Prius Plug-in Review in the Boston Sunday Globe

Veeery interesting article.

Thanks!

 

That's pretty good mileage for the temperatures.


I wonder what his HVAC settings were, that may have prevented to engine from shutting off.

 

Also, the Pope is Catholic.

 

I'm sure that once the whoopdi-doo settles down, you'll be able to get a PHV for less than $35,000.
That'll be less than a $10K mark-up over a G3-V.
Maybe for the model year 2014.......

 

THE BAD: Difficult to maintain electric mode, not beneficial to city dwellers, still drives like a Prius

:|

He makes it sound like you're driving a stage coach.

 

You gotta remember that whoever the car guy (or gal) is at the Boston Globe might be........wait for it!......a car guy (or gal.)

Some people think that driving the Prius is like driving an efficient transportation appliance...or a stagecoach....or whatever. The fun-to-drive factor is going to wary wildly depending on who is doing the stick and rudder thing....and not everyone is going to rave over the Prius driving experience!
Frankly, I thought it was a pretty decent review.

 

The author seemed to blast the prius that it "only" got 53 mpg in the frigid cold weather driving 9 miles at a time.

What he/she obviously doesn't get is that a standard prius would have probably gotten about 20 mpg for the same circumstances, and your typical gasoline car would have gotten about 10. I'd be surprised if a Hummer got even 3 mpg. Isn't is amazing how the Prius always gets bashed for things like this, but since other cars don't usually report realtime MPG on a computer screen, most people are oblivious to the effects of cold weather and short trips on typical cars.

Since I have a PHV conversion (Enginer) I've noticed in this really cold spell we've had here in Texas lately that I've been getting about 35 mpg on my 5 mile morning commute with the enginer kit on and without running the heater. If I turn the kit off and run the heater, I get about 20 mpg.

 

Don't forget that the newest generation is more efficient under those circumstances. I had some running around to do this morning, several very short trips in the cold. The average displayed was 36 MPG.
.

 

Threadjack on:

The globe always has strong photo content. :rockon: Here's some shots they collected of this years Dakar race. I would gladly purchase #16:

Dakar rally 2011 - Big Shots - Boston.com

Threadjack off.

:focus:

 

Funny you should say that. Here's a video review from the same site yet from a different reviewer from AAA who's name is John Paul.

Cars video and car reviews - Boston.com

 

lol. Is the pope polish? Not anymore.

The less than $10K more is from Toyota, not the reviewer. For those mad at the reviewer, he does seem like an idiot trying to plug the thing in, but its hard for me to find fault with the handling comments. The car is our prius with more weight. It will handle like a prius, and with those low rolling 15s reviews have universally commented on the substandard handling. A few reviews of the V trim, or is it 5 now that there is anouther v, with wider stickier tires commented that handling was much improved.

 

The fun factor in a Prius is smooth, quiet, unstressful driving. Makes you drive slower--and safer. And the simplicity of the electronic digital dash layout would make an astronaut smile.

 

Strange, the guy in the video says 0.65$ to recharge for 13 miles according to Toyota.

Assuming an average 10 miles on EV ONLY instead of 13 miles (year average including cold weather), this would mean 6.50$ for 100 miles (0.65$ x 10 charges).

A PRIUS Gen III does 50 mpg, at 3.00$/gallon, it would cost 6.00$ for 100 miles.

At 6.50$ for 100 miles on EV ONLY, this sounds expensive to me !! Knowing that the new PRIUS plug-in might cost up to 10k more that a standard PRIUS Hybrid!!

I currently drive 3-4 miles one way to work (6-8 miles daily).

I should be able to drive on electric all the time with the new PRIUS plug-in (charging the car at home as much as possible).

Shouldn't it be cheaper to drive on electric vs. gasoline?

Is there something wrong here with these numbers or assumptions?

Thanks for your input :canada:

 

Nothing wrong with your math. Seems solid. Wow, $3/gallon. That's cheap. More like $3.40/gallon around here and as far as electricity that's about 42% more that what I pay, including taxes, surcharges, blah, blah. And of course as everybody always does these costs stay that way forever. Money Magazine estimated the cost of the PHV to be about $3000 - $5000 more that a regular Prius (whatever that means now - Prius V or Prius v). And of course Money Magazine never changes their estimates either for payback. Actually as many cars as I've ever purchased, I've never, never, calculated fuel costs in with the purchase of a car.

And as far as fuel differences go here's the real deal:

When the electric company wants to raise rates, say 8%, they must ask the energy commission for the permission 6 months prior. They in turn hold public meetings where wailing and gnashing of teeth is often heard. Then the energy commission holds their own meetings and carries out "fact findings" and 13 months later the electric company gets a 6% raise.

The oil companies in contrast: oh crap protests, war, <fill in the blank> against the despot-of-the-day, gas magically goes up THE NEXT DAY. It doesn't even stop to be refined.

 

Yes, the bad assumption is that you will pay the same rate as the guy in the video. Use your own rate. I don't really trust what blended mileage figures are, but leaf got 0.34 kwh per mile epa. That should give you a better ball park figure. Multiply your expected average rate over the life of the car. I don't know the electric rates in montreal, but they are likely better than Boston.

I also have no idea what the phv prius premium will actually be, it would be better to wait before judging the price. I don't think they will be selling them to you until at least 2013, and I would bet the price premium will be lower by the time they get to your market.

 

Some interesting data points from the article

quote: (Toyota says it will have a single pack on the production car) are rated at about 3 kWh and replace the standard 1.3-kWh nickel metal-hydride unit. That adds about 200 pounds to the already light 3,042-pound curb weight, and isn't at all noticeable since the electric motor provides greater power.

 

And this is exactly the benefit of the PHEV. I can generate great numbers on my long commute to work (60 miles/60 mpg), but one the weekend when I am hopping from one activity to another with the kids, with just enough time in between to leg the ICE get cold again, I struggle to hit the mid 40s.

It's these short hops where the standard prius does the poorest, and the PEHV ~14 mile range, is just enough to dart around town without starting the ICE. Beyond this range and you'd be better off on the ICE, as all of us P&Gers know.

 

except, i think the phev does start the ice.

 

My understanding is that it starts the ICE a short time before it EV runs out so that it can warm up nicely before you start working it.

Anyway, if it were WTW 0.5kWh/mi it'd cost me about 7.25c per mile (0.5c price drop 3/1/2011) but even with charging losses and cold winters 0.5kWh/mile is a high estimate.