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2023 LE fwd mpg, what are you getting?

Discussion in 'Gen 5 Prius Fuel Economy & Prime EV Range' started by 2023p, Apr 24, 2023.

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  1. johnHRP

    johnHRP Active Member

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    Sort trips in winter is normal to get low 35 mpg. In a long trip summer, you will get easily 45-60 mpg. if you drive 40-50 mph, you can get at least 50 mpg.
     
  2. Winston Smith

    Winston Smith Member

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    My observation having driven in temperatures from 75 to 40f and in rain:

    The correlation between temperature and time in EV mode is high. On a cool morning the engine will start after the car barely moves and will keep running longer when it does switch on. My guess would be that the engine switches on largely for the purpose of keeping it within a reasonable operating temperature.

    The correlation between time in EV mode and more miles driven per gallon is pretty strong.

    Rain at higher speeds also seems to decrease efficiency quite a bit. A long fall drive at about 40f with lots of rain showed a long stint in the low 40mpg range.

    TLDR version: rain and cold burns more gas.
     
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  3. johnHRP

    johnHRP Active Member

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    The cabin temp is maintained by supply heat from the engine. Once the engine is hot, it will be longer in EV mode.
     
  4. chris johnson 2

    chris johnson 2 New Member

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    Is it better to drive in HV mode until everything is warmed up? For drive experience i would like to drive EV for as long as possible.
     
  5. johnHRP

    johnHRP Active Member

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    winter is the worst thing for any EV. heating needs a lot of wattage which is free from combustion engines.
    In cold temperature, EV is often more expensive per miles than any ICE cars with the same HP.
     
  6. Bill Norton

    Bill Norton Senior Member

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    This is the sort of 'Catch all Quote' that 'those' :whistle: new services run with,
    and it's totally false the majority of the time. Can you site an example?
    yes, yes, you said "often"....

    It would be totally dependent on what the electricity costs in a particular region. And gas costs.
    Some areas electricity is relatively more than most others.

    How about when I'm paying $0.023 / kWh from 12- 6 AM? That's 2 cents per kWh!
    Which works out to less than a penny a mile in my Bolt! (y)

    Some EV/PHEV's have a heat pump system, some have plain resistance heat. That is a factor.
    I still don't understand how the heat pump cars can provide Heated and Dehumidified Air at the same time.
    And of course, Preheating (or Precooling) while plugged in has no effect on the range.
     
  7. Hammersmith

    Hammersmith Senior Member

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    Can only speak for the Prius system, but...

    There are a total of three coils in the Prius PHEV A/C box.
    1. Heater coil - traditional - uses hot engine coolant to heat air
    2. Evaporator coil - traditional - uses low-temp refrigerant to cool air
    3. Condenser coil - new - uses high-temp refrigerant to heat air

    (Side note: This is why you can't use an A/C box from a European PHEV to add dual zone climate controls to a HEV. The A/C boxes are physically different and incompatible with each other.)

    In heating modes down to 0C(excluding defrost), the system can use both the condenser coil and the evaporator coil at the same time to first cool and dehumidify the air, then heat the air. The whole system contains a check valve, three magnetic valves, and three expansion valves. In contrast, I believe the A/C system in the Prius HEV just has a single expansion valve and none of the rest.

    The PHEV heat pump system has a total of seven modes it can operate in:
    1. Cooling - uses the evaporator coil to absorb heat from the cabin(which also dehumidifies the air)
    2. Series heating - uses the evaporator coil to absorb heat/dehumidify the air and uses the condenser coil to heat the cabin
    3. Parallel heating - similar function to series heating, but it divides the refrigerant path to create two separate heating systems*
    4. Heating - just uses the condenser coil to heat the air(used below 0C - no dehumidifying)
    5. Defrosting - just uses the condenser coil and also keeps the refrigerant pressure high in the outside coil to maximize cabin heat production - no dehumidifying
    6. Cooling battery - uses the evaporator coil to cool the cabin and also runs a loop to the battery to cool it
    7. Battery alone - shuts off the evaporator coil and just runs refrigerant through the battery - no dehumidifying

    None of these modes includes the heater coil and the ICE. If there's a call for cabin heat and the temp is below -10C while the car is in EV mode, the ICE will kick in to provide heat. If the car is already in HV mode when the call for heat comes in, it gets a little more complicated depending on the exact climate settings selected on the dash and also the outside temp. Sometimes the car will use engine coolant for heat, and sometimes it will still use the heat pump.

    The one thing the heat pump system can't do is heat the cabin and cool the battery at the same time. In that case, the ICE would have to run to provide hot engine coolant to the heater coil.


    *Honestly, I don't fully understand how the parallel heating mode works and how exactly it's different than series heating. I know that series heating uses high, mid, and low pressure refrigerant, while parallel heating just uses high and low.
     
    #207 Hammersmith, Dec 2, 2024 at 11:32 AM
    Last edited: Dec 2, 2024 at 11:40 AM
    Bill Norton likes this.
  8. johnHRP

    johnHRP Active Member

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    The cost of electricity is not the same accros the world. In Germany for instance, they pay 33 cents per kWh at home, easily 75cents in autobahn fast charging. No wonder why German hates EV. Diesel is cheaper there.
     
  9. Bill Norton

    Bill Norton Senior Member

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    So this qualifies your statement about EV's vs Gassers here in the USA?
    You didn't make that clear.:whistle:

    The cost of electricity is not the same across St Line Rd. here in the KC Metro area.
    On the Missouri side I selected a rate plan that allows me to drive my Bolt for Less Than a Penny a Mile.

    Owning an EV just keeps getting better !!!(y)

    Those wacky Germans.....;) Didn't they get the message that we have to - - - Stop Burning Stuff????
     
    johnHRP likes this.
  10. johnHRP

    johnHRP Active Member

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    Believe it or not, now Yaris and Corolla hybrid is no. 2 sale in Europe. They love hybrid because gasoline is 2.5x more expensive, about $6 per gallon. Having hybrid is great there.
    EV is too expensive to own with stupid depreciation and high electricity cost. No subsidies either.
    Hybrid Honda/Toyota is the cheapest transportation besides train
     
  11. Bill Norton

    Bill Norton Senior Member

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    What is the benefit of getting the Hybrid version of the same model? 20% fuel savings? Tops? Big Whoop.:whistle:

    Once you get an EV you won't care about this questionable resale value.(y)
    You're claiming cost per mile is less in a Gasser than an EV in Europe?
    And as always,,,,, You can't make gasoline on your roof.
    I understand apartment dwellers can't do solar or probably can't plug in an EV at night. So they're out....
    Public charging is always more expensive than home charging. DCFC should be reserved for Road Trips !

    Still, even Europeans know,,,,, WE HAVE TO STOP BURNING STUFF. :unsure:
     
  12. Gokhan

    Gokhan Senior Member

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    That is really bad for a newer Prius. I average 70 mpg.

    It sounds like you are driving extremely hard and using the friction brakes instead of regenerative braking. If you drive hard, there is not much point in getting an HEV, as you are not using regenerative braking.