I’m Seeing Confusion About How Toyota Hybrid-Electric Vehicles’ EV Mode Works and What It Is For, Even From Respected Media Members - Here Is How EV Mode Proves Useful In Real-World Scenarios
Hybrid electric vehicles are presently the fastest-growing powertrain segment in America. With more market share than battery-only vehicles, and with Hybrid-electric vehicles adding share with each passing month, we felt it was worth explaining one very convenient and helpful feature of hybrid-electric vehicles - EV Mode operation.
Our story was inspired by one of our favorite vehicle testers, Ryan from Driving Sports TV. In his recent RAV4 Hybrid video, he discusses EV mode and he seemed to have trouble imagining where EV Mode might be useful. You can see his comments at time stamp 10:40. One thing we loved about his video (there are many things, actually) was that he demonstrated that the RAV4 Hybrid is all-wheel drive when EV Mode is engaged.
A Short Overview of Normal Hybrid Mode and All-Electric Driving
Toyota hybrid-electric vehicles will operate on electric power alone quite a bit in normal driving. For example, when I start my own Toyota hybrid-electric vehicle (2024 Venza) in the morning and then exit my garage, the vehicle rarely starts its engine. Instead, I can exit without filling the garage with products of combustion from the engine, drive out to the driveway, go up my driveway’s hill, and turn on the street before the engine plays any role. This is one example of a hybrid-electric vehicle operating in all-electric mode on its own, with no special vehicle mode being selected. When I stop at a red light or stop sign, the vehicle will pause its engine. If I am in traffic or slowly navigating a parking lot, the engine is off. In addition, if I coast on a road or highway or if I am driving downhill, the engine is normally off. All of these are normal examples of how the battery and three electric motors act as the propulsion for the vehicle.
EV Mode is similar but somewhat different in its abilities. It allows a hybrid-electric vehicle to operate in all-electric mode with no engine assistance for extended periods of time and in certain circumstances where all-electric, emissions-free driving suits the surroundings and situation.
How EV Mode Works
EV Mode in a Toyota hybrid-electric vehicle enables a longer period of uninterrupted all-electric driving. As we illustrated above, the vehicle will automatically disable the engine when it makes sense to do so in normal driving. EV Mode goes quite a bit beyond that. It allows for multiple minutes of driving using only electric propulsion. The maximum speed is 25 MPH before the EV Mode will revert to standard Hybrid Mode operation. Let’s look at examples where EV Mode may prove useful in the real world.
EV Mode On Campus and In School Zones
Visit any large college campus today, and you will see that most of the roads have speed limits under 25 MPH. There are crosswalks everywhere, speed humps and speed bumps galore, and students on electric scooters and bikes all around you. Nobody wants to hear your engine. Nobody wants emissions in these enclosed pedestrian safety zones. Enabling EV Mode while passing through a college campus is a perfect example of how all-electric mode in a hybrid-electric vehicle allows a vehicle owner to better fit into the environment in which he or she is driving.
EV Mode In City Centers and Town Centers
More and more city and town centers are going anti-car. It’s hard to fault the residents for being frustrated. People drive too quickly, too distractedly, and too unsafely for non-drivers to understand. City residents also put up with a lot of pollution. This is hard to pin strictly on passenger cars, but any way possible to eliminate emissions is being implemented. Some areas are being zoned emissions-free operation only. A hybrid-electric vehicle can operate in this area at under 25 MPH using EV Mode. Since speed limits are now under 25 MPH in most city centers and trending lower still, EV Mode is ideally designed to work well here.
EV Mode In Mixed-Use Vacation and Recreational Areas
Like city centers, many popular tourist destinations have a single long street that cuts directly through the middle of all the shops and restaurants. In many cases, the road separates the services and attractions from the beach or water. Examples of this are Hampton Beach, NH, Provincetown, MA, and Kennebunkport, ME. There is no need to travel more than about 15 MPH in these areas, and no need to run an engine if you own a hybrid-electric vehicle. Using Hybrid Mode allows for a more peaceful and cleaner ride through these pedestrian-dense areas.
