2015 Toyota Auris — 3rd Date

Wondering what I discovered on my 2nd and 3rd dates with the 2015 Toyota Auris? I didn’t think so, but I’m going to tell you anyway, and I do have some good and “interesting” surprises.

One very cool thing I discovered when I got into the car and started fooling around was that there was an “EV Mode.” I asked the guy, what’s that do? I knew this wasn’t one of the plug-in hybrid models on the market, so I was intrigued what exactly driving in EV Mode would feel like, and what was going on under the hood. The guy was more mystified than me, and after kindly but unsuccessfully searching through the handbook for awhile, he just suggested that I look it up on the web when I got online.

Toyota Auris “EV Mode”

It has been surprisingly hard to figure out anything about EV Mode on the web, and Toyota doesn’t mention it on the Toyota Auris website I found, which makes me think Toyota isn’t too proud of it. And I’ve concluded that’s probably because it’s fake as hell — or maybe not fake, but as close to “not real” as it could get without being illegal.

The Auris does let you drive on the battery up to about 30 mph (50 km/h), which means no emissions and a silent drive, and regenerative braking recharges the battery. But you get kicked out of EV Mode before you even get started. Aside from the speed limit, the battery in the Auris is so small that you can only drive for ~1.25 miles (2 kilometers) in EV Mode. Accelerating quickly also kicks you out of EV Mode. Comparing the Auris to the many true electric vehicles I’ve driven (and before I read about EV Mode online), I couldn’t tell if I was actually driving on electricity for moments at a time or if it was a trick. For sure, there wasn’t the exhilaration of stepping on the pedal in a true electric vehicle, nor the clearly superior driving experience, since I kept getting kicked out of the bed EV Mode. There’s also this statement on a Toyota Auris webpage, “Driving in EV Mode is not necessarily the best choice for fuel economy – the battery will deplete and will need to be recharge by the petrol engine.”

Needless to say, I was disappointed, and the cynic in me thinks it’s another attempt for Toyota to spread FUD about electric driving.

A Prius Conversion That Will Travel 70 MPH in EV Mode

I received the following e-mail from Chris Ewert, of Ewert Energy Systems. This particular conversion trumps them all as it allows the Prius to attain freeway speeds solely powered by electricity. Previously, conversions only propelled the car up to 34 mph and then later, a stealth mode feature was added that let the Prius travel up to 52 mph. Unfortunately, to exit stealth mode, one had to pull over to the side of the road and restart the vehicle. This conversion can be toggled with a button in and out of EV mode.

We will definitely keep our eyes open to watch the development of this great kit. With a nice battery pack, a conversion like this could save thousands over the cost of a Chevy Volt.

From Chris Ewert's e-mail:

Ewert Energy Systems is proud to unveil our breakthrough Enhanced Hybrid and Enhanced Electric technology (patent pending).

Traditional plug-in Prius conversions have typically suffered from several limitations:
1) A stock EV mode that is limited to 34 mph.
2) Regulated emissions spikes in stock EV mode can
result in emissions up to 12 times the maximum regulation allows .
3.) Mixed mode driving allows for maximum power and is certified for
regulated emissions, but delivers an average electric consumption only
up to about 7kW. While this can yield mileages of >100mpg at speeds
below 40mph, it usually yields mileages well below 100mpg for highway
driving.
4.) “Forced stealth” mode is limited to 52mph and
requires a vehicle restart in order to exit. To attain speeds of
greater than 42mph, it requires MG1 to spin at speeds faster than it
would spin under any normal operating condition, potentially leading
to long term damage or shortening of the lifespan of MG1. Forced
stealth also requires clearing mandated emissions recording data and
can run the battery down to damaging levels if not exited at the
correct time.

The new system removes practically all the aforementioned limitations.

Enhanced Electric mode allows the vehicle to operate at speeds of up
to 70mph in electric-only and allows for seamless transitions between
electric-only and electric-dominant modes at any speed. Additionally, it provides
a controlled warmup mode to prevent increased emissions.

Enhanced Hybrid mode allows the vehicle to operate in a mode which
heavily favors the electric system over the gasoline engine. While typical conversions
will only provide up to about 7kW of power, this new system can
provide full electric power (around 25kW) before using the gasoline
engine. This creates the ideal parallel plug-in hybrid, providing full
power for acceleration when needed, but optimizing for best fuel
economy when in charge deplete (PHEV) mode.

Where a converted Prius may have previously achieved only 60-80mpg at highway speeds, a
converted Prius with this latest technology may achieve in excess of
150 mpg. An early prototype of the system was tested at Argonne
National Labs earlier this year and achieved 170mpg on the realistic
standardized highway test (a combination of 55mph and 65mph highway
driving.) For many trips, 200mpg is now possible without the use of EV
mode.During Argonne tests, this system was found to comply
with SULEV/PZEV emissions ratings.

These systems will be available at the end of the month with the 25
mile range conversion from Plug-In Conversions, Corp.
(www.pluginconversions.com)

For more information, please follow this link to a demonstration video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfkvygFJZDk


If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at info@ewertenergy.com.

http://www.ewertenergy.com