Traded in the PIP for a new 2014 Volt...

That graph is ideal conditions only, things like winter have a major influence not shown.

 

You sure?
I think the EPA was saying it's 29 KWh/100 miles on the Prius calculated, then they mention 0.2 gallons of gas because I think they're measuring a 25 miles distance which is of course a stretch for pure battery on the PiP. But they do measure 29 KWh/100 miles somehow.

Also, the tested fleet had more range because I think there was more available power from the battery.

I'm sure Toyota could have squeezed in more battery also, the space for the plug is kind of generous.

Also, the Prius is lighter than the Volt anyway so that could be part of the efficiency. The next gens in both tout much lighter and cheaper systems so those KWh per 100 mile figures should go down even more.

 

Apparently there's a spot (at 6 miles) that represents higher power demand (such as driving up a hill or accelerating on ramp); the pip can't supply enough power on battery alone, so the engine starts (and then runs through its warm-up cycle).

 

In the same test cycle that takes 35 kWh per 100 miles for the Chevy Volt it takes the Prius Plugin 29 kWh per 100 miles plus 0.2 gallons of gasoline because part of the test causes the engine to start. If the Prius hadn't used the gas during the test then it would have had to use extra electricity which probably would have lowered it's electric efficiency estimate to 31-32 kWh per 100 miles instead of 29.

I'm not sure how they schedule the emails. If you don't get one by the 2nd week of May you should hit the non-emergency OnStar button in your Volt and ask the operator about why you haven't received one yet.

 

So you are saying the range may be even more narrow for the Volt?

 

I support MPGe for two simple reasons:
1. The average person (even above average) is not going to learn a new unit of measure and will have no idea if another value is "good" or not.

2. Virtually every EV is going to have relatively high MPGe ratings compared to mpg so people will tend to make the association that EVs are efficient (which they are)

Rightly or wrongly (compared to liters/100 km for example) US consumers are accustom to mpg which is bigger is better. In the end if makes no difference what constants and scaling factors we apply to any of the numbers, they are all just measuring distance traveled and energy consumed.

Mike

But you know that the 1500 mpg number is not true since you only include gas and not electricity. Might as well give the number for a Leaf as well.

Mike

 

I disagree. Not irrelevant for hybrids, very relevant. However, if you use another source for the battery then it's not the full story. But, if we're talking about regen breaking, solar roof, MPG still holds the candle because it's measuring miles per gallon with other sources of energy that's used autonomously.

 

MPG is a very important factor, up to a point. Then the return diminishes. That's way more than a single measure is needed.

Notice how its effect fades above 75 MPG:

 

Return diminishes at all points.
For every doubling your gas use is cut in half. At no point is it a linear slope.
It. Is just that going from 10mpg to 20mpg is easy, from 20 to 40 isn't too difficult. But going from 40-80 is all but impossible in a retail car unless you start using an electric powertrain rather than gas (or at least a mix such as a Prius or plugin).

When I bought our Prius, we went from about 600 gallons a year to about 300.
When we went to an EV we went from 300 to zero

Again, it all depends upon your personal goals. If it all about saving gas, easy (for most), go BEV.
The advantage the electric drive has over hybrids is that it also grabs market share from people for whom it isn't about gas, but performance, or quality of the ride, or safety.

As time goes by, I expect the EV market share to eclipse the hybrid market share.

 

Yeah but how many long trips have you done in your EV? Or cross country? Or how many times did you 'fill up' on electricity? Once those questions are solved with infrastructure then maybe there will be an eclipse. But I don't even think the hybrid market has reached its full potential yet! Now we have hybrid fuel cell...

 

Long trips? More often than I did prior to going electric.
How often have I filled up? Over 1000 times (between the various EVs we have owned). Far more convenient than an gas pump.
I agree that the hybrid hasn't reached its full potential, that is the issue.
It peaked out between 3-4% and doesn't seem to be able to go any further.

I am trying not to hold a grudge against Toyota, but my wife's favorite vehicle is the RAV4. Unfortunately it isn't available in MN. We would be driving one now if they had rolled them out nationwide.

 

The Volt has a thermal management system for maintaining battery temperature. In winter it warms the battery during charging. It also controls temperature when underway.

The tradeoff is lower charging efficiency for longer range, and I would guess longer battery life.