Urban Hybrid Management

[Henri8]

Driving in the Hybrid mode during low speed conditions (urban conditions) with speed limits of 50 km in my country, I wonder why the engine (ICE) kicks in at 40km/h. Low speed driving is perfect for the battery to be used only.
Anyone who has good arguments to defend this management profile? I would prefer to have the ICE to kick in at 60 (37mph) in order to have low fuel figures and also for a quiet ride in summer.

 

[jem111111]

Hi Henri8 no I cant understand that profile, but I'm glad I've joined this forum to find out all this information before a test drive in the next couple of weeks. In the UK apart from by schools ( 20 mph) most urban roads are 30 or 40 mph , so realistically I would not want the ICE to kick in below 50 mph .
As everywhere is different and people drive differently , its a shame the speed the hybrid kicks in, is not user configurable.

 

[Cocijo]

Just a thought - I know that you can set how much the battery is charged by the engine (I think that there are 3 settings) - do you think that this might affect when the engine kicks in?

 

[Henri8]

Just a thought - I know that you can set how much the battery is charged by the engine (I think that there are 3 settings) - do you think that this might affect when the engine kicks in?

Did not try this out yet Cocijo, good thought!
However I think it will not make a difference or worse even.
Automatic/ Standard depletes the battery according to average driving distances. Medium depletes around 50% and High keeps the battery around 100%. So, in the non standard modes more energy is needed from the ICE.
Try it out tomorrow.

 

[Henri8]

Hi Henri8 no I cant understand that profile, but I'm glad I've joined this forum to find out all this information before a test drive in the next couple of weeks. In the UK apart from by schools ( 20 mph) most urban roads are 30 or 40 mph , so realistically I would not want the ICE to kick in below 50 mph .
As everywhere is different and people drive differently , its a shame the speed the hybrid kicks in, is not user configurable.

I know you can select EV of course, but that has some disadvantages as we know by now ;-)

 

[jem111111]

Yes it would be good if you could trust the hybrid setting to do what you want. Could do with other phev drivers to comment on their experience.

 

[Frank]

Did not try this out yet Cocijo, good thought!
However I think it will not make a difference or worse even.
Automatic/ Standard depletes the battery according to average driving distances. Medium depletes around 50% and High keeps the battery around 100%. So, in the non standard modes more energy is needed from the ICE.
Try it out tomorrow.

Hi,

I don't have the Hybrid but the settings you mention MUST affect when the ICE kicks in to keep the battery charged and it will NOT be based on the vehicle speed but the state of the battery so any time the battery gets below the stated level depending on which setting you have the ICE will run.

Obviously (and this is now I would want it to operate) for maximum efficiency I would only want to use EV mode for Urban use (heating requirements aside) and never under any circumstances use the ICE. This won't be determined with speed either as urban use on a daily basis would hopefully be under the EV range, and it is unlikely you would get to a speed where the ICE kicks in regardless of battery state as I think EV only speed cm reach well over 60mph or more, above that and of course you have no choice (or for heating) but to use the ICE. Hopefully you have the facility to have no charge from the ICE at all.

Perfect Hybrid use, daily use no more than 35 Miles no matter what the speed limits, setting off, ie no ICE charge, get home in evening, plug it in and away you go ready for the next day.I

On long trips start with full battery, charge on pit stops in conjunction with ICE which I would only put on when battery is getting low at least that's how I would like to run it.


Frank

PS If you can't turn off the ICE charging then that seems a bit pointless for low range use so I would think you should have this facility.

 

[Henri8]

Hi,

I don't have the Hybrid but the settings you mention MUST affect when the ICE kicks in to keep the battery charged and it will NOT be based on the vehicle speed but the state of the battery so any time the battery gets below the stated level depending on which setting you have the ICE will run.

