Ev Mode

[lee789]

Quick question please guys. I've been trying to maximise fuel economy by using EV mode as much as possible. I know that in EV mode it automatically restarts the petrol engine if you exceed a certain speed, depress the accelerator too far, or run low on hybrid batteries, but is there any way of making the car automatically revert to EV again afterwards without having to keep pushing that stupid EV button on the centre console? Seems ridiculous if you do have to keep pressing it every time you want to put the car back into EV, and what a stupid place to put it, where you have to take your eyes off the road to find it. Why not mounted on the steering wheel??

[rayaans]

Quick question please guys. I've been trying to maximise fuel economy by using EV mode as much as possible. I know that in EV mode it automatically restarts the petrol engine if you exceed a certain speed, depress the accelerator too far, or run low on hybrid batteries, but is there any way of making the car automatically revert to EV again afterwards without having to keep pushing that stupid EV button on the centre console? Seems ridiculous if you do have to keep pressing it every time you want to put the car back into EV, and what a stupid place to put it, where you have to take your eyes off the road to find it. Why not mounted on the steering wheel??

The car will use "EV" mode at low speeds anyway. You dont really need to force it to do that

[lee789]

I don't know if it is exactly the same with the NX. The engine turns off when the car is at a standstill, but if you press the EV button, the background hum from the hybrid system stops. I can't see what difference it makes because running on Battery power is running on Battery power, whether a switch is turned on or not. So, why does the sound from the hybrid system stop when the button is pushed, and is the EV button merely to hold the vehicle in electric mode more effectively than driving without it activated?

[rayaans]

I don't know if it is exactly the same with the NX. The engine turns off when the car is at a standstill, but if you press the EV button, the background hum from the hybrid system stops. I can't see what difference it makes because running on battery power is running on battery power, whether a switch is turned on or not. So, why does the sound from the hybrid system stop when the button is pushed, and is the EV button merely to hold the vehicle in electric mode more effectively than driving without it activated?

Background hum? I dont have any background hum from the hybrid system itself. It might be a fan turning off or something.

When you're going at slow speeds, the NX will use electric power to drive you along until it senses you need more power in which case the engine will come on. All the EV button does is try to hold on to that electric power until it can no longer move, at which point itll deactivate.

If you put the car in ECO mode, itll do the same thing, thats why its so sluggish to move off from a standstill.

[Bodmeister]

I've been noticing that on flat roads , I can drive up to speeds of 30-32mph on pure EV mode for lengthy periods with a steady throttle response. My average mpg has shot up to 42.8.

Also , I filled up the tank to the brim last Monday ( BP Ultimate) and the car felt VERY heavy on acceleration/braking. The average mpg on emptying the tank was 37.8.

Filled up the tank around halfway yesterday and acceleration and braking feel normal and ave of 42.8.

Same route . Make of that what you will!

[rayaans]

I've been noticing that on flat roads , I can drive up to speeds of 30-32mph on pure EV mode for lengthy periods with a steady throttle response. My average mpg has shot up to 42.8.

Also , I filled up the tank to the brim last Monday ( BP Ultimate) and the car felt VERY heavy on acceleration/braking. The average mpg on emptying the tank was 37.8.

Filled up the tank around halfway yesterday and acceleration and braking feel normal and ave of 42.8.

Same route . Make of that what you will!

Too many variables to take into account. Temperature will play a huge role even on the same route, windows open etc. Also, the car will feel less spritely if Battery charge is low - probably explains the heavy feeling.

[ColinBarber]

You really shouldn't try and force EV mode by using the EV button - that results in inefficient use of the hybrid system. You should use Eco or Normal mode, accelerate to a desired speed and then lift off as much as possible to maintain speed and make the hybrid system to just run on batteries (EV light will come on, not the EV Mode light), provided your speed is around 45mph or less.

[antipasti]

Am I right in thinking that if you havent got enough petrol to get to a garage you could run on ev mode to get there?

[lee789]

Hi Paul. Because the engine on the NX Hybrid cuts in at anything more than a gentle touch of the accelerator pedal, it would be difficult. It might be achievable, as long as the garage is no more than a few hundred yards away, you have sufficient charge in the batteries, and you don't mind a bit of road rage from drivers behind you!!

[Zotto]

EV mode is NOT a way to maximize economy, because HV batteries have to be recharged soon or later, and doing this requires energy that is always in some part lost during transformation in electricity.

The best way for economy of fuel is keeping the charge in HV constant over half charge indicator sign and using pulse&glide technique while driving.

[ganzoom]

Am I right in thinking that if you havent got enough petrol to get to a garage you could run on ev mode to get there?

You wouldn't get very far.

