I can answer some of those.

First, welcome to the club! And welcome to the "Red S" sub-club! I got mine less than a month ago...same deal, a Red 'S' that was still sitting on the dealer's lot two years after it was delivered to them. :highfive:

When you use Mountain Mode, it uses the engine to pre-charge the drive battery to a certain level (sorry, don't know what level) so that if you're going to be driving up hills, you're not strictly dependent on the power from the anemic 1.4L EcoTec engine. If you have no drive battery saved up, climbing hills with just the 1.4L is...pathetic.

You *can* use it for the purpose you've suggested, to be able to run around in town on the drive battery alone, but you've expended gas to get that charge, which is by definition an inefficient way to get the battery charged. I have a long commute, too, which is too long to make it on the drive battery alone. I keep it on the default "Tour" mode until I get on the highway, and then switch to "Hold" mode for the thirty-five miles I drive on the interstate. Once I get off the interstate, I switch back to "Tour" mode and run on the drive battery until I get to work. Going home is the same deal, BUT I try to time going back into "Tour" mode so that the battery will be just depleted when I get home. This is the most efficient use of the drive battery and your home charging capabilities.

Worth noting, I'm pretty sure the car recognizes the difference between home-charged miles vs. Mountain Mode-charged miles. Mountain Mode-charged miles will be credited to the gasoline engine, which will lower your overall fuel economy.

--Chris

 

I've done extensive testing with the different modes in the ELR and Volt. Mountain Mode will push the ICE and charge the battery up to 50% or so, but I find the application is lacking. If you leave it in Mountain Mode and you hit, well, mountains, the power is greatly reduced for "efficiency" and even in cruise-control will slow down 10 or 15 mph less than what you set it at, and the engine will scream in revs to keep you at 50%. Leaving the mode to Mountain Mode when you hit mountains is a bad idea and you should turn it back to Tour, Sport, or Hold before you get there in my opinion.

Furthermore, Mountain Mode uses a LOT of gasoline to charge-up. Just switching to Hold mode is far more efficient if you're driving over 50 mph, then switch-back to Tour when going under 50 mph. Reason being, Mountain Mode charges your battery AND your car's needs for driving as well.. DOUBLE DUTY engine use means 1/2 MPG (or so). Just stick to the Tour/Hold options.. Tour for under 50 mph, Hold for over 50 mph. I don't recommend switching back and forth all the time though, only from residential to highway and back. This gives me the best overall MPG. I'm averaging 108 MPG this way (according to the OnStar application anyway). I bought gasoline back in January and still have half a tank.

So in a nutshell, skip Mountain Mode. Sure, it charges you up but at a huge gas cost (I was getting 26 MPG for a 500 mile trip compared to 108 MPG for the return-trip using Tour/Hold).

 

I've done extensive testing with the different modes in the ELR and Volt. Mountain Mode will push the ICE and charge the battery up to 50% or so, but I find the application is lacking. If you leave it in Mountain Mode and you hit, well, mountains, the power is greatly reduced for "efficiency" and even in cruise-control will slow down 10 or 15 mph less than what you set it at, and the engine will scream in revs to keep you at 50%. Leaving the mode to Mountain Mode when you hit mountains is a bad idea and you should turn it back to Tour, Sport, or Hold before you get there in my opinion.

Curious. My experience with Mountain Mode is completely different. If I put it in mountain mode with more than about 14 electric miles remaining, it acts like tour mode, not running the ICE at all. Once electric range drops to about 14, it runs the ICE just enough to maintain the electric range at about 14.

 

Excellent information, thank you. Was I correct in saying that the drive battery charge attained through Mountain Mode does not add to your "electric miles" driven stat?

--Chris

 

Mountain mode does not engage ICE until the battery get under a 50% charge. Which is about 20 miles. After which, it will Double Duty like Mike suggests. On a long trip with a full charge, I will use Hold mode on the freeway, then move to Tour when city driving. If, however I have no charge, lets say on the way back. I will use Mountain mode to charge up the battery for the mountains ahead, and switch to hold for the remainder of the trip.

 

Mostly right. If you're above 50% then the ICE may or may not come on until you're at 50%, though if you're using the Max comfort setting, I find the ICE comes on. Ultimately the system wants to get you to 50% battery charge. If you're low, the ICE goes into overtime, if not, you're yes, in HOLD mode, yes.

 

Thank you everyone for the feedback, thoughts and experiences, much appreciated! I think I might play around with this as I do drive a lot of highway miles (varies daily - not same place each day for work) and not many hills typically.

Also, thank you for the welcome to the "Red S" sub-club. I have only seen one other ELR on the road since they have been introduced and it was black.

Mike

 

Also, thank you for the welcome to the "Red S" sub-club. I have only seen one other ELR on the road since they have been introduced and it was black.

Mike

I did not see before that you're in Toledo. I actually stopped for a few hours in your Greyhound bus station on my way to buy my car in Lima. Where did you end up getting yours?

--Chris

 

I actually purchased mine in the Chicago area. I am there for work requently.