EV Mode In Gated and Private Communities with Neighborhood Electric Vehicle Use
In many parts of America, gated communities or private communities, to use the best names available, are popular. Inside these areas, speed limits vary from 15 MPH to 25 MPH. It is common now for neighborhood electric vehicles (NEVs, golf carts etc.) to share this space. The idea is that you drive slowly and respectfully inside this zone. Here, hybrid-electric vehicles are ideal. Using EV Mode, one can operate with no emissions.
We spoke to Jackie Ferrar, a resident in one of Nevada’s suburbs of Las Vegas. She told us:
The people who live in the community get it. They drive slowly, and many have a partial or fully zero-emissions vehicle or two. Of the 1,337 speed violations our equipment recorded, most were visitors. The idea is to chill in these low-speed zones. We have kids outside, dog walkers, older folks cruising in NEVs, and a lot of joggers and walkers. Zero-emission vehicle operation is appreciated. I hear the quiet hum of hybrids driving by when I jog. I sure prefer that to hearing and smelling gassers.
EV Mode Exiting Parking Facilities
Have you ever gone to a game and parked in a garage? It can take many minutes to exit after the final whistle. Everyone creeps out of their space into the exit lane and ques up to get out of the facility. Imagine the waste and pollution of all those cars if they ran their engines all that time. Hybrid-electric vehicles in Hybrid Mode need not use their engines at all in this scenario. Inside enclosed garages, this saves energy. Such garages use CO2 and CO monitors to activate ventilation to keep the space safe for occupants. If there is no combustion inside, there is less ventilation needed. Saving energy and money. It also makes that wait much more pleasant if you’re not behind a dirty diesel.
Why A Hybrid? Why Not a BEV?
If your radius of operation is under 100 miles, by all means, buy a battery-only vehicle. We love driving EVs here at Torque News. They are smooth, quiet, and satisfying. However, they don’t suit every need or every person’s wish list for a vehicle. Hybrid-electric vehicles fit many more lifestyles and driving needs. That’s why they have more market share than battery-electric vehicles. Adding 525 miles of range to a hybrid-electric Toyota in 87 seconds is sure a lot more convenient than public charging for hours on end, and not all communities are set up well for every individual unit to have its own charger. In my town, we just added a massive housing complex with 420 parking spaces for the new residents. How many EV charging points did Acton Mass. insist on adding? Four. This is just one example of why hybrid-electric vehicles are not slowing down but growing in popularity. BEVs are great options if you have your own charger, particularly as second or third vehicles in a household. They are also outstanding performance vehicles, though there are no electric convertible sports cars on sale right now. Maybe someday.
Limitations of EV Mode Operation
EV Mode is not always right for the conditions. If you need to go more than 25 MPH, then it is not the right pick and won’t operate. If the vehicle needs the engine to operate the HVAC system or defroster, the EV Mode may be interrupted or delayed. If you use to much throttle input, the EV Mode will stop working and allow for the Normal Mode to resume so that you have full power instantly.
Want More EV Mode? There’s a Choice For that
If EV Mode sounds great to you and you’d like a vehicle with no range limits or that never has to be charged, Toyota makes plug-in hybrid versions of many popular models, including the RAV4. With these plug-in hybrid-electric vehicles, you can operate at highway speeds for up to 44 miles using only electric motors. Enough for most commutes or daily driving needs. You get the added EV Mode range, plus you can travel as long as needed on long trips and never need to plug in. Some Toyota PHEVs have total ranges of over 600 miles.
Tell us in the comments below if you think EV Mode is understood by owners.
Would you use this mode in your hybrid-electric vehicle?
Image of Toyota RAV4 Hybrid EV Mode courtesy of Toyota. Image of Hampton Beach, NH by John Goreham. 15 MPH sign courtesy of Jackie Ferrara.
John Goreham is a credentialed New England Motor Press Association member and expert vehicle tester. John completed an engineering program with a focus on electric vehicles, followed by two decades of work in high-tech, biopharma, and the automotive supply chain before becoming a news contributor. He is a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE int). In addition to his eleven years of work at Torque News, John has published thousands of articles and reviews at American news outlets. He is known for offering unfiltered opinions on vehicle topics. You can connect with John on Linkedin and follow his work on his personal X channel or on our X channel. Please note that stories carrying John's by-line are never AI-generated, but he does employ grammar and punctuation software when proofreading and he also uses image generation tools.