Favourite tips for PHEV/EV driving?

[speech]

Gentle braking rather than hard braking wherever possible is my favourite tip for getting the most out of PHEV/EV range. What are your favourite tips? Let's start a discussion

[raspy]

I wear 5 layers of clothes, a ski jacket, a warm hat and gloves, and keep the windows open a little bit to avoid the windows steaming up.

That way I don't have to turn on the heater or heated seats and I can eek out a tiny bit more range from the battery.

I also find accelerating really slowly seems to help maximise efficiency. I believe my strategy is working as I get lots of people beeping their horn behind me in endorsement of my approach and waving frenetically at me with different hand gestures as they over take me.

I can't sleep at night until I've entered that days' driving efficiency stats into my Excel spreadsheet.

[foggy]

Virtually all local/regular trips are well within the range, so have fun using the acceleration and keep topping up the electrons. Cruise around a bit more steady when you need to eek out the range, or crack on if you’ve got a charging route plan.

[SWoll]

foggy said:

Virtually all local/regular trips are well within the range, so have fun using the acceleration and keep topping up the electrons. Cruise around a bit more steady when you need to eek out the range, or crack on if you’ve got a charging route plan.

This.

[Richard-D]

raspy said:

I wear 5 layers of clothes, a ski jacket, a warm hat and gloves, and keep the windows open a little bit to avoid the windows steaming up.

That way I don't have to turn on the heater or heated seats and I can eek out a tiny bit more range from the battery.

I also find accelerating really slowly seems to help maximise efficiency. I believe my strategy is working as I get lots of people beeping their horn behind me in endorsement of my approach and waving frenetically at me with different hand gestures as they over take me.

I can't sleep at night until I've entered that days' driving efficiency stats into my Excel spreadsheet.

Great advice. Also, it's important to spend at least 2 hours planning any journey where the expected distance is over 70% of the vehicle's claimed range (50% in winter).

[gangzoom]

Richard-D said:

Great advice. Also, it's important to spend at least 2 hours planning any journey where the expected distance is over 70% of the vehicle's claimed range (50% in winter).

If you have relatives/friends in the car be ready to answer questions like 'are we going to make it', 'oh no the battery is running out (when they see the charge drop below 90%)', and 'don't go that way, there is a hill to get up'.

[speech]

raspy said:

I wear 5 layers of clothes, a ski jacket, a warm hat and gloves, and keep the windows open a little bit to avoid the windows steaming up.

That way I don't have to turn on the heater or heated seats and I can eek out a tiny bit more range from the battery.

I do that too, unfortunately you try telling my wife not to use the heated seat on full power!

raspy said:

I can't sleep at night until I've entered that days' driving efficiency stats into my Excel spreadsheet.

You don't have an app that picks it up from the car automatically?

[andy43]

EV : first tip is the Smug Face. Think Clarkson's Smug Face, but smugger. This needs to be used when passing petrol stations, when anywhere near smoking diesels or when behind knackered old Land Rovers or vans. If following said Land Rover in your EV a few wafts of the hand in front of the face and fake suffocation or coughing is usually beneficial if you can time it with the LR driver checking his rear view mirror.

Also useful for cold mornings if your neighbours have a good view of your drive. Preset your EV heating as normal, leave house, and apply Smug Face as you enter your prewarmed and deiced EV while listening to the sounds of deicer sprays and furious scraping from the neighbours drives.
Flick wipers once to clear moisture, then drive it up the road like you stole it. From stone cold, full throttle, max Smug Face.

Tesla drivers can also use the Smug Face when passing 'third party' charging stations to get to their special Tesla Superchargers which are usually located in the nicest spot in the car park.
If you spot a charging french EV a slight screwing up of the face and a 'pretend vomit' is helpful as you pass it.
If passing anybody on a 3rd party charger who is setting up to charge, stopping charge, or is in any way stood outside next to their 3rd party non-Tesla EV a shake of the head and some tutting shows you are superior and one of Elon's special children on their way to charging nirvana (subject to availability).

At the Bredbury M60 slip road traffic lights, apply Smug Face as the silver Impreza you just wafted past on the 50-limit dual carriageway pulls up alongside you and revs it's baked bean tin furiously while edging forward "menacingly". When lights change, press throttle to the carpet until 75mph is reached (P100D : approx 4 seconds later due to rain) and enter M60 in complete silence. Do not stop Smug Face until well after said Impreza has caught you up a mile later, has attempted to enter your boot, flashed its lights then overtaken you at about 90 before leaving the M60 at the next junction without indicating.

Do not ever apply Smug Face when driving a hybrid - you're five years out of date (10 in California).

[ZesPak]

raspy said:

and keep the windows open a little bit to avoid the windows steaming up.

you should do the math on that! Keeping the windows open is a terrible idea for your mileage!

andy43 nails it with the Smug Face tips.