Hi, new member & first post here. I realize that I'm in the Prius section, but I couldn't find one for Corolla. It's my understanding that the Corolla is based on the Prius underpinnings. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong about that.

I have a friend who has owned a 2020 Corolla Hybrid for about six months. He has been telling me that the car has a button that allows him to select EV mode, where the car operates solely on the electric motor. He says that when the car is in this mode, he is surprised by the acceleration it exhibits - he says that he has had the car up to 80-90 mph in the EV mode.

I've owned a 2015 Camry Hybrid for going on 4 years. I'm ashamed to say that I haven't driven the car enough myself to be all that familiar with it - it's my wife's ride. It does have a button that says EV mode. But, I don't believe that my Camry will do 80-90 mph in EV mode. In fact, I believe that somewhere around 40-45 mph is as fast as it will go without the ICE kicking in and taking over.

So, I may not have described what my Camry will or won't do correctly. But, is my friend correct in saying his Corolla will do 80-90 mph in EV mode? Thanks for your input.

 

The Corolla has a Prius drive train in it with a 1.3kWh HV battery. This is approximately the same energy storage as 2.4 of the 12V batteries for the Prius. It has about a 2 mile range at low speed (<35mph) on perfectly flat and smooth road. Think about that for a second... 2.4 12V battery (the little ones the Prius uses) - that's what's powering the electrics.

Battery output is limited to about 40hp. He would only be "surprised by the acceleration" if he's comparing it to pushing the vehicle. If he's surprised in the context of expecting EV to be notably worse than EV+ICE, then maybe.

80-90mph is not possible in EV only mode due to limitations of MG1 and MG2 speeds/interaction in the transaxle. Period. His display may lead him to believe he's in EV mode, but he isn't.

Your friend is almost certainly gravely mistaken.

He is also foolish. EV/ECO/POWER modes on Toyota Hybrids are marketing gimmicks. In almost all cases, normal mode operation will result in max or near-max fuel economy and best battery life.

People who use EV modes in HEVs don't understand that they have a 100% gas car. 100% of all kinetic energy (motion) of the vehicle ultimately comes from gasoline. The hybrid system is a kinetic energy recovery and release device that uses that stored energy to replace the ICE in the more inefficient ranges of operation (acceleration and low rpm/high power operation).

HEVs are not perpetual motion machines. There is no such thing as free energy. 110-120% of the energy used in EV mode has to be replaced with energy from gas.

If you want better economy, drive it like a grandma - low acceleration (longer to get to cruise speed) and low deceleration (longer to slow from cruise speed) and keep it under 70mph.

 

Thanks for breaking it down in a way that I almost understand. Most of what you just said is far over my head, but the key point I get from it is that he basically does not know what he is talking about. When I started telling him how my Camry acts under normal driving conditions, he just shook his head and said "Ours don't do that." This is not the first time I've gotten questionable stories from him - nor will it be the last. Thanks again.