Serial Hyper-miler here.

In my first 1300+ miles, my lifetime mileage is 45+. I own a SE Sport AWD with the 17" rims.

My hyper-miler-ing is/was an attempt at real world conditions of when the ICE comes on, and how long I could run in EV-mode.
With stop and go traffic, or less than flat terrain, I can utilize the Drop Throttle to recharge the HVB.

I have found that if I am willing to sacrifice some time, I can dramatically increase mileage and on certain day trips, it also means a dramatic increase in the visual appeal of the trip, wherein avoiding highways has an advantage. My last two day trips from the Baltimore metro area into Carlisle PA (2020 Ford Nationals) and to Skyline Drive in the NPS Shenandoah National Park, have produced mid 50 MPG round trips.

I am using those experiences to form a practical real world daily driving habit which supports maximum efficiency. If that HVB held a larger charge and if the computer allowed greater EV-mode operation before Gas or Hybrid mode initiated, I would be in heaven. Of course there are models designed (PHEV Escapes and the Mach-E) for that and they cost considerably more.

 

Serial Hyper-miler here. ...

Welcome! You've got a very good idea how to drive a hybrid!!

The only thing I can offer is terrain mapping.

GPS Visualizer profile input form

www.gpsvisualizer.com

In Google Maps, select a route. In the Menu pull-down, look for "Share or Embed Link." Copy the link.

Open GPSVis, above. Paste the link under "Or provide the URL of data on the web." I also needed some permissions, but you get this.

This is (almost) a round trip. The first leg is 2-lane, the second leg is mostly highway. The car reported 49.3 mpg for the first leg, 50.5 for the second, but it's downhill, and I was cheating. I can't do that on flat ground.

Stay well,
Frank

 

I've owned a 2020 Escape Hybrid for a few days now and it is apparent that certain techniques and habits lead to significantly better utilization of the battery and, subsequently, much better MPG. ...

Good idea. Comments based on years of C-Max and about 1800 miles in the 2020. I'm sure Paul Jones will chime in, as he's the C-Max Master.

First habit is to use EV coach whenever you're using EV. The feedback will train you to sustain EV and use less fuel.

NORMAL Mode (default) vs. ECO Mode

• Agree that this should be "sticky," but not sure I want all 5 options to stick. Some folks will get stuck on SPORT (0% EV) or SAND (100% AWD).
• Most noticeable difference in ECO mode is to move the "zero point" between EV and Regen where the car is coasting. NORMAL mode coasting requires a little throttle. In ECO, it needs a lot more throttle. At speed, off-throttle in Eco mode can get me 17kW of regen... out of a max of 35kW available (highest number I've seen).
• Biggest advantage is that ECO mode makes Intelligent Cruise with Stop-and-Go functional.
  There's no lurch pulling into the passing lane when following slower traffic.

Acceleration

• You describe what's called "chasing blue" on the C-Max forum. As you surmised, the blue outline is "EV Available." You can EV until the outline is full, without starting the internal combustion engine (ICE), but the outline shrinks as you deplete the HV battery. (Size of outline is the only HVB state of charge indicator I can find.)
• When HVB SOC is high, EV contributes to ICE torque - hybrid mode. That leads to an acceleration rule.
  Acceleration rule #1: To maximize HVB charging from the ICE, stay out of hybrid mode; keep EV at 0.
  It's just common sense; if you want a battery to have high charge, don't discharge it!
• I've also found that very low EV (1-2 kW) will not start the ICE for a long time. You pay the price in a highly depleted HVB that needs ICE to move from stopped, but I got to the stop without ICE.

Deceleration

• Max I've seen is 35kW regen, and that at speed. The value drops as the car slows. Brake Coach is like school grading; anything over 93% gets an "A." No benefit to perfection.

Efficient Speeds

• There are none when you realize that driving under EV uses no fuel at all... you can coast a long time with a little EV assist. Going slower can always improve MPG, but it's also unrealistic at some point.
• The problem is that faster requires more power. Based on EPA fuel economy testing, here are the Road Load Horsepower curves for C-Max, and 2020 Escape FWD and AWD (150 lb. heavier).

(Note that 1 HP = 0.746 kW, so 20 HP is about 15 kW)

The most obvious feature is the strong upward trend, roughly the square law: 30 MPH requires 1/4 the power of 60 MPH, and from 60 MPH, you need 50% more to hold 70 and twice 60's power to make 80 MPH.

