I couldn't really figure out quite how to title this one. "Short engine use" is my best shot. I was reading in some review that one of the things that makes the FusionH unique is that the engine cuts on and cuts off with much greater frequency then other hybrids. Although I don't know exactly where I read this. So I tried to figure out how short a time one can actually get the engine to run for. I was going up a short hill on electric but knew I couldn't make it to the top, needed a burst of engine for a short while. So I pressed the accelerator and the engine came on briefly, I counted off mentally, let up on the accelerator and the engine switched right off. 3 seconds I figured. Pretty short. Then I coasted for a third of a mile after cresting the hill (had a good charge in the battery).
Then I began to wonder if the engine would come on for only 2 seconds. Seemed unlikely to me but tried the same thing on a little hill when I needed a little more power then the batt could deliver. No problem, engine cut in and then right back out after 2 seconds. I tried this several times to verify and by counting off the seconds it was clear that it will come on for only 2 seconds.
Taking it one step further I checked out 1 second. This is a little harder to do simply because the time is so short, but indeed the engine will actually come on for just a second if needed. Rather amazing. But it's an amazing car.
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Nice work on that. I have tried to balance frustration on hills with fuel efficiency. Its hard to make it far on a hill with electric unless you've got no one behind you. The trick where you just give it enough gas to get it moving then drop back out is a good one. I'm finding I'm not averaging better than 36 MPG average so far but I'm still learning. Occasionally get some great trips going in the 40s or low 50s but hard to average up there. Love the blog though, is there a forum for us FFH owners?
ReplyDeleteGlad you like the blog and hope it is useful. Check out the post I put up earlier today because I did a 20 mile run and got some good mileage.
ReplyDeleteYou are right about the hills. I've noticed that if I have a high charge then I have made it up some pretty steep hills that I never thought would work. But, and here's the big but, it takes too much juice to do it. So I think it's much better to hit the engine for a bit to carry one to the crest.
Is your 36 average figure a long term average, or is that what you get on individual trips? My long term average is about 44 mpg last I checked. When my wife gets in the car she just drives and pays no attention to the mileage so that tends to trend the average lower.
I'll research the forum idea. If I could get that up on this blog that would be cool. In the meantime, anytime someone adds a comment it makes it more like a forum, so keep them coming!
Richard