Charging Phev battery

[Manu99]

I have had a my MG HS +EV(phew) for five weeks now.
I drive it mainly on battery.
Is there a maximum that I should be charging the battery to?
Is there a minimum I should let the battery go down to before I charge?
Is it ok if I charge several times a day?
Thanks
John

 

[Cafeg]

I charge mine to 100% everyday. its just over 1 year old and battery still has full capacity.
Mine is also driven in EV mode all the time.

 

[Jto]

Should have purchased full EV car both of you. If you do not use the engine you could be asking for trouble in the future.

 

[ronmaz]

Because the battery in the HS PHEV doesn't support fast or rapid charging, charging it to 100% is fine and driving it down to 0% is also fine. The battery will never be totally empty even though it may show 0% as the car keeps some in reserve. Fully electric vehicles (BEVs) recommend only charging to 80% and not below 20% because fast and rapid charging to 100% can reduce battery life over time but we don't have to worry about that because ours is a slow charge. Having said that though, all batteries will degrade over time (years) but the HS PHEV will do so at a much slower rate.

You should use the petrol engine, at least once every week or two. Just drive it for 5-10 kms on petrol to keep the engine in good condition and the oil circulating.

 

[Manu99]

Because the battery in the HS PHEV doesn't support fast or rapid charging, charging it to 100% is fine and driving it down to 0% is also fine. The battery will never be totally empty even though it may show 0% as the car keeps some in reserve. Fully electric vehicles (BEVs) recommend only charging to 80% and not below 20% because fast and rapid charging to 100% can reduce battery life over time but we don't have to worry about that because ours is a slow charge. Having said that though, all batteries will degrade over time (years) but the HS PHEV will do so at a much slower rate.

You should use the petrol engine, at least once every week or two. Just drive it for 5-10 kms on petrol to keep the engine in good condition and the oil circulating.

Thanks for the info.
I've been scared to do that, now I've got the info I won't be.
I use the petrol engine when I'm going on a fast drive on the freeway or i am getting low on the battery. At least three times a week.
On my first top up with petrol I filled up the tank with 27 litres on a 37 litre tank.
I did 1100 kilometres. so that's 2.45 litres per 100 kms
That's not bad seeing as I used the petrol more than i needed to.

 

[Cafeg]

Should have purchased full EV car both of you. If you do not use the engine you could be asking for trouble in the future.

Not really, at the time I purchased electric was out of my reach money wise. I am happy with the phev I purchased. I drove a full electric mg when they serviced mine last month and I was glad to get back to my PHEV

 

[Archev]

Not really, at the time I purchased electric was out of my reach money wise. I am happy with the phev I purchased. I drove a full electric mg when they serviced mine last month and I was glad to get back to my PHEV

Interesting - my brother in law has just bought an electric Renault Austral ?
He’s chuffed to bits with it, loves driving electric, none of this charging by cable nonsense and it’s a bit easier than his former Range Rover sport on petrol.

 

[midician]

I treat mine like my phone - charge it every day . I have a standard timer on the wall socket which limits charging to off peak or shoulder times , so I don’t end up charging at peak rates. As my daily commute is less than 20km this suits me just fine. I could , at a push , charge every other day , but I just like to keep the routine simple. . Plug in when I return for the day .

You can’t overcharge the battery- it has a sophisticated battery management system which does just that - it looks after the battery no matter how long you plug it in for.

 

[midician]

If you live on a hill and the start of your day is driving downhill for a considerable time, you could recharge to about 61km range. This is because if the battery is fully charged, it does not like regenerative charging going downhill, and the ICE engine will kick in to slow you down. A quirk, I know, but it makes sense if you think about it....