I can tell you that the range estimator on my 2012 Prius Plugin left me nearly stranded in a snowstorm. That taught me a lesson that had been very useful in managing my expectations for the Clarity's estimates.
I believe that 20 years of hypermiling in my Insight have given me--as Liam Neeson says it--"a certain set of skills." If I can't make my particular Clarity maintain a consistent SoC in HV Mode, nobody can. Other drivers who see their SoC remain constant in HV Mode are driving Claritys that are different than mine. However, this is the only aspect of my Clarity that does not measure up to the best of them and it does not really bother me because I've gone as long as 10 months without using HV mode or visiting a gas station. What a great car this is!
Have you tried to maintain SOC in a truly flat place like Kansas? It seems like it should be easy to maintain SOC with the car on flat terrain and hopefully the gear icon on near constantly. I see a big difference in how the SOC drops when comparing normal hilly to very hilly, but I don't have the option here to try board flat.
Most of our trip to FL has been really flat, once we got out of the mountains. In fact, on most of our semi-regular trips across the mountains, the car seems to do a better job of maintaining EV.
Yes, across the mostly flat bottom of lower Michigan. I don't remember the posters who say their Claritys maintain SoC in HV Mode include any asterisks about sub-speed limit travel or pool-table-flat roads.
Mine does better on flat roads. Most of my travel on HV is on hilly terrain, but on my Christmas trip to Kansas, it maintained SoC better. **I don't usually go above 70 mpg. There aren't any 70 speed limit in VT; 65 is the max on the interstate and 50 is max on ordinary roads. No rush!
I think it makes complete sense to turn off HV mode (and probably turn off heat too) when under a heavy load like climbing a hill at high speed. Bees should stay happy. Why make the engine work harder? Isn’t that what angers the bee? If you are feeling a sense of loss or just want to have enough reserve SOC to tap for the next hill don’t worry there is always a downhill and/or HV Charge mode. Note this is all academic for me since I haven’t experienced the angry bees. When I turn in my CRV lease and drive to the mountains in the Clarity I will have some real world experiences to share.
