Charging the battery whilst doing a journey

[SteveV]

New to a PHEV so please excuse my ignorance but if I have ran the EV battery down if I am still motoring on the motorway and have changed the settings for the ICE to recharge the EV battery will it use more fuel than if just on auto no recharge.

 

[Vipar]

Yes on my outlander I lose about 5 mpg and it takes quite a long time to charge to max 30 miles

 

[TWbm]

Yep, no such thing as free energy I'm afraid. I've played about with the charging rate a bit - the default is best I think. Bought a Type 2 to Type 2 lead for the rare away from home charges.

 

[kazuki1328]

As far as I can remember there is no option for not charging the car on ICE. its only low, medium or high. Yes you will use slightly more fuel when charging the car using ICE so I only ever have it on low. I normally save the EV for when only city driving as I find EV is most efficient at lower speeds.

At 30-40mph I switch to ICE and let the car decide what is best. If you let the battery run down completely and you still have a long way to go, the fuel economy drops considerably as you are at that point using a hybrid as just a petrol car but with the additional weight of a battery.

Save the EV for when the miles left is similar to your destination so you can charge when you get back. I have done a comprehensive review on the PHEV and EV in general you may want to check it out

 

[Lex in Holland]

Great video. very informative

 

[kazuki1328]

Great video. very informative

Thank you very much!

 

[hermitdave]

Just FYI, on steady drive / ACC it will add few amps here and there. Having started with flat battery driving back from Wales I managed to charge it to 12% without trying. I used that when I got off the motorway