Obviously (and this is now I would want it to operate) for maximum efficiency I would only want to use EV mode for Urban use (heating requirements aside) and never under any circumstances use the ICE. This won't be determined with speed either as urban use on a daily basis would hopefully be under the EV range, and it is unlikely you would get to a speed where the ICE kicks in regardless of battery state as I think EV only speed cm reach well over 60mph or more, above that and of course you have no choice (or for heating) but to use the ICE. Hopefully you have the facility to have no charge from the ICE at all.

Perfect Hybrid use, daily use no more than 35 Miles no matter what the speed limits, setting off, ie no ICE charge, get home in evening, plug it in and away you go ready for the next day.I

On long trips start with full battery, charge on pit stops in conjunction with ICE which I would only put on when battery is getting low at least that's how I would like to run it.


Frank

PS If you can't turn off the ICE charging then that seems a bit pointless for low range use so I would think you should have this facility.

Yes Frank, it makes more sense to only use the EV mode in urban circumstances. In this car that is the only way to silence the ICE, and thereby charging, permanently. Because the EV mode operates under restrictions I tried the Hybrid management to see the difference. Then my question came up why 40 has been chosen to add ICE thrust. I now also found out that changing charging modes does not affect this speed.

 

[g4rth]

It's interesting what you say about 40 kph and the ice starting. Mine doesn't have the ice cut in until 30mph (48 kph). I assume your in town speed limit is normally 50 kph (30 mph) as in the UK. If I then keep to a constant speed the engine starts to charge the battery until I either speed up in which case the drive is from both the electric motor and the ice or if I slow down the kers charges the battery.

 

[Henri8]

It's interesting what you say about 40 kph and the ice starting. Mine doesn't have the ice cut in until 30mph (48 kph). I assume your in town speed limit is normally 50 kph (30 mph) as in the UK. If I then keep to a constant speed the engine starts to charge the battery until I either speed up in which case the drive is from both the electric motor and the ice or if I slow down the kers charges the battery.

That is interesting as well...
So it looks like different country versions have a not corresponding speed setting. Indeed your version would be more suitable for our urban speed limit of 50kph (31mph). You have 35mph ( 56kph) as speed limit I guess, so it also kicks in too soon. 60 kph and 40 mph kick-in speed would be better iso 40kph and 30mph for convenience and an easier way to use "alternate EV" with automatic heating. When there is heating demand the ICE will run at idle and as soon as there is no heating demand the ICE will turn down. ( All this below the urban kick-in speed)
Are you still with me?

 

[Cocijo]

Wouldn’t it just be better to be able to use the car in pure electric at any speed should you choose? Why would you set a mandatory speed limit for the ICE to kick in? Isn’t the governing factor if you have enough battery? Or am I missing the point somehwere? ?

 

[jem111111]

Hi Cocijo I far as I understand it , I think if you selected EV mode then that would happen , and it would use all the battery at all the speeds ( with the issue at 80 and 120 km and assuming you were in the default mode so not trying to keep the battery charged up) and then switch to ICE once the battery was depleted.
I think Henri8 left the setting in Auto mode ( let the algorithm decide the best engine option to take) , and was surprised (with a full battery) the ICE kicked in at approx 24mph ( 40km/h ).
I hope my understanding is correct , if not Henri8 will hopefully correct me

 

[Henri8]

Hi Cocijo I far as I understand it , I think if you selected EV mode then that would happen , and it would use all the battery at all the speeds ( with the issue at 80 and 120 km and assuming you were in the default mode so not trying to keep the battery charged up) and then switch to ICE once the battery was depleted.
I think Henri8 left the setting in Auto mode ( let the algorithm decide the best engine option to take) , and was surprised (with a full battery) the ICE kicked in at approx 24mph ( 40km/h ).
I hope my understanding is correct , if not Henri8 will hopefully correct me

That is correct and I do not want a mandatory speed to kick in, there IS a mandatory speed in the Hybrid management system. I just would like to have it higher in order to drive without ICE in rural area’s with climate control if needed.

 

[Henri8]

Wouldn’t it just be better to be able to use the car in pure electric at any speed should you choose? Why would you set a mandatory speed limit for the ICE to kick in? Isn’t the governing factor if you have enough battery? Or am I missing the point somehwere? ?

