I don't know how the Harvester option will be implemented but these are some modes I'd like to see that I'm familiar with from my current EREV*. I have a 2014 Cadillac ELR (fancy Chevy Volt) that I've owned since new. It has 4 basic modes of operation: Tour, Sport, Mountain, and Hold.
Tour - This is the "normal" mode and what the car defaults to on startup. This will use only battery power until reaching a designer specified State of Charge (SOC). Basically you are full EV until the car decides to start running the engine as needed (it turns on and off) to maintain a safe SOC for normal driving - probably 10-15%.
Sport - Claims greater throttle response, stiffer suspension, etc. I probably used this once 10 years ago, didn't really notice a difference and haven't used it since. Everything has a Sport mode though. I believe the 2016 ELR combined the generator power + battery for increased output in Sport mode which would be more useful.
Mountain - This mode raises the minimum SOC to about 30% to keep extra reserve in the battery for long uphill climbs. If you are already below the ~30%, it will run the engine continuously until SOC reaches about 30%, then revert to maintaining that SOC (engine on/off as required).
Hold - This is driver selectable and commands the car to maintain whatever SOC it is at when it is selected. This is basically hybrid mode and is essentially what the car goes into when you reach minimum SOC in Tour mode. This lets you keep the battery full if you select it when you start or whatever level between full and when the engine is going to start coming on. I can see holding charge to be able to off-road quietly in EV or saving charge to use while camping.
I would like to see some version of these modes + a Towing mode that has some minimum SOC >the Mountain mode (60%?) as the basic drive modes. Additionally, 4WD/AWD specialty modes similar to the Ford GOAT modes like snow, mud, sand, rock crawl, etc.
*Yes, I know the engine/generator in the ELR/Volt is capable of driving the wheels in some situations but 99+% of the time, it is just generating electricity and operating as an EREV.
Tour - This is the "normal" mode and what the car defaults to on startup. This will use only battery power until reaching a designer specified State of Charge (SOC). Basically you are full EV until the car decides to start running the engine as needed (it turns on and off) to maintain a safe SOC for normal driving - probably 10-15%.
Sport - Claims greater throttle response, stiffer suspension, etc. I probably used this once 10 years ago, didn't really notice a difference and haven't used it since. Everything has a Sport mode though. I believe the 2016 ELR combined the generator power + battery for increased output in Sport mode which would be more useful.
Mountain - This mode raises the minimum SOC to about 30% to keep extra reserve in the battery for long uphill climbs. If you are already below the ~30%, it will run the engine continuously until SOC reaches about 30%, then revert to maintaining that SOC (engine on/off as required).
Hold - This is driver selectable and commands the car to maintain whatever SOC it is at when it is selected. This is basically hybrid mode and is essentially what the car goes into when you reach minimum SOC in Tour mode. This lets you keep the battery full if you select it when you start or whatever level between full and when the engine is going to start coming on. I can see holding charge to be able to off-road quietly in EV or saving charge to use while camping.
I would like to see some version of these modes + a Towing mode that has some minimum SOC >the Mountain mode (60%?) as the basic drive modes. Additionally, 4WD/AWD specialty modes similar to the Ford GOAT modes like snow, mud, sand, rock crawl, etc.
*Yes, I know the engine/generator in the ELR/Volt is capable of driving the wheels in some situations but 99+% of the time, it is just generating electricity and operating as an EREV.
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