[glossolalia]

Noob question, but I suspect it does because I notice I get better MPG when the battery is full vs when it’s empty, even if EV never turns on.

 

[hasarad]

It sure does. Park in the summer idling with the A/C on and you'll see. The car does not have an alternator. It uses a DC-DC converter to have the HV battery charge the 12v battery which runs accessories. Also, if you look at the power meter while driving, you'll find the car run in hybrid mode where both the battery and ICR provide power to the drivetrain.

 

[Xura]

Noob question, but I suspect it does because I notice I get better MPG when the battery is full vs when it’s empty, even if EV never turns on.

here's a helpful picture

you can use the power flow screen on your infotainment screen to see what the powertrain is doing in realtime

 

[Mobilcams]

When going uphill or accelerating - as long as the state of charge is adquate, the battery will produce additional power alongside the engine.. When driving the car on a flat area, this is not usually the case..

In a more technical discussion and from observations that I have made over the past four years - when you first start up your car and the engine is cold, it will use the battery for most of the propulsion and keep the strain off the engine until it (and maybe the HV batteries) are warmed up. This keeps the engine from revving high (which is damaging when it is cold).. I have driven up to 50 miles and hour with a full battery and the engine cold and the engine never even ramped up as usual. It drained the battery down to 2 bars before it even started putting any significant load on the engine.. Pretty neat system and idea..

 

[JK919]

When going uphill or accelerating - as long as the state of charge is adquate, the battery will produce additional power alongside the engine.. When driving the car on a flat area, this is not usually the case..

In a more technical discussion and from observations that I have made over the past four years - when you first start up your car and the engine is cold, it will use the battery for most of the propulsion and keep the strain off the engine until it (and maybe the HV batteries) are warmed up. This keeps the engine from revving high (which is damaging when it is cold).. I have driven up to 50 miles and hour with a full battery and the engine cold and the engine never even ramped up as usual. It drained the battery down to 2 bars before it even started putting any significant load on the engine.. Pretty neat system and idea..

It doesn't work very well if you get on the highway almost immediately (my job is next to the on-ramp). It'll eat through the battery as you speed up to 70, then rev it ridiculously high with no acceleration - not great on a cold engine. I always try to force start it in the parking lot by cranking up the heat, or putting it in sport mode and stabbing the accelerator for a sec.