No, you do not...
But in wintertime I have to wait for the car to heat up and then switch to EV until I gets cold again. The only way to drive in winter is in the hybrid mode and that is how i came to this new issue. Got it?

 

[jem111111]

Hi Henri8 thanks for confirming my understanding was correct.
Do you think MG ever get to hear the customer feedback of their cars , as in the issues raised on here ( especially if it could just be a software problem). Or is it a case of you have brought the car and your stuck with it , and moving forward nothing will get changed , even for newer models?

 

[Henri8]

Hi Henri8 thanks for confirming my understanding was correct.
Do you think MG ever get to hear the customer feedback of their cars , as in the issues raised on here ( especially if it could just be a software problem). Or is it a case of you have brought the car and your stuck with it , and moving forward nothing will get changed , even for newer models?

Although this is totally outside of this particular thread I do understand your reluctance to buy this car. You started the ‘ to Phev or not to Phev’ and got a lot of impartial feedback from the few owners that are on this forum up till now. I have no idea if the shortcomings can or will ever be solved by software updates. I am just a new customer and using this forum to get support from other members in order to get momentum to get MG to get there product better.
Let me emphasize that I enjoy my car very much! The problem with forums is that mostly only problems are discussed and the joy of driving it is taken for granted. I can imagine that you are not to certain anymore if this car is the right choice. All the positive test results that you see or read are true, these issues are also mostly true. I am thinking of putting a wishlist for software updates on this forum as a Poll to vote on. Maybe as time goes by we have some authority to present to MG.
I would like to see MG staff involved on this forum as well.
Do not cancel your planned test drive Jem! You will be surprised I think.

 

[OzzieMick]

Hi all,
I have now owned one of these cars for 5 days, and am enjoying it so far.

On the topic of this thread, the thing that I feel is missing in auto mode is that it has no idea whether I plan to next charge the car in 30km or in 300km. If it knew that, then it could do a much better job of deciding when to bring the petrol engine in and out. If the car is on a full charge and it knows that I plan to charge it in 30 km, then it can use as much of the battery as it likes. If it knows it's going to be 300km then it should run the car more like a traditional hybrid.

The first longish drive I took the car on was a 75km trip that I did in Auto mode. It started on 56% charge and still had 30+% left at the end of the trip. I would have preferred if it used up all of the battery on the trip, since I knew I was staying overnight and would be able to recharge before driving again.

I wonder if MG would ever provide a way for us to tell the car about our charging plans so that Auto mode could be smarter?

cheers,
mick

 

[jem111111]

Hi Mick
yes it would be nice , but I doubt it.
When I did a longer trip , then I had a rough guess when I wanted to use it in EV mode ( not on the motorway , where I do 70mph ) so I manually switched the EV mode on in Urban driving. When I got to the motorway , I manually switched it to hybrid mode , so the ICE worked ,and when back in Urban driving I again switched manually back to EV mode.
In the case for me , it worked well and I had no battery left at the end of my journey , so maximising the economy of the Phev.

 

[amason]

Hi Mick,
Am contemplating buying this car as well (I'm in FNQ) does your GOM say 52Km full charge ?
I see MG adjusted the website to say 63Km WLTP, so was wondering your approx. range in full EV mode, I currently have an Outlander PHEV and getting around 35Km per charge now, so was hoping the MG would do around 60 odd !
Andy

 

[jem111111]

Hi Ozzie Mick I forgot to mention the reason I manually switched between hybrid and ev mode. This is because in hybrid mode , once you start driving you are in ev, but go over 25 mph (40kmh) and it switches to ICE . I'm guessing why you had battery left after your 75 km trip was because you were driving over 40kmh for most of it.
On my long trip I switched to EV mode when off the motorway, where I drive at 70 mph ( 112 kmh) and was in ev mode even when driving at up to 40 mph (64kmh) .Doing this made sure I used up all my battery which would not have happened if I stayed in hybrid mode.