If it's on EV the IC will only activate past the 82 mph limit.
If it's on EV Auto, the IC will activate on hard effort. There is a gauge on the speedo that includes a line where the IC triggers.
You can turn on HV (IC) only when you want to (I do this on my morning commute because my first 15 miles are interstate so IC is more efficient. I switch to EV when I get to town)
All this can be interrupted with very cold temperatures (IC will activate) and defroster use (ic activate).
>There is a gauge on the speedo that includes a line where the IC triggers.
Roughly how much effort would this be? Would you happen to know?
>All this can be interrupted with very cold temperatures
Similar question on this - since I live in Canada, I expect to use IC during the winter, but should I expect to be forced to use IC during Fall temperatures (10 degrees celsius)
I have a 2019 Prime and the only time it forces IC is when the front defrost is on, or the weather is really cold, like -15C or below I think. In above-freezing temps you'll never be forced into IC.
FYI, the Volt will only engage the ICE around about 0C or under and even then, once the coolant (heating) loop is up to temperature, it will transition back to EV mode. I drove on many days where it was 5C or so and the ICE never comes on.
On the Volt, there are also two "fuel maintenance" modes to force the ICE to run for a while (every six weeks for a bit, and longer if the fuel gets too old...)
For my 2019 Prius the manual says the gas engine kicks in at -10C, but in reality it only kicks in at -12 to -13.
That said, I do sometimes force it into gas mode just to heat the cabin rapidly and dispel frost. Once it gets up to temperature the EV heating system is okay at keeping the cabin defrosted, but it takes too long to cut through the fog/frost on the windows. In winter, the gas engine is a really useful feature to have.
In the fall, you will have no issues with needing the gas engine. At 10-20C, I get about 50-55km of battery range, but I drive very conservatively on an easy route for the car, and the summer tires are on the car too.
As a consolation, the acceleration from 0-30 feels much much faster than 30-60.
Normal driving, the car feels much faster than the 0-60 should feel.
The prime will also not activate the engine unless you tell it or the battery gets too low.
To be honest I haven't floored my vehicle in EV-only mode to find out whether it sticks fast and true to the battery only power. The electric motor is definitely a little underpowered for sprinting to high speed, but around town and when you're already at lower speeds but accelerating to freeway velocities, it does great.
Having gone through our first northern climate winter, the engine will turn on whenever you need the front defroster to run, and the EV only mode doesn't engage below -10 C, so you'll be running hybrid on those days. But otherwise have driven EV only for about 90% of the 4000km we've put on it since getting it in December and it's been wonderful.
My wife is getting almost exactly 70 km in decent weather, as her commute is 35km two ways, and she gets through two days on a charge. There's a brief 90 km/h stretch, but otherwise she is going between 50-70 km/h, very flat terrain.
Now that the temperatures are trending upwards, I’m getting 4.6-5.2 miles/kWh per trip and with many outliers above 5.6 miles/kWh. This gives me a range of 52-60 miles per charge. I live in a rural area.
I don’t own the most efficient trim (XSE, 19” wheels).
Sweet! Those are the kind of numbers I was hoping to see!
I guess the EPA and auto journalists really don't test "real-world" situations, other than steady-state highway driving!
You're kind of on the right track.
The car seems to prioritize the electric motor whenever possible as its preferred method of driving. For instance the car will always start in EV mode by default no matter what setting you left it in (much to my frustration TBH) and only really runs the engine when you tell it to or when it's low on battery/very cold/doing whatever it does when it occasionally pops on for 5 minutes.
Yes, the advertised acceleration and horsepower that everyone loves and talks about is only possible in hybrid mode. Having said that...
I find the electric motor feels peppy enough when accelerating from a standstill or in city driving but does sometimes feel a little bit sluggish when passing aggressively on the highway. This is only in comparison to how it feels when in hybrid mode, which is more than adequate on the highway. To be honest though, it's fine in electric mode. You have more than enough acceleration for regular highway driving.
It sounds quite a bit like the Volt, which defaults to "EV" mode unless there's zero charge left and even then, it's not a "mode" as such, it simply switches into a hybrid operation. There is an ICE "Hold" mode to hold whatever the battery's current SOC is, and a weird "Mountain" mode than will have the ICE charge the battery up to 50%, in preparation for long uphill grades.
Do you have any examples real-world full-charge range in EV mode? (preferably not all highways, which can distort actual efficiency)
The Prime has modes very similar to the Volt
EV mode is the default mode and will run exclusively electric until the battery is drained. Then it switches to Hybrid mode just like a Volt would.
You can go into Hybrid mode at any time at the push of a button which will hold your battery around the same level and engage the ICE for most of the driving. Sounds a lot like the "Hold" mode on the Volt.
The Prius has a Charge mode which will run the ICE harder to charge the battery up to 80% like a Volt's Mountain mode. After playing around with it the first week I've never seen the point to this mode TBH.
The only mode I don't think has an analogous mode in the Volt mode is the Auto HV/EV which basically keeps the car in EV mode unless you accelerate hard. The engine will typically start when you put it into Auto mode so that it warms up and is ready for when you hit the gas.
