Reserve tank

[hill]

1. You CAN NOT charge the Prius battery to 100%, the computers will cut off charging. Well, maybe if you take it to Toyota AND they have one of the rare traction battery chargers. Even then, I will bet money it won't go over 80% (full 8 bars) and possibly only to 6 or 7 bars. The car 'lives' between 4 and 6 in normal driving, 3 and 7 not uncommon and 1, 2 and 8 are relatively rare. I wish there was a way to charge it to 8 at home on a regular basis.
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It's stuffing the last bit of energy into a nearly filled battery that creates the greatest amount of heat. And heat is the enemy of batteries. That's why the VOLT costs so much more ... it has (if nothing else) a wonderful and way more costly temperature management system than the Volt, and the Volts battery management controls will help make the batteries last longer, by making certain they don't over heat.

 

[evnow]

That's why the VOLT costs so much more ... it has (if nothing else) a wonderful and way more costly temperature management system than the Volt, and the Volts battery management controls will help make the batteries last longer, by making certain they don't over heat.

The other way to look at it is - Volt is very inefficient in its use of the battery. It uses only 50% of the capacity rather than 80% like others. All because, they said, they would need to give a long warranty because of CARB regulations. Turns out they don't care about what CARB regulations say about battery warranty anyway - hmmmm ....

 

[AndyH]

http://green.autoblog.com/2010/07/22/chelsea-sexton-nissan-leaf-uses-information-as-gateway-drug/

Ok, so not quite a feature (and no pic as I didn't drive it down that far), but drivers will appreciate the vehicle's sequence as the battery gets close to being depleted. EVs have all had various warnings and limp modes, but they've been largely akin to figuring out what a gas car really means when it hits "E." In the Leaf, it's downright predictable: when 4kWh remain in the battery, the car chimes and the "nearby charger" screen automatically comes up. At 2kWh, the car will automatically shut off climate control and any other unnecessary accessories, and limit top speed. Finally, it will enter a "reduced power" mode as your final suggestion to pull over. And, in a last effort not to leave anyone stranded, drivers can even eke out another mile or so through a reserve tapped by shutting the car off and on again, in case of an "I can see the charger but just can't quite make it" moment.

 

[garygid]

It is likely that the LEAF battery type does not need extra cooling in normal use. However, it appears that the Volt's battery type does require extra cooling.

Two different battery cell chemistries, ...
and two different battery pack configurations.

 

[AndyH]

Two different battery cell chemistries, ...

Both vehicles use LiMn cells in their pack. The Volt's cells are made by LG Chem, S Korea.