How to drive a hybrid

byrnew2007 · June 11, 2018

Hello all, i have bought a lexus IS300H f sport and i and wondering what i the beat mode to drive in. I have been leaving in eco mode. Is this good or bad for the Battery or does it matter ? Should i have it in normal mode for day to day driving doing short trips ect. Any information on what is the best way / mode to drive it in would be much appreciated.

Thanks .

Britprius · June 11, 2018

Hi Wayne welcome to LOC.

It rely makes little difference to fuel consumption which mode you drive the car in assuming you still drive it in the same way. The hybrid system looks after itself very well so do not worry on that point. You make a bigger impact on fuel used than any setting.

To get the best mpg do not baby the car. Accelerate briskly up to speed then remove your foot from the accelerator, and reapply just enough to keep momentum. Be prepared to loose a little speed on up hill slopes. Brake gently if needed anticipating when to slow down rather than braking. Keep tyre pressures correct or at the higher settings shown on the door label.

Hope this helps. John.

Bluesman · June 11, 2018

Welcome to the LOC. Enjoy.

byrnew2007 · June 11, 2018

34 minutes ago, Britprius said:

Hi Wayne welcome to LOC.

It rely makes little difference to fuel consumption which mode you drive the car in assuming you still drive it in the same way. The hybrid system looks after itself very well so do not worry on that point. You make a bigger impact on fuel used than any setting.

To get the best mpg do not baby the car. Accelerate briskly up to speed then remove your foot from the accelerator, and reapply just enough to keep momentum. Be prepared to loose a little speed on up hill slopes. Brake gently if needed anticipating when to slow down rather than braking. Keep tyre pressures correct or at the higher settings shown on the door label.

Hope this helps. John.

Thanks very much John i will follow those points that u mentioned. Take care.

mrdoofa · June 11, 2018

I keep my GS450h permanently in Hybrid PWR mode, doesn’t seem to affect economy but the throttle response is much crisper and I love using the acceleration this car has!!!

byrnew2007 · June 11, 2018

11 minutes ago, Bluesman said:

Welcome to the LOC. Enjoy.

Thanks 🤗

byrnew2007 · June 11, 2018

1 minute ago, mrdoofa said:

I keep my GS450h permanently in Hybrid PWR mode, doesn’t seem to affect economy but the throttle response is much crisper and I love using the acceleration this car has!!!

Thanks for the reply...and i can only imagine the acceleration on it 🤗 i am not a fast driver but i put it in sport mode once and it was so responsive . I have drove diesels the last 15 years so it is a different animal altogether. Still a littke worried about the hybrid / Battery system incase it costs me a fortune down the road. Fingers crossed .

Britprius · June 11, 2018

11 minutes ago, byrnew2007 said:

Thanks for the reply...and i can only imagine the acceleration on it 🤗 i am not a fast driver but i put it in sport mode once and it was so responsive . I have drove diesels the last 15 years so it is a different animal altogether. Still a littke worried about the hybrid / battery system incase it costs me a fortune down the road. Fingers crossed .

Do not worry about the hybrid system they have proved to be very reliable. Even in the unlikely event of a problem it is possible to replace any one or more of the Battery modules containing 6 cells each rather than the complete Battery.

John

Odysseus · June 12, 2018

I keep my GS450h permanently in Hybrid PWR mode, doesn’t seem to affect economy but the throttle response is much crisper and I love using the acceleration this car has!!!

I do exactly the same with my GS450h. [emoji106]

To my mind the normal throttle response is a bit on the lazy side, Hybrid pwr cures that.

Sent from my Iphone using Tapatalk

Vlady · June 12, 2018

Hi John, welcome to LOC, I am new here too, like you I have been driving diesels for last 10 (not 15) years and not sure what is the best way to drive it, apparently coasting is good, get to speed quickly and then maintain it, this is what I will try anyway as I do not have the car (Lexus GS450h) yet and should get it this weekend.

How do you like Lexus so far?

darrude · June 12, 2018

9 hours ago, byrnew2007 said:

Thanks for the reply...and i can only imagine the acceleration on it 🤗 i am not a fast driver but i put it in sport mode once and it was so responsive . I have drove diesels the last 15 years so it is a different animal altogether. Still a littke worried about the hybrid / battery system incase it costs me a fortune down the road. Fingers crossed .

We have just changed out 05 plate RX400h, zero issues with the hybrid system. Before I bought I researched on the toyota forums. They hybrid systems are pretty much bullet proof, loads of prius's with 250,000 miles plus and zero hybrid issues. The only thing issues I could find, (I again i think still rare), were on the first generation GS450h.

