The Secret to incredible range ( right here )

I am having a hard time deciphering this. So it looks like you used ECO mode. Did not use EV mode. So, did you use Auto mode or just drive as a hybrid?

 

OP:

Thanks for sharing, but in truth I cannot make heads or tails out of your thread.
And while a single trip might give amazing results (think wind), much more useful information comes from fuel economy over 1000 or 10,000 miles. In the case of the Prime we need to know:

Trip length between charges
kWh consumed from the meter for the trip
Petrol consumed for the trip.

E.g:
Last week I drove 120 miles (60 each way) to the airport and back.
One full battery charge, about 6.2 kWh from the meter
138 mpg out, 88 mpg back = (60/138 + 60/88 )gallons of fuel = 1.116 Gallons.
Presuming I drove 36 miles by battery, the remaining (120-36) = 84 miles are HV mode and consumed 1.116 gallons = 84/1.116 = 75.2 MPG.

Ignore MPGe. It will just confuse things. And for goodness sakes do not confuse MPGe with MPG.
Presuming you meant MPG, your post parses out like this:
36 mile trip (18 miles each way)
18/152 + 18/132 Gallons used = 0.255 Gallons
Uncertain amount of kWh used .... perhaps half the battery ?
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If half the battery is 18 miles of range, then the other 18 miles used 0.255 gallons = 18/0.255 = 70.5 MPG in in HV mode. Good result, and well within expectations for the Prime when driven at the speeds you mention. My results are a little better because I drive at ~ 6000 feet elevation.

Last comment: I don't drive the way you do. I don't think you are harming fuel economy but it is not helping either. I do wonder why you don't use all the battery charge. Seems like opportunity wasted to cut down petrol use and pollution and save a few pennies along the way.

 

under 'new posts'.

 

Yes, @Andyprius1, the Prius Prime is an incredibly efficient hybrid car as well as a really efficient electric car. (That's my translation of what you are trying to say, and I'm sticking to it)

For the driving course you describe (lots of hills), the larger battery and super efficient climate control enables, arguably, the Prius Prime to be the most efficient hybrid on the planet thanks to its overall efficiency, a large battery for regeneration, and the ability to use those regenerated miles with the engine fully off at any normal highway speed.

"ECO mode" doesn't really make a difference - anyone can hit those numbers in HV mode (or as you say "not in EV mode") whether they are using ECO, normal, or Power mode if they don't floor the acceleration pedal too much.

For a flat driving course, the larger battery would not come into play as often, and you would be surprised to find that a fourth gen Prius Two Eco hybrid would also give you close to 70 MPG (Oniki's calculations are correct). And on the hilly driving course you describe, the Two Eco would still be really close to the Prime.

 

Wait... am I missing something here?

You said "if EV comes on, eliminate it". That means you are switching from EV mode to HV mode. At that instance, ICE will kick in, yes, of course you will save your EV range, but you will be using gasoline instead.

You also said "increasing efficiency and extending range....by simply driving in Eco" But ECO/Normal/Power mode are not related to EV/HV/EV Auto mode. You can drive ECO mode either with EV or HV or EV Auto. As I pointed out to you in the other thread, I have always kept my car in Eco mode and rarely use Normal or Power mode, but that has nothing to do with saving EV range for later use by switching off from EV mode to HV mode while you still have battery capacity for EV mode.

 

I totally agree with you. However, I think if you FLOOR the acceleration pedal all the time, you will save more of EV range by not depleting any of battery capacity on EV drive during HV mode. Of course, you will be using much more gasoline instead.

 

The Prime shows trip MPG

Miles / MPG = Gallons

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My sekrets ? Barely worth disclosing

• Most highway driving is 62 - 67 mph although I've been known to exceed 80 mph going down mountains rather than brake -- regen is good, but not that good. These high speeds happen when I am not paying attention and fail to bleed off enough speed before a summit.
• EV is more efficient than HV in low power situations (and vice versa for HV) so while I don't flip back and forth as I go up and down hills, if I have an overall downhill one direction and uphill back I try to match the propulsion mode to the overall terrain. For the route I mentioned I flipped mode twice each way.
• I use EV in populated areas if the ICE is cold to avoid NOx pollution with people around, and I warm up the ICE on a flat road or slight down hill. This likely does little for fuel economy but it reduces my tailpipe emissions.
• Once the ICE is warmed up, I do not let it cool down until the trip is over.
• I have never used CHARGE MODE and that is likely to remain so.

 

doesn't reported mpg include battery charge usage?

 

?
It seems like you used 4KWHRS to go 18 miles on the way out and 4.5KWHRS to go 18 miles back

What am I missing?
Does the car not track regen? As the MPGe numbers versus your range don’t make much sense

 

Just out of curiosity, I've read in some posts that the ICE recharges the traction batteries under some conditions. I'm not sure if this is true or not, but if so, it could affect the results of driving on ECO vs. EV, right?