EV-only on the freeway.... Bad?

EV away without fear.

The recommendation to use HV on the highway applies to trips that are going to be too long for the battery alone. If you have to use HV, do it at highway cruising speeds.

But for shorter trips, in battery range, just running on battery the whole time is best of all, even on the highway.

 

Agree.


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Me 3!
Just be careful not to step on the 'gas' pedal too hard and accidentally kick the ICE in. Once ICE is on, it will run for at least 5 mins.

 

We drive about 30 miles per trip around town and freeway speeds are pray of most trips. We stay in EV Mode all the time for these trips.

The trick is to do what costs less. Some clarity owners have very expensive electric rates so it might be cheaper to use gas.

 

Greetings all, I have a VW TDI that is going back to VW soon and the Honda Clarity is choice # 1 for me.
I drive 40 miles to work each way, 80 miles round trip 98% freeway.
Is the Clarity a good option for mostly freeway driving?
One concern is the 7 gallon tank also.
Thanks for your help

 

Apart from heat (the biggest killer), one of the factors that shorten battery longevity is the depth of discharge or DoD. Basically, it is better to charge every chance you get (in your case, after each run) than to let the battery discharge to minimum (two bars) and then recharge fully again. This is only related to your question because if you know you don't have a chance to recharge before your battery runs out, you should just go to HV on the highway, where it is most efficient (46 mpg at 75 mph as measured by Car and Driver magazine). The other benefit is that this allows you to use some gasoline regularly so it doesn't go bad in your tank and ruin your engine when you finally run it and regularly running your ICE is important to keep it properly lubricated. I'm in EV so much that I have to switch to HV every time I'm on the highway just to run the ICE and use some gas.

 

I think it would be a good option for you since you would be doing 40 miles EV and 40 miles HV each work day. (If you can charge at work, your daily commute could be all EV.) The 7 gal tank will give you at least 280 miles on HV, so you’ll only need to fill up weekly. And your weekend local driving will be all EV.
Even at a 50/50 EV/HV 80 mile round trip work commute, you will get (110MPGe + 40Mpg)/2 = 75 mpg over all which beats any hybrid and then get the 110 MPGe for local driving.
The Clarity is the best of both worlds!

 

I’ve discovered the same thing, grocery stores and colleges have free stations so I charge at home less than half the time

 

If you drive 40 EV miles every day, you can drive 560 miles on a tank. Why would you need a larger tank?

 

Thanks a lot for the info, I driven diesels all my life and I am totally new to the whole plug in hybrid technology, I appreciate it.

 

Makes sense, didn't know you can get that many miles on a single tank. I guess I was just going by 42mpg X 7.

 

I’ve used a gallon of gas since my last fill up 500 miles ago. At that rate, I’ll get 3000 miles from this tankful.

 

Speaking of free charging, is there a website that maps out free charging locations that doesn't require pay parking? I haven't found one. Is there a thread on this?

 

Plugshare is the best place I've found to locate charging. It can be hit or miss whether the entries indicate paid parking or not, though.

 

This exactly! As long as you have home charging, your efficiency will still exceed that of a diesel. And if you can charge during the workday you could drive EV almost all the time.

I also switched from a VW TDI, and I think the Clarity is the best car I've ever owned. I just filled up yesterday for the first time since March!

For a long road trip, the 7-gallon tank is a little disappointing. But realistically, the car's range exceeds that of my bladder regardless, so if I just stop at gas stations and top off when I need to use a restroom, it all works out anyway.

One very minor disadvantage of having such a small tank is that I don't have time to finish cleaning my windshield before the pump turns off ;-)

 

lol
Glad to see someone else switched from a TDI. We don't have a charging station at work, I will be pushing hard to get one installed though.

 

EV ALL THE WAY!


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