I don't really like Eco mode as it does make the car feel a little 'all or nothing' (ie, you do <75% throttle and it accelerates like a milk float, you give it >75% and nothing for a second or so while the engine spins up, then the car does the metaphorical equivalent of dropping the clutch like a chav in a pimped up corsa on a tescos carpark). I generally just leave it in normal, if I'm on a busy dual carriage way with a lot of speed fluctuations I will occasionally switch to sport, or maybe the odd good quiet road. Once you get you used to the car, you see how it does a lot to protect the Battery, it rarely switchs to EV mode in the cold of winter and doesn't seem to charge discharge the Battery as much during longer journeys (you will notice a drop in MPG's as well, then on a nice hot day it will seems to sit happily for over a mile on the Battery.

wharfhouse · June 12, 2018

My two pennyworth on driving the IS 300h are as follows:

- Eco mode does achieve a few mpg better than Normal mode - I have tried both on the same long runs and can see the difference - but as others have said it dulls the response so personal choice in the end - however for cruising such as long motorway journeys at a constant speed or wandering down the A roads etc. I am quite happy with Eco - the car reverts to EV as much as possible in this mode

- Sport definitely less mpg but much more responsive - car seems to "save" the Battery for deploying for acceleration and doesn't switch to EV mode as much keeping the engine on for longer and so much more responsive to the accelerator with much less lag than Eco - switch to this for quick overtaking or more enthusiastic driving

- Normal somewhere in the middle and I tend to use this (over Eco) when the car is more laden with passengers/luggage or for maintaining a reasonably brisk pace especially on A/B roads - the accelerator is more responsive in this mode

- For good economy use Eco or Normal and accelerate to desired speed reasonably briskly - don't try and do this in EV - just way too slow and wastes a lot of Battery - let the engine bring you up to speed but once up to speed (and if below about 45mph) lift off the accelerator pedal completely for a brief moment and the car will most likely switch to EV unless the Battery is depleted (EV light comes on), especially if in Eco, and then feather the throttle and you can maintain the car at that constant speed for a long time in EV (Eco helps as the throttle is less responsive) - driven like this seems to deliver very good economy

- Think well ahead if you want to maximise economy and lift and coast to slow down as much as possible or use just light braking for the regen to operate - that way you maximise energy recycling back to the Battery - with the use of the point above and this one it's quite surprising how long the car will go in pretty much EV mode, other the odd burst of engine needed for acceleration, when the road is reasonably clear

- EV mode (the button on the centre console) is pretty useless as the car makes up it's own mind in driving - only time I use this is moving the car in the drive (saves the engine cutting in) or sometime parked, again saves the engine cutting in. When you start the car and the engine is cold it will run the engine after a few seconds - if you want to stop this then press the EV button as soon as you hear the beep that the car is ready and even if you have a cold engine it will prevent the engine running - at least until you start to actually drive or the Battery depletes significantly - but you can move the car around at very slow speed this way

- One thing to note (and which seems poorly understood and not well documented) is with the simulated 6 gears - if the paddle shifters are used in D mode then all they do is "hold" a lower gear - for example to apply engine braking for a long steep descent rather than using the brakes - they do not work as simulated gears in terms of up and down the "gears" in D mode. This is why people often think they don't do anything. If you want to use the simulated gears then best way to experience this is to switch to Sport mode and you must put the gear lever into S, and then the 6 simulated gears do a reasonable job of behaving as a "manual" using the paddle shift and you can go up and down the 6 speeds at will similarly to any manual shift mode on an autobox - however after having a play I generally have never found them anything more than a bit of fun and leaving the car in D with Sport setting offers the acceleration without having to worry about the flappy paddles! Also, it's actually less fuel efficient using the simulated gears than letting the car do what it wants but they have an occasional place to hold a lower "gear" (i.e. keeping engine revs up) to maximise acceleration for the quickest overtake.

Otherwise experiment and enjoy the car. It takes a little while to start and realise what the computers are doing so drive normally and just keep an eye on what is going on and it starts to become second nature. If you are concerned about the hybrid reliability then using Lexus servicing warrantees it for another 10,000 miles / 12 months each service all the way up to 10 years / 100K miles or you can pay a small amount each year to have this warranty on the hybrid drive separately (if you use other servicing). As others have said, when I did my research it was clear that the Toyota/Lexus system is very well proven and reliable and will last hundreds of thousands of miles and hence why I was happy to take the step into hybrid technology with Lexus.

rich1068 · June 12, 2018

Interesting thread.

I don't have different modes on my newly acquired hybrid but I did wonder how to get the best out of it. Today I've been trying the bursts of acceleration and then feathering the loud pedal to maintain Battery use and it does seem to work re: economy. My average did go up a notch or two while driving around town. Hard to do well in Sheffield though. You're never too far from a hill.