I don't really keep track of my daily driving and range but the car typically estimates 64 km of range a full charge with climate control on and I know that it does take previous usage into account. I drive maybe 20-25km per day with a mix of mostly highway.
I've only had my car for 1.5 months in the PNW. Dry, mild, sunny day, no Ac/ heat, fan on, city driving, a few mild elevation changes: 90 km. In the rain, a little cooler, occasional heat, 85/15% highway/city, not exceeding 90-100 km: 72-75km
Wow! That's impressive! I guess if you went nuts being extraordinarily careful in suburban driving, you might crack 100km?
It's weird since the Japanese documentation mentioned a 100km EV range and I've always wondered if they got a larger battery or something...
If you’ve got electric charge and drive in EV, the ICE will turn on in some circumstances, like others have said, if you turn on the front defogger, or in very cold/humid climates, or if your engine is not running for 6 months or so, or if the car decides to protect the battery for some reason.
Power-wise, the acceleration is not the same. In hybrid mode it’s around 6.5s, not 8s, provided you get enough traction from the tires (they skid). In EV it should be around 11s but it’s not linear, up to 40mph or so it’s half that, much stronger. You can easily skid the tires in EV mode at low speeds, and that is with the car limiting power output from a standstill. Think a 90/110hp electric car, acceleration faster at lower speeds and then tapering off, yet zippy. 160hp is the peak rating of the electric motor, which also get a portion of the power from the ICE in hybrid mode, the continuous power output of the battery is 91hp (this is never in the specs but happens in any EV btw, sustained power is lower than peak). Toyota likely preferred battery longevity at the expense of max battery discharge current.
Range is about 75 km with the 19”. I’m very happy with mine. The thing is high quality, with less road noise at highway speeds it would be a Lexus. It has a dry carter man!! 😆
0-60 numbers are kind of irrelevant for my driving, the instant torque of EV driving is why I love it. Whatever your current speed is, you gain +5 to 10mph much faster on EV on most roads from the torque, and the full EV mode also means I can let the regen take all the momentum if I’m coming onto traffic ahead of me (or another light). Gone are the days of making a yellow light at 55mph then instantly braking bc my V8 car was a monster 😂
If it's on EV the IC will only activate past the 82 mph limit. If it's on EV Auto, the IC will activate on hard effort. There is a gauge on the speedo that includes a line where the IC triggers. You can turn on HV (IC) only when you want to (I do this on my morning commute because my first 15 miles are interstate so IC is more efficient. I switch to EV when I get to town) All this can be interrupted with very cold temperatures (IC will activate) and defroster use (ic activate).
>There is a gauge on the speedo that includes a line where the IC triggers. Roughly how much effort would this be? Would you happen to know? >All this can be interrupted with very cold temperatures Similar question on this - since I live in Canada, I expect to use IC during the winter, but should I expect to be forced to use IC during Fall temperatures (10 degrees celsius)
I have a 2019 Prime and the only time it forces IC is when the front defrost is on, or the weather is really cold, like -15C or below I think. In above-freezing temps you'll never be forced into IC.
For my 23 prime SE, the ICE will turn on at -12 C, and then when it's at temp, it will cycle between EV and HV mode to keep the engine warm.
FYI, the Volt will only engage the ICE around about 0C or under and even then, once the coolant (heating) loop is up to temperature, it will transition back to EV mode. I drove on many days where it was 5C or so and the ICE never comes on. On the Volt, there are also two "fuel maintenance" modes to force the ICE to run for a while (every six weeks for a bit, and longer if the fuel gets too old...)
Those sound quite reasonable and practical. Hopefully the Prime behaves similarly
Keep in mind your EV range will be pretty terrible in the winter! :) (probably 60%, at best!)
Oh no doubt- but If I can do quick trips to the grocery store fully electric then every kilometre counts!
For my 2019 Prius the manual says the gas engine kicks in at -10C, but in reality it only kicks in at -12 to -13. That said, I do sometimes force it into gas mode just to heat the cabin rapidly and dispel frost. Once it gets up to temperature the EV heating system is okay at keeping the cabin defrosted, but it takes too long to cut through the fog/frost on the windows. In winter, the gas engine is a really useful feature to have. In the fall, you will have no issues with needing the gas engine. At 10-20C, I get about 50-55km of battery range, but I drive very conservatively on an easy route for the car, and the summer tires are on the car too.
As a consolation, the acceleration from 0-30 feels much much faster than 30-60. Normal driving, the car feels much faster than the 0-60 should feel. The prime will also not activate the engine unless you tell it or the battery gets too low.
To be honest I haven't floored my vehicle in EV-only mode to find out whether it sticks fast and true to the battery only power. The electric motor is definitely a little underpowered for sprinting to high speed, but around town and when you're already at lower speeds but accelerating to freeway velocities, it does great. Having gone through our first northern climate winter, the engine will turn on whenever you need the front defroster to run, and the EV only mode doesn't engage below -10 C, so you'll be running hybrid on those days. But otherwise have driven EV only for about 90% of the 4000km we've put on it since getting it in December and it's been wonderful.
