e-Hybrid Charging

[Chemical Matt]

I can charge 13kW from 1%. So for me all 12.8 kW are available.

Definitely can only use 10kW in my UK spec Xcellence estate as shown by my charging stats from my Podpoint charger.
I normally charge when coming home and it is normally showing approx 1% at the start. The reserved 3kW means you can still have the performance benefits of the hybrid boost at all times.

 

[romster1]

Is it true that the engine kicks in at 30mph? if so it hardly makes sense to charge the battery. Am I missing something here?

 

[izometric]

if you are in electric mode, the ICE will not fire up up to 140 kmph (I think...).

It will however fire up at kick-down.

 

[romster1]

if you are in electric mode, the ICE will not fire up up to 140 kmph (I think...).

It will however fire up at kick-down.

a dealer I spoke to this morning said that ICE would kick in at 30 mph

 

[Chemical Matt]

a dealer I spoke to this morning said that ICE would kick in at 30 mph

It doesn't. Mine will run happily at motorway speeds in full electric. The engine only kicks in if you press the accelerator past the kick down stop.

 

[romster1]

It doesn't. Mine will run happily at motorway speeds in full electric. The engine only kicks in if you press the accelerator past the kick down stop.

thanks that's good to know, btw which drive mode would let the car switch between ice and electric in normal driving conditions

 

[izometric]

The car always starts in full electric.
You have to switch manually to hybrid if you want the car to manage between the two modes.

Changing to hybrid can be done either from the infotainment, or directly with the gearbox knob. From drive you pull back once, it will switch to sport and hybrid. Then you pull back once more and it will go back to drive but keep the hybrid mode active.

Switching back to electric can only be done from the infotainment or stop/start the car manually.

 

[romster1]

The car always starts in full electric.
You have to switch manually to hybrid if you want the car to manage between the two modes.

Changing to hybrid can be done either from the infotainment, or directly with the gearbox knob. From drive you pull back once, it will switch to sport and hybrid. Then you pull back once more and it will go back to drive but keep the hybrid mode active.

Switching back to electric can only be done from the infotainment or stop/start the car manually.

thank you Izometric, this thread has been very useful and had saved me from making a bad choice by going for a full-on hybrid from Toyota. I'd had so much conflicting information from dealers that id almost dismissed upgrading to the leon e hybrid. id been told that the car only charged the battery whilst braking and not when coasting or at low revs like other hybrids, yet a member has posted a very useful tip showing that it can charge the battery in other scenarios too.
One dealer told me that the car would switch to ICE when you get to 30mph which users here have confirmed that that is not the case, ive also discovered that its possibleto charge the battery in 4 hours using the mode 2 cable and the on street charging point opposite my house which operates at both 7 and22 kW( id initially been told that it would take 7 hours)

 

[romster1]

there was a post on the forum stating the following and im interested to know from those who currently drive one if this is true,
"
The tip for rapid self charging is to put the car into hybrid mode and set the power reserve manually to 100%. Managed to get around 50-60% charge in just over an hour of driving."

dealer i just spoke to said no the regen braking only replenishes the stop start battery and not he hybrid battery

 

[Chemical Matt]

Seems like dealers don't know what they are talking about with the plug in hybrid. The regen braking does charge the hybrid battery. I've gone from 1% to 7% often just by going down more hills. Also increasing the regen to max will charge the battery more.
The tip you mentioned for self charging definitely works. I only did it for half an hour but got 30% charge.

 

[romster1]

Seems like dealers don't know what they are talking about with the plug in hybrid. The regen braking does charge the hybrid battery. I've gone from 1% to 7% often just by going down more hills. Also increasing the regen to max will charge the battery more.
The tip you mentioned for self charging definitely works. I only did it for half an hour but got 30% charge.

Nice one, thanks for confirming this the dealers have given me so much conflicting info that its better to ask on here

 

[Torque69]

Most dealers don't know their products well, let alone more complicated cars that combine two power sources and have complex systems to manage the plug in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) - i.e. what the 1.4 ehybrid is.

I have educated multiple dealers over the years who quote mistruths and frankly, when was the last time you learned something from a dealer that was a) useful and b) factually correct?

 

[romster1]

Most dealers don't know their products well, let alone more complicated cars that combine two power sources and have complex systems to manage the plug in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) - i.e. what the 1.4 ehybrid is.