Next, I look at the relative curves; AWD > FWD at all speeds, and the C-Max curve crosses the Escape pair in the only possible way: less power required at high speed due to a smaller cross-sectional area and less drag. Ford's engineers are to be commended for reducing non-aerodynamic losses sufficiently to best C-Max power needs at 30-50 MPH with a larger engine.

General

• Yes, the blue outline is the closest we have to an HVB gauge. I use the letters of the word ELECTRIC to calibrate. I can get 22kW if it's past "i" but 19 kW normally starts ICE. What's impressive is how fast it recovers to the "t" to "r" range with a short ICE run.
• Just as there are "acceleration rules" there are operational rules. Drop throttle is critical to achieving high mileage because you can't play the Hybrid Game otherwise. C-Max cruise control did this beautifully.
  Drop Throttle: reduce throttle below regen threshold then increase between the regen and ICE threshold to enter EV mode.
  Now, play the game: ICE uphill, EV down. You'll find where the transitions are that keep HVB from running dry at the wrong time (like the start of a long, gentle downslope). If you commute, you'll learn every rise in the road.
• I agree about the dash being lug-in centered; the owners' manual makes me jealous. And this is not a "mild" hybrid. As you learn to drive it (took me a year), you'll be in EV a lot more.

Additional Thoughts
This is a very nice car.
Handling is impressive, yet ride is very comfortable. These are not your grandfather's Ecopias.
Seats could use side support, but they're fine over long distances (650 miles/day).
Driver assistance features rarely get in the way. Corrections feel like a crosswind.
The touchscreen display is fine, but the dash is poor; too much glitz and animation, too little info communicated.
EV Assist is your friend.
And, Ford, how about adding an EV fuel gauge to EV Assist? Please????

Stay well,
Frank

 

Biggest advantage is that ECO mode makes Intelligent Cruise with Stop-and-Go functional.
There's no lurch pulling into the passing lane when following slower traffic

I spent some time the last day or two rolling with intelligent cruise + stop-n-go. Did this is both ECO and NORMAL drive modes. I generally noted that this mode does about as well as I am able to do by doing the "hybrid game" thing. That being the case, I might just use that most of the time for my commuting and errands.

A side note: while lane-centering/lane-keeping does the job just fine even on sharper bends, I still kind of just prefer to control the wheel myself.

 

Hybrid drivers understand. Turbos don't have this display.

When the ICE is off, the EV Coach displays an outline that tells the driver how much EV is available before ICE starts. The outline grows to the right as HVB charge rises from "discharged," and shrinks to the left as HVB charge is depleted.

The discussion about letters in the word ELECTRIC involve the length of this outline, as the word ELECTRIC is parallel to the outline box. It's the only reference for discussing the size of the outline, and thus HVB SOC.

In practice, it's only a useful gauge for low HVB charge. Once charge rises enough to provide 20Kw EV, the outline stops growing... at perhaps 50%?

 

If I understand you correctly, yes with some limits.

My '20 has digital power readouts; I'm hoping you have the analog dash as I believe Ford removed the numbers I'll quote for 2021. I can use as much as 35kW of regen before the friction brakes kick in. If I brake harder, both systems engage. If I stay below 35kW, I get a 100% score. The numeric display makes it easy to modulate regen.
A few notes:

• friction brakes are always used below 5 mph, so you can stand on the brakes just before you stop and still be near 100% regen score. Regen braking only works when you're moving. You might hear brake noise at low speed that you don't hear going faster; that's the friction brakes.
• the rear brakes are always used to balance braking because FWD regen is only applied to the front axel. Yes, I've seen AWD regen, but it's rare.
• using ECO mode will give you more regen braking power when off-throttle. I see it double, from 20% of speed to 40% (~20kW regen at 50 mph).
• if regen braking fills the HVB, regen drops to ~20kW before you're into the friction brakes. I believe it's a resistive load. I hit this all the time using Hill Assist (enabled in dash display settings).
• Hill Assist will use regen to automatically maintain speed downhill when off-throttle, up to 35kW until HVB fills up, then 20kW.

 

I use Fuelly.com to keep track of my MPG's. Link: PT's Mad Max (Ford C-Max) | Fuelly On fillup #229 got my best range on one tank of 931.8 miles/13.7 gals/68 mpg on trip to South Carolina and back. It will be a challenge to get that with a FEHPlugin with 11.3 gallons.

