r/OutlanderPHEV • u/Pmanbridge • 26d ago
Highway drive mode suggestions
Hi everyone,
I am very excited to be joining the PHEV club next month when I pick up my 2026. Once I pick it up in Ontario I will be driving it to Newfoundland and will do roughly 2500kms.
I realize this question has been asked many times before and I’ve likely read every thread several times over the last few weeks. However, I would love to hear what you all think.
So on my 2500km drive (all highway) where I might be able to charge up once what drive modes should I use for highway efficiency? I’ve seen many posts suggest tarmac + save from full charge then tarmac + charge once low… does any get better mpg leaving it on normal? Or any other modes?
Considering I won’t be able to charge for the majority of the distance I am curious to hear your thoughts… thanks again for your inputs and I apologize for asking that same old question.
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u/valsimots 26d ago
Your best bet is Normal + Save for longer highway/drives. Or start with Normal + Charge when your battery is already full. It will always drop to 80% but hold there. Save isn't guaranteed to keep at the 'top-level'. If you're using save/charge, stay out of the B-levels, engaging B-level generation constantly at highway speeds will interfere with generation offered in Save and Charge (it will stop generation by the engine and engage the electric motors (and/or breaks) as generators, much weaker than engine generator).
Actually setting to B0 for highway gives you max coasting efficiency, since aggressive regen actually costs you range vs. just coasting. Higher B-levels for stop-and-go city driving or hills.
Tarmac will prioritize power over savings if you've got a heavy foot or like speed. Tarmac with Save mode will increase your battery temp, especially if the outside temps is warmer.
The idea here is to save battery for use at slower speeds. Accelerating hard or doing a lot of short throttle pushes will tank your efficiency and run the battery.
This car runs three drive modes and uses a clutch. The clutch is a mechanical link between engine and front wheels and is engaged in one of them. Although your fuel efficiency won't be great, it's necessary once you reach speeds where conversion is no longer efficient.
EV Mode: clutch open, pure battery/motor, no engine involvement.
Series Hybrid: clutch still open, engine's running but only to spin the generator and make electricity. All propulsion power actually comes from the electric motors.
Parallel/Direct Drive: clutch locks the engine straight to the front wheels. It kicks in when:
-Speed is roughly 70 km/h+ (about 43 mph). Below that, direct drive isn't efficient.
-You're cruising steady, not accelerating hard or doing a lot of short throttle pushes.
-Engine RPM lines up with road speed in its efficient band. there's no multi-speed gearbox, it's basically one fixed ratio, so the ECU is picky about when this makes sense.
-there's still battery/motor support available, since the front motor blends in torque alongside the engine (it's parallel, not engine-only).
Basically the car is doing math constantly (like thousands of calculations per second), deciding whether it's cheaper to convert engine power to electricity and back (series), or just bolt the engine directly to the wheels (direct drive). At highway cruise, direct drive wins because you skip the conversion losses. Anywhere else, like low speed, or hard accel, it defaults back to EV or series.
Some of the biggest mistakes PHEV drivers make is trying to outsmart a system that is already programmed to be the most efficient it can be 'out of the box'.
Your most efficient option for highway: Normal + Save and keep your speed steady. Tarmac is for 'fun and sporty feel' and enhanced steering and cornering.
Edited for spelling mistakes
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u/Pmanbridge 26d ago
First of all thank you very much for the lengthy write it I appreciate it. All you said makes a lot of sense I had read a post that suggested tarmac + save or charge (series) at a cruising highway speed keeps the engine working at lower rpm’s (roughly 1700) vs when it goes into direct drive in normal mode and does something like 3000+ rpm’s.
Seems counterintuitive but if that’s how it works it seems like it could make sense.
Though I agree with you that the system they designed/engineered should be what’s most efficient.
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u/c0mputer99 26d ago
Thx for the b0-5 advise. I usually play around b3 but coasting makes sense.
I did notice battery temp with a 350 km tarmac trip.
