A few questions for HCH owners
#1
A few questions for HCH owners
My wife and I test drove a '07 HCH this weekend. And I have a couple of questions that the salesman didn't seem to know.
I own a Ford Escape Hybrid, and it is able to run on complete battery power at low accelerations and slow speeds. We noticed that on the HCH, this wasn't possible. When you take your foot off the brake, the engine kicks on. Why is that? I love the fact that I can use all electric in my HCH in parking lots and in my neighborhood. That aspect of the HCH annoyed me. But, I guess I can get past it if there is a good reason for it.
Along those lines, the main annoyance we have with the FEH is that when the engine is off at idle or slow speeds and the A/C is "On", the air will warm up because, I think, the A/C compressor runs off the engine. (This is unless you put the A/C on the "Max" setting which over-rides the engine shut off keeping the engine on and the A/C cold). In the HCH, if we would have sat at a stop with the engine off for long enough, would we have felt the air get warmer? If so, is there an over-ride like on my FEH?
The one we test drove didn't have a NAV system, and we think we would want one with the NAV. How do you guys like the factory NAV system?
Thanks for any info you may have.
I own a Ford Escape Hybrid, and it is able to run on complete battery power at low accelerations and slow speeds. We noticed that on the HCH, this wasn't possible. When you take your foot off the brake, the engine kicks on. Why is that? I love the fact that I can use all electric in my HCH in parking lots and in my neighborhood. That aspect of the HCH annoyed me. But, I guess I can get past it if there is a good reason for it.
Along those lines, the main annoyance we have with the FEH is that when the engine is off at idle or slow speeds and the A/C is "On", the air will warm up because, I think, the A/C compressor runs off the engine. (This is unless you put the A/C on the "Max" setting which over-rides the engine shut off keeping the engine on and the A/C cold). In the HCH, if we would have sat at a stop with the engine off for long enough, would we have felt the air get warmer? If so, is there an over-ride like on my FEH?
The one we test drove didn't have a NAV system, and we think we would want one with the NAV. How do you guys like the factory NAV system?
Thanks for any info you may have.
#2
Re: A few questions for HCH owners
I own a Ford Escape Hybrid, and it is able to run on complete battery power at low accelerations and slow speeds. We noticed that on the HCH, this wasn't possible. When you take your foot off the brake, the engine kicks on. Why is that? I love the fact that I can use all electric in my HCH in parking lots and in my neighborhood. That aspect of the HCH annoyed me. But, I guess I can get past it if there is a good reason for it.
The Prius and FEH happen to be serial/parallel hybrids, which allows the gas engine and the electric motors to power the vehicle independently of each other.
Also, the HCH-2 cannot propel the car in EV from a stand-still because the combination of the electric motor and the battery pack, do not provide that much power. So no EV-only for low speeds on the HCH-II.
The HCH-II can however be propelled by electric motor only at almost ANY speed above 20MPH or so. (too high a speed and the EV is not strong enough), but even that is not where the biggest HCH-II strengths are.
In fact, if you do mostly highway and steady state driving then the HCH-II really shines because its true strength lies in the very sophisticated gas engine, extreme high "gearing of its CVT" and low Cd.
Along those lines, the main annoyance we have with the FEH is that when the engine is off at idle or slow speeds and the A/C is "On", the air will warm up because, I think, the A/C compressor runs off the engine. (This is unless you put the A/C on the "Max" setting which over-rides the engine shut off keeping the engine on and the A/C cold). In the HCH, if we would have sat at a stop with the engine off for long enough, would we have felt the air get warmer? If so, is there an over-ride like on my FEH?
Here's a quick run-down of its features:
http://world.honda.com/HDTV/news/2005-4050705b/
Cheers;
MSantos
#3
Re: A few questions for HCH owners
Thanks for the info and link. That helps a lot.
Just to clarify a couple of things...
When you are driving at low constant speeds and the car is only being powered by the electric motor, does the Tach still register something or does it go to 0 like in idle stop mode?
