After 160+ miles on my HCH II....I experienced EV mode. I was only able to get 3 bars of assist, but I was in EV mode on the highway (55mph), local travel (35 mph) and in a parking lot. I noticed when it comes out of EV mode, I can really feel it (a light surge).

I love this car!

 

the "EV Mode" is not an EV mode actually.... because it wont give any propulsion to the car.... its just there, possible... I dont think it does sustain the glide more than having 0 bars... maybe a bit. Afterall the battery cappacity is very small, after a 1 mile uphill where the assist is full working, the battery will be almost empty. On the downhill charging, battery will be full very fast...

assisst is just what it says... assisting the gas engine on getting to speed and uphill. that's kinda it....

 

Most I can do is 4 bars, never been able to go up to 5.

 

i did 5 bars once or twice after trying just to see if there is any difference.... none.... what i feel is that 2 bars over nothing is some power there, but up to 4 I cant really feel anything increased or something.

 

I was wondering how to know when EV mode kicks in then I found this thread. However, I still have questions regarding thismode. I have not yet seen the scenario decribed in above quote (MG gauage is 100 mpg and assist bar showing at the same time). Is this truly the only way to know you are in EV mode? Also, I would assume in EV mode, the combustion engine should shut off as to not use any gasoline fuel.....if so, shouldn't the RPM guage show 0 RPM? Again, please let me know if there is an easier way to know your car is in EV mode. Thanks!

 

nasaengineer describes ev mode in the hch ii correctly: you know you're in ev mode when the instant mpg goes up to 100 and there are 1 or more bars of assist. the ice will shut down but because the electric motor and ice are connected, the rpm s will not go down to zero. the electric motor on the hchii is pretty small which is why it is difficult to get ev only mode to kick in. i can get it to kick in on surface streets travelling under 35mph that are level. try setting the cruise control at anything below 35mph on a level surface street. you should see it kick in.

 

I do believe the light foot can get EV to kick in with 0 visible bars of assist - I've done this several times. The reason I'm so adamant about being in the mode is that I see the speed bleed off a *lot* more slowly than if I were just coasting, and the tach is pegged at 1100rpm, just as it always is in EV. In addition, the mpg averaging display starts climbing up a lot faster than usual.

Why is this even important ? Because EV with less assist will turn into a longer event, increasing your mileage further. I will clarify that the assist doesn't stay at 0 bars through the entire event - it starts climbing and will eventually show a bar or two - sometimes even more - I've never seen more than 4 myself, though.

As for how I can do this...my foot has been pretty well trained by driving 24K on the Accord Hybrid, and now 2K on the Civic in a month (yes, I drive a lot!). For the uninitiated, it's akin to the term 'driving as if you had an egg between your foot and the gas pedal', or 'driving as if you didn't have brakes'.

 

The egg under your foot is a good analogy. Actually, I had it up to 67 miles per hour in EV mode this weekend (that's got to be a record). Of course I was going down hill but you can do it. I've had it in EV going up hill too. It's really just the load on the engine. If you get it right and can hold it (and don't mind the MPH dropping), you can ride in it all the time. The key is to maintain the right load on the engine and not to maintain speed. I have yet to be able to maintain speed in EV except going down hill.

I got almost 52 MPG on my last tank and I have less than 2,000 miles on it.

 

Actually, you can use 4 bars of assist in EV mode (at least that is my highest - and I could hold it for a LONG time.)

 

after a while it's quite easy to enter in this mode. I can do it almost in any conditions, and I do it. what's funny is that I get so used with this, that I did it driving my wife's car the other day... heh. My FE is getting better and better, I consider a "lousy tank" anything below 600 miles.