I think Prius Plug-in might become a big success

I've been promising myself for 6 or 8 years that when Toyota came out with a plug-in Prius, I'd buy it. I drive maybe 6000 miles a year.

Will most of those be electric miles? Yes.

Will it pay back the extra investment? No.

Is the ATP I ordered worth the extra $7.5k? Not a chance.

Is the blue a great color? No, but of those available it's the only bright and cheerful one. And it's almost the same color I was going to get for my first car, a 1966 Mustang, until I saw a different color in the showroom.

Will I enjoy the heck out of my PIP? You betcha.

End of discussion (for me, anyway).

 

That was intentional. The cost & misconceptions are enough to hold off people for awhile. I have no idea how long, but the 3-hour charge with the standard household connection makes it easy to delay. After all, it takes awhile just to decide where to physically install it.
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So now, the next question might be: Without a scan guage, how does one know that the ( engine, car, system ) is warmed up sufficiently and normal hybrid operation can be resumed. And, at this point forward can the EV charge be regenerated? By how much? Maybe you have some new ideas on this Tony. Incidently, That is a very nice mileage chart you have produced.

 

that is the reason i bought a Zenn in 2007. it was to eliminate those HIGHLY inefficient short winter trips. i would have loved to get at PIP back then. i actually came within a few hours of getting a conversion kit but balked wanting the OEM options.

but then the Leaf came along so i am good for now. the SO has a 64 mile RT commute (which is "Leaf-able") so the Prius is well used. other than that drive, its parked nearly all the time. in 11 + months of Leafdom, have only had to use Prius 5 times.

 

that is actually only half the story. gas prices have fallen 37 cents a gallon over the past month. i went from average fillups of $38-40 to the last one of $33.

another benefit of EVs. in winter, they suffer from degradation of performance just like gas cars do, but the cost per mile does not change much. i am now around 2.90 cents per mile verses 2.78 cents per mile during summer (4% reduction) despite having 20% reduction in range but only real reduction is the penalty of running heat (which i do rarely)

i have also cheated a bit. i plug in around town only long enough to preheat the Leaf (it still uses the water radiator thing for warmth) using free electricity (Blink will start charging this coming Spring so will have to move to Aero chargers which are still free and just as plentiful around here! )

 

I assume the prius phv will go through for it a normal warm up cycle. Does anyone know if this is any different than the liftback? Putting it in hybrid mode would continue to use EV for most of its power until it was warmed up. If more power is demanded than EV plus warm up supplies, does toyota allow the ice to pollute slightly more? After all it isn't poluting at all in EV mode.

 

That is a question that also interests me: Since there is no 'ICE button' to compliment the 'EV button', will the ICE always be used unless you are coasting, stopped, or braking when 'EV mode' is deselected?

 

EV button is really a toggle. You press it again and you'll be in HV mode.

 

Yes, from my understanding reading the press release.

You will have full control over how and when you want to use the battery. Of course a full acceleration would engage the full synergy drive. The interaction of the two power sources is the fun part. You control the interaction per your commute.

 

Right now with gas @ $3.25-$3.50 nationally there isn't a lot of 'spot demand' for the fuel-sippers. But this is the low point of the year. Prices begin their upward march right after Jan 1st.

Notice how TM has scheduled the rollout of the PiP and the Prius c. Both will be available, at least in some numbers, during late Spring and Summer. This Summer I think that very easily we will be averaging $4.25-$4.50 per gallon with CA, NY, IL and other spot locations over $5.00.

This will coincide right when the public looks to ease its pain by visiting their local Prius store to see all four choices in the flesh.

 

Until the full specs are published it appears to me that the EV potential during a drive is like a savings account. Subject to correction, as I understand the 'buttonware' in the pics...

• In normal conditions one could start in EV Mode for a certain distance, e.g. 3 miles
• Hop onto high-speed roads, turn off EV in favor of PWR/ECO as with the hybrid model, drive for a certain distance, e.g. 20-100 miles
• Join local traffic again for 3-5 miles.
• Stop, get out, take care of business.
• Reverse the trip and return home with an empty charge.

IOW for most normal driving, you'd only use the EV capability when and where you choose to use it - until depletion. This is a HUGE advantage IMO ( if in fact it's in the final design ) over the competition at this time. It's very Toyota-like to design the power-use options like this. We'll see though in a few weeks.