New Citroen DS5 Hybrid4 Owner here

[markc]

There's a good discussion of why overnight charging the main battery in a normal hybrid, Prius Gen2 in this case, would be a) problematic (easy to damage the battery) and b) not cost effective (due to the complex/expensive charger required)... http://priuschat.com/threads/plugin-but ... ies.58246/

Despite reading the thread carefully I still can't quite get my head around the notion that starting each day with a fully charged (actually 80%) battery is not a great idea

Cheers

Mark

[frv]

As you say interesting! I think it's better for the battery to leave it somewhere in the middle of it's useable range from a longevity point of view. It sounds like having it at the max (80%) would give you no chance of gaining some energy from regenerative braking at the beginning of your journey. It's also interesting that to get the best mpg from a hybrid you have to avoid using the battery - "You pay for it eventually. The battery eventually has to be replenished, and again, that power comes from the ICE with conversion losses along the way." other than maybe moving the car very short distances.

[markc]

It's also interesting that to get the best mpg from a hybrid you have to avoid using the battery - "You pay for it eventually. The battery eventually has to be replenished, and again, that power comes from the ICE with conversion losses along the way." other than maybe moving the car very short distances.

Hmmm... I agree that the ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) provides almost all of the energy but the energy re-generated when rolling downhill comes from good old Mr gravity. Sure the energy to get up said hill was provided by the ICE but just like rolling down the hill on a bicycle, gravity provides the energy on the way down and in a hybrid the battery captures some of it.

I went to the local shops today, less than 0.5 miles away, The display said the battery was at 50% and I selected LEV (electric only) mode, pulled away very slowly on the totally flat start of the trip. Within a hundred yards the ICE licked in? I guess the battery maintenance program looks after the battery in ways that don't seem quite logical.

Cheers

Mark

[parallaxerr]

Avoiding battery use "where possible" is my new technique but you can only do what the car will let you do, like you say Mark, my Prius sometimes starts up for no apparent reason.

To get 99.9MPG on the way home last night I warp stealth'd (engine turning but not fuelling) down all the hills, coasted with engine off (at 0rpm) below 46mph and P&G'd on battery when below 35mph.

The battery was low when I got home so the engine started almost immediately this morning but it has to at some point to warm up. I use the warm up cycle to re-charge, best use of the energy as I see it.

[MikeMarsUK]

I seem to recall reading that the conversion losses were 70% (i.e., only 30% is recovered, which is better than nothing...).

[Zacaol]

Just completed my first full tank of diesel in my ds5 33.8 mpg can't help thinking I could of bought a standard diesel car for half the money and got better MPG

[frv]

You could be right!