450h AWD Test
Lead Lap
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 527
Likes: 56
From: MA
I think you might be overestimating the power draw from rotating the rear wheels. Forget the hypothetical AWD mode. A far more common scenario for your example is If you put the car in reverse. Remember, only the rear electric motors are in play when backing up; and when was the last time you heard of a hybrid driver not being able to back up due to their batteries running low?
Pretty sure the engineers would have accounted for keeping enough battery power to allow for a simple maneuver like backing up into a parking spot; which would likely need more power than the occasional burst of AWD mode from the front wheels slipping.
Pretty sure the engineers would have accounted for keeping enough battery power to allow for a simple maneuver like backing up into a parking spot; which would likely need more power than the occasional burst of AWD mode from the front wheels slipping.
Lexus Champion
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 2,047
Likes: 135
From: AB
I had 2015 450h for two winters. My conclusion when I decided to trade it in for another Quattro based vehicle? Not for COLD winter weather.
Cabin heat never gets toasty warm in -30C with -40C windchill day. Going out to my 4 season cabin out in the middle of Rockies in deep snow
with winter tires, snow mode does not give confident feeling. Also main battery loses capacity almost 20% making the MPG figure nose dive.
So back to Audi SQ5, feel much better in winter. This past winter has been real brutal one in many years, We never had above freezing temp.
for over a month. Every day some snow flakes flying around, temp. hovering around -30C day and night. Unfortunately we have only double garage
with 3 cars. My car has to stay in a open car port in the back yard. If I had 450h I wonder it'd start every morning at touch of a button(12V battery). SQ5 did.
Tesla cars running around here too they start well and so on but drivers notice drop in battery capacity needing more than usual charging time.
Cabin heat never gets toasty warm in -30C with -40C windchill day. Going out to my 4 season cabin out in the middle of Rockies in deep snow
with winter tires, snow mode does not give confident feeling. Also main battery loses capacity almost 20% making the MPG figure nose dive.
So back to Audi SQ5, feel much better in winter. This past winter has been real brutal one in many years, We never had above freezing temp.
for over a month. Every day some snow flakes flying around, temp. hovering around -30C day and night. Unfortunately we have only double garage
with 3 cars. My car has to stay in a open car port in the back yard. If I had 450h I wonder it'd start every morning at touch of a button(12V battery). SQ5 did.
Tesla cars running around here too they start well and so on but drivers notice drop in battery capacity needing more than usual charging time.
Advanced
Joined: Sep 2018
Posts: 512
Likes: 152
From: Colorado
I had 2015 450h for two winters. My conclusion when I decided to trade it in for another Quattro based vehicle? Not for COLD winter weather.
Cabin heat never gets toasty warm in -30C with -40C windchill day. Going out to my 4 season cabin out in the middle of Rockies in deep snow
with winter tires, snow mode does not give confident feeling. Also main battery loses capacity almost 20% making the MPG figure nose dive.
So back to Audi SQ5, feel much better in winter. This past winter has been real brutal one in many years, We never had above freezing temp.
for over a month. Every day some snow flakes flying around, temp. hovering around -30C day and night. Unfortunately we have only double garage
with 3 cars. My car has to stay in a open car port in the back yard. If I had 450h I wonder it'd start every morning at touch of a button(12V battery). SQ5 did.
Tesla cars running around here too they start well and so on but drivers notice drop in battery capacity needing more than usual charging time.
Cabin heat never gets toasty warm in -30C with -40C windchill day. Going out to my 4 season cabin out in the middle of Rockies in deep snow
with winter tires, snow mode does not give confident feeling. Also main battery loses capacity almost 20% making the MPG figure nose dive.
So back to Audi SQ5, feel much better in winter. This past winter has been real brutal one in many years, We never had above freezing temp.
for over a month. Every day some snow flakes flying around, temp. hovering around -30C day and night. Unfortunately we have only double garage
with 3 cars. My car has to stay in a open car port in the back yard. If I had 450h I wonder it'd start every morning at touch of a button(12V battery). SQ5 did.
Tesla cars running around here too they start well and so on but drivers notice drop in battery capacity needing more than usual charging time.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 1,404
Likes: 215
From: Texas
Interesting about the cabin not being warm in cold temps. We live in the mountains and it has been -20 many nights, and I have not noticed the cold having an effect on ours. I wonder if there is a difference between the 3rd and 4th generation hybrids in that regard. The mileage is definitely decreased, but then I never bought either of our hybrids for gas savings. There are just too many other benefits of hybrids. All 12 volt batteries are affected by cold, but at least the hybrids 12 volt just needs to retain enough juice to run the electronics and not crank the engine. I do not know the effect that cold has on traction batteries.
Advanced
Joined: Sep 2018
Posts: 512
Likes: 152
From: Colorado
I live in Texas and we don’t get anywhere near as cold as what Htony experiences. I have noticed a very sharp drop in MPG when the temp falls below freezing. Battery life is also decreased, but it’s never been a problem for me as it rarely drops below the 20s here. The opposite is also true. On a hot summer day with the A/C blasting & seat coolers on high, the hybrid battery can’t keep up. I’m not sure why, but the MPG doesn’t drop as sharply in the summer as it does in the winter. Overall, the RX is probably the best hybrid SUV on the market, but it wasn’t designed for any kind of deep snow or off-roading. If you regularly drive in deep snow, this is the wrong vehicle.
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