Also, if you are sitting at a stand still in traffic for a very long time with the A/C running only off the electric motor/compressor and the hybrid battery gets drained, does the engine automatically kick on? Or does the air coming out of your vents just start to warm up? That would be a very rare situation, at least where I live. But, I'm just curious.
Thanks again,
Mark
Just to clarify a couple of things...
When you are driving at low constant speeds and the car is only being powered by the electric motor, does the Tach still register something or does it go to 0 like in idle stop mode?
Also, if you are sitting at a stand still in traffic for a very long time with the A/C running only off the electric motor/compressor and the hybrid battery gets drained, does the engine automatically kick on? Or does the air coming out of your vents just start to warm up? That would be a very rare situation, at least where I live. But, I'm just curious.
Thanks again,
Mark
#4
Re: A few questions for HCH owners
Also, if you are sitting at a stand still in traffic for a very long time with the A/C running only off the electric motor/compressor and the hybrid battery gets drained, does the engine automatically kick on? Or does the air coming out of your vents just start to warm up? That would be a very rare situation, at least where I live. But, I'm just curious.
MSantos
#5
Re: A few questions for HCH owners
Originally Posted by mamorgan2
Also, if you are sitting at a stand still in traffic for a very long time with the A/C running only off the electric motor/compressor and the hybrid battery gets drained, does the engine automatically kick on? Or does the air coming out of your vents just start to warm up? That would be a very rare situation, at least where I live. But, I'm just curious.
#6
Re: A few questions for HCH owners
Thanks a lot for the information.
What about the Navigation system? Do you guys like it? The salesman we talked to said it was capable of taking voice commands. Is that right? If so, does it work well?
Mark
What about the Navigation system? Do you guys like it? The salesman we talked to said it was capable of taking voice commands. Is that right? If so, does it work well?
Mark
#7
Re: A few questions for HCH owners
RE: NAV
I like mine.
It does do voice commands, but I rarely use any of them. Some people have trouble with the Nav system understanding you, due to road (or tire) noise.
I occasionally ask it to turn the AC off (or on), and it screws that up sometimes. I'm sure if I used the voice commands more, I'd get the hang of it. It IS cool, I just don't use it much.
The Navigation (maps-n-such) part is quite good. A LARGE screen feels much safer to take the occasional glance at. Most of your portable auto GPS units have 3-4 inch screens. The ones with BIG screens are usually quite expensive. I imagine the standard screen-sizes will go up in the near future, but for now, an in-dash unit has about the largest screens available.
I find myself using the mapping, & finding restaurants (and phone numbers) often.
I also use the PCMCIA card slot for MP3s. I've got a cheapo Compact Flash adapter and a 2GB CF card. It holds a lot of tunes, and is very nice. You can also create a CD-R of MP3s, and play that on the Single-disc CD slot.
Not sure this all adds up to $1500, but it really added to the "feel of luxury" for my HCH2
I like mine.
It does do voice commands, but I rarely use any of them. Some people have trouble with the Nav system understanding you, due to road (or tire) noise.
I occasionally ask it to turn the AC off (or on), and it screws that up sometimes. I'm sure if I used the voice commands more, I'd get the hang of it. It IS cool, I just don't use it much.
The Navigation (maps-n-such) part is quite good. A LARGE screen feels much safer to take the occasional glance at. Most of your portable auto GPS units have 3-4 inch screens. The ones with BIG screens are usually quite expensive. I imagine the standard screen-sizes will go up in the near future, but for now, an in-dash unit has about the largest screens available.
I find myself using the mapping, & finding restaurants (and phone numbers) often.
I also use the PCMCIA card slot for MP3s. I've got a cheapo Compact Flash adapter and a 2GB CF card. It holds a lot of tunes, and is very nice. You can also create a CD-R of MP3s, and play that on the Single-disc CD slot.
Not sure this all adds up to $1500, but it really added to the "feel of luxury" for my HCH2
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