[Wolverine51]

Honda literature says: "In EV Drive, the Insight is propelled solely by its electric motor and the lithium-ion battery pack.
This mode can be selected—and used for short distances—by pressing the EV button"

My question is: When can one use this mode to advantage?

At low speeds on level ground should one always start out in EV mode to save on gas? Or should one use it at low speeds whenever IPU is fully charged? Or what?

 

[andrew28]

I think I have only used EV only mode once or twice. I prefer letting the car decide when it's best to engage ev mode.

 

[hasarad]

I only use EV mode to get an extra bar or two of battery usage (below 4) to crest a hill.

 

[ronnie]

My question is: When can one use this mode to advantage?

EV mode is not confusing to me. The EV button on the console between the seats is. Here's what I've learned after driving my EX for about 16,000 miles since its purchase on June 30, 2018. I just let the computer decide when EV mode is best. The comptuer is much smarter than me. EV mode is usually on when starting out and I can see the EV indicator on the dashboard under the MPH indicator. That's why my mpg indicator on the touch screen says 199 mpg for the first mile or so. Yeah! EV mode also comes on here and there when driving on flat roads or when going downhill, even slightly, especially in town at lower speeds. The indicator is green. I can see it right before my eyes and it's reassuring when it comes on knowing that the internal combustion engine is not using gasoline and probably not even on. I'm being green and I'm saving money on gas. So simple and it makes me want to do everything to make sure it's on more and more. My driving habits have changed for the better because of that indicator.

EV mode seems to be always off when I have the heater running, even when starting out. It's also usually off when I'm cruising down the highway through Montana, Wyoming or South Dakota going 83-85 mph. Probably 30% of my miles are at those high speeds as we drive a lot to the Midwest and down to Texas. And most of my driving is highway, that's why my Fuelly stats below are pretty low. However, in moderate weather like now, I am regularly getting the 55 mpg in town.

I'm thankful for EV mode. I am, however, confused about why there's a button for it. Doesn't make sense to me.

 

[hasarad]

Just a few EV mode factoids I've observed:

1. Without pressing the EV button, EV mode is not possible below four charge bars.
2. With the EV mode button pressed, charge bars can go down to two bars before EV mode self-cancels.
3. EV mode is not possible when the power gauge is above the blue section.
4. With the EV mode button pressed, EV mode will self cancel if the blue area of the power gauge is exceeded.

The EV button forces EV mode if:

The engine is at operating temperature.
Sufficient battery charge exists.
Power load is kept in the blue area or lower.
The ICE is not needed for cabin heat.​

Again, EV mode (or full battery for that matter) isn't something to strive for. It's part of the total package. You'll only get about a mile of pure EV out of it, so don't expect to drive in that mode regularly. It's really just for that extra little EV push before a time when you know there will be a decent regen event on the other side of the hill.

 

[sEXzNsite]

I echo what "hasarad" pointed out and would like to add the following from my experience.

The electric motor assists in the initial propulsion of the car from a dead stop. If the HVB has sufficient charge the EV light will display for the initial start and then you will hear/feel the internal combustion engine (ICE) seamlessly take over. All that will happen whether you are in NORMAL or ECO.

The most fuel used is in getting the 3,000+ pound Insight moving from a dead start. The electric motor essentially alleviates ICE from the heavy lifting and it's with the 197 lbs/torque that gives the car that added oomph to get it out of the gate before ICE takes over. Based on the drivers input and whether in Normal or Eco mode, it's the cars electronics/computers that determine when to best switch between EV and ICE for maximum fuel efficiency. However, the one thing the cars electronics can't do is predict - it can only react to what it faces.

For me I select EV mode when I want to force the car to run on pure electricity and do so as much as it can. I live in San Francisco and as you probably know we have a lot of hills out here. It's true ICE may wane going up those hills, but what goes up must come down and on the decent EV will lay silently making GREAT use of REGEN. Our year round temperatures averages between the low 50's to the mid 60's, so it's good for the body, the soul and for the BATTERY. San Francisco is 7 square miles and since a fair amount of our driving is within the city limits I've experimented how to best use EV mode with the routes we usually take. On a few routes using EV mode vs Normal or Eco, I've gotten as high as 113.4 mpg vs 48 mpg for a current drive. To achieve the high numbers I stay in the BLUE areas, keep my speed below 25 mph, use the Regen paddles for every stop and take advantage of coasting down the hills alternating between both +/- regen paddles for quicker battery charging. Also when I do use BRAKE HOLD, just before I'm ready to go I depress the brake hold button to release the brakes then press the accelerator. This way the electric motor doesn't have to work as hard to get the car going from a dead stop. That may not seem like a lot, but believe me it helps - it's plain physics.

I previously mentioned that the cars electronics/computers can't predict what roads are coming, it only reacts to the current situation. In my case since I know the roads and what is coming, I therefore know where and when I can use EV to its maximum, where and when I can get maximum charging and where and when I need ICE. Like J. Bond said, "it's a video game" and I'm having loads of fun playing! So having said all that, there is a benefit for EV Mode beyond just silently driving around the neighborhood quietly. A mile is nothing to sneeze at, I can get two!

 

[Jason]

My favorite is a drive off, without engine.

