New to clarity

If you turn Econ to On, Sport to off, and HV to off you'll have set the conditions for the most battery-electric EV mode you can. Then resist pushing the accelerator pedal too far which, after feeling a click, would force the gas engine to turn on. Also of course is to insure the battery is charged.

As for HV Charge I consider it not efficient to use. Using that mode will indeed charge the battery but at the expense of using gas. Most reports of HV Charge say it reduces the MPG from the low 40s to the low 30s. The max the HV Charge mode will accomplish is a 58% charge of the battery. I use it only because I do like to maintain some level of charge on long trips. Around town we only drive in EV and charge at home.

 

I have never noticed a click on mine other then from the engine staring up it self but you can tell where that point will be by looking at the power gauge. Solid Blue is pure EV, white is engine. When you hit the white or switch to HV mode the not solid white represent hybrid mode and solid blue is pure EV.

HV Charge is turned on by holding down the HV button for 30 seconds. Its designed for highway use to recharge the battery. I would only use it if the normal HV mode as acting up on you. The car is not always the best with battery management with a near empty battery in normal HV and can get loud. HV Charge may help you avoid that.

 

If you set to Econ mode and drive without flooring it past the detent 'click' of the go pedal, it'll just use the battery. We've been driving like this for 2 months and it has stayed in electric mode 100% of the time. We haven't invoked HV mode yet and just let the car handle things for us.

 

you only need to hold down for 3-4 seconds not 30 seconds to use HV Charge.

 

And a quick push for just HV mode. I went to "HV charge" a few times early on when I just wanted HV.

 

Econ mode and reasonable driving should keep it in electric mode. I do use the HOV mode when driving on the highway above 70 mph as that seems to be more economical and keeps the charge at a reasonable level to return to EV mode off the highway.


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HV charge mode should almost never be used. You either do EV only in Econ or HV for long trips/hwy driving.
There are really only 2 reasons to use HV Charge.

1 - If you want to get some EV for city driving after a hwy trip and you have 0 charge (2 bars is 0)
2- You are about to fill up gas in lets say 30 min and decide that you want to get max range out of the next tank and you have a bit extra gas. Charge to 58 percent EV and then fill up the car so that you can get some extra range for the next leg of the drive.

 

@JCEV, I’ll add one more reason.
If you’re approaching a mountainous climb with low charge, the Clarity will handle the climb with more drivability/power and lower ICE rpm/noise if it has a significant charge.