That said, I've bought a 3.3l V6. Fuel economy wasn't my first consideration when I bought it so I'll probably get bored of doing that. The technology continues to fascinate though. That Toyota/Lexus could build a system so radical but so reliable while their European competitors ignored petrols but struggle to build diesels that you can drive around town without going into limp mode.

byrnew2007 · June 12, 2018

2 hours ago, wharfhouse said:

My two pennyworth on driving the IS 300h are as follows:

- Eco mode does achieve a few mpg better than Normal mode - I have tried both on the same long runs and can see the difference - but as others have said it dulls the response so personal choice in the end - however for cruising such as long motorway journeys at a constant speed or wandering down the A roads etc. I am quite happy with Eco - the car reverts to EV as much as possible in this mode

- Sport definitely less mpg but much more responsive - car seems to "save" the battery for deploying for acceleration and doesn't switch to EV mode as much keeping the engine on for longer and so much more responsive to the accelerator with much less lag than Eco - switch to this for quick overtaking or more enthusiastic driving

- Normal somewhere in the middle and I tend to use this (over Eco) when the car is more laden with passengers/luggage or for maintaining a reasonably brisk pace especially on A/B roads - the accelerator is more responsive in this mode

- For good economy use Eco or Normal and accelerate to desired speed reasonably briskly - don't try and do this in EV - just way too slow and wastes a lot of battery - let the engine bring you up to speed but once up to speed (and if below about 45mph) lift off the accelerator pedal completely for a brief moment and the car will most likely switch to EV unless the battery is depleted (EV light comes on), especially if in Eco, and then feather the throttle and you can maintain the car at that constant speed for a long time in EV (Eco helps as the throttle is less responsive) - driven like this seems to deliver very good economy

- Think well ahead if you want to maximise economy and lift and coast to slow down as much as possible or use just light braking for the regen to operate - that way you maximise energy recycling back to the battery - with the use of the point above and this one it's quite surprising how long the car will go in pretty much EV mode, other the odd burst of engine needed for acceleration, when the road is reasonably clear

- EV mode (the button on the centre console) is pretty useless as the car makes up it's own mind in driving - only time I use this is moving the car in the drive (saves the engine cutting in) or sometime parked, again saves the engine cutting in. When you start the car and the engine is cold it will run the engine after a few seconds - if you want to stop this then press the EV button as soon as you hear the beep that the car is ready and even if you have a cold engine it will prevent the engine running - at least until you start to actually drive or the battery depletes significantly - but you can move the car around at very slow speed this way

- One thing to note (and which seems poorly understood and not well documented) is with the simulated 6 gears - if the paddle shifters are used in D mode then all they do is "hold" a lower gear - for example to apply engine braking for a long steep descent rather than using the brakes - they do not work as simulated gears in terms of up and down the "gears" in D mode. This is why people often think they don't do anything. If you want to use the simulated gears then best way to experience this is to switch to Sport mode and you must put the gear lever into S, and then the 6 simulated gears do a reasonable job of behaving as a "manual" using the paddle shift and you can go up and down the 6 speeds at will similarly to any manual shift mode on an autobox - however after having a play I generally have never found them anything more than a bit of fun and leaving the car in D with Sport setting offers the acceleration without having to worry about the flappy paddles! Also, it's actually less fuel efficient using the simulated gears than letting the car do what it wants but they have an occasional place to hold a lower "gear" (i.e. keeping engine revs up) to maximise acceleration for the quickest overtake.

Otherwise experiment and enjoy the car. It takes a little while to start and realise what the computers are doing so drive normally and just keep an eye on what is going on and it starts to become second nature. If you are concerned about the hybrid reliability then using Lexus servicing warrantees it for another 10,000 miles / 12 months each service all the way up to 10 years / 100K miles or you can pay a small amount each year to have this warranty on the hybrid drive separately (if you use other servicing). As others have said, when I did my research it was clear that the Toyota/Lexus system is very well proven and reliable and will last hundreds of thousands of miles and hence why I was happy to take the step into hybrid technology with Lexus.

Thank you for all of this information it was realy enjoyable and interesting to read. I have learnt so much from it and its great hearing this kind of feed back . I realy appritiate the time u gave me writing this. Thanks and take care .

chris_fletcher · June 12, 2018

I agree with Wharfhouse. Eco mode is definitely the most economical and is much less responsive but if you drive it in eco all the time you stop noticing it until you switch mode. IMO the reaason eco is better on fuel consumption is Normal and Sport modes hold on to the engine longer so car doesnt drop into EV mode as readily. I switch modes depending on what I want to achieve or how I feel but generally default to eco for commuting in stop start traffic.

My experience has been the same with two CT200H`s an IS300H and now the RC450H. Sport certainly makes me smile though as it makes the car quite brisk from a standing start

byrnew2007 · June 13, 2018

21 hours ago, chris_fletcher said:

I agree with Wharfhouse. Eco mode is definitely the most economical and is much less responsive but if you drive it in eco all the time you stop noticing it until you switch mode. IMO the reaason eco is better on fuel consumption is Normal and Sport modes hold on to the engine longer so car doesnt drop into EV mode as readily. I switch modes depending on what I want to achieve or how I feel but generally default to eco for commuting in stop start traffic.

