Mountain Driving: HV or EV

Try this thread about my trip to Mammoth Mountain via Lake Tahoe.

https://www.insideevsforum.com/community/index.php?threads/heading-to-mammoth-mountain-from-the-bay-area.5542/

Going to Tahoe is not an issue in HV mode. I did much harder climbs in HV mode.

Climbing in EV is much faster, but your EV range will drop quickly. I would use it for steep and short sections only. I think you can drain the battery in about 4-5k ft climbing at a moderately steep grade. So going to Tahoe on EV only is not possible.

 

I’m going to guess here based on what I’ve experienced, but I think in HV mode the ice tries to stay in an efficient power range which typically is somewhere in the 20-40kw range. If More power is asked for it comes from the battery. If less is needed the battery is charged or the ice turns off. When you get more than 3-5 miles away from the target charge point (the charge state when you activated hv) then the engine works more aggressively to maintain charge levels.
So it’s based on power demand, charge state (from when hv was activated) and the condition of the battery like temperature and overall charge state. The car is good at keeping the ice in an ideal efficiency range.