Paul

 

I believe this cars have active shutters, so grill covers would seem to be redundant. So depending on where your live, you may even overheat the motor. You will need more than a minute in EV, PLUS air flow, to cool down the motor. Ford has engineer the PU to work as efficiently as possible. If they thought a covered grill would help, there would be one, actually there is, the activate grill shutters. Your vehicle, your repair cost.

Coasting down a hill may save you some gas, but depending on how long it is and how often you plan on doing this, plan on replacing brakes often. I have years of experience driving a hybrid. Granted it's not a plug in model, but I have managed a life time MPG of 54 in my 2013 Fusion hybrid that had its estimated MPG derated, by Ford, to 47. How? Being light on the gas pedal, slowing early to regen, and taking advantage of the terrain.

 

_
I had a 2008FEH and 2010FEH so I have been driving Hybrids for about 11 yrs. now.
I have been using these techniques for 7 yrs/240k mi. on my CMAX Hybrid which also has grill shutters and they don't work very well. BTW 2013 FFH EPA rating is 41 mpg combined, 43 city/ 39 HWY, CMAX is 40 combined mpg, 42 city/ 37 HWY . My mileage is 78% HWY with LT 50.6 mpg and 53.8 mpg for the last 140k miles on Trip2. I have driven across AZ desert at 110*F during the Summer with Grill Covers on. I usually lose 5-10*F WT with the ICE off in a minute.

I remove the small cover when WT gets up to 230*F often and the seven holes are enough to keep temps below 225*F. BTW they are held on with Velcro. I would guess if you had a OBII gauge like ScanGaugeII and monitored ICE WT you would see you never get up to 202*F, the start of the operating temp for the ICE according to FORD. The ICE is the most efficient when it gets above the start of it's operating temp. Also I believe my testing back in Late 2012 that showed the ICE was running too cold that I Posted on the FORD Hybrid Forums caused FORD to up grade the ECM software in 2013 so that the grill shutter opening temperature on the FWY was raised to 220 *F. Didn't make much of a difference though in MPG's, shutters just leak way to much air.
When I use Coasting Downhill in Neutral I always shift to Drive before using brakes/regen, (regen doesn't work in Neutral) and I still have the original brakes with 250k miles.

Paul

 

It is interesting that MPG's keep going up with temps(88-94*F), lunch time I went up to Atlanta and back(48 mi. one way on I-85/I-20) not using A/C and front windows open a couple of inches. I averaged 59.5 mpg going up and 63.5 mpg going back in medium traffic, no stop and go. My tank averaged started with 59.5 mpg and ended with 60 mpg/ 323 mi./ 212 mi. EV. It is amazing how much MPG's are affected by outside temperature.😀

Paul

 

I don’t have a 2020 FEH Plugin yet, build date Aug. 24 and I have driven 3 FEH before ordering FEHP.

Paul

 

Perhaps taking Physics would help you understand how well you support my points.

I think everyone else understands that those 24 HP are not free, they come from burning fuel more rapidly, which most of us recognize as greater fuel consumption. I bet gearing is also disadvantaged... weight is only hurting because of all the things Toyota's doing to achieve similar drivability. Another point of agreement....

BTW, commuting on the highway dropped regen percentage to ~2%... Mass matters far less at constant high speed.

 

From Flagstaff to Sedona or Phoenix I would easily charge up CMAX HVB. I have family in AZ.

Paul

 

[deleted]

 

Here is a link to my How to drive a CMAX Hybrid to get great Gas Mileage. How to Drive a CMAX Hybrid/FFH to get Great Gas Mileage.

There are 3 YouTube videos for Improve MPG's

, Aerodynamics

and
Hypermilling

.

Paul

 

Good morning!

i don’t keep a spreadsheet. I simply note the reported mpg that appears after a trip. I Also frequently check both the overall (lifetime) mpg and the “TrIp-1” mpg, which I reset after a gas fill up. I’ve filled the car three times (once per month) since buying it in late December. Each fill up was approx 11.x gallons. I’ve used my phone calculator app a couple of times to divide trip-1 mileage by gallons at fillip to verify mpg for the duration.

I realize the figures reported by the computer are approximates, but over three months and approx 1900 miles, those figures and my three fill ups have been consistent.

Most of my driving is easygoing backroad. During this pandemic I’ve added the occasional interstate highway drive to a remote area where I can go for walks alone. Those drives, of course lower the overall mpg.
BTW, it is cool while driving downhill at 65mph to see you’re on electric power.