My experience has been the same with two CT200H`s an IS300H and now the RC450H. Sport certainly makes me smile though as it makes the car quite brisk from a standing start

Thanks for the reply chris much appreciated 🙂

mrdoofa · June 14, 2018

On 6/11/2018 at 10:38 PM, byrnew2007 said:

Thanks for the reply...and i can only imagine the acceleration on it 🤗 i am not a fast driver but i put it in sport mode once and it was so responsive . I have drove diesels the last 15 years so it is a different animal altogether. Still a littke worried about the hybrid / battery system incase it costs me a fortune down the road. Fingers crossed .

Check out this YouTube video to see the acceleration of a GS450h, it’s incredible and extremely addictive!!! The beauty of it is the extra instant torque from the electric motor and a completely seamless CVT transmission, the power delivery is constant and relentless and there isn’t many cars out there that can keep up with it.

Odysseus · June 14, 2018

Now THAT’S how you drive a hybrid. [emoji41]

Sent from my Iphone using Tapatalk

byrnew2007 · July 15, 2018

On 6/12/2018 at 8:50 AM, darrude said:

We have just changed out 05 plate RX400h, zero issues with the hybrid system. Before I bought I researched on the toyota forums. They hybrid systems are pretty much bullet proof, loads of prius's with 250,000 miles plus and zero hybrid issues. The only thing issues I could find, (I again i think still rare), were on the first generation GS450h.

I don't really like Eco mode as it does make the car feel a little 'all or nothing' (ie, you do <75% throttle and it accelerates like a milk float, you give it >75% and nothing for a second or so while the engine spins up, then the car does the metaphorical equivalent of dropping the clutch like a chav in a pimped up corsa on a tescos carpark). I generally just leave it in normal, if I'm on a busy dual carriage way with a lot of speed fluctuations I will occasionally switch to sport, or maybe the odd good quiet road. Once you get you used to the car, you see how it does a lot to protect the battery, it rarely switchs to EV mode in the cold of winter and doesn't seem to charge discharge the battery as much during longer journeys (you will notice a drop in MPG's as well, then on a nice hot day it will seems to sit happily for over a mile on the battery.

Thanks for the reply mate

LexusIS300h · July 16, 2018

Hi Wayne and happy new car ! I trade my 10 year old Prius in tomorrow for an IS300h executive, so no fancy sport model for me 😀.

Having driven a hybrid all this time, I can also vouch that the hybrid system and Battery are the absolute last things to worry about. Tyre pressures are useful to keep at manufacturers recommendations, although some like to over inflate to get better mpg. I think there’s a health and safety warning though not to do this, but it does improve mpg.

Personally, I make good use of the cruise control whenever I can, even on short trips, so I will also do this on the Lexus. Pure hypermilers will say this is a no-no to get good fuel consumption, but it works for me. I got 59.3mpg on a 120 mile round trip to go test drive the Lexus, so it works great and I’m sure the Lexus will do the same.

I am looking forward to trying the Sport setting though for a bit of fun, so tomorrow’s journey back will get a bit of a blast . However my work commute is only about 16 miles round trip, so Eco or normal mode looks like the norm until Friday comes.... Sport all the way home

Enjoy your car and let all know how you are getting on.

byrnew2007 · July 17, 2018

11 hours ago, LexusIS300h said:

Hi Wayne and happy new car ! I trade my 10 year old Prius in tomorrow for an IS300h executive, so no fancy sport model for me 😀.

Having driven a hybrid all this time, I can also vouch that the hybrid system and battery are the absolute last things to worry about. Tyre pressures are useful to keep at manufacturers recommendations, although some like to over inflate to get better mpg. I think there’s a health and safety warning though not to do this, but it does improve mpg.

Personally, I make good use of the cruise control whenever I can, even on short trips, so I will also do this on the Lexus. Pure hypermilers will say this is a no-no to get good fuel consumption, but it works for me. I got 59.3mpg on a 120 mile round trip to go test drive the Lexus, so it works great and I’m sure the Lexus will do the same.

I am looking forward to trying the Sport setting though for a bit of fun, so tomorrow’s journey back will get a bit of a blast . However my work commute is only about 16 miles round trip, so Eco or normal mode looks like the norm until Friday comes.... Sport all the way home

Enjoy your car and let all know how you are getting on.

Hiya thanks for the reply . I think the car is amazing so smooth and very responsive to drive. I can see there is allot of technology in the build of the car and how it works. You will love it 😁 I drive it mostly in eco mode but the very odd time i put it in sport and i am amazed at the power of it it takes off like a rocket. That fast that i get a fright and put it back to eco mode 😁 beat of luck with ur one and safe driving .