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In my Volt, the battery level gauge—when it shows empty—is actually only around 20%. However, the generator kicks in when "empty".
When the battery level gauge displays full, it is only about 80% charged and the charger stops charging it. This is how the Volt can achieve a one of the best warranties in the industry for electric vehicle batteries (10 years/150,000 miles)—by never letting the battery pack discharge completely, nor letting it charge to 100%.
I'm pretty sure if you look at the MPG specs on the Benz and Volvo, you will see they don't get the same economy as Toyota hybrids, for that very reason. I think that's partially why Mercedes abandoned Hybrid tech, and went to plug-in variants on the B and S class here in the US.
I think there are 4 variants of the S-Class:
- Petrol (S 500 EU/S 550 US), S 600, S63, S65
- Diesel S 350 BLUETEC
- Diesel-Hybrid (S 300 BLUETEC Hybrid)
- Plug-in Hybrid (S500e)
I imagine you guys in the US don't have the diesel-hybrid available.
Also, I think it was Corrado who mentioned that the Hybrid system is designed to not go to full charge all the time to prevent battery wear. Same reason why keeping your phone or laptop at 75-100% all the time is bad. When I had my RXh, I remember it being a battle to actually get it to charge above 70% EVER. The only time It would really do that was on warm spring days, when you didn't have the climate control on what-so-ever, and were doing a lot of pulsing and coasting. Using rolling force and braking to charge the battery.
I know the battery stays between 20% and 80%.
My issue is when it gets to 2/8 bars, it recharges to 3/8 bars, then the engine shuts off. What I meant was I wish the engine stayed on to charge the battery to 6/8 bars then shut off so it can stay off longer. Right now it does this:
As long as you don't get on the highway to recharge the battery, in the city the engine will be constantly cycling on and off and the battery will be staying in 2 or 3 bars out of the 8.
[QUOTE=TeaAholic1;9338143
As long as you don't get on the highway to recharge the battery, in the city the engine will be constantly cycling on and off and the battery will be staying in 2 or 3 bars out of the 8.[/QUOTE]
1) You're correct. We only have the plug-in Hybrid. We don't see any of the Diesel MB's over here except for the E Bluetec, and the new GLE (former ML) and after VW's diesel-gate, I highly doubt anyone but the Germans are going to keep trying to sell the American consumer on the wonders of "clean" diesel, like there is such a thing
2) The only time I ever had that happen with my RXh was during Summer or Winter. If you're running the AC or heat, it will kick on more. For whatever reason the condenser and even the blower motor by itself drain that battery fast. If you're pulled over to the side of the road, try turning those off and see how much longer the battery charge lasts before the car has to bring the engine back on for the generator. (Rethinking that, even having the radio on would make it kick back on sooner lol)
I know it's your Summer down under, so I wonder if that's part of it. I'm not sure if the battery capacity is the same on the NX vs. the RX. I'd bet the NX has a much smaller battery.
1) You're correct. We only have the plug-in Hybrid. We don't see any of the Diesel MB's over here except for the E Bluetec, and the new GLE (former ML) and after VW's diesel-gate, I highly doubt anyone but the Germans are going to keep trying to sell the American consumer on the wonders of "clean" diesel, like there is such a thing
The diesels are pretty popular here in Australia too. I read that 50% of people who buy Porsche Cayennes buy the diesel variant.
2) The only time I ever had that happen with my RXh was during Summer or Winter. If you're running the AC or heat, it will kick on more. For whatever reason the condenser and even the blower motor by itself drain that battery fast. If you're pulled over to the side of the road, try turning those off and see how much longer the battery charge lasts before the car has to bring the engine back on for the generator. (Rethinking that, even having the radio on would make it kick back on sooner lol)
I know it's your Summer down under, so I wonder if that's part of it. I'm not sure if the battery capacity is the same on the NX vs. the RX. I'd bet the NX has a much smaller battery.
Are you sure the blower without the A/C uses a lot of power? I was under the impression the fan only is pretty low powered.
Today I was at the Lexus dealership and I forgot to turn the car off after the person help me set up Enform. I went from 4-5 bars down to 2 when I got back in 15 mins. I don't think I was using any of the fans though. But I did have the headlights on.
The diesels are pretty popular here in Australia too. I read that 50% of people who buy Porsche Cayennes buy the diesel variant.
Are you sure the blower without the A/C uses a lot of power? I was under the impression the fan only is pretty low powered.
Today I was at the Lexus dealership and I forgot to turn the car off after the person help me set up Enform. I went from 4-5 bars down to 2 when I got back in 15 mins. I don't think I was using any of the fans though. But I did have the headlights on.
I can't even imagine what it would be like driving a diesel Cayenne! I almost feel like, what's the point, get a Touareg. lol
As for the hybrid, I can only speak from experience. It seemed for me, that any little thing that was drawing power, was drawing a lot of it. My friend had a 2011 Prius that seemed to fair a lot better at idle/engine off. The engine would kick on much less than my RX. Which is odd, considering the Prius had a 1.3kWh battery vs. my 1.8 kWh. I'm sure some of the more engineering inclined guys on here can chime in
I can't even imagine what it would be like driving a diesel Cayenne! I almost feel like, what's the point, get a Touareg. lol
Yeah, I never understood that either. If you buy a Porsche, you buy a petrol.
As for the hybrid, I can only speak from experience. It seemed for me, that any little thing that was drawing power, was drawing a lot of it. My friend had a 2011 Prius that seemed to fair a lot better at idle/engine off. The engine would kick on much less than my RX. Which is odd, considering the Prius had a 1.3kWh battery vs. my 1.8 kWh. I'm sure some of the more engineering inclined guys on here can chime in
The NX hybrid is pretty good. I was driving at night in suburban areas with little traffic and the car surprisingly had the engine off coasting most of the time! I was so surprised how often I will be driving along the road and the tach would read "0".
I freaked a little the first time I did this. Don't know if anyone else posted this, but if your in your SUV & you don't put your foot on the brake pedal & you don't hit the Start / Stop button yet, but you go ahead & put on your seat belt, the steering column adjusts to the height & tilt before you even start the SUV!?
I freaked a little the first time I did this. Don't know if anyone else posted this, but if your in your SUV & you don't put your foot on the brake pedal & you don't hit the Start / Stop button yet, but you go ahead & put on your seat belt, the steering column adjusts to the height & tilt before you even start the SUV!?
I think this is for shorter drivers, so they can reach the brake pedal to start the NX.
I freaked a little the first time I did this. Don't know if anyone else posted this, but if your in your SUV & you don't put your foot on the brake pedal & you don't hit the Start / Stop button yet, but you go ahead & put on your seat belt, the steering column adjusts to the height & tilt before you even start the SUV!?
01-25-16, 01:42 PM
