Hi Hybridwill and Welcome,

Driving in EV mode is fun, and for short distances can help your milage, but emptying your charge then forcing your engine to run the car and recharge the battery actually lowers MPG. Your absolute best mileage comes when you are coasting in EV so that your KW meter is at zero or slightly in the blue. All other times it is much better to keep the car at a steady speed regardless of EV mode or not, because every time your KW meter is in the white, your electric motor is assisting the regular one, and you are benefitting from both. The key is to drive balanced (mixed driving)so that you always have charge.

That being said, the best times for long EV modes are: 1)after the 5 to 10 minutes of warm-up when you first start (short under 5 minute trips are bad for all hybrids. Always do your longest trips first.), 2)right before you know you are going to be on a long stretch of highway that will recharge you anyway, and 3) The last trip to your home so you can take advantage of the morning warm-up.

The best way to get to EV mode (after the warm-up) is to accelerate (using both engines) to about 45 then coast down to about 35 and lightly hold the accelerator at 35 for as long as possible. Trying to keep it up at 40 is possible, but risks turning the regular engine off and on which (as mentioned above) actually is more wasteful then keeping both engines at a steady 45 to 55 miles per hour.

Some folks also believe you get better results if you slightly over-inflate your tires, but I have not tried this yet.

Temperature is also a big factor as milage drops below 40 degrees (due to longer warm-up) or above 97 degrees (due to the safety heat sensor on the battery).

Best Wishes