Average consumption and driving style thread

To and from work I get about 5 miles per kwh. About 15-20 minutes on highway and city streets.

I am in eco mode almost all the time and in auto Regen with Regen 2 as standard.

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For those who don't have this car, could you explain regen levels? I assume the higher the level selected, the quicker the car decelerates when you take your foot off the pedal, and the more auto regen you get? I would rather coast, plan for an upcoming red light, and only apply the brake gently when necessary -- I think that approach maximizes miles/kWh with my Prime. But Prime does not have any selectable option.

 

Yes, Regen level in the Kona goes from 0 to 4 (unofficial).

0 is close to coasting. (I noticed the other day that there is a minimal Regen associated with it)
1 is little Regen, which I personally find too little for city driving. It's probably best for highway driving.
2 is medium Regen. I use it in city driving and it's great to slow down for red lights and cars ahead as well as slowing in traffic on a highway.
3 is high Regen. It's like using the brakes on a normal car and works great to come to an almost stop.
4 (unofficial) is maximum Regen and not an actual level. But when you keep the left steering wheel paddle pressed, the Regen is higher that 3 and it will bring the car to a complete stop. I use it in city traffic to stop at red lights and in traffic.

I hope this helps to clarify.

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I haven't seen the Prime, but I've owned three generations of the Prius, and they all had "B" on the gear selector. This boosts the regen.

 

I've read that the motor cannot apply regen below a certain speed, and I wonder if the paddle trick is actually engaging the friction brakes toward the end.

 

I had thought similar to you, but in practice I leave it on full regen all the time now. If you're trying to coast at full regen, it of course starts slowly down considerably. However, if you apply a little bit of accelerator it doesn't use battery it just reduces the regen. The display in Eco mode still shows you're recovering energy.

 

I believe it is not generating electricity coming to a stop the last couple of mph. However when you come to a stop the car rocks back and forth a tiny little bit. That makes me believe it's not using the friction brakes. It kind of feels like it's "bouncing back and forth between two magnetic poles". Just like you see when an electric fan comes to a stop (just my feeling, not at all a scientific description!)

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Good obsevation. I think you're probably right. And have you noticed that on a really steep slope, if you stop there after using stop-and-hold at Regen 3, after say 15 seconds the 'brakes' (wheel brakes or 'motor brake') will release and the car will move?

 

Maybe I'm too old a dog to learn new tricks, but I seldom use the paddles because the same modulation of regen can be accomplished with the pedals. For tootling around town, I let auto regen do its magic and seldom have to touch the brakes except to come to a full stop.

 

Yeah, I noticed that too. It's not a full replacement for the brakes. If you're on a slope it takes longer to come to a stop with the paddles as well.

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Oh I keep it on auto regen at highest setting as well, though I do use the paddles to "brake" to a full stop when possible, unless I'm on cruise control.

 

I think if you use auto Regen you should set it to a low setting like 1 or 2. Because the auto Regen will increase it as needed. But I don't think it will decrease it.

Mine increases the Regen to 2 and 3 if I catch up to traffic when it's set to 1. It's such an awesome feature! I love it!

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Fuel economy or electrical energy consumption can be measured in the good ol' American way, in terms of distance traveled per unit of energy consumed (Miles per kilowatt-hour). It's a natural transition from MPG used with ICE vehicles. It's even better than it was, because now we don't have the perennial problem presented by two different "gallons" existing in the USA and in the UK, the 'small gallon' the Yanks have kept using since colonial days and the 10-pound or Imperial Gallon the Brits adopted in 1824. But unfortunately there is another and globally more popular method used by most Europeans, Chinese, South Africans, Australians, Kiwis, and Canucks---one that measures energy consumption in terms of energy consumed per unit of fuel or energy consumed (Liters of fuel burned or kilowatt-hours of energy consumed per 100 kilometers). Comparing the two methods can be difficult for the algebraically challenged. Google "Fuel economy in vehicles" for handy tables. An article in Popular Mechanics claimed that the more popular method is used because it's easier to make comparisons between two vehicles when expressed as energy consumed per unit of distance. It seems that displays in Konas sent to American Hyundai dealers are different from cars going to Canada, which maintains the existence of two methods in N America.

 

Does this happen in both ECO and NORMAL mode? Ahh, the mysteries of Regen!

 

Yes, I am mostly in eco mode but used normal the last couple days and it increased it by itself coming up on traffic.

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I’ve been doing this as well, but I noticed when coming to a full stop with the paddle, the brake lights go out right after the car is fully stopped. I find if you use auto hold and then lightly tap on the brake at this point it will keep the brake lights on and not have to keep your foot on it. Not sure there is any other way to keep the lights on at a stop other than foot down

 

How are you seeing your brake lights while driving?

 

I see them at night reflected in the car behind me ...

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Ah. Okay.