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Prius vs Prius PiP GO!!

Discussion in 'Gen 1 Prius Plug-in 2012-2015' started by inferno, Jul 26, 2013.

  1. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

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    I don't drive it like BMW. My wife is under 150 lbs and I cannot tell the difference in acceleration when she is in the passenger seat.

    I was talking about the difference in acceleration as well as handling of PiP vs 1.5L Gen2 Prius.
     
  2. 3PriusMike

    3PriusMike Prius owner since 2000, Tesla M3 2018

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    This is a flawed analysis. More below.

    I've driven 500 miles on a tank and 3300 miles on a tank of gas. As well as 1000. In my normal daily commute I drive in EV all week. Other times I may drive a full tank with only zero or one charge. But that does not mean that I get the same mpg on gas as in my 2010 Prius. Far from it. The EPA tests do not include real world driving.

    First, when charging daily and driving a little or a lot with gas, you get better mpg on the gas portion because your EV miles handle the short trips entirely, and even on longer trips the poor mpg initial part of a trip can be done in EV, switching to HV when there are no more stop lights for the warmup period. This makes a difference of 5-10 mpg during the HV portion of a trip.

    Second, when driving longer distances (100's of miles), as I recently did a few times, the extra battery capacity allows saving up many miles of EV range (via downhill segments). The net result is, ~5 mpg increase. This pretty much makes up the entire difference in range you list. Recently, in Yosemite, I was able to drive almost 100 miles entirely in EV, starting with an empty battery.

    ----

    You also didn't list less wear and tear on the ICE...increasing the lifetime of the car. I'm close to 10K miles now and 60% of the miles are on EV. At this rate, when I'm at 100K miles, I'll have only 40K miles on the engine. Even "if" the battery capacity has degraded to where it is only as good as a regular Prius...It will be like having a PRius with only 40K miles on it at that point.

    ----

    Yes, the (lower) trunk capacity and lack of a spare are negatives, but easily outweighed by the lower fuel costs.

    Mike
     
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  3. Mark in Colorado

    Mark in Colorado Junior Member

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    I drive about 15 miles each workday and can only charge at home. Weekends vary. During daylight savings time, I bike to work about twice a week.

    There is a strong chance of a charging station being installed near my office. If that happens, I'll volunteer to drive when people go out to lunch. That will increase my EV percentage. :)

    My wife has a regular Prius. We tend to use that car to go to the mountains or down to Denver (an hour away). We do use my car for that from time to time. The car reports 75% EV driving. The 25% HV driving also includes a lot of EV miles in HV mode.
     
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  4. retired4999

    retired4999 Prius driver since 2005

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    You will make friends with everyone and get great EV range. win! win! (y) :D
     
  5. JohnSNY

    JohnSNY Member

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    Very good point. I am getting 56-57 MPG in HV mode. All of my short trips are EV.
     
  6. fortytwok

    fortytwok Active Member

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    "Gas is about double vs Electric costs"

    not even close
    We're something like 33 cents for a complete 0 - full charge out here.
    Ave range of 15 miles would make it a buck for 45 miles so maybe $1.10 if you assume the Prius gets 50mpg.

    I'd also point out the Toyota 5 yr 0% financing is worth 2k knocking the effective price to 25.5k
    Depending on driving pattern you can make that back in 2 years making this a no-brainer
     
  7. inferno

    inferno Senior Member

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    Nice. Yeah the 0% is pretty awesome. I got a 1.9% on my Prius which is pretty good. I like your math there. I don't know if I can live without my JBL system though considering we take such long rides.

    My point about the 595 miles vs 542 is straight up, not round trip charging etc. Like if you were to take it to Florida from Maine, the 3rd gen regular would fill up less gas.

    If not I would like real world examples :p
     
  8. LakeMichBoatGuy

    LakeMichBoatGuy Junior Member

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    We owned a beautiful 2007 Touring #6 in super white, but didn't care for the synthetic leather in the newer Prius models. The 2013 Base PiP is a package 3, plus: Heated cloth seats, remote air conditioning, PiP-specific aluminum wheels (without wheel covers), dark interior, and some PiP-specific accents. Our extra cost paint Blizzard Pearl car had a MSRP of 33415. Properly structured, lease + buy, from the right dealer, in the right zone, our cost was $26,850 + tax. $6565 off sticker. We plug in when we can, without obsessing, avoiding plugging in during predicted thunderstorms (every day for most of June), etc. 60mpg and climbing. I'm not sure for how much a non-plug-in package 3 can be purchased. But we really value the remote air conditioning, heathed cloth seats and wheels. I sense that the lithium batteries charge and discharge more efficiently, and the PiP feels more powerful at partial throttle around town. Unless you sit in a parking lot and drain the battery using air conditioning...and then take off...the gas engine never races or gives you that weak performance when it's trying to recharge the battery. Just my $.02
     
  9. mmmodem

    mmmodem Senior Taste Tester

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    Thanks, I never realized that as a pro. At my EV ratio, my PiP engine at 100k mile would be like a 72k mile Prius. That's like increasing the useful life of the car 30% longer, assuming the battery maintains it's charge capacity.
     
  10. stanwagon

    stanwagon Junior Member

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    And note that Toy recommends oil change every 10000 miles for the PiP as opposed to 5000 for reg. Prius. So another benefit.
     
