PHEV Power Issue

[Dusz]

I only got my PHEV at the end of March and have done several trips from Suffolk to Chiswick, Brussels, Arnhem Gatwick, Heathrow and Nottingham. Travelling to Chiswick the last time I used save mode so that going round the North Circular I was in electric mode. With Nottingham I can get a charge at relatives, with the others generally not. Although it is possible to get a charge on the Stena ferry from Harwich to Hook of Holland, and at Eurotunnel it is possible to get a free charge at both Folkestone and Calais. Note, I will no longer use Ecotricity which I had used for about 12 charges. Otherwise I tend to let the car do its own thing. I suppose if you know you have some hills coming up it is advisable to top up the battery using the charge mode.

 

[AndyInOz]

Secondly, would you be so kind to explain "switch to parallel hybrid" or in "series mode"

The car has three driving modes.

1. Electric - this means that power is being supplied from the battery to one or both electric motors.
2. Series hybrid - the engine is running, providing more electricity, which goes to the electric motors.
3. Parallel hybrid - the engine is running, and providing mechanical power directly to the front wheels while the electric motors are also doing their thing.

Parallel only comes on once you are at a suitable speed, around 60 km/h and above IIRC, and only when extra power is needed.

If you have the MMCS you can get an animated picture which show what the car is doing at any given time. When in Parallel hybrid mode, the engine turns orange in the display.

I think that the MMCS also displays what mode you're in with a little flag on the map screen, I noticed that it was showing [EV] the other day, which I think indicates Electric Mode.

Hopefully someone else will chime in on that one.

I usually only have the animated display on if I have a passenger, too distracting while driving for me.

 

[jaapv]

Still very new to my PHEV and interesting to read the comments thank you.

On a trip down to London ran out of battery and never had any power issues and it was not until the evening when I plugged it into the charge point at home.

Is there a need to press the save button as I did not and never in all the 200 mile trip found any power issues and was amazed at how punchy it was keeping to UK speed limits and also the occasional burst for overtaking. Please would you guys kindly give some guidance for future long trips as Holland is next - YES !

Secondly, would you be so kind to explain "switch to parallel hybrid" or in "series mode"

Many thanks in advance.

Regards,

Alan

Speed limits in Holland are similar to the UK but more confusing. 130 kph on the motorway unless it is 120 which may be only part of the day (130 outside that time) unless it is 100. Sometimes there are clear signs, but often only illegibly small ones every few hundred yards in the verge. 80 kmh on secondary roads but a few are 100, 50 in built-up areas and 30 in most but not all residential areas.
Fines are high and speed traps regular. Your navigation speed limit display is not always reliable.
Radar warning gear is illegal, but fixed trap location spot list gear is allowed.
There is a warning app called Flitsmeister and BNR radio will broadcast motorway locations (in Dutch )

Anyway, no chance of running into power issues with the PHEV.
The New Motion has access to about 26.000 public chargepoints all over the country, you can order a swipe card from abroad.Places like garden centers, Ikea, Schiphol, etc. sometimes have free chargepoints. You will need a Type2 cable and a 3-pin to Schuko adapter for the box-cable. Avoid ChaDeMo chargers, they cost the earth.
You can charge your car on the ferry to Hoek van Holland for free, apply beforehand.

 

[anko]

Parallel only comes on once you are at a suitable speed, around 60 km/h and above IIRC, and only when extra power is needed.

Not quite.

- Below 60 km/h it will always be in serial mode, as the one and only gear we have is to long for speeds below 60 km/h.
- Between 60 km/h and 120 km/h the total system output in serial mode (which allows the engine to run at high rpm) is more than the total system output in parallel mode (which restricts engine rpm). Thus when little to moderate power is requested, the more efficient parallel mode will be selected. When high power is requested, the car will switch to serial mode.
- Above 120 km/h parallel mode is more efficient and provides more total system power than serial mode. Therefor, serial mode is never selected at speeds above 120 km/h.

The car will also switch to serial mode when SOC drops to 22% (or was it 20?) and stay in this mode until SOC is upped to 25%. But for this to happen, you need to be doing some serious towing or prolonged motorway climbing.

BTW: if have never witnessed such low SOC at speeds above 120 km/h, so I don't know what the behavior will be in that situation. But it appears as if switching to serial mode would only make matters worse.

If you have the MMCS you can get an animated picture which show what the car is doing at any given time. When in Parallel hybrid mode, the engine turns orange in the display.

You can see the same in the graphics between the speedometer and the power meter.

 

[jaapv]

Given that on the Dutch forum somebody managed to pull a 4000 kg trailer up an incline without problems I would suggest that your experience is not as it should be.

 

[geoffshep69]

I think that the MMCS also displays what mode you're in with a little flag on the map screen, I noticed that it was showing [EV] the other day, which I think indicates Electric Mode.

Hopefully someone else will chime in on that one.

I usually only have the animated display on if I have a passenger, too distracting while driving for me.

Thats not correct unfortunately. The 'EV' in the map screen is actually a button that you can press to take you into the MMCS screens which provide info on your economy, estimated, range, etc. It always says EV in the map screen regardless of which mode you are driving in.

As you pointed out, you can either use the MMCS screen, or the centre screen between the dials in the dashboard, to get information on which mode the car is currently running in.