 

...i don’t keep a spreadsheet. I simply note the reported mpg that appears after a trip. I Also frequently check both the overall (lifetime) mpg and the “TrIp-1” mpg, which I reset after a gas fill up.

I realize the figures reported by the computer are approximates, but over three months and approx 1900 miles, those figures and my three fill ups have been consistent....

No problem. The reported mpg is still a valid indicator.....just not the same as the calculated number....that’s fine for comparison purposes. What do you use for lifetime mpg....Trip 2?

 

I have been thinking about what strategy I will use to improve My 2020 FEH Plugin gas mileage on Hwy trips, when I finally get it. I looked at Energi Posts and it seemed like they drive them like Hybrids and only drive EV at slower speeds . I have an Idea to improve MPG's using HVB EV to control ICE WT. Here are the important info for improving MPG's for an Energi:

1. ICE runs too cold for maximum efficiency, I found running between 215 to 226*F WT is the best temp range and you need to use Grill Covers to get that high.
2. You gain about 4 mpg using Grill Covers, 2 mpg for reduced Drag and 2 mpg for improving ICE efficiency with higher WT's.
3. Most of the time the ICE WT will be just fine with Grill Covers on, but with significant uphill climb ICE WT will go up, at 225*F I would go to EV Mode for a minute allowing the ICE to cool down. With my Hybrid I use heater/defrost to lower WT which is a waist of energy.
4. BYW using Neutral to coast down hill improves MPG's and cools the HVB and ICE down.
5. I would guess that a 4 to 5 mpg improvement could be realized doing this.

Let me know what you think.

Paul

 

As someone who bought a C-Max grill cover from Paul, I'd like to point out that internal shutters can have substantial benefits which are nonetheless smaller than the benefits of a smooth front end with minimal air infiltration. Paul tested it, so his MPG improvement claim has data behind it. In the Northeast US, I never had a cooling issue, and I always had water temperature displayed in My View.

Take a close look at Paul's car... the grill block is just the start.

• front grill blocks, upper and lower.
• wheel disc covers
• rear wheel fairing
• (Paul, you still using vortex generators?)

For what it's worth, Saturday we got a 70F day, and I got to drive my old commuter route, round trip, for take-out Mexican. 56 going, 64 MPG coming back on the warm start. My C-Max ran in a similar range at that temperature, over that route, with increased tire pressures and grill blocks.. The Escape is 100% stock, save for 91E0; not even tire pressures (which are up a little with warmer weather... remember, these are P-metric, so max. is 41 psi.)

Stay well,
Frank

 

As someone who bought a C-Max grill cover from Paul, I'd like to point out that internal shutters can have substantial benefits which are nonetheless smaller than the benefits of a smooth front end with minimal air infiltration. Paul tested it, so his MPG improvement claim has data behind it. In the Northeast US, I never had a cooling issue, and I always had water temperature displayed in My View.

Take a close look at Paul's car... the grill block is just the start.

• front grill blocks, upper and lower.
• wheel disc covers
• rear wheel fairing
• (Paul, you still using vortex generators?)

For what it's worth, Saturday we got a 70F day, and I got to drive my old commuter route, round trip, for take-out Mexican. 56 going, 64 MPG coming back on the warm start. My C-Max ran in a similar range at that temperature, over that route, with increased tire pressures and grill blocks.. The Escape is 100% stock, save for 91E0; not even tire pressures (which are up a little with warmer weather... remember, these are P-metric, so max. is 41 psi.)

Stay well,
Frank

How far are those routes? And how fast? You can get that milage day and night? ThAts really good...

 

I do have Vortex Generators. but I don't think they made much of a difference. IMO Thanks for the update.

Paul

 

Just a thought for those interested in Hypermiling by using Pulse and Glide, the best mpg results is to use Neutral for Glide, regen is only at best 80% efficient.

Paul

 

Hey, Paul! You should remind folks that you don't own an Escape Hybrid.

 

Really good advice here!

I have a follow-up question about Hybrid mode. If I understand correctly, the advice is to AVOID hybrid mode. That is, if I notice I'm in hybrid mode, accelerate so that I'm in ICE-only mode (assuming conditions are appropriate) to get the maximum charge to the HVB, and then let off the accelerator when I'm in a place where doing that would allow me to maintain speed in EV only mode.

The use-case I can think of is when going up a not-too-steep hill. So, instead of trying to stay in hybrid mode to allow the car to use less ICE, the suggestion is to go up the hill in ICE-only mode and then once I've crested the hill, go into EV mode.

