Prelude fuel consumption

[Alfettaman16]

I was quite pleased to be averaging 54mpg [UK] in our new Prelude, and with a high point of 62.5mpg [UK]

But then my amazing wife went out for her first drive in the Prelude: 18 miles, cruising at 55-60 mph, focused on driving the new car (rather than worrying about mpg) and averaged 68.2mpg [UK]!

I've bet her that she won't be able to do 70+mpg [UK], but now I'm getting worried that it's a bet I'm going to lose...

 

[PR76UDE14]

I think 70 will definitely be doable. Remember coasting is actually more efficient than regen, and this car is built to glide. Though even without trying to hypermile it seems shockingly efficient, I pulled 56mpg on my test drive which included several sessions of flooring it for no particular reason. Will be taking mine on a trip around Europe, through the alps, when it arrives. Will be interesting to see how it does on proper road trip like that, was thinking actually how does the regen behave once the battery is full, which could be quite possible when riding down an entire mountain.

 

[Alfettaman16]

I think 70 will definitely be doable. Remember coasting is actually more efficient than regen, and this car is built to glide. Though even without trying to hypermile it seems shockingly efficient, I pulled 56mpg on my test drive which included several sessions of flooring it for no particular reason. Will be taking mine on a trip around Europe, through the alps, when it arrives. Will be interesting to see how it does on proper road trip like that, was thinking actually how does the regen behave once the battery is full, which could be quite possible when riding down an entire mountain.

Yes, the 'gliding mode' with regen switched off is great. It's amazing how far the car will glide when you lift off the accelerator on a smooth level road! It makes the classic hypermiling technique of pulse-and-glide feel natural and easy.

I've not tried regen braking with a full battery in the Prelude but I have in my CR-V hybrid, which has more-or-less the same powertrain. The regen braking basically 'backs off', the car reverts to conventional friction braking and the brake pedal force simulator 'retunes' so that the brake pedal feels the same as before. You can tell when it's happened because the regen/power meter stays at zero when you brake, instead of showing the amount of regen that's occurring (because there isn't any).

 

[PR76UDE14]

Yes, the 'gliding mode' with regen switched off is great. It's amazing how far the car will glide when you lift off the accelerator on a smooth level road! It makes the classic hypermiling technique of pulse-and-glide feel natural and easy.

I've not tried regen braking with a full battery in the Prelude but I have in my CR-V hybrid, which has more-or-less the same powertrain. The regen braking basically 'backs off', the car reverts to conventional friction braking and the brake pedal force simulator 'retunes' so that the brake pedal feels the same as before. You can tell when it's happened because the regen/power meter stays at zero when you brake, instead of showing the amount of regen that's occurring (because there isn't any).

Interesting, what happens with turning up the regen with a full battery using the paddles? Or does the CR-V not have them?

 

[Alfettaman16]

Interesting, what happens with turning up the regen with a full battery using the paddles? Or does the CR-V not have them?

Yes, the CR-V hybrid does have regen paddles and (in theory at least) they become less effective when the battery is full. Quote from my CR-V user manual:
"While the High Voltage battery level is full, or the High Voltage battery temperature is low, regenerative braking may become less effective"

In reality, these iMMD powertrains manage their HV battery quite cleverly, and generally avoid fully-charging. This means that they normally retain some capacity for regenerative braking - so as not to risk wasting energy.

In 'Econ' mode my CR-V is notably reluctant to charge the battery using the Atkinson engine, because it is reserving that battery capacity for regen braking, in the interest of efficiency. But switch to 'Sport' mode when on a light throttle and it immediately starts charging the HV battery, in anticipation of full power being demanded. But even then, it doesn't charge it to full capacity.

So a situation where the battery is too full to allow any regen braking is (by design) pretty rare, unless you're driving down a mountain. And there are no mountains in my bit of the UK...

 

[Alfettaman16]

Gentle 12 mile drive home from my local town today. Some heavy traffic in town, where the Prelude was mainly in EV mode. A couple of villages with 30mph speed limits, then cruising at 50-60mph the rest of the way. [19 deg.C, very light breeze, quite level terrain]

70.2 mpg UK = 58.4 mpg US

 

[PR76UDE14]

Gentle 12 mile drive home from my local town today. Some heavy traffic in town, where the Prelude was mainly in EV mode. A couple of villages with 30mph speed limits, then cruising at 50-60mph the rest of the way. [19 deg.C, very light breeze, quite level terrain]

70.2 mpg UK = 58.4 mpg US

View attachment 297

Last one to hit 80MPG is a rotten egg. Must be at least 10 mile run to count

 

[Alfettaman16]

Last one to hit 80MPG is a rotten egg. Must be at least 10 mile run to count

I agree.

• 10 miles minimum
• Photo evidence from dashboard required (say whether US or UK gallons)
• Brief description of journey (temp/weather, traffic, cruising speeds, terrain)

 

[PR76UDE14]

I agree.

• 10 miles minimum
• Photo evidence from dashboard required (say whether US or UK gallons)
• Brief description of journey (temp/weather, traffic, cruising speeds, terrain)

Will 10 miles down the Swiss alps count? Asking for a friend.

 

[Alfettaman16]

Will 10 miles down the Swiss alps count? Asking for a friend.

You would have to declare it in your 'terrain' description, and the downslope of an alp would probably be disallowed.

Of course, your could drive downhill for 5 miles then turn around and go back to where you started. After all, we don't want to disadvantage anyone just because they live up a mountain...