moving from prius gen3 to PIP. Regrets?

I rented one for a weekend before trading up.

 

that sounds right, and you get a few things that aren't on the 3 like heated seats. i bought mine for the same reason. all the best with your decision!

 

My commute is 4 miles each way and the engine does not kick in. It is also great for your long trip every few weeks. Because of the larger battery, you will not get into the mode of needing to dump electrical charge which means a bit better MPG than a standard Prius. When I took it easy and stuck in the right lane at 60 MPH, I got a bit better than 60 MPG.

 

Climbing up the hill out of the valley where I live doesn't start up the engine. Of course, even if it did, there isn't an "everything is lost" penalty anyway. The system takes advantage of having plug-supplied electricity available. Watch what happens when a cold start happens.

Here's an example of my commute to work, with a number of stops, driving 14.1 miles in EV before depleting the battery-pack:

This video is my commute back home, taking a slightly different way which includes a steep hill climb, resulting in a 12.4 mile EV drive before depletion:

 

John, I've watched some of the videos you've posted on your drive, both in the summer and winter.

Was curious what the winter time does to your ev range, and how drastically it reduces it. Also, can you switch from ev to hybrid mode, say when you want to save the battery while driving on the freeway, and then turn on ev when taking slower streets? Or does the PiP do that automatically, and forces you to use the battery up first before then switching on hybrid mode?

 

both of those questions are covered extensively in threads here and the faq sticky. briefly, winter reduces range on a sliding scale of temperature to a max of about 25%. and you can freely switch from ev to hv to ev anytime you want to until you're above 62 mph at which point it stays in hv until you slow down, then you're free to switch back and forth again. also, the car starts in ev, so you get to use all ev when you want without warming the ice.

 

As stated already, you may use EV whenever you want.

The catch with winter is that sub-freezing temperatures increase electrical resistance in the battery-pack. That means the same KWH of electricity won't take you as far.

In these 2 videos, you can see that my EV distance is reduced to 9 miles in the extreme cold (that's 0°F, well below freezing). It's quite a reduction compared to the 14 miles in the summer. But under normal circumstances, you'd turn on the heater to keep yourself warm... which in turn warms up the battery-pack too.

The purpose for having filmed the videos was to prove that certain individuals were spreading false information about Prius PHV, claiming what I was routinely witnessing during my commutes here in Minnesota was impossible.

 

To the OP, in your situation, the PiP is a win/win. 'Nuff said.

 

But if you accidentally step down too far and the ICE comes on for less than a minute once or twice on your short commute,
wouldn't that be rough duty for the ICE? It would never warm up and burn off moisture from the combustion chambers to the tail pipe.

There is a car that will seat 4, be a comfortable EV for all 4 seasons and is rated 40 mpg for those road trips.
What is your road trip vs. daily commuting ratio in miles?

 

I also went from Gen2 to PiP.

PiP has a better ride. You will notice during the test drive. Gas mileage is better too.

EV efficiency is also unmatched due to the usage synergy with gas. You'll only use it at lower speed.

Here is my first year data.

My PiP - After One Year (Stats) | PriusChat

 

That less than a minute is all it takes for the engine to reach warm-up anyway. Also, keep in mind that there is less to burn off in the first place, since the starting process is graceful due to the boost from the big battery-pack.

It's not good to old-school use terms like "rough duty" on an advanced system like that in Prius either. Think about how dramatically different it is. Just the oil alone is a huge improvement. That 0W-20 is great for reducing load.

 

Bill it was discussed before you joined Priuschat.

Prius Plug-in Versus Volt: Which Costs Less to Drive? | Page 5 | PriusChat

Invest $24 in the SAE article. It has a lot of interesting information about what went into engineering of PiP.

 

If you want to support the new technology, get the PiP. If you want to save money, you may be better off sticking with your current Prius.

Is your commute 2 miles one way or 2 miles round trip? Either way, I'm sure your commute MPGs are pretty terrible, but you could still buy a lot of gas for the same price as upgrading. What is your total mileage per year? Ever consider a bicycle for your commute?

 

what was the question of the last poster? i have a 15 mile r/t commute that i make in all ev 52 weeks a year. the ic e never comes on, i don't use the heat and when the ice does come on in any situation, it goes through the full warm up process and is not detrimental in any way. it's toyota engineering. who makes a more reliable car? that's good enough for me.

 

Just a quibble: I'd think any third gen Prius would have similar ride feel.