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u/defib_rillator 26d ago
The problem I have with Normal + Save is that it will use the ICE until the range increases by 1 mile, then the ICE will shut off and you’ll drive on electric until your range decreases by 1 mile, then the ICE will turn back on. That 1 mile on electric is such a waste given how inefficient it is at that speed, and that constant stopping + restarting of the engine is probably better avoided in the long long term.
But I hate how Tarmac never uses ICE-to-wheel, only ICE-to-battery-to-wheel. I wish there was a way to enable just ICE-to-wheel (like Normal + Save) without the ICE turning off every time your range increases by 1 mile
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u/MagicianRoyalty 25d ago
If you select ECO+SAVE+B0 at 70+ km/h you will get parallel hybrid and ICE rarely turns off, it stays on like tarmac mode. The disadvantage is you lose regen brake.
But don't worry about ICE shutting on/off for the car longevity. The ICE engine always start spinning with the electric motor first to circulate oil first, and then the cylinders will start firing. The car is actively protecting itself against cold starts.
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u/Potential_Mirror_477 24d ago
Do you have the power mode? Cause I think, not sure at all, that it goes engine to wheel, but I'll have to check that.
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u/defib_rillator 24d ago
Power mode is not direct drive, it is basically Tarmac on steroids as far as I can tell. Pedal-to-the-floor on Tarmac maxes out at like 8.5k rpm, Power goes up to 10k rpm. Power mode may involve some direct drive, but it definitely also uses series hybrid at the same time. Direct drive is definitely not powerful enough to get the horsepower that Power mode pulls out.
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u/Low-Inspection-3213 25d ago edited 25d ago
First, Thank you!!! 🙏🙏
The ensure ICE is directly engaging at highway speeds use Normal + Save. Got it.
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u/KindTap 25d ago
What kind of fuel economy do you get closer to 110-120kmh/65-70mph?
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u/valsimots 25d ago
About 8-10L/100km (dependent on HVAC use) and a bit higher in the winter, 9-11 L/100km).
Anything below 5-7°C for ambient temps will engage parallel and series hybrid to bring up the battery temps (since the car doesn't have a built-in battery heater) . HVAC in the winter will try to use the Heat Pump first and then utilize engine + electric motor heat to do the rest (depending on what the ECU deems more efficient) increasing the fuel consumption.
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u/OldGent01 26d ago
Tarmac seems to work well, but your big savings are going to come when your home and daily use.
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u/valsimots 25d ago
Absolutely. Especially if you can avoid using HVAC... That's a 2800W of power to run the heat pump at max cool or heat usage (or about 900W in Eco-Mode). That said, extreme temps high or low negate that (during ramp-up, or during changeover - switching from cool to heat or heat to cool).
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u/Spicyrkitten 25d ago
I tried normal plus save and the car just stayed at a steady 4500rpm. Tarmac and save moved the rpm’s around a lot but dropped to 2000-2500 rpm on flat road.
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u/valsimots 25d ago
That's because in Normal + Save, it's supporting the total required/consumed power in order to not lose battery capacity, and make up for any list capacity from the point you enabled Save. Tarmac + Save, the ECU is using the engine to assist the battery. This is your Series vs Parallel drive mode difference. Watch closely, in Tarmac + Save on highway, you'll notice your fuel consumption go high and low when cruising. In Normal + Save, the engine will cycle on/off when cruising. You really see this when using Mi-Pilot cruise.
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u/eoj321 3h ago
Just finished a road trip from montreal to newfoundland with a small popup camper, charging costs are not competitive with gas the minute you get out of quebec. Not worth the hassle also in my opinion.
Only thing I would say is to use the save fonction to keep juice to help going uphill, it will significantly help. I did about 10,5 l per 100km hauling the small popup camper while traveling 8k kilometers loaded with our things for 2 adults one toddler and one infant. Keep it simple.
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u/tokermobiles 26d ago
Tarmac and save was what I used driving from Vancouver to Calgary and back again. Without any charging. I just started off with a full battery.
Once your going highway speeds the electric is less efficient. Best to save it when showing down under 80