Do I understand this correctly?

As a second question, the advice here is to use EV Coach when one is new to the vehicle. Why not just keep an eye on the right hand part of the dash display which shows the KwH used by the ICE or being supplied by the HVB rather than the bar in EV Coach. I can use the right hand gauge to see whether I'm in EV-only, hybrid, or ICE-only mode, AND if I'm in EV-only mode, I can see how much I'm using (I, too, have noticed that I can drive for a long time in EV-only at 1-2KwH on level ground)

 

... the advice is to AVOID hybrid mode. That is, if I notice I'm in hybrid mode, accelerate so that I'm in ICE-only mode ...

There is no ICE-only "mode", per se, just EV (ICE off) and Hybrid (ICE on). In Hybrid mode, reducing throttle will bring EV power to 0, so you are not depleting the HVB. This is your ICE-only "mode."

The use-case I can think of is when going up a not-too-steep hill. So, instead of trying to stay in hybrid mode to allow the car to use less ICE, the suggestion is to go up the hill in ICE-only mode and then once I've crested the hill, go into EV mode.

Exactly right. I put the attached together for C-Max, but the Escape is very similar.

Burn fuel (chemical energy) at high efficiency. The car will apportion the resulting energy to accelerate the car (kinetic energy) or charge the HVB (electrical energy). As ICE runs to move the car, store energy in both the HVB and in altitude (potential energy). Then tap those stores to maintain speed in EV mode, with ICE off. Use as little HVB charge as possible by taking advantage of downslopes as you suggest. Charge gently uphill, EV down, then repeat on the next hill. You'll discover tiny hills you never noticed, but which change the car's speed. Learning those is grad school.

advice here is to use EV Coach when one is new to the vehicle. Why not just keep an eye on the right hand part of the dash display ...

Because you need a "fuel gauge" for the EV side. EV Coach shows the ICE-on threshold as an outline around the EV bar. The length of the outline is determined by HVB SOC. As you EV, the threshold starts to drop; the outline shrinks. That feedback allows you to adjust throttle to reduce EV demand before ICE comes on, as driving conditions require.

(I, too, have noticed that I can drive for a long time in EV-only at 1-2KwH on level ground)

Indeed. And EV coach tells you when to back off to that level.

Absent hills, or in addition to them, I use speed. Gently speed up using ICE, then EV using a little less throttle than required to maintain speed. Repeat. This is classic "pulse and glide" hypermiling technique and the car loves it.

I also find I get a lot more charging at 10kW ICE power up to about 20kW, while 30kW quickly gets into hybrid mode as SOC increases. That means a longer, gentler ICE run increases HVB SOC. That's very useful just before a long downhill.

TLAs - three letter acronyms.
HVB - high voltage battery. SOC - state of charge. ICE - internal combustion engine.
And MJ - megajoule, from the chart, is an alternate unit of energy, equal to 0.27 kWh... not sure why I didn't use kWh!

Stay well,
Frank

 

"Frank" have you tried coasting in Neutral?

Paul

 

You're getting wrapped up in the details; drive a little and see what works for you.
Frank

 

You're getting wrapped up in the details; drive a little and see what works for you.
Frank

Right you are!

 

So, I've spent some time driving with EV Coach, and here are my observations thus far...

