2010 Prius Plug-In - 60 MPH EV, 13 Mile Range, 1.5 Hour Recharge

The battery weight is 160kg(353lbs) in contrast to normal 40kg(88lbs).
Prius Plug-In Photo-impression (Japanese only)

The vehicle weight is 1,490kg(3,285lbs) vs normal 1,350kg(2,976lbs), 140kg(309lbs) difference.
It looks the battery pack structure is very strong.

Ken@Japan

 

Thanks for the link! Wow! Those photos are Excellent!

Have you seen the actual pack (or maybe you can read it and translate), and if so, what would you estimate the height of the battery pack is? (it appears to extend from the just under the floor of the trunk all the way down to the ground - how high off of the ground is it?)

Does the battery double as heated rear seats?

 

Ouch, seriously heavy.

The Tesla 53 kWh pack weighs 409 kg or about 7.6 kg / kWh.
The PHEV Prius 5.3 kWh pack weighs 160 kg or about 28.3 kg / kWh.

 

Seem's awfully heavy for only adding about 4Kwhr beyond the existing Prius's battery pack. Plus, the new battery pack is Lithium tech instead of NiMH. I seem to remember that a 5Kwhr A123Systems battery pack (minus the structural support) was only about 100 pounds.

 

apparently the extra weight is casing and additional charge management? even if it was NiMH, it would not have been that heavy with all other things being equal

**edit**

strike that comment... bad math. used useable charge, not total capacity for the math...

 

Great! They are prismatic cells. Tesla used laptop cells (cylinder). Prismatic (rectangular) cells should save volume and weight. It seems the casing weights a lot, probably for safety.

 

Plastic Case Prismatic Module | Panasonic EV Energy Co., Ltd. gives the NiMH module's weight as 1,040 grams. 28 modules therefore weigh 29.1kg. The casing etc for the standard HV battery must weigh about 11kg.

That PHEV battery casing looks like solid steel of the same sort of grade used in server computer chassis. Heavy stuff.

 

+1
I'm sure the heavy duty structure could pass the roll-over crash test.
Does anyone know if a Prius with the Hymotion pack or other plug-in mod had been done a roll-over crash test?

Ken@Japan

 

I haven't ever come across regulation or certification info for aftermarket mods for hybrids. My guess is only the automaker's factory options are required to be that robust.
.

 

Thank you!
I can understand the crash test is mandatory for automakers.
In Japan, we can't drive a modified vehicle unless it is certified by the government inspection.
For an individual person, the certification can be done by a paper statement of the structure strength math.
Anyway, driving a vehicle on a public road by following kind of mod, without the government inspection, is illegal in Japan.
http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...lectric-vehicle-mod-under-way-bristol-uk.html

How about your countries?

Ken@Japan

 

It seems to me that the Plug-in Prius now being offered in a limlted test mode is moving the whole concept of the original hybrid design from "gas powered with electric assist" to a whole new animal, which is "electric power with ICE engine assist".

Given that, the car power train really needs a whole new re-optimized set of design parameter trade studies, incorporating a much smaller ICE configuration to supply power assist for extended range capability. Maybe that is where the series hybrid starts to look better. And isn't this what GM are pursuing in the Volt? Ultimately though, you just want to get rid of the damned ICE with all its associated paraphernalia. (An excellent article on this issue is at: NewEnergyNews: HOW HYBRIDS WORK)

Given the data quoted in this thread, I see the current incarnation of the PIP as strictly an interim step, and well off the optimized power-train configured for maximum energy efficiency. Another major constraint is the replenishment time on the electrical plug-in power side, as well as properly accounting for that energy source.

I'm sure Toyota (and others) has teams working these problems; there are a bunch of "what ifs" to consider.

 

Hymotion did test the roll over test and they included a picture toward the bottom. They just dropped it with the Prius upside down....



Hymotion :: Enabling the new generation of hybrid owners to maximize their fuel efficiency

 

i am not sure where are you getting the Volt vibe from Prius PHEV, but it certainly is not there. Prius PHEV will give you electric range for your daily commute and still full HSD capatibility when you are going on longer trips.

Volt is completly different beast. I cant help to wonder if GM went with series hybrid just to make something different. I guess we will see once we get out of juice numbers for Volt.

 

The Toyota PHEV looks like a very conservative design, overbuilt and under-rated. I do think the pack could be a little lighter then what they have come up with but I can not fault them with the design goals they have picked. Maybe as a first gen design they want to make sure everything is perfect and will reduce weight and structure after they have some experience with vehicles on the road.

 

thats my thinking... additionally, when it comes to Japanese and European drivers, it is city mileage that is by far the worst in traditional petrol engine. I get 12 MPG in my GS350 AWD in purely european city driving during winter... I get 22 MPG at 100mph highway driving in Winter.

Where will I spend battery power? In city of course... same goes for lesser powered car, Auris 1.6l that is one of the top cars in its class for mpg, will get 19 MPG in real city driving in Europe and >33 MPG on highways... where will i spend phev power?

edit: of course, i should include Prius.... 40 MPG in the city (Gen2), 70 MPG on the highway... I didnt have enough time with Gen3.

 

The opinion may change according to where you live. I confirm that I wasted gas today in my Prius because I prefer to heat the cabin when I drive the car. It also help to see outside. Temp today was -19°C (~0°F). If I had a plug-in, I would prefer to use a heat pump rather than quickly draining the batteries to create heat (electric heater)...

To me, this is actually brilliant.

 

Let me put this out here so Doug can read it ;-).

As most of you know, Europeans love diesels... between 40% and 60% of European car sales are diesels. Several facts of diesel engines in Europe:

- Diesel option is $3000-$4000 more expensive than similar Petrol engine! (even in small cars like Yaris!)
- Diesels are seen as PREMIUM options by European drivers. This is why:

1. Diesels are much more poweful. What is the fastest Toyota Avensis on the market? 2.2 D4D 177hp? A bit slower one? 2.2 D4D 150... a bit slower? 2.0 D4D... and next? 2.0 4cly petrol. Even the slowest diesel is faster than 150hp petrol engine - it is because of the turbo that creates low down torque - forget the 0-62mph numbers, passanger vehicle diesels push you back when you accelerate.

2. Diesels get better mileage - up to 25-40% better real life mileage.

3. Due to combination of both above, Diesels receive much better residuals... almost nobody will buy used petrol cars larger than Corolla.

So for Prius PHEV to work for European market, they have to make the system so it is faster than HSD, because with that, people will more easily swallow the high cost of PHEV. Of course, HV/Power buttons/modes are crucial here. Give someone PHEV Prius, 20km range for Europe... make it 4k Euros more expensive, and it will only work if it is also faster than regular Prius.

This is how diesels gained dominance in Europe. It is very rare to see top spec car purchased that is not an diesel. Base models are petrols and then top spec cars are diesels.

 

p.s. if it ends up being 22hp more than regular prius, than thats perfect.

Weight differences between European Toyotas with petrol and diesel engines:
Auris 1.6l petrol vs 2.0l diesel - 140kg.
Avensis 1.8l petrol vs 2.2 diesel - 140kg.

 

Regarding to mpg number in charge-sustain-mode...
Prius plug-in: same as normal Prius = 50 mpg combined
GM Volt: 300 miles by 8 gallons = 38 mpg
2011 Chevy Volt: Eight-Gallon Fuel Tank Assists 340 MPG Range

It looks Prius plug-in is the winner.

Ken@Japan

 

Volt is a 40 miles EV (YMMV) + 38 MPG (comparable to gas only Cruze) car.

Prius is a 15 miles EV (YMMV) + 50 MPG Prius.