Driving Modes

All Hyundai Tucson related discussions
Grayston50
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Nov 27, 2021 8:51 am

Post by Grayston50 »

Hi Guys,
Got the plugin version and i can not work out what the 3 driving modes actually do or how they differ
1 Auto, switches between engine and battery
2 HEV, switches between engine and battery
3 Electric, switches between engine and battery
I have monitored the 3 modes and just can not see any difference, i thought and bought it on the pretence that EV mode would use the battery until it was exhausted and then switch to fuel
Has anyone got any explanations on these modes please?
Also got a question on bluelink defrost, but that can wait
Cheers
Gary

KeithB1
Posts: 95
Joined: Mon Aug 16, 2021 12:47 pm

Post by KeithB1 »

I just leave mine in auto now because now the weather is cold the car will only operate in EV once the engine is hot enough to generate some heat for the heating/ac system and even then will slip out of EV from time to time to allow the engine to maintain the water temp. I don't know what the purpose of the hybrid mode is-I'm still working that out. There's a graphic you can bring up on the driver's display which shows the energy flow and what's providing the power. I can't remember at the moment exactly how to bring it up but if you can't find it let me know and I'll have a play with the touch screen and steering wheel buttons and get back to you.

When the weather was warmer you could operate in ev mode much more because you didn't need the heat from the engine.
Tucron
Posts: 15
Joined: Tue Sep 07, 2021 10:55 am

Post by Tucron »

I’m still waiting for my Tucson to arrive so can’t test it myself but this video shows that the hybrid mode can store the charge in the battery whereas I assume the auto mode would use any charge available.
AndyThornton
Posts: 17
Joined: Tue Sep 07, 2021 7:41 am

Post by AndyThornton »

Hi
I have the PHEV so this is how mine operates
EV Mode - Only uses the battery but starts the ICE if demanded by the heater or to charge the 12v battery in the boot. With the heater off ( but with heated seats and steering wheel on to keep me warm) it operates in EV until the main battery is discharged. When this happens it switches to Hybrid mode (HEV) and recovers any energy from regenerative braking for use when it can. Just like a normal Hybrid.
The Auto mode allows the cars systems to switch between the two dependent on information from all the cars sensors and demand (eg heavy accelerator demand).
KeithB1
Posts: 95
Joined: Mon Aug 16, 2021 12:47 pm

Post by KeithB1 »

It's obviously going to take some time to get to know the Tuscon and all that it offers but I take some comfort from the fact that when we were talking to the salesman before buying the car he told me the car didn't have a rev counter. Well, I've found it now! If a salesman has difficulty getting to know the car, it's hardly surprising that we do!
Oreo22
Posts: 13
Joined: Sat Aug 06, 2022 5:15 am

Post by Oreo22 »

They hyundia does not use the ice to charge the 12v battery the 12v car battery is maintain from the drive battery via ab inverter there not Alternator
The modes
Auto drives the car in ev mode and ice and a combination of the two but it does not recharge the battery
Hev drive as above but also diverts some energy back to the battery from coasting and brakes engine idle lift of so anyone who driven hybrids for a long time will know this driving style
Ev it mainly drives on battery however heating will require the engine on as there no heat pump or resistive heater on the car.
I find use auto on longer journeys if I know I can access free or cheap charging if not and I know I have a few miles city driving at the end I use hev,
Pottering around town I use ev only and only use engine if I need to heat the car to demist windows however 8f I am alone the seat heat and steering wheel heat is enough to stay warm wish it had heat windscreen like volvo and Ford
Hopefully they will bring suv type ev soon as we have kona ev now which is great but the driving position is not good for me I need the van like seating of suv. The ioniq 5 is almost there
roadster
Posts: 206
Joined: Fri Feb 04, 2022 3:01 pm
Location: South Coast

Post by roadster »

As above none of these modes absolutely fix the behaviour, they just modify the thresholds at which changes occur. Electric mode biases the system towards full EV but will start the engine if full power is demanded by the driver. When the minimum traction battery level is reached the car will be in hybrid mode even when other modes are selected. The auto mode is less predictable but will tend to use HEV at higher speed and electric ( EV) at low speed. So if I am on a journey which will be significantly longer than the battery range I start off in automatic mode. If I find myself in town centres or very slow traffic queues I sometimes switch to electric mode and I will also do this if I am near journeys end and still have some battery reserve. It is also likely that the behaviour changes if the ECO mode is used as opposed to the sport mode because accelerator pedal sensitivity is a factor. If for some reason you want to conserve the traction battery charge the hybrid mode depletes the battery far slower than electric or automatic modes.
Tucson PHEV Premium
Twopan
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Jun 21, 2022 7:27 am

Post by Twopan »

Thanks for this. I have a new PHEV Tucson and the modes confuse me. The dealer was insistent that you will only ever get maximum fuel efficiency by running in EV mode until the battery depletes to c. 20% and HEV kicks in. However that may not be exactly true for a long run. If you know you will be going through long stretches of congested traffic on a big old journey, e.g. like my recent 725km blast through France, surely you want to actively manage battery power so you have enough for the congested stretches when your conventional fuel consumption is at its worst? This is also an environmental responsibility. So, I think the strategy is 1. For local trips up to 35 miles fix in EV, no question and recharge at night, 2. For a mid length, say 100 miles, auto will ration the battery more and you could fix back into EV once you are within battery range of home. 3. For a long trip, like a run through France, run in HEV from the start, switch to EV when stuck in roadworks in Rouen(!), or general urban driving, and again use up the last of the battery in EV when close to the destination. Do folks agree with this?
roadster
Posts: 206
Joined: Fri Feb 04, 2022 3:01 pm
Location: South Coast

Post by roadster »

As far as strategy goes is makes sense to take every opportunity that you can to plug in unless you are already at full charge. Beyond that the best control you have is your right foot perhaps guided by the standard dash display which shows when more juice is being used. The fancy cube display with rpm can also be useful to warn when the engine fires up. Having it run for a few seconds because you accelerated a bit too hard is annoying and wasteful.

The engine temperature gauge will show that the engine has reached a proper operating temperature and once it has it will operate more efficiently. So at higher speeds there is some rational for using hybrid mode and saving the battery for later. The engine does warm up very quickly and although it stops and starts quite often as a hybrid, temperature is generally maintained adequately. This is thanks to the electronic water pump which only circulates coolant when its necessary, and it makes you wonder why we put up with a wax thermostat for over fifty years!
Tucson PHEV Premium
DrElectron
Posts: 151
Joined: Wed Sep 22, 2021 5:37 am

Post by DrElectron »

The EV mode will run electric as much as possible, it will only start the engine to run the heater, or if you accelerate harder than the EV can handle. Switched to HEV when battery depleted.

'Auto' is the confusing one, as far as I can tell the behaviour is the same as EV
I love my car, it's just a shame it was made by Hyundai
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