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The Prius' great fuel economy starts with the efficient ICE. The Atkinson cycle it uses increases the fuel efficiency at the expanse of power compared to the same sized engine block used in the Corolla. Much of the efficiency improvements to the past couple of models was due to improvements to the ICE; the latest one has a 40% thermal efficiency. Approaching diesel territory, and it likely could go higher if Toyota didn't want the super ultra low emissions. Improvements to the electric side include some efficiency ones, but mostly been aimed at cost reduction. tl;dr Hybrids get great fuel economy because they have a dog of an engine. The electric side just makes the car's performance something people are willing to drive.;) Ben covered the EV button. With the battery charged only by the ICE, over use of it can actually reduce your overall fuel economy. Toyota makes good, dependable cars. Most of their models tend to be on the appliance side of driving excitement though. Quote:
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Up to about 45mph or so in the gen2 Prius, you could feather the accelerator to get into a true glide; this is when the ICE is off, and no energy is coming out of or into the battery. The speed at which this is possible has increased with the newer models. Quote:
M/G2 is the larger traction motor. It inputs to the outside ring gear, or further along the drivetrain, depending on who's system you are looking at. GM's Voltec system is also a planetary gear set eCVT, but I'm familiar enough with it to say how close it is to Toyota/Ford. Honda's two motor hybrid in the Accord is also an eCVT, but it is just a chain of fixed gears between the motor and drive axle, that the ICE can clutch into at highway speeds. Quote:
Sounds like the gen4 really improves upon the fun to drive factor. I have yet to see one in person, but the styling is more striking. I was happy to see the flying bridge of the gen3 go. The worry with the white is how well will it hold up over time. It does not go with the beige interior, which isn't offered in Japan, though. I'm concerned the shifter might be too low, but I'm mostly disappointed in the loss of the upper glove box, and other storage nooks in the front. I would also prefer some space under the cargo floor for jumper cables and the like instead of having the voids filled in with foam. The Outlander PHEV has been a big hit for Mitsu, but it's North American intro keeps getting pushed back. Quote:
It is older than the new Prius, so it won't see those improvements until later, but the larger ICE is the main difference. |
Cheers trollbait, comprehensive reply! I will see if I can practice your tips tomorrow.
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Ok thanks for the reply. Just wanted to make sure you guys knew about it, and that it wasn't messing up any data further down the line for anyone :)
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After reading through this.
That Prius doesn't have that much of battery. Does it? Must be less than a golf cart? Much less? I can see the brilliance in this Prius. Charges when going downhill. Helps uphill. Charges when coasting to a stop. Helps when accelerating. More like it's a kinetic energy storage device. |
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Hybrids are, at their heart, still an ICE powered car. The non-ICE side doesn't even have to be electric. Plenty of work has been done with hydraulic hybrids. Along with using recaptured energy to help later on, a hybrid can also run the ICE at a higher, efficient load at the times a straight ICE car would be only running at a low, inefficient load. The excess energy produced gets stored in the battery or accumulator for use later. Along with allowing the use of engine off modes, the fuel economy of the hybrid can be further improved by engine downsizing. A straight ICE car needs an engine sized to provide heavy acceleration and the ability to climb steep grades. This means giving up efficiency at the engine loads where the car will spend most of its time; light acceleration and cruising. The help the hybrid side can provide means that it can provide the power for climbing and acceleration during those shorter periods. Letting the car designers put in a lower powered engine that is most efficient for the majority of the drive. |
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