How 'bout this PM review?

When running on gasoline cannot match a conventional hybrid?? Boy, I would like to see how they came to that conclusion! And I wonder where they got their mpg ratings. I thought the plug-in had a higher mpg rating that the standard Prius.

 

I think they are saying without ever plugging the car in, which defeats the whole purpose.

It should be Energi SEL. There is no SE version.

The Volt has some serious range issues due to the design. We couldn't get the cabin cool when we test drove it. Four seats, another not for us....

SCH-R530M ? 2

 

Prius Plug In, only three stars and a lot of negatives? Here's a Toyota Prius statistic nobody can touch. Five million and counting...

 

All the car reporters say the Prius is numb and doesn't handle well and blah blah blah. They're pretty much all biased against it and that's what the reports say.

The Volt is more fun to drive than the Prius. But how much fun driving do you do in a day? On the way to work and back, and errands not really any opportunity or reason to drive aggressively. If you want to buy a plugin hybrid and take it to the track regularly, then perhaps the handling and "fun factor" are actual factors. But for 99% of the people, no problem.

 

I for one do not enjoy driving; it is simply a means to get me from one place to another. The fact that the Prius does not handle like the SLK32 AMG that my son used to have does not bother me in the least. Others enjoy driving; to each their own.

 

...they miss the point that the Prius is the most practical family car with plenty of room for 5 people and loads of cargo space, and then there's the stuff on the roof rack. PiP arguably the the cleanest of the bunch, but that gets into individual value judgements of how to best fuel-up cars of the future.

 

Everyone poo poos on the prius. I love my car. Wish I had a bit more range, but it gets amazing gas mileage for my usage.

The volt does not have comfortable rear seats. It's just not convenient if you haul stuff or head to the airport with bags.

I sold my Honda Civic Hybrid and wanted a larger car with greater than 80 mpg. I got it.

If you regret buying your car then trade it in for something else. Otherwise stop reading the reviews and enjoy your ride. I know I love mine!


iPad ? HD

 

This review brought to you by the good folks at Mobil Exxon.......

 

The claims that those aspects of performance would win over consumers who didn't have "fun to drive" as a priority clearly didn't pan out.

Practical & Affordable come out ahead in the end.

 

pm has been making a living on this kind of drivel for over a hundred years. i gave up on it a long time ago, they're living in the stone age.

 

Not me either. The car is perfect for my needs.

 

Popular Mechanics.

 

We only have the PiP and the Volt/Ampera as a choice in the UK.

I tried both, I got the PiP. Simply, it suits my purpose significantly better than the Volt - in particular I couldn't get anything like the published EV range - by a factor of (50%). I found that after EV had gone the mpg was just horrible - negating the effect of having a more capacious battery in the first place, at least on my 50-mile commute.

Oh, and it has the worst dash of any car I've ever seen - just an apparently random jumble of tiny buttons!

That, plus the fact that the Prius can be used as a normal 5 seat car in all respects was enough to sway me away from the attractions of the Volt - and I could see some, its power delivery in particular.

 

My reasons were the same as Bonefish Blues'; I was leaning towards the Ampera for ages, but the four seats plus poor mpg post-electric decided it. The best comparison review I read, can't rember where, said the Ampera was the one your heart wanted because it was so much closer to a true EV, but the PiP was the one your head chose. Plus the demonstrator PiPs were being sold off cheap by dealers well before the Amperas...

I think we exported Top Gear to you, for which I can only apologise. The UK team hate Prii because they don't satisfy the needs of petrol heads. In general the problem with car shows/mags is that the specialists who control them have no idea what ordinary drivers want.

 

exactly.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/09/automobiles/autoreviews/aiming-for-the-hybrids-sweet-spot.html?smid=pl-share

nice fair write up on Energi and Accord plug ins. IMO, the same cargo space, interior room for 5 and mpg as the regular Prius are huge pluses for the PiP.

 

The PiP isn't practical for anyone who does not have a place to plug it in, and at $32,000+ it's really not affordable for many. It IS underpowered and the steering IS numb. Even putting it into PWR mode only helps slightly. Keeping the vehicle in EV mode when power is needed is an art. Those are just a few things that need improvement. There will be many more hybrid and EV options available the next time I need a car. Prius will have to keep up if it wants to be one of them.