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Driving in heavy traffic

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Fuel Economy' started by Misty fog, Nov 23, 2012.

  1. Misty fog

    Misty fog Junior Member

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    2010 Prius
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    My daily commute usually gets me between 4.7l/100km to 5.7l/100km depending on severity of the traffic. Heavy traffic here usually means stopping every few meters or so. Today I tried as much as possible to keep the ICE in the region slightly below the dividing bar between EV and ICE. I achieved this by pressing the pedal firmly until it goes into the ICE region, then I let it drop back into the EV region while still running on ICE. I usually find that this helps to maximize SOC regen and I can see that the instant MPG is usually a lot lower than if I had applied harder pressure on the pedal. I have also turned off the AC when waiting in traffic. By doing this, my fuel consumption actually dropped to 3.8l/100km despite the heavy traffic, and thanks to a long stretch that I was able to do P&G, I ended the trip at 3.5l/100km with nearly full SOC to boot. I find that it is usually better to manipulate the ICE in the manner I described rather than the usual advice to keep it in the 75%-100% region.
     
  2. markabele

    markabele owner of PiP, then Leaf, then Model 3

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    Walter has a great method that may work well for you. Hopefully he can come in here and outline it for you, but basically it involves using PWR mode.

    My only suggestion is to follow the car in front of you with much more distance than what you normally would. This allows you to use your EV in the most beneficial amounts and even do some mini P&G's.