Power and torque reduction when PHEV's battery is drained?

Y

YurkshireLad

Member
I'm trying to educate myself on PHEVs compared to hybrids. If a PHEV's battery drains while driving, it'll continue at a lower efficiency. Though some, like the Kona seem to still offer decent fuel economy for longer drives. Once the battery is drained, how does that affect the power and torque from the drivetrain? Is it significantly reduced?

I drive in some hilly areas and a huge drop in power could be an issue on the highway. I seem to recall the Toyota Hybrid I owned many years ago had that same problem. Once the battery was drained, the available power was much lower and was an issue in hilly areas. Thanks
 
A former Prius owner, 2003, 2010, 2017, and BMW i3-REx, 2014, 2017, I have some experience to share:
  • Reduce speed to avoid draining the battery - use the battery as an energy buffer that gets charged descending hills and braking. Then drawn upon to climb or accelerate while engine stays at optimum thermal dynamic efficiency.
Instead of either/or operation of the engine and battery, use them to complement each other. Keep the ICE running at peak efficiency using the battery SOC to fill in the deficits or save energy normally wasted by braking.

Bob Wilson
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top