Battery Charge or Battery Save?

[normanelliott]

Experienced drivers can hopefully help me here, please.

For long distance driving, say 100-150 miles, from an fuel economy view, i it best driving in Battery Charge or Battery Save, or neither?
I find that the Handbook does really explain this.

I know Battery charge is heavy on the engine, so when would i ever use that?

Drivers knowledge welcome!

 

[user 258]

Hi,

I'm not quite very experienced with my PHEV yet but I do have plug in experience in my previous car and I've also given it some thought for how this car works in order to get the best from it.

My conclusion is that you should use battery alone in urban driving (speeds below about 45mph) since ONLY series hybrid mode can be used if the engine is running and this is the LEAST efficient mode. Therefore, use battery to get to the motorway, use battery save mode on the motorway, and then switch back to battery once you leave the motorway.

IF you won't have sufficient battery to complete the urban part of the trip without running the engine in series hybrid mode then I think it is BETTER to use the charge mode while on the motorway to build JUST enough charge to complete the urban part on battery.

You should also aim to fully use the battery up on each trip by anticipating the drive ahead.

So to sum up, in my opinion only of course, use battery charge mode when the engine is running anyway, in order to avoid having a flat battery when travelling at speeds below about 45mph.

Another tip: Even on the motorway (when using battery mode is generally a poor choice since it depletes the battery very quickly and this is the most efficient time to run the engine in parrallel hybrid mode) when you are descending slight inclines and therefore using very little power switch back to battery mode in order to shut the engine off. Once the descent ends (which can often be a couple of miles or so on motorways) qyuickly select save mode again.

I hope you can understand the gist of what I'm trying to say even if my explanation isn't too clear.

Kind regards,
Mark

 

[maddogsetc]

I don't have a huge amount of experience of longer trips in the PHEV but I have depleted the battery a number of times when I've made multiple trips during the same day with insufficient time or no opportunity to recharge between trips.

I've come to a similar conclusion to Mark ie. that when the journey is long enough that ICE use is inevitable and when there is an opportunity to use the ICE in it's most efficient mode ie. parallel hybrid, I then use Save when running at higher speeds to ensure that I'm using pure EV mode when in traffic or at lower speeds.

The only area where I differ is when your journey involves more than c. 30 miles of slow speed / traffic. In those instances I'm not sure whether it's better to use Charge as Mark describes or to simply to allow the battery to deplete and let the car work out how much charge to generate (it does seem to be quite good at running the ICE to give just enough charge to keep running). I agree that you should aim to end your journey with no charge to spare (unless of course the entire journey is within pure EV range).

 

[jaapv]

You've got it exactly right. Use save on the motorway and charge in the mountains or when you absolutely need a full battery ahead ( emission control zone for instance) and let the horde of littleJapanese engineers under your bonnet do their work for the rest of the time.
The less you push buttons the better the system works.

 

[user 258]

The only area where I differ is when your journey involves more than c. 30 miles of slow speed / traffic. In those instances I'm not sure whether it's better to use Charge as Mark describes or to simply to allow the battery to deplete and let the car work out how much charge to generate (it does seem to be quite good at running the ICE to give just enough charge to keep running).

Hi,

I don't think we differ in this at all. I only suggest using charge mode when the engine is running efficiently (in parrallel hybrid mode) in order to achieve sufficient charge to complete the slow part of your trip in EV mode. If there is so much slow driving that this isn't possible then I think your suggestion (and jaapv) to let the car work things out itself is probably the best.

At the end of the day we all want to get the best fuel economy out of this car as possible, and knowing how it works and how to maximise efficiency is great AND enjoyable, but simply put we have to accept that on longer journies this car isn't going to be great due to its shape and weight and if that is our primary goal then we bought the wrong car. In ball park figures I estimate the non EV portion of journeys to be about 40mpg.

Kind regards,
Mark

PS The more I drive my PHEV (6 days and counting) the MORE I LOVE IT!!!

 

[user 258]

You've got it exactly right. Use save on the motorway and charge in the mountains or when you absolutely need a full battery ahead ( emission control zone for instance) and let the horde of littleJapanese engineers under your bonnet do their work for the rest of the time.
The less you push buttons the better the system works.

Hi,

I don't quite agree. The computer under the bonnet does not know your intended journey before the next recharge so can not possibly know the best time to be in EV, save, or charge mode. We do, and therefore for those that can be bothered, can maximise efficiency better.

Kind regards,
Mark

 

[Hypermiler]

I also agree with what has been said - if you know the length of journey remaining and the terrain/type of speed you are likely to be going, then save your battery for that as appropriate. E.g. if I come home on the A1M, I know I have about 9 miles to get home when I come off the motorway so I will "save" on the motorway (when I have perhaps 12 miles range left as it always drops a bit in reality) and then cancel it when I come off and use EV for the slower driving.

Note though as someone else mentions above - that it saves at the current level, so if you have a big descent you need to cancel and reset "save" at the bottom to bag any power you generate, otherwise the car will run on ev to use that bit up and just retain the previous level of battery capacity.

Getting home (or to another charger) with no more than 1 mile ev range remaining is the aim!
H