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      01-20-2013, 01:28 PM   #70
jdong
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Drives: 2013 BMW ActiveHybrid 3
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: NorCal

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Quote:
Originally Posted by toudimi
hello,

I want to buy an activehybrid 3
I have a question for you: is it possible to directly start in full electric mode even if the engine is not warm. For example in the morning you take your car and you go directly in electric mode or you must wait that the engine is at good temperature like for the start/stop system?

Because i have only 2 or 3 km in the city to go to my job and with my actual car the engine is not warm when I arrived to my job/my home.

Thank you.

Sorry for my english, I come from belgium...
No, the eDRIVE mode is only active when the engine is warm and climate control demands (heating) are sufficient.

Note that the engine takes very little time to warm to the point of satisfying this requirement. On warm days I've had the engine shut off less than a minute into driving. The main cause of the engine staying on is when it's cold outside and you're using the heater. Then it might take up to 5 minutes of driving before the engine is warm enough to satisfy climate control requests.

Also remember that pure electric driving is not necessarily the most efficient way of driving for a hybrid car like the AH or Prius. The battery is small and has to be charged by the engine. If you waste all your charge doing constant-speed driving (where the engine is very efficient), you'll end up having to run the engine harder to recharge the battery -- not to mention if you reach a hill or have to stop, the motor won't have enough power to assist you.

This car is pretty smart at managing what mode is most efficient at any given time.
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