After a little over a month of owning our 4WD FEH, it has become clear to me that there likely exists a sweet spot for maximum fuel economy. As such, I'd like to know what speed the majority of people turning in high fuel economy typically drive and what your fuel economy is.

We do about 50/50 with relatively short trips. We could no doubt do better if the majority of our trips were longer sub-40 segments, but we don't have much choice there short of doubling our commute distance to avoid the freeway.

 

The sweet spot for the FEH is under 40mph. The best economy is with EV mode by far. Under 30mph is not a way to travel a distance 20 miles away on roads in the US. The best FE is coming from drivers who travel over 20 miles RT in speeds below 40mph on average every day. On a cold start, my best mpg in ten miles has been 49mpg in the FWD FEH with less than 5% over 40 mph. On a warm start, my best mpg in ten miles was 73-78mpg with a start of a 20% HV battery SoC with one small bridge to Jupiter Island, FL. Max speed was 35mph with an average speed of 29mph, not many stops as you can see from those numbers. Battery charging was from 2 fake shifts before EV mode and coasting in "N". No deadbanding!

Speeds above 40mph reduce overall averages, but must be taken in everyday driving because of the distance required to reach maximum FE.

GaryG

 

Well, I would say the sweet spot is around 45 for longer trips. When I'm not doing my monster commute on the epressways, mostly on the weekends, I've found that going 47 MPH, which allows me to not only hit all the lights in my area green, but with enough time for those stopped to get up to speed, allowing me to go over 25 miles without varying speed at all, on a nice flat road, nets me around 50 MPGs in favorable conditions (No strong headwinds, freezing weather, etc.), and eliminates all start and stopping for the majority of my trip, just when I reach my destination, and when I leave. So really, I think it depends on your trip and where you are.

If I went slower, I'd probably get better MPGs for the cruise, but I'd have to start and stop at the lights. I tried going 42 once, and ended up stopping four times, and starting four extra times.

 

I agree with what the previous poster stated.
There are two different methods.
One, if you are in the city and must make frequent stops, and
Two, if you need to go long, sustained distances without stops.

Not considering stops, for steady state driving, which is what I think you are after...
The "sweet spot" is 47 or 48 MPH.

The internal combustion engine will net about 50 miles per gallon at a touch under 50 MPH. For my vehicle, it's easy to remember " 48 MPG at 48 MPH".

In stop and go, the battery comes into play, and up to 70 MPG is possible with the most ideal conditions. This is done with extensive "Pulse & Glide" .... using battery and/or engine to get to 40 MPH, and coasting with engine off down to 25 MPH, ( or a stop at an intersection, etc. )

-John

 

My FEH's sweet spot is between 40 and 45 mpg. However, my commute is 45 miles 1 way and 90 miles round trip. I have also noticed my FEH does better is heavily congested traffic (which allows more use of the EV mode when stop-and-starts are gentle.) I was also told to try to get my FEH to stay in EV mode up to 35 mph. When I try, my ICE kicks in around 30 mph. However, I found I can get the ICE to turn off around 35 mph and then maintain my speed for short periods in EV mode. I normally get around 33 mpg with my FE-friendly AC running.

 

I wasn't really thinking about it in terms of highway cruise speed, but the 47-48 mph zone makes sense in that it is about the maximum speed you can maintain without the revs creeping up.

I'm finding that around here however, surrounded by 40 zones, it's difficult to drive in any remotely normal way and maintain anything over 33 mpg. At 35+, the ICE kicks on for steady speed driving, forcing one to hold it at 5 under to keep it in EV mode. Then it seems like pulsing up to just over 40 and gliding down to 35, ICE off just isn't worth much to overall efficiency.

Maybe I should petition the city to lower those 40 zones to 35.