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Originally Posted by ElanC
I agree that there's probably no real benefit in deliberately trying to activate the EV mode. However, under certain conditions it may be beneficial. Honda seems to have paid a lot of attention to optimizing the IMA for maximum FE. If they've enabled an EV mode I bet it's because they found it has an overall benefit in those conditions.
Consider a situation where you're coasting downhill or slightly decelerating. You press down on the gas pedal a little because you want to extend your coasting distance. The IMA could give you the requested power in one of two ways. It could restart the gas engine, or it could provide electric assist. Your pressure on the gas pedal indicates that you're only demanding about 10 HP of engine power. That's well within the capacity of the electric motor. Should the gas engine, all 120 HP of it, be started just to give you 10 HP, or is it more efficient to use the electric motor? I bet Honda found that it's more efficient to use the electric motor in that situation, even though you're right that the electric power will ultimately have to be replenished with gasoline energy.
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Although 10hp is within the capability of the electric motor, you would not be starting a 120hp engine. The Honda engine is quite capable of running on 1 cylinder at low power, and since the engine is already spinning, there is no energy wasted in spinning it up to speed or additional energy loss due to engine friction. The ECU merely has to enable the valves and inject the appropriate amount of fuel. I think Honda made it difficult to reach EV mode for a reason. So, I don't see the logic of trying to force the car into a mode which is probably less efficient except under a very limited set of circumstances. But I think we agree on that.