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Using a 450H+ without charging often


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Hi All, first post.  I have no doubt that this question has been asked before, but I've been through the forum and I am unable to find an answer.  

I have ordered a NX 450h+ through work, as far as I can see I have had really good deal, coming in at £22 less a month than I am paying for my partners Seat Arona 1.0.  This will be replacing both our cars as we are cutting back to one.  I couldn't turn it down.  I don't live in a house with a drive so a home charger is out of the question.  I intend charging it only infrequently if I have a long drive ahead of me to assist with fuel economy.  I am prepared to take the hit in fuel economy as I generally drive alone and the weight of the Battery I assume is only about the same as carrying a passenger in the car.  I have a few questions:

1. Will not frequently charging the car adversely affect it?

2. If the Battery run's completely flat, what happens to the car, how does this affect performance & AWD etc?

3. How much does using the car's engine to charge the Battery realistically hurt fuel economy?

If you have any other insights into using the car in this way, please feel free to add them?  It is not too late to cancel the order for the car.  

EDIT: There is a charging station a short walk from my house, so I would be looking to fully charge it a couple of time per week.  I also do about 12000 miles give or take a 1000 per year. 

Edited by timblewee
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Hi Marc

I took delivery of my NX450h+ last month after 4 years with a NX300h. 

To answer your points - 

1- I don't think that this will adversely affect the car however having paid for the ability to plug in its a pity not to fully utilise it and your edit to say that you will charge it a couple of times a week is sensible. 

2- I have driven the car twice now where the ev Battery has run out and you barely notice the switch between ev and ice - a very slight jolt as the engine kicks in and the instrument panel changes to reflect mpg instead of miles per kWh. 

3- Have changed to the ice driving the car and charging the ev Battery at the same time. Car is noticeably noisier although far from obtrusive but mpg does suffer. I was getting an indicated 30mpg and over 13 miles gained 6 miles of charge. 

When used in hybrid mode I have been getting an indicated 47mpg which is pretty impressive and overall to date it is showing that combined with the ev I am getting 77 mpg. When in ev mode its indicating 2.6 miles per kWh. 

I am certain you will be delighted with the car and it appears you have got a great finance deal. 

If you have any further questions then I am happy to help. 

 

 

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That sounds great Ken.

If consumption drops to 30mpg when using the engine to charge the Battery, and you are getting 6 miles of charge from driving 13 miles, then the adjusted consumption is circa 44mpg (unless I’m missing something). 
I guess driving further will be needed to substantiate the average charge added but if you’re getting circa 47mpg in normal hybrid mode then it’s probably not worth it.

Can’t  wait to my hands on ours and experiment a bit.

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2 hours ago, RXtoNX said:

That sounds great Ken.

If consumption drops to 30mpg when using the engine to charge the battery, and you are getting 6 miles of charge from driving 13 miles, then the adjusted consumption is circa 44mpg (unless I’m missing something). 
I guess driving further will be needed to substantiate the average charge added but if you’re getting circa 47mpg in normal hybrid mode then it’s probably not worth it.

Can’t  wait to my hands on ours and experiment a bit.

Hi Paul

Yes your calculation is indeed correct and as you say a longer journey will be needed to get a better indication. Big downside of this mode is the raised engine note - sitting at traffic lights it's as though you are revving the engine for take-off! 🤔 Certainly not the usual "waft along" that you can enjoy in a Lexus! 

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Hi,

ihave a 450h+. I haven’t put that many miles on it since we have been on extended holiday a couple of weeks after taking delivery. What I can say to your questions is……..

The ev Battery never goes flat. Normally, car will run in ev mode until charge gets to about 30% charge, it then automatically goes into hybrid mode and runs intermittently between petrol engine and ev as required. If you check your trip report in Lexus link after a journey you will see ev mode highlighted in blue.

I can honestly say I’ve never noticed or felt the changeover in either direction, other than dash display changing.

As for charging prior to a long run; I don’t think this will provide much benefit. You will have around 40 miles in ev mode then car will switch to hybrid. You can of course force car into charge mode and this will preserve ev Battery if you wanted.

Edited by zanderblue
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