New PHEV SE any hints

It’s a great car and very economical! Enjoy!

I drive my SE mostly in “Normal” mode. Around town, spring, summer, fall I can get 80 to 90 km of EV range, but significantly less in winter. If I’m trying to squeeze out maximum EV range, I run without using the a/c or heat and use the heated seats and/or crack open the windows, if it’s too warm.

The car will also start the gas engine if I go down a long hill with a full traction battery and especially in cooler conditions, so I shift into neutral and coast down to avoid this, since I live at the top of a hill.

Also, the gas engine starts immediately if you press the front defrost button.

 

I, too, live at the top of a hill and run into this annoying gas engine downhill with a full traction battery issue. Unfortunately, I live in California where going downhill on neutral is a moving violation and can be ticketed - I imagine it's pretty darn unlikely to get pulled over for it, but it could be a risk if an accident happens and it comes up as a compounding factor. Might be worth checking local jurisdiction just to be informed.

As for tips, if you weren't driving a hybrid before, maximizing regen braking and momentum will do wonders for MPG. Assuming you're plugging in at home, run some calculations and check with your utility to see if they have EV rate plans that make sense with your electrical usage as a whole.

 

Congrats on the new ride! I'd spend the extra $$ and get the oil changed at around 700 miles....get any break-in debris out of there.

And use your air conditioning....the hybrid battery uses cabin air to cool itself so you never want to be driving around in 90+ degrees without cooling the cabin.....an overheating traction battery shortens its life.

 

The 5th Gen Prius Prime/PHEV models moved the large Hybrid/Traction battery outside of the cabin airspace and it is now underneath the vehicle. So instead of relying on cabin air temps and fans in the cabin like past years this battery uses the vehicles one and only AC compressor via a split system to cool itself independently whenever it feels the need. It doesn't ask permission, give you options or let you know when it does this. When the battery wants to cool down to be healthy, safe and performing at its best for the life of the vehicle it just calls for and gets cold refrigerant delivered via its own line which circulates throughout the battery enclosure. So do as you wish running the AC for your own needs in the cabin without even thinking of the battery. The vehicle is engineered to take care of both at any time.

 

I doubt Toyota will change the HV cooling system in the Prius PHEV until a gen6(if it happens), but I really like what they've done with the current EVs and the new PHEV RAV4. It reminds me a little of a residential ground source heat pump. They've got a much less complicated refrigerant loop, and they use a refrigerant-to-liquid coolant intercooler/heat transfer module to harvest and distribute heat so much better than previous systems.

But I don't want to derail, so check out TheCarCareNut's videos on the bZ, C-HR, and/or Lexus RZ if you're interested. (They all have the same powertrain/HV system. So if you watch one video on the cooling loops, you've seen them all.)