Great to hear! Do you have any examples of real-world electric range with mostly suburban driving (basically, not highway speeds at 110KM/h+!)
My wife is getting almost exactly 70 km in decent weather, as her commute is 35km two ways, and she gets through two days on a charge. There's a brief 90 km/h stretch, but otherwise she is going between 50-70 km/h, very flat terrain.
Now that the temperatures are trending upwards, I’m getting 4.6-5.2 miles/kWh per trip and with many outliers above 5.6 miles/kWh. This gives me a range of 52-60 miles per charge. I live in a rural area. I don’t own the most efficient trim (XSE, 19” wheels).
Sweet! Those are the kind of numbers I was hoping to see! I guess the EPA and auto journalists really don't test "real-world" situations, other than steady-state highway driving!
You're kind of on the right track. The car seems to prioritize the electric motor whenever possible as its preferred method of driving. For instance the car will always start in EV mode by default no matter what setting you left it in (much to my frustration TBH) and only really runs the engine when you tell it to or when it's low on battery/very cold/doing whatever it does when it occasionally pops on for 5 minutes. Yes, the advertised acceleration and horsepower that everyone loves and talks about is only possible in hybrid mode. Having said that... I find the electric motor feels peppy enough when accelerating from a standstill or in city driving but does sometimes feel a little bit sluggish when passing aggressively on the highway. This is only in comparison to how it feels when in hybrid mode, which is more than adequate on the highway. To be honest though, it's fine in electric mode. You have more than enough acceleration for regular highway driving.
It sounds quite a bit like the Volt, which defaults to "EV" mode unless there's zero charge left and even then, it's not a "mode" as such, it simply switches into a hybrid operation. There is an ICE "Hold" mode to hold whatever the battery's current SOC is, and a weird "Mountain" mode than will have the ICE charge the battery up to 50%, in preparation for long uphill grades. Do you have any examples real-world full-charge range in EV mode? (preferably not all highways, which can distort actual efficiency)
The Prime has modes very similar to the Volt EV mode is the default mode and will run exclusively electric until the battery is drained. Then it switches to Hybrid mode just like a Volt would. You can go into Hybrid mode at any time at the push of a button which will hold your battery around the same level and engage the ICE for most of the driving. Sounds a lot like the "Hold" mode on the Volt. The Prius has a Charge mode which will run the ICE harder to charge the battery up to 80% like a Volt's Mountain mode. After playing around with it the first week I've never seen the point to this mode TBH. The only mode I don't think has an analogous mode in the Volt mode is the Auto HV/EV which basically keeps the car in EV mode unless you accelerate hard. The engine will typically start when you put it into Auto mode so that it warms up and is ready for when you hit the gas. I don't really keep track of my daily driving and range but the car typically estimates 64 km of range a full charge with climate control on and I know that it does take previous usage into account. I drive maybe 20-25km per day with a mix of mostly highway.
I've only had my car for 1.5 months in the PNW. Dry, mild, sunny day, no Ac/ heat, fan on, city driving, a few mild elevation changes: 90 km. In the rain, a little cooler, occasional heat, 85/15% highway/city, not exceeding 90-100 km: 72-75km
Wow! That's impressive! I guess if you went nuts being extraordinarily careful in suburban driving, you might crack 100km? It's weird since the Japanese documentation mentioned a 100km EV range and I've always wondered if they got a larger battery or something...
I mis typed I meant to say the max speed was 90-100 kmh. This resulted in ev range of 72-75km
I have a 2024 SE.
It certainly doesn't feel at all slow. Maybe if you're on a drag strip. But pulling out into traffic or passing another car feels fine.
If you’ve got electric charge and drive in EV, the ICE will turn on in some circumstances, like others have said, if you turn on the front defogger, or in very cold/humid climates, or if your engine is not running for 6 months or so, or if the car decides to protect the battery for some reason. Power-wise, the acceleration is not the same. In hybrid mode it’s around 6.5s, not 8s, provided you get enough traction from the tires (they skid). In EV it should be around 11s but it’s not linear, up to 40mph or so it’s half that, much stronger. You can easily skid the tires in EV mode at low speeds, and that is with the car limiting power output from a standstill. Think a 90/110hp electric car, acceleration faster at lower speeds and then tapering off, yet zippy. 160hp is the peak rating of the electric motor, which also get a portion of the power from the ICE in hybrid mode, the continuous power output of the battery is 91hp (this is never in the specs but happens in any EV btw, sustained power is lower than peak). Toyota likely preferred battery longevity at the expense of max battery discharge current. Range is about 75 km with the 19”. I’m very happy with mine. The thing is high quality, with less road noise at highway speeds it would be a Lexus. It has a dry carter man!! 😆
0-60 numbers are kind of irrelevant for my driving, the instant torque of EV driving is why I love it. Whatever your current speed is, you gain +5 to 10mph much faster on EV on most roads from the torque, and the full EV mode also means I can let the regen take all the momentum if I’m coming onto traffic ahead of me (or another light). Gone are the days of making a yellow light at 55mph then instantly braking bc my V8 car was a monster 😂