 

[Verdier]

Personally I like to looks and smiles people give me at the mall when I'm driving around in ev mode and the pedestrian tone is playing out the car. I get a lot of smiles at that. Of course as soon as I get out of the car, and the ladies see me, the smiles turn into rictus grins of fear and disgust as they frenzily whip out their phones and call mall security. I got that creepy guy vibe going on. 🤣

 

[PHILBERT]

My favorite is a drive off, without engine.

EV Mode?

I love EV Mode. I engage it around towns and malls...as well as gas stations and car washes. Yes, it's vain. But believe it or not, I'm advertising the car. I want people to notice INSIGHT and HYBRID, as the car looks way better than some fugly Prius, and I think better than a Tesla. I still see Prius around here as all they seem to know with hybrids, and I'm doing my part to change that. BUY THIS HYBRID! It gets better than EPA MPG, and it's a sports car with great looks, power and handling.

Electric cars are taking off around here. All people know is Tesla and Prius. We need to change that!

Phil

 

[insightfully]

My question is: When can one use this mode to advantage? At low speeds on level ground should one always start out in EV mode to save on gas? Or should one use it at low speeds whenever IPU is fully charged? Or what?

Looping back to your open question on advantageous use of EV, @Wifey'sInsight and @Moviemike offer some recent thoughts on engaging EV mode... check out this "Drive Mode" thread.

 

[Wifey'sInsight]

Just wanted to point out a clarification to Hasarads post, #3.

EV will cancel when the driver pushes past the blue band, but if battery level is good enough, ACC will keep EV mode active at highway speeds past the blue section, I've seen it as high as the next white bar.

 

[safedad]

There's a flat section of 35 mph road leading to our house, almost 1.5 miles long. If I try to have enough battery to use EV mode then I can do it all on electric. It leaves the battery at 2-3 bars, but the Insight runs the gas engine for quite a while no matter what at startup anyway so it's no loss. Like our Prius and Highlander Hybrid, without using EV the gas engine would often kick on unnecessarily a couple times on that stretch if I didn't use the EV override. Similar situations where I know it should stay in EV but for me accidentally pressing the pedal a little too hard are where use of the EV button can maximize fuel economy.

 

[Wifey'sInsight]

If you can engage EV on a downhill start, you can stretch the range quite a bit. You have to be gentle on the throttle and focus on regeneration at all times, but I'm sure I've managed ev for almost 3 miles at 33mph or less.

Using EV to burn down excess battery towards the end of a drive is a brilliant idea if you are going to be parking the car for the night, or at least long enough that the ICE will do it's "cold start" process.

Also Honda intentionally added a "bump" to the accelerator pedal travel. You can feel it if you slowly roll into the throttle with EV engaged, where all of a sudden the resistance to your foot increases. This was engineered as a passive way to maximize EV usage with less user thought process required.

 

[tightywhitey]

When you creeping home and don’t want the wife to know you home or the husband of your mistress to know you are leaving.

 

[Doodle_Master]

EV mode allows me to accelarate past the blue power gauge without turning on the gas motor. So I use it all the time when I need more power and I don't want the gas engine to turn on, I'm not sure if that's bad for the electric motor but I've noticed that the car does go well above the blue power gauge when its on adaptive cruise control. Without EV mode, i can only accelerate up to about 3/4 of the blue bar before the gas engine comes on.

 

[andrew28]

EV mode allows me to accelarate past the blue power gauge without turning on the gas motor. So I use it all the time when I need more power and I don't want the gas engine to turn on, I'm not sure if that's bad for the electric motor but I've noticed that the car does go well above the blue power gauge when its on adaptive cruise control. Without EV mode, i can only accelerate up to about 3/4 of the blue bar before the gas engine comes on.

If it's bad for the electric motor, the Insight will most likely cancel out of EV mode, so I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[spiderpig]

According to the Insight 2019 Press Kit, "A fourth mode – EV Mode – allows the driver to select electric-only power for short durations, such as when entering or exiting your neighborhood."

 

[Moviemike]

All the stuff detailed above works really really well at increasing mpg! Together with most of my driving at under 50 mph, lots of EV button pushing has made my great mpg below possible.

Am up to 6100 miles now and like my prior hybrid Honda's I find myself focusing more and more on "battery management." Battery management is about anticipating traffic related speed ups / slowdown downs, and hill upgrades / downgrades; then using the EV button and throttle for maximum efficiency ( green EV light on, or if off, minimum rpm)

 

[matttelz]

It's just my opinion but I feel that the ev button is almost pointless with a 1.5kwh battery pack. Like 2 miles tops...im sure it would get way more use if the car had say a 5kwh pack and people could ev around a small city area like capitol hill...

I'll have to check it out.

 

[insightfully]

It's just my opinion but I feel that the ev button is almost pointless with a 1.5kwh battery pack. Like 2 miles tops...im sure it would get way more use if the car had say a 5kwh pack and people could ev around a small city area like capitol hill...

I engage the EV button on my daily drive which includes a 500 ft decline. I 'mash' (press/hold) the EV button before approaching the descent, and arrive at to my destination with near-full battery after driving more than 3 miles.

The main reason I do this rather than letting the car assess/decide EV is that I can accelerate harder before EV disengages, and therefore stay in EV mode longer (for rest of trip after hill). - https://www.gen3insight.com/forum/19880-post11.html