How does niro phev work after depleting battery

Pardon the question (don't have a PHEV) but how does one end up depleting the battery when the ICE is suppose to keep it charged when it gets low? Is it because the rate of discharge (when driving, using accessories, etc) outpaces the rate of charge that the ICE can provide?

BTW, you posted this in the Kia Niro EV forum. There is a separate forum for Honda Clarity.

 

The traction battery in a Niro PHEV should never get to zero in normal operation. I'm not sure if you could ever get the traction battery down to zero.

So when the traction battery charge gets low enough, it operates like a regular hybrid electric car. The car uses the remaining traction battery capacity when accelerating from a stop for a very short period of time like under 20 miles/hr (or under a hard acceleration) and then runs on the gas engine from then on until the car is stopped again.

The traction battery recharges when braking or if you place the car in charge mode, which runs the gas engine at a high RPM to recharge the battery.

 

I've never driven the the Niro PHEV. But I have a Sonata Plugin Hybrid and it has a sport mode with the ability to shift the automatic transmission. In sport mode it's quite zippy. I believe the Niro also has the 6 speed transmission, so it's going to drive differently then a CVT in a Toyota. I see it does have the Dual Clutch 6-Speed Automatic with Sportmatic®.

https://www.kiaofmuncie.com/blog/what-is-sportmatic-and-how-does-it-work/

I don't recommend the Hyundai or Kia PHEVs unless you live in a warm climate, get an HOV sticker, or the cost after the federal tax credit and any state credits is less then a regular hybrid.

The lack of an electric heater is a major disappointment for my usage, a lot short drives. Plus, I think the 6 speed automatic transmission is over-engineered for a PHEV and just more things to go wrong with the car.

 

Owner of 2019 Niro Phev Ex and Nissan Leaf. I can't speak technically, however as a user once the battery is depleted on the Niro you hear the engine start up and then the car operates like a traditional hybrid. I've found that if you go into sport mode the battery recharges pretty rapidly. If you run in eco mode the battery recharges slowly. The car isn't going to win any prizes for fastest acceleration, but it works great in the city. It's a compact and I've been able to grab parking spaces that larger cars will pass on. A whole bunch of safety features come standard on the EX trim.

 

as far as I can tell on my Niro PHEV, when in EV mode, if the ICE is on for heating, it still is in EV mode and not hybrid mode. interestingly I think when I'm driving around at 20deg F or less with the heat on and ICE sending power to the battery my EV mode range increases! I can get 2-3 miles more EV range keeping the heat on constantly than when I was turning it on and off trying to eke out more range! I guess at certain temp/fan setting its sending more energy to battery than using it up.

 

The engine may be idling to heat up the block for the heating, but that takes energy, and I suppose the car might as well use the torque to dump into the power train, even if it is a small amount (and turn the electric motor to recharge a bit if the car is not moving.)