PHEV Prius for $48,000????

It depends on the optional equipments (including range?) loaded with the PHV Prius.

For HOV lane access, it is a great car not only as a commuter car also the family car for the price. Leaf may cost less but it is limited to 60-100 miles.

 

I would love Navigation/Bluetooth if they can squeeze it in- I know they are trying to get as many MPG as they can (lightening the load as much as possible). In California we are required to be Hands-free .

 

Well, it needs to have GPS so it can show nearest charging station like the Leaf. 17" rims and AT package are not suitable for PHV Prius so V is a no no.

A larger solar panel (without sunroof) that is capable of recharging the PHV battery would be nice.

I'd say II, III or IV with PHV10 or PHV20 option would be nice.

 

I expect it higher and I think it's going to sell quite few units, only the most hardcore Prius fans will buy one as it will be well and undeniably out of any range of economical prudency if you simply crunch the numbers.

Not a chance in hell I'm afraid.

Batteries in this thing are worth more than a house. I think it unlikely that Toyota is going to have to artificially raise prices on this so that it doesn't leech off other Prius sales. My guess is that Toyota has been so long to bring a simple plug in to market because costs have been so outrageous.

 

We know Toyota would bring out the production PHV Prius with the next gen "tri-metal" lithium battery. Nissan is also working on it as well for the next gen Leaf to double the range. This leads me to believe that the production PHV Prius will also have double the current prototype's range.

PHV Prius's battery pack is modular and allows Toyota to offer it in different range options. The prototype has 1 main-pack with 2 sub-packs and it only use it one at a time. I can imagine PHV Prius with no sub-pack, 1 sub-pack or 2 sub-packs.

Assuming the "tri-metal" PHV Prius would have double the current prototype EV range, we will have the following:

PHV Prius ONE: 3.5 kWh (8.5 miles - main-pack)
PHV Prius TWO: 7 kWh (17 miles - main w/ 1 sub-pack)
PHV Prius THREE: 10.4 kWh (26 miles - main w/ 2 subpacks)

Remember there is $2,500 tax credit for 4 kWh and $417 for additional kWh. If Toyota is wise, they would make the PHV One with 4kWh.

 

RE: "This leads me to believe that the production PHV Prius will also have double the current prototype's range."

That kind of defeats the whole concept of rolling out a bunch of prototypes to do real-world testing of the car, that most likely, will go into manufacturing.

While what you describe may someday be an option, I think there's almost zero chance that would happen in it's first model year. With all the debacles that Toyota underwent this past year, the very last thing they need right now is to not be completely, as in 100% certain, that this new product is bullet proof. IMO, there will be a gradual phase in of this technology/capability.

And as I said to all those that want to be the first to jump on the new technology....rest assured that what you buy next year, will be old news in 2 or 3 years. It seems to me that many new approaches and technologies will be making their way to the market place within the next few years, so I don't expect the capabilities of next years PHV to look like those of the PHV in 3 years from now.

But we'll see.

 

You have a point. "tri-metal" can be used to reduce cost and keep the same range.

 

Toyota Link Please? We keep hearing that story ... even Gen II & III's being sold at a loss. Yet you'd think toyota would'nt be in business with that kind of business plan.


$48K for a PHEV prius? Come this October, let's see if the Volts sell at that price first. After all, what with Dealer Markups ... many WILL be paying that much . . . . or not.

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I think if Toyota wants to keep their market share, the PHV prius needs to become the standard product. It has already been established that something like 50% of current Leaf pre-orders are from people who already have a hybrid (probably a Prius)

14 miles is not a lot, but it would still drastically reduce a persons gasoline usage, especially if charged more than once a day. And they could always argue it was better than the Leaf because of unlimited range and refueling like a traditional car (essentially the same argument GM uses for the Volt)

If battery cost is an issue, then I would also agree with usbseawolf2000 that Toyota should sell the car with multiple range options.. or BETTER YET - Make each and every Prius "future upgradeable" to PHV. So that way the car salesman can tell the customer, "Well, you can buy this base model Prius for $25,000 and if later on you decide you want PHV capability, bring it back and we can install the battery packs and charger for X amount of money."

That would give the Prius a huge market edge, because people would be able to buy the Prius without worrying if their car is going to be made obsolete by other EV and PHV cars.

 

If people can charge at work, 14 miles could cover 68% of the "Home -> Work -> Home" commutes. People with longer trips can still benefit from the 14 miles EV.

Other daily chore trips (movies, restaurant, grocery shopping, etc..) are much shorter than that. 14 miles should cover majority of all trips, especially if you take advantage of opportunistic charges.

PHV Prius - Charge more often, save money with smaller battery pack. This is a smart way to use the expensive battery pack.

Source

 

Totally agree with the short trip MPG killer.

The number of charging stations will only increase, tilting the favor toward the smaller battery pack (to recharge often), less expensive and lighter plugin cars. The concept is simple; save money, charge often, use gas (50 MPG) if you drive far.

 

I just put down a deposit at the Palo Alto, CA Toyota dealer on a Prius PHEV. The contract says that the price will be the same as regular Prius (MSRP) + $3000 for the plug-in. So, if you go for the low end, it could be as low as $25,800 (current price) or a max of $31,070. The MSR price may go up between now and then, but it will still be MSRP + $3000. The vehicle is due between June and December, 2011, and will be designated as a 2012 model. The $500 deposit is completely refundable until they get a couple of demo cars in. At that time, after doing a vehicle check and test ride, I will order the package and color I want and wait until they get it in stock. Alternative is to cancel order and get deposit refund.

Of course, tax and title will be added on to these prices. I did some quick calcs based on my driving (15,000 miles/yr) and it looks like it will take about 4 to 5 years to recoup the investment in the plug-in option. For me, given the "green" value of the car, it is a no-brainer to pay $3,000 for the plug-in capability. Of course, if we had higher gasoline prices, the payback would shorten considerably. So, you can also look at the $3K as insurance from higher gasoline prices.

The relatively short EV range is ideal for our family (wife and one 20-yr old, mostly away at college), as most of our trips are short. No long commute. My recommendation for a long commute is move or change jobs :>) We have a family rule that whoever is driving the furthest that day, drives the Prius. The flexibility has saved us a lot of gasoline.

 

A $3000 premium? Sounds too good to be true! Then again if Toyota plans to price and market the PHV aggressively, that might be in the ballpark. Cross our fingers!

 

I have a written contract for this, so I believe that it is good AND true. Rather than go for a long-distance battery, as in the Volt, Toyota is going for an EV battery that is a perfect compromise for many drivers. With the addition of a charging station at work, you could do a 25 mile round trip commute without using gasoline.

The salesman said that the plug-in has been available in Japan for 5 years. When I asked why it was taking Toyota so long for the US market, he said that it is Toyota policy to make an innovative vehicle work for 7 years in Japan before introducing it in the US. I do not have that in writing, so I do not know how true it is.