Category: Electric and Electrified Vehicles

Discussions of hybrid, plug-in hybrid and battery powered vehicles and technology.

A final hodgepodge of regen braking questions

Regen braking Our search for common regen braking questions turned up several that require only the following short answers. — Does regenerative braking wear out tires faster? Regenerative braking has no impact on vehicle’s tires. Aggressive driving and hard braking with the friction brakes can cause damage to tires. — Should I use regenerative braking …

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The Niro is a summertime EV efficiency champ

ECO driving

EV efficiency EV efficiency, measured in miles per kWh (m/kWh), comes up short in the vast majority of electric vehicles. Most will see between three and four m/kWh, covered in some detail here. And the larger the electric vehicle, the lower the efficiency. The Kia Niro I am now driving, however, is a summertime efficiency …

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Misunderstanding regenerative “brakes”

Regenerative braking

Regenerative “brakes” In researching common questions about regenerative “brakes”, it became clear that there are serious misconceptions about the topic, all of which surround the use of the word brakes or braking. Here are some all too common questions: How much longer do regenerative brakes last? Can regenerative brakes overheat? Does regenerative braking wear out …

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How much energy does regenerative braking recover?

Regenerative braking So just how much energy does regenerative braking recover? Well, there’s quite a bit of information floating around about the topic out there, and most of it is highly subjective. That said, the best answer is “up to 20%” of an electric vehicle’s (EV) range. So, as a best case scenario, an EV …

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Regenerative braking returns to brake rotor issues

Regenerative braking I decided I wanted to answer some common questions about regenerative braking and did some Google searches. AI gave the first response (a technology, by the way, that really hurts my business), and turned up some surprises. The largest of these is yet another reference to problems with the regular, or friction, brakes. …

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So I got regenerative braking wrong

Regenerative braking I recall listening to the owner of the last car dealer I worked for explaining regenerative braking in electric and hybrid vehicles beautifully wrong. And I was sure I knew better. Well, his explanation, which included the brakes themselves, is still wrong. But I’ve had it wrong too! I was sure that I’d …

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Kia HV battery care tips include charging to 100%!

HV Battery care tips

HV Battery care tips The Kia Access app was finally made available about a week ago for the Kia Niro, and I completed the connection to the vehicle a few days later. However, a big surprise in the app were some HV battery care tips that include charging to 100% at least once a month! …

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