EV mode

That's the point. EV mode is for when you are travelling very short distances and do not want or need to waste petrol warming up the engine.

 

Keep your speed below 25 mpg and you're good for about 5 miles on a near max charge!
YMMV

 

I thought the mileage would be 199.9 miles per gallon.

 

Haha, of course I forgot to say on EV only for the purists amongst us. Wait a minute, I'm one of those! It's just I'm prone to typos every few words.

 

So EV mode seems to be available under these conditions (summarized from above and from my experience):

1.) After the engine has warmed up
2.) Battery level is at least 1/3 (usually 1/2) full. More battery bars = greater range
3.) Speed is less than 25 mph
4.) Once activated you don't thrash the accelerator pedal and keep it less than 1/2 depressed.

For me, I use it as I arrive into my neighborhood in at night or leaving a store parking lot where speed isn't necessary. I have found that I can get over 1 mile on EV mode (Prius v) as long as I take it easy. My neighborhood roads have gentle slopes up and down and the posted speed limit is 25 mph. So me going 24 mph isnt dangerous. I usually do this when no one is behind me when I want to boost my average mpg.

As I arrive home my battery is usually 2 or 3 bars left and I know that, no matter what I do, the engine starts a warm up cycle when I head back out in the morning and recharges the battery for me as it warms up.

 

For 2017, and I assume 2016, here are the EV mode restrictions from the owners manual.

 

Fwiw, I strongly suspect your condition 1 does NOT apply. Providing you select EV before the ICE fires up!

 

Mmm, apples and oranges. The 2016 Prius hatchback (aka 4th gen Prius) is a lot more willing to go into EV. My understanding is in fair weather, light load, it'll sometimes even stick to EV unbidden, at start up? This NEVER happens with 3rd gen, and the Prius v is basically in the same family.

 

That's true if the ambient temperature here is 15°C or higher, I've found the engine delays starting till one of the criteria are met then runs till its happy to shut down. Sometimes it will drop into EV briefly and let me coast on battery power until more power is needed again as I leave the village.

 

So far our mornings here have been pretty cool and no matter what I do it fires up for at least 2 minutes regardless lol. I have had the car only 1 week and have always ended at home with a nearly depleted battery thus preventing EV mode first thing in the morning so far.

Further experimentation is required

 

EV Mode (the subject here) only happens when you press the EV Mode button.
In my experience, both Gen 3 & Gen 4 run in EV in other driving modes more than the Gen 2 Prius did.
Like you said, apples & oranges.

 

From the 2016 Prius v manual:

 

Update:

I tried to activate the EV mode immediately this morning, with a mostly full battery, and was unsuccessful. Engine fired up moments later. Once warmed up, I could use it with the conditions I mentioned (sub 25 mph). As said by prodigyplace via the manual:

It did say "Ready" even as I first started the car before trying EV mode and as I drove away.

Side note. At one point, 15 minutes into my drive, I turned EV mode on at a red light, turned right and it deactivated at 10 mph "excessive speed" even though I was gently accelerating. Interesting.....

 

More manual info.

 

Any chance you had the heater turned on or climate control set to defrost?

 

I'm not sure the EV logic applies to the v same as the lift back.

 

I believe it does. The PiP may be different though.

 

IIRC, my ICE will start up if I have heat or defrost on, regardless of EV/HV mode.

 

No heater or A/C or heated seats.....not even a fan running haha.

 

So, what's the outside temperature?...