliding, the answer is yes.

I have a big hill 1 mile from my home. By the time I get up the hill, I'm down to about 10 miles remaining on EV mode. By the time I get down the hill its up to about 12. So, I'm now 5 miles from my house and I'm only down 1.3.

Pretty cool.

 

I was able to confirm that if you cruise down a long slope, the battery will switch from the normal Hybrid mode and give you back some actual EV mileage. Pretty cool. Unfortunately, I live at the top of said mountain, so if I plug in at night, the opportunity goes away....need to figure out a way to not "top it off" so it tops itself off once I hit the flat lands...

 

So far, it seems harder to hit the gliding "sweet spot" than with either of my Gen Twos. It takes a really light touch to stop the arrows. With time, I hope to get better at gliding.

 

The PiP is a Gen 3 Prius so I'd assume it behaves the same way.

I believe it's harder to get a perfect glide in the Gen 3 Prius, but the HSI helps you keep it out of regen and Ken@Japan noted that Japanese hypermilers have found that getting a perfect glide doesn't matter as much, you just make sure you don't have regen and try to keep the EV as low as possible.

 

First, most normal driving is better achieved with a slight negative bias in the gas pedal. That means you do not need to hit the brake to decelerate. Any car will glide, you simply have to put it in neutral.

I agree that it would be nice to have a transmission setting for pulse/glide, to give you the mode you want.
+1

It seems to take better motor control. Instrumentation is also bad in prius to know exactly what is going on. Would love an ameter with a needle and a tach. But it seems slight electrical operations to neutral gives you all the glide functionality you need. This would be best seen on the hsi.

 

They wanted the car to "feel" like an automatic-transmission car. A manual-transmission car glides when you step on the clutch but usually slows down (depending) when you let off the gas with the clutch engaged.

Both the Zap Xebra and my EV Porsche conversion glide when your foot is off both pedals, and I like that much better. The system you describe above is the one I've long advocated.

Similar conversation, and similar controversy about what's "best" are ongoing in the Tesla forums. The Roadster has very strong regen on the go pedal, and no regen on the brake pedal. It's easy enough to get used to, but not my preferred method. Apparently sports cars (with manual transmission) have fairly strong compression braking, and the regen simulates that, though the regen in the Roadster is much stronger than the compression braking in any gas sports car.

It makes it very hard to maintain a perfectly constant speed without using the cruise control, which is very poor in traffic.

In the case of Tesla and my Roadster, I forgive them because putting regen on the brake pedal (Toyota style) requires a lot more engineering, and a start-up company like Tesla just doesn't have R&D cash to spare. But all Toyota would have to do is remove regen from the go pedal, or give the owner a choice.

 

This is all just software.. why give the user a config option.. mapping both pedals from 0 100% effect at 0-100% applied. Or of that is just too much, give us 3-4 choices including "full glide". On the Volt at least I have L (agressive regen) and D (slight regen) and N (full glide), and at times I do like the sifting fun.. but I'd much prefer a user config.