1. As has been pointed out by others, having the blue rectangle show the SOC is a real help. When I'm getting close to running out of (electric) steam, I've been able to back off the throttle a bit and keep in EV mode a little longer, or, depending on terrain and driving circumstances, I can make a deliberate decision to kick the ICE on (gently...) to gain charge before the next EV session.
2. I have been (pleasantly) surprised how little time it takes running the ICE to get a reasonable amount of charge. This is a real change from my Gen 2 Prius, where it takes a lot long for the HVB to charge using the ICE. (It also took a lot longer on the Prius for the SOC meter to empty out. I'm wondering if what is happening here is that on the Prius, perhaps the meter is showing 0-100%, even though the car tries really hard not to get to either extreme, while maybe on the Escape the SOC rectangle is showing, let's say, "usable SOC" and not bothering to show us SOC that we can't actually use.)
3. One thing that is a bit frustrating is that when stopped, the blue SOC rectangle seems to be always very small (right hand edge under the E). Then, when I start up from the stop, the rectangle often grows rapidly to whatever the SOC actually is, even though I'm in EV mode and therefore am not charging the HVB from the ICE. If I knew while I was stopped what the SOC was, I might make different decisions about how I accelerate. For example, if my SOC were pretty good and I was on level ground, I'd probably accelerate and stay in EV mode, but if the SOC were low, I'd kick the ICE on to get charge.
4. There seem to be times when I can't avoid being in hybrid mode (EV + ICE). I haven't pinned that down precisely yet, but my impression is that this seems to occur when SOC is high and I'm heading uphill. In order to get the EV gauge to 0, I have to really accelerate fairly sharply. I'm not sure that's a good idea, since I'm above 30kW ICE. Is it better just to stay in hybrid mode and accelerate more gently, as would be my typical pattern?
5. This is only an impression, but my sense is that with Auto Hold ON, if SOC is somewhat low (and particularly if I'm headed uphill from the stop), the slight extra accelerator pressure need to tick Auto Hold off can start the ICE, whereas with Auto Hold OFF, just taking one's foot off the break gives the opportunity to accelerate in EV mode. (This isn't typically useful with a lower SOC, but today I was in a situation where the light turned green but I could see that I only had a short distance I could travel before I'd have to stop again, so staying in EV mode would be both possible and useful).
6. Based on my testing today in familiar territory, I'd say that the EV Coach is improving my MPG.

 

1. Yes.
2. HVB charging at low SOC is the biggest improvement from C-Max, IMHO. I suspect liquid cooling can handle the greater thermal load from more aggressive charging. I avoid terms like "SOC rectangle" in favor of "EV-Available" because you only need partial charge for EV Available to max out at 20kW. I judge SOC by how long EV lasts before the outline shrinks, at varying EV throttle demands.
3. You're riding an electric motor torque curve, which are all flat at low RPM due to current limitations. Once you start moving, the EV Available bar inflates as current demands fall. I try to use the same gentle throttle application, regardless SOC.
   Sometimes I succeed.
   
4. The hybrid mode threshold is very SOC dependent, regardless the throttle. I've seen hybrid mode at 20kW after a long downhill, or at 40kW after a long EV stretch. How much throttle you need to make it up the hill is a separate question. If SOC is high, hybrid mode is hard to avoid.
5. I put auto-hold issues in the low SOC box. I agree it is noticeable.
6. 😁
   
   ICE - internal combustion engine
   SOC - state of charge
   HVB - high voltage battery

 

1. You're riding an electric motor torque curve, which are all flat at low RPM due to current limitations. Once you start moving, the EV Available bar inflates as current demands fall. I try to use the same gentle throttle application, regardless SOC.
   Sometimes I succeed.
   View attachment 77260

So, if I understand you correctly, what you are saying is that because the torque requirements are high when starting from a standstill, the EV-Available rectangle is going to be very small because regardless of the SOC, the HVB can't sustain that level of torque very long. BUT, because as soon as I start up the torque requirements go down, as I accelerate in EV mode the torque requirements drop and the EV-Available rectangle grows.

Yes?

If that's correct, a remaining question is, Why does the energy used gauge on the right side of the dash display show low electric energy use when starting gently from a standstill? I would have thought (perhaps incorrectly) that if there is a high energy use at startup to get the car rolling, I'd see the energy used gauge reflect that via an immediate high kW number followed by a decrease. Perhaps the time of high energy used is so small that the engineers didn't want that to show on the gauge?
[/QUOTE]

 

Here’s my observation. I am not an expert but I turn off dual climate zone mode to get better gas mileage. I think the dual climate mode is just needed to reduce the number of driver/ passenger arguments. The cabin is so small and one person chooses 80F while the other chooses 76F, the net result is about 78F. No need to run two zones rather use the electricity to drive the wheels.

 

Good observation. Anything that prevents the ICE from running will improve mileage. I try to park with climate off so the engine stays off when I start. Below 32F, climate state doesn't seem to matter, engine's on right away. We'll see if 0F brings ICE-only operation. (Li-ion batteries can't charge below 32F, or discharge below 0F.) Maybe next week?

Any other tips?

Also do I understand that the AC can be run by EV while the heat is only ICE? Wont be running much heat this winter!

 

Good observation. Anything that prevents the ICE from running will improve mileage. I try to park with climate off so the engine stays off when I start. Below 32F, climate state doesn't seem to matter, engine's on right away. We'll see if 0F brings ICE-only operation. (Li-ion batteries can't charge below 32F, or discharge below 0F.) Maybe next week?