Hello all. I just bought a 2006 FEH with 125K. It seems in good shape. I am new to hybrids and was looking for some data on how far the vehicle will generally make it in EV Only mode. I understand there are a lot of variables here, cold weather, did you start EV only from a full stop or did you get into it from acceleration on the ICE and "coast" into EV mode.

Absent access to CAN codes and battery diagnostics, I'm just trying to get a general feel of the distance an average battery discharge will get you in terms of work performed.

For purposes of normalizing this data, I'd appreciate any data on how far 2006 generation FEHs generally travel from a "full" charge as indicated on the battery meter in the NAV unit (if available) or ScanTool - first from a stop, and second from coasting into EV Only mode and constantly applying power to maintain roughly 30mph. Please assume the terrain is flat and the temperature is 60F. Just asking for back of the napkin guesses here, but any hard data would be welcomed. Also, please let me know if you are employing Jedi hyper-mileing technique. Although I appreciate them, I am most interested in just how the vehicles should perform under normal application of the EV Motor at startup and after attaining cruising speed.

Thanks again for helping a newbie out.

My average experience so far in the freezing cold new to driving a hybrid:
From Stop on EV Mode: .3 miles
Cruising in EV Mode (30mph on flat terrain): .6 miles

Thanks

 

1 mile maintaining 25-30 mph.
0.5 mile starting from a dead stop and getting up to 25-30 mph and keeping it there. This is average. Many people struggle to get "average" results.

Amost double that is "possible" under IDEAL conditions using Jedi tricks with lots of practice.

Remember this not a battery elecectic vehicle (BEV). It is a battery boosted car, a hybrid (HEV) which means you are supposed to use a combination of gas and electric working together. The #1 benefit of the battery is stopping the engine when you are standing still (otherwise getting 0 mpg) and starting the car in 0.4 second when you are ready to go again. Eliminating idle time is the most potent benefit of any hybid.

Count up all the minutes of zero MPG you save when the engine if off when you are standing still. That's more money in your bank than 1 mile of EV driving.

 

When the gas engine cannot run at all, such as when you run out of gas, you can still drive the FEH on electric-only. This mode is limited to 30kph, or under 20mph. I would hazard a guess this has been determined to be the speed at which you can get the most distance in ev mode.

I hesitate to disagree with gpsman1, but I don't think engine stop/start is the biggest benefit of a hybrid. It may be in some place where you don't have hills, stop lights, stop signs or stop-and-go driving. But every time you bring a vehicle from driving speed down to zero or low speeds, a lot of energy is lost. On a non-hybrid, this shows up as brake wear or lost in engine braking. It takes huge amounts of energy to raise the 3800lb of an FEH up even a small elevation gain. Regenerative braking to reduce speed, come to a stop, or control speed down a hill accounts for far more energy than idling. I drive in hilly, mountainous, congested city and country roads, and my hybrid charge meter is continually showing charge and discharge. It takes descending or ascending a moderately steep hill of about 800 feet elevation gain to either fill up or discharge the available capacity of the hybrid battery.

Idling, on the other hand, uses as little gas at as low an engine rpm as possible to keep the engine turning over. If idling losses were so important, a hybrid being used with max a/c, where a pre-2010 never shuts off the engine, would show little improvement in city driving over a non-hybrid.

 

What you said is mostly correct xspirit, but what I said is correct.

Let's say the hybrid escape gets 10 mpg more than the standard V6 Escape.

30% or 3 mpg is gained from having regenerative brakes charge the battery that can later be used to propel the vehicle forward.

10% or 1 mpg is gained from having an Atkinson type engine.

10% or 1 mpg is gained from having an eCVT and other small engine control improvements.

5% or 0.5 mpg is gained from have lower rolling resistence tires.

5% or 0.5 mpg is gained from having electric power steering, and no belt driven altermatior under the hood (no belt drag on the engine for that, but there is a belt).

That's 60% of your hybrid benefit.

The #1 single most important component of your savings, 40% of your MPG boost is from reduction in idle time.

We all know with steady highway driving, the Hybrid Escape is only barely better than a gas only Escape.

I once drove for an hour around my city with a stopwatch in ideal 65 degree weather so I needed no heat or A/C.

In sixty minutes of drive time, my engine was OFF for 54 minutes. My fuel use over that one-hour time was 53 MPG!!!

I made a complete round trip so there was no elevation change.

One hour at 45 mph ~ 45 MPG
One hour at 55 mph ~ 38 MPG
One hour at 65 mph ~ 32 MPG
One hour at 75 mph ~ 26 MPG

Non Hybrid V6 Escape at 75 mph ~ 23 MPG

Non-Hybrid or Hybrid with idle time in 1 hour of city driving will be ~ 18 MPG.

Exactly!!! A hybrid using full time A/C in city conditions will get at best 1-2 mpg better than a non hybrid!

Perhaps you have heard of "mild" hybrids?

"Mild" hybrids have very few additional parts, very little extra cost, and simply shut of the engine when your wheels aren't rolling. Basically all they do is elimiate idle time and get 40-50% of the benifits of a full parallel hybrid at a fraction of the cost.

 

Love this discussion. My 2006 with 139,000 miles will go almost a mile in EV if I am off somewhere on flat ground with no traffic to worry about. I have to baby the acceleration and keep it about 30 mph.

My best savings, I think, are when I am in a long line at McDonalds. I can stay in EV for several minutes, moving forward when needed, but never firing up the gas engine.

From a stop in normal traffic, I barely get going in EV -- don't want to slow down traffic too much. Still, that EV only up to 10 mph seems to help a lot.

Regarding highway mileage, I can get 35-36 if no wind and I try real hard, as in slowing down to 55-58. I don't know how much better this is than a non-hybrid, or if the electric engine is even helping, but I love it.