I have educated multiple dealers over the years who quote mistruths and frankly, when was the last time you learned something from a dealer that was a) useful and b) factually correct?

spot on mate a lot of them really havent got a clue. im educating my local one at the moment

 

[romster1]

finally bit the bullet and placed my order today. Posts on this forum helped me decide so thanks to everyone who replied and posted tips too

 

[romster1]

Seems like dealers don't know what they are talking about with the plug in hybrid. The regen braking does charge the hybrid battery. I've gone from 1% to 7% often just by going down more hills. Also increasing the regen to max will charge the battery more.
The tip you mentioned for self charging definitely works. I only did it for half an hour but got 30% charge.

i got the dealer to configure the carto use the tip and went on a test drive today for about 45 mins the battery level indicator didnt really change much but the time available on electric only value stayed pretty much the same even after the drive so yes it looks like its working. where did you see the % charge. we were looking at the green battery image

 

[Torque69]

i got the dealer to configure the carto use the tip and went on a test drive today for about 45 mins the battery level indicator didnt really change much but the time available on electric only value stayed pretty much the same even after the drive so yes it looks like its working. where did you see the % charge. we were looking at the green battery image

Did you notice the before and after mpg figures as of course the engine is charging the battery in so doing?
If I run the engine of my Outlander PHEV to charge the battery the mpg goes to s**t, and being a 2.0 litre normally aspirated 4 cyl engine pulling an SUV the usual petrol economy is pretty poor at motorway speeds (barn door aerodynamics), which is why I charge overnight from 13A 3pin wall socket.

When I eventually get my Leon FR ehybrid estate I expect from reading reviews that the economy even at motorway speeds running with the 1.4 turbo engine will be considerably better than the Outlander

 

[romster1]

Did you notice the before and after mpg figures as of course the engine is charging the battery in so doing?
If I run the engine of my Outlander PHEV to charge the battery the mpg goes to s**t, and being a 2.0 litre normally aspirated 4 cyl engine pulling an SUV the usual petrol economy is pretty poor at motorway speeds (barn door aerodynamics), which is why I charge overnight from 13A 3pin wall socket.

When I eventually get my Leon FR ehybrid estate I expect from reading reviews that the economy even at motorway speeds running with the 1.4 turbo engine will be considerably better than the Outlander

I didnt take note of that but i think i made a mistake in the test anyway as i got him to put the car in hybrid mode but I Think ( not sure) that the tip was to be used in electric only mode. wasa hoping that Chemical Matt would clarify this as he ran a test and in half an hour got a 30% charge

 

[Torque69]

I didnt take note of that but i think i made a mistake in the test anyway as i got him to put the car in hybrid mode but I Think ( not sure) that the tip was to be used in electric only mode. wasa hoping that Chemical Matt would clarify this as he ran a test and in half an hour got a 30% charge

With all due respect to others who run a Leon ehybrid (as opposed to myself who isn't until it arrives...eventually), I can't see how 30% battery charge could come from running it in electric mode, unless the engine running as a generator & not driving the car.
Regenerating can be highly effective.

Today in the Outlander PHEV I left home with full battery and 21 miles range.

5 miles later after driving down some hills my range was 22 miles..., all from regenerating/recuperating energy from coasting downhill and some braking.

I'm over 700 miles this month and barely touched the fuel in the tank as lots of short town/city driving 99.9% of the time in EV mode.

I have dual rate electric tariff so charge most nights from 0 mile electric range to 20'ish miles for less than the price of a litre of petrol

 

[romster1]

With all due respect to others who run a Leon ehybrid (as opposed to myself who isn't until it arrives...eventually), I can't see how 30% battery charge could come from running it in electric mode, unless the engine running as a generator & not driving the car.
Regenerating can be highly effective.

Today in the Outlander PHEV I left home with full battery and 21 miles range.

5 miles later after driving down some hills my range was 22 miles..., all from regenerating/recuperating energy from coasting downhill and some braking.

I'm over 1,000 miles this month and barely touched the fuel in the tank as lots of short town/city driving 99.9% of the time in EV mode.

I have dual rate electric tariff so charge most nights from 0 mile electric range to 20'ish miles for less than the price of a litre of petrol

hopefully chemical Matt will clarify what mode and settings he used in his test in order to get the 30% charge

 

[Chemical Matt]

hopefully chemical Matt will clarify what mode and settings he used in his test in order to get the 30% charge

Hopefully this will clarify.

In electric mode only the charge generally only goes down when driving (although you will recover a small amount through regen).

When working in hybrid mode you can set a reserve level in the battery settings so that it will not drop below your set limit. This is to keep some electric range for low emission zones. When this set point is reached then the petrol engine only operates.

Now if you have no or low charge and running in hybrid mode (i.e. petrol engine active) and set this limit above where the battery currently is then the battery will gain charge. It must do this at the expense of fuel consumption so the benefits are limited.

When doing this the hybrid mode on the dash changes from a picture of a battery with sideways chevrons changes to one with chevrons facing upwards.
The green charging section on the dials doesn't show anything.

I can upload some proper photos when I have a low charge next but here is a photo showing where you adjust the hybrid mode battery reserve.