The NX has only about 1 kWh of usable Battery capacity. My Leaf when driven really really slowly can managed 5.5-6 miles per kWh. A car the size and weight of the NX will struggle to get half that on a kWh (A Tesla S achieves 3-3.5 miles per kWh). So the true EV range of the NX on Battery power alone is probably no more than 2-3 miles.

[Goggy]

Agreed, you would not get far at all. Try keeping a car in ev mode, you will only succeed for a very short distance. On a flat road with no hills, travelling at roughly 30 mph you could manage half a mile or maybe a little more, especially on a decline, but as soon as you try and go up a slight incline you would need the engine to cut in.

[Sparks16]

So reading this guys can I assume that on my F-Sport I don't actually need to turn the dial and put it into ev mode as the only difference I can ever see is in ev mode you don't get the engine hummm throught the speakers ?

[DJP]

The engine hum is the ASC which is controlled by the little dial by your left knee. It can be turned off completely, which I think is the best thing for it, unless you are in Sport mode when it can be a bit of fun. I've found in the NX it is a bit of a drone compared to in the IS.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Sparks16]

I actually like the hmmmmm in normal drive mode I know you can turn it down I just don't get why have ev mode when you can (if you don't like) turn off the hmmmmm ?

[rayaans]

I actually like the hmmmmm in normal drive mode I know you can turn it down I just don't get why have ev mode when you can (if you don't like) turn off the hmmmmm ?

I think you're confusing EV mode with ECO mode. EV mode is activated by pressing the button. It locks the car down in "electric" only until you run out of charge or the car senses you need more power.

ECO mode is activated using the drive select knob in front of the EV button which essentially dulls the throttle response and affects the air con system to reduce fuel consumption. I wouldn't recommend either mode. Just leave it in normal and use sport when you fancy. Recently Ive just been using Sport mode and had no ill effects on economy.

[ganzoom]

^^ Might explain why the mpg readings your getting is much lower than what I'm seeing :P

Eco mode will try to utilise the Battery much more than normal or sport mode. I see a 10% drop in mpg when going from Eco mode it normal, and same again from normal to sport.

We pretty much keep our car in Eco mode 95% of the time.

[rayaans]

^^ Might explain why the mpg readings your getting is much lower than what I'm seeing :P

Eco mode will try to utilise the battery much more than normal or sport mode. I see a 10% drop in mpg when going from Eco mode it normal, and same again from normal to sport.

We pretty much keep our car in Eco mode 95% of the time.

In my RX Ive only noticed minor MPG difference.

It hit 34mpg in Sport mode and 36.2 in Eco and it gets seriously sluggish in Eco to the point of making hills and getting out at junctions dangerous.

[ColinBarber]

On the IS and NX the difference between the modes is more significant than with the current RX. It also greatly depends on the type of driving, the biggest difference would be in urban areas at 40 mph or less.

[Nelsthebass]

Whilst I have only had my nx300 for 48 hours, I have found it will travel at up to 50mph on ev, granted that it was slightly downhill but I did about 2 miles at lower speed on purely Battery power - new batteries perhaps? BTW this was all in Eco mode......

[DJP]

Whilst I have only had my nx300 for 48 hours, I have found it will travel at up to 50mph on ev, granted that it was slightly downhill but I did about 2 miles at lower speed on purely battery power - new batteries perhaps? BTW this was all in Eco mode......

It won't be anything to do with the age of the Battery, it will achieve as you have described if the conditions allow it. There is a maximum speed that once reached EV will auto cut out to protect the motor. Being in Eco mode won't change that, and I think most of us find leaving the car in Normal achieves the best balance between performance and economy.

Sounds like you're enjoying the car :)

[DanD]

ECO mode is sooooo sluggish... and the benefits seem so negligible.

Personally, I'd rather sacrifice 2 or 3 mpg and enjoy my car.

[DJP]

ECO mode is sooooo sluggish... and the benefits seem so negligible.

Personally, I'd rather sacrifice 2 or 3 mpg and enjoy my car.

I agree, leave it in normal and drive sensibly, use sport when you want a bit extra.

[Goggy]

Yup, me too. I don't use ECO mode, it feels slightly under-powered when I do and for such little return. Mind you, I also don't use Sport mode much either, just for overtaking if I need the extra power, which is very rarely. I have noticed when I do leave it in sport mode the MPG drops a lot. I have not done a real test but the other day I did 5 miles in Sport mode and was doing about 28 MPG, but when I went to normal mode it went up to 37 MPG! Also, I find sport mode makes the car less relaxing to drive. Okay, it's probably me, I do like to drive more sedately these days, but we want different things from our cars don't we. :)

[rayaans]

Although I have an RX I seem to leave it in Sport mode constantly now. Drives much smoother than in normal with practically no lag from the transmission