  11. fortytwok

    fortytwok Active Member

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    My dealer wants 5 mos or 5,000 miles - whichever comes first. Free for 2 years so I don't think he's trying to get $$
    anyone else ?
     
  12. Ken Blake

    Ken Blake Active Member

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    First of all, I don't know many people who can drive 542 miles (much less 595) without having to stop and use the restroom, get food, etc... If you already have to stop, it's not really inconvenient to refuel at that time. Most conventional gasoline vehicles have a 300-350 mile cruising range. The PiP far exceeds that.

    Second, as has already been pointed out, the PiP averages about 10% better fuel economy than the non-PiP, due to the larger, more efficient battery allowing for greater regeneration.

    I drove a 50 mile round trip (mostly highway) to the airport last night, starting with 7.4 miles of EV range indicated. According to the car, I averaged 71MPG over the course of the trip. I was consistently driving 5-10MPH over the speed limit, and not annoying other motorists. A regular Prius would probably get upper 40, low 50s over the same route.
     
  13. inferno

    inferno Senior Member

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    Yeah I don't drive 595 - it's too risky. I do do the timing though, when it blinks I realize I have 2 gallons left and I reset a trip counter and go by my mpgs and mileage then. Ie if I'm averaging 50 mpg I know I might have 100 miles. However, I push to about 50 miles at 50 mpg and voila! I find that I filled the tank up 10.8 gallons (out of 11.9). I believe Bob Wilson on the forums tested this extensively

    I've done 75 mph at 49 mpg so you're right about that.

    The 7.4 EV must have helped.

    I guess I'm asking for real world straight trip numbers. Charge once...go on. True test of mpgs. I can consistently go 535 miles safely and I'm at 0 miles left on the indicator for 30 miles (I do the trick) - and this is also playing it safe.

    Anyone here do a straight road trip for PiP charging only at home then HV the rest of the way?
     
  14. Vulcanman

    Vulcanman Junior Member

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    Can someone please enlighten me on the above statement?

    ᎦᎦᎦ
     
  15. Vulcanman

    Vulcanman Junior Member

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    Here in South Carolina we pay average 13.2¢ per kwh.

    3.8kwh is all the battery will take in. So, that's about 50¢ (13.2 x 3.8) for 12 miles (if you average 10 ~ 14 miles)

    Or about $2.08 per 50 miles via electricity.

    Assuming PiP gives 50mpg with gas only ... it's 1 gallon (at $3.30) per 50 miles.

    Each 1 unit of gas is cost equivalent to 1.58 units of electricity ($3.30 / $2.08)

    In other words ... If I only ran my car using electricity ... I would be getting equivalent to about 80mpg (50 x 1.58). But the display shows 999mpg. LOL.

    I am not taking into account the regen feature that does improve mpg.

    I just wish Toyota allowed custom calibration of the display to account for price of electricity.

    Where we are ... Electricity is more expensive but Gas is cheaper than most other states.
     
  16. inferno

    inferno Senior Member

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    This is good on the specifics. So let's say you saved 50 gallons of gas (per indicator). Gas is $3.30 and that would've cost $165, however, what you really save is: $61 because of your gas to energy ratio.

    50 Gallons of gas, that's roughly 2,500 miles. The estimate travel per year is what, 12k (1k per month)? In that case you will go 2,500 miles 4.8 times which means you'd save $292.8 per year with your current figures.

    Gotta love straight up math.

    The PiP has to be at least within 1k reach of a regular to make it worth it.....At least from a logical math point of view.

    One thing to note. Gas will fluctuate and so will electricity. If you are totally green and on solar/wind...props because that's when it's worth it!
     
  17. Vulcanman

    Vulcanman Junior Member

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    You save $292.8 per year only if you drove full electric .. For those 12k miles.
     
  18. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

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    PiP can go up to 62 mph in EV mode with ICE off. A regular Prius can turn off ICE up to 46 mph (if not needed). You'll need an OBDII reader that displays rpm to really tell ICE is at 0 rpm. You can't rely on MID display in the car.

    When you shift into B gear, Prius will try to brake without starting the ICE (regen into battery). If the force required to brake exceed the limit the battery can take, ICE will participate with Jake brake.

    You can observe it by shifting into B gear at very low speed. At 15mph (with ICE off), if you shift into B, ICE will not start for a regular Prius. Once you B gear from higher speed, ICE may start. The speed that does it is around 25 mph (don't quote me on it).

    For PiP, B gear will not start the ICE if you are in EV mode (up to 62 mph).
     
  19. fortytwok

    fortytwok Active Member

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    I would agree - $3.30 gas is highly unusual - recently hiked to $3.79 in the northeast and I know some states like CA are a lot closer to $4 gas.
    Also meant to add that with the amount of free charging options my average has dropped to under 25 cents for full charges. Chargepoint emails a statement and latest showed an average of 3 free gallons for the recent months.
    I'm getting an average of 16 miles on a full charge this summer.

    Today I hit 4150 miles and still on my original tank. Break even with a Prius3 will be achieved within 2 years easy
     
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  20. inferno

    inferno Senior Member

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    4150 on your original tank!? Wow, how's your commute and how full is your gas tank now!?