Entire commute on battery

[FormerFF]

My commute consists of a mixture of 25 mph neighborhood streets, 35 mph  two lane roads, and 45 mph four lane roads, all with lots of traffic lights and traffic, which is pretty much perfect for a plug in hybrid.  It's between 12 and 14 miles each way depending on how I go, with the longer routes having less traffic.  Since school's out for spring break, I thought I'd try to make the round trip on battery yesterday.  It was close, but I was able to complete the trip, a total of 24.3 miles, without the engine coming on. 

 

I didn't use climate control, which at this time of year is normal anyway.  The only concession I made to hypermiling I made was to try to not exceed the 45 mph speed limit in the part of the commute where traffic was going more like 50 - 55.  I may have been driving a bit more gently than usual, but not significantly so.  About a half  mile from home, the range meter went to zero, then disappeared and the car was in regular hybrid mode, but the engine never came on.  That may have been EV plus recognizing I was almost home and deciding there was no need to start the engine for that little bit of driving.  Normally I charge overnight, but yesterday I plugged in for 15 minutes after I got home to get the battery level up a bit.  i don't know if that was all that important, but it seemed like a good idea to me.

 

I'm very impressed.  When I bought the car I figured I could get maybe 18 miles at most out of the battery.  What I've started doing is starting my morning commute on battery for the first five miles, then go to EV Later for the middle part where the traffic moves faster, then back to Auto for the last mile.  On those days where I can go straight home, I don't need the engine at all in the afternoon.

Edited April 11, 2014 at 04:47 PM by FormerFF

[blars]

Now that the weather has been warming up here, I've been able to make my commute on all battery as well.  My normal commute is about 26 miles total, and if I keep it 45 or under, I can usually make it home without the ICE coming on.

[shaggy314]

When the car knows it is close to its frequent charging spot, it changes to EV+ mode (as indicated in the dash), about a mile so from destination. It remembers a couple of locations, mine are only work and home.

 

You should be able to get down about halfway down in hybrid mode before the ICE will kick in (or based on engine demand).

[Neil]

Except for the winter months, I can almost do my entire commute of 54 round trip miles without the ICE.  I work exactly 27 miles from home, and have a place to recharge (for free!) at work.  On my morning commute I regularly get 25 miles on on EV and Hybrid battery but sometimes can make it the entire 27 miles.  I keep up with traffic, so if it is heavy and slow, I can stretch the EV/Hybrid battery to 27 miles.  On the way home in the evening I almost always make it without the ICE.  Climate control off, windows closed and the sunroof tilted up seems to perform best for me.

Edited April 23, 2014 at 03:51 PM by Neil