Using “Engine Coasting” For More MPG

I’m not sure if it’s the correct name for the method but I’m coining it here “Engine Coasting” is the practise of using a Hybrid vehicle’s momentum as well as a reduced rev to effectively maintain or reduce the speed at which you decelerate whilst still keeping the MPG well above 80.

To achieve Engine Coasting, bring your car to the desired speed and keep your revs at the point where you are maintaining that speed exactly, then pull back on the throttle to about two thirds. Your MPG will jump to around 80 / 90 MPG and your car will start to slow down, but it will slow down very slowly allowing you to “coast” at high MPG for quite some time.

This technique is particularly useful if you know you will have to slow down some distance from your location. Take this example:

You are driving at 50 mph and returning about 60 MPG and you know that up ahead around 1 mile away is a roundabout. The traffic ahead of you is driving at around 55 / 60 mph. In a mile the traffic ahead will come to a stop to navigate the round about so you *know* you can safely start to decelerate slowly now and still catch up with the traffic shortly. If you maintain your speed and revs you will get 60 MPG up to the point where the traffic starts to slow down, or you can “Engine Coast” at around 80 MPG and reach your traffic a little later with much more efficiency. Pull back on the revs until you are returning 80 MPG and watch your speed. It will start to reduce slowly but because the traffic has started to slow ahead of you, you effectively reach the round about at the same time but at 80 MPG instead of 60 MPG.

Dashboard Camera in a Hybrid Yaris

So I’ve been pondering the purchase of a dashcam for some time now and looks at tons of reviews including the amazing BlackVue DR500GW-HD. I came to the conclusion that the BlackVue DR500GW-HD was the way forward but there were a couple of issues that I was still concerned about.

The first issue is that the DR500 uses a sticker to mount instead of a suction cup. I am not a fan of sticking anything permanently to anything else. The second issue is that it costs a bomb.

After some thought I realised that I already had a very capable GPS enabled high-definition 1080p camera in my pocket in the form of the Samsung Galaxy S4. I searched around and found the AutoGuard android app. It records video, sound and GPS position / speed and there is a free version for those who don’t want to pay £1.80 for it (you cheapskates).

The free version does everything the paid version does except it cannot record in background mode so you can’t use your phone for anything else like sat-nav. AutoGuard has a cool feature that will start recording on an event like being connected to your car’s bluetooth so it was perfect for the Yaris with built-in phone bluetooth and audio I was already using.

After a quick setup and mounting it to my windscreen, here is the result:

It is obvious that I need to reduce vibration and bring the camera closer to the windscreen for maximum clarity but all in all not a bad result! Certainly beats spending £200+ on a separate device!

Tips From a New Hybrid Owner

When I first got my Yaris Hybrid I was told a couple of things from the dealership:

1. It will take around 3,000 miles of driving to see the best results (MPG) from the car
2. The car will learn from your driving and deliver the best MPG it can from this “learning”

Well I can honestly say that I didn’t believe a word of it. I’m a computer programmer so when someone uses the word “learn” in a technical conversation related to computers (including on-board car computers) I become very sceptical. My initial average mpg was ~50ish and I was unimpressed to say the least.

Now having driven the hybrid for about 1,600 miles it really has improved so here are my tips so far that I’ve learnt as a new hybrid driver:

1. Don’t drive the car like it’s any different from a normal car when you start off… try to drive normally.
2. You get much better MPG from revving high from lights and then riding on EV the rest of the way than you do from pulling away slowly on EV and staying there for as long as you can. 2 things are happening here from what I can tell… the first is the initial high rev to get to 30 / 40 mph will charge your battery, then second, you can ride the charged battery on EV for some time. A short burst of speed at 9mpg is better than a long drawn out acceleration at 20mpg.
3. DO drive the car differently from a normal car. Yes this contradicts no. 1 but what I mean is… leave tons of room in front of you (like 10 cars worth) and loose your “gap anxiety”. The gap is a good thing. People behind you might think you’re driving like an old granny but it won’t matter when you can re-gen tons of EV power from a nice drawn-out slow-down to some lights instead of having to engage your friction brakes.
4. When you’re on a 60 mph road with traffic in front of you, drive at 50 mph instead. You’ll catch up with everyone at the next lights or roundabout but will have spent much less on fuel doing so. Ignore the tailgating moron behind you… you’re saving him money too – he just doesn’t know it.
5. The Yaris (at least mine) appears to be most economical outside of the EV mode when driving at around 50 – 55 mph. I regularly see the MPG at around ~70 when doing 50 mph.
6. Over 25 miles if I drive fast (80 mph on dual-carriageway and 60 – 70 mph on single) I get to my destination in 40 minutes. If I do it at 50 mph even on dual-carriageway sections of road I get there in 45 minutes but save almost £10 in petrol. You do the math!
7. When on a motorway or dual-carriageway, stick to 50 mph. There are two benefits to this… the first is listed above in terms of most economy and the second is that you are almost always the slowest vehicle on the road. This has the benefit of almost never having to slow down for someone in front of you and then speed back up again. Instead you can maintain 50 mph the entire way. Other drivers are not inconvenienced as they can overtake.

So that’s it for my tips so far. I’m sure more experienced hybrid drivers than me can get more out of their cars. As I continue to learn I will post more tips here!

Drive To London ~150 Miles = 72.7 MPG

82.6 MPG over 25 miles

My usual drive home from work averages ~65mpg… got it to 82.6 today!