Quote:
Originally Posted by kristian
Interesting. I don't suppose you've driven in the mountains have you? If so, describe to me what the engine and HSD would be doing on a trip down I-70 from Genesee to Denver at 60mph. Would the ICE be running and using a small amount of gas or none? How easy is it going downhill to swtich from ICE to HSD? How much regen do you pick up? Does engine braking/regen slow you down? What if the SoC is full?
How about the trip up I-70 (average mpg going UP at ~55-60mph)?
|
I didn't have a ScanGauge at the time, but we made a trip from Denver to Grand Junction and back on I-70. Overall, we averaged around 31 mpg. I usually stayed between 5 and 10 miles per hour below the limit.
I'm not sure if the ICE uses gas when it is forced to spin because of the speed. According to the ScanGauge, it does, but I'm not totally sure if this is correct. There are probably some Prius experts that know this answer.
You can get around the speed issue if you shift to N below the limit of ~42 miles per hour while the ICE is off. Then if you speed up (on a decline), the ICE will not kick on. However, I do not believe this is a good idea if you will be going very fast and/or traveling long distances.
On steep declines, regen doesn't slow you down much. I think it is supposed to replicate a normal vehicle with your foot off the accelerator (similar to the HCH II). To get much regen, you need to put your foot on the brake. In the HiHy, there is a gauge that shows how much regen you are getting. You can shift to B to get additional engine braking.
The battery capacity of the HiHy is much more than that of the HCH II. It is a lot harder to max it out.
Also, you cannot really switch from ICE to HSD. The HSD is a very integrated system. You can drive with the electric motors only below ~42 miles per hour, but you cannot ever drive with ICE only.
I hope this helps. Feel free to ask more questions. I'll answer as best as I can.