Artric and other PHEVers: how do you get good mileage on short trips?

[RobertSmalls]

I've been plugging in the Insight nightly, but with most of my trips under 5mi each way, I'm getting 70-something mpg instead of 55-60mpg.

If I use the assist to accelerate, the engine takes forever to warm up, and I'll never see lean burn. If I wait for the engine to reach 165°F before I hit the assist, I'm most of the way to my destination by then, and I might end my trip with too much unused charge, or I'll finish the trip by burning off charge in EV mode.

On the highway, I can make great use of a charge. I spend it holding lean burn. But in city driving with lots of coasting to stop signs and waiting at red lights, a mild hybrid PHEV doesn't seem to work out well.

[uhtrinity]

The downfall is you have to have a warm engine to maximize efficiency. Upto last fall I only lived a few miles from work, so the warmups didn't always happen. To compensate I just used mima and dumped a lot of the charge. My current commute is about 15 miles each way on a quiet country road, so I usually save a bulk of the charge for my trip back home.

[retepsnikrep]

You need a minimum trip distance of about 10 miles IMO to start making good/best use of a PHEV Insight. 5 miles to warm up the engine using mild assist and more IC, then lots of assist and just enough IC to keep it up to temp for lean burn and/or cabin heating for the rest of the trip or until battery exhausted.

My daily commute is 13 miles each way.

The optimum trip for my 40ah pack would be about 50-75miles.

5 miles at 75-100mpg and then 45+ miles at 125-150mpg.

I limit my assist to about 30amps during my commute.