[quote=GNiel9;138312Is there something you need to physically do to "switch" to this mode or does the car do it automatically???[/quote]

The car will do it automatically... when you do the right foot motion on the gas pedal. It's like flipping a switch with your foot. The accelerator is extremely sensitive. Even wearing a different pair of shoes can produce different results! Many have gotten used to this procedure while barefoot so you can fell what part of your foot is actually touching and applying pressure. You can read my short description on how to do it here: http://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/s...695#post131695 . The extended, in-depth detail version is in Tarabell's great writeup on the HCH.


It depends on how you use the assist bars. Many will say if you see assist bars, then you're using the electric assist which is saving gas that would be used by the ICE. Most use it for acceleration assistance and swear by keeping the SoC from 6-7 bars all the time to avoid forced regen which reduces FE. I hardly use the assist bars for acceleration because I do it slow and smooth. My SoC average is 5 bars. After I'm up to speed I use the EV-Assist for maintaining speed between lights which is where I feel you will get the most benefit from the electric portion of our Hybrid. When you're in EV-Assist mode, you're getting 100-150mpg using no fuel (valves are closed). Since the 20hp electric engine cannot propel the HCH by itself like the Prius's can when under 35, you have to switch on EV-Assist whenever you can to get the most out of your mileage around town. You do have to find the right balance of EV-Assist vs Regen time so you're not going into the SoC 4 bar range which will force a regen. If I do drop into forced regen, I still can get 60+ mpg to show on the iFE so it's not too much of an FE killer for me. Again, I have about 4 posts in the thread I linked above so read the whole thread.