PIP shorter cruising range compared to Prius, is that even possible?

To answer your question, I believe the pip has a smaller gas tank. About 2 gallons or so. Should explain the lower range (although for people that can plug in at home and work, probably not an issue)

 

Well, one issue that I alway avoided is to have a gas tank full of gasoline if my needs where electric driving.
You do not need to gas to the max.; It will increase your MPG

 

The Prius has an 11.9 gallon tank and the PiP's is 10.6.

 

One clarification is PHV stands for Plug-In Hybrid Vehicle so PiP is a PHV.

Yes you have the smaller gas tank with PiP, so you need to plug-in to recover some of that range.

Another slightly controversial point is MPG in gasoline mode. Because the PiP weighs more you could get get slightly less MPG with PiP, if you are not plugging in. However, many PiP owners report they are easily able to get better gaso MPG than the hybrid version by using the bigger battery in the PiP to generate more EV miles.

 

I owned a 2010 Prius and traded it in for one of the first 2012 PiP's. I track mileage by resetting the odometer when I fill the tank, then on the next fillup, I take the miles on the odometer and divide it by the number of gallons I've added. I've done this for years. There have been long periods during which I didn't plug my car in at all. The PiP consistently delivers higher mileage than I obtained with the 2010 Prius. It's Lithium Ion battery can capture and release much more energy than the much smaller battery of the ordinary Prius.

I do not rely on the mpg indicator on the dashboard; it is by design inaccurate.

 

I am just curious as to the difference you have noted from your fill up and divide method, vs what the MPG dash indicator. Is the difference significant?

I am one that likes to note approximate mpg I get and generally don't care to do the manual method. I grew up driving wise, in the 60's and 70's and used to carry a special notebook and calculator to figure this out... talk about work! Anyway, thanks.

 

Are you not plugging in? My PiP shows the same range as you but I can average 700 miles per tank.

 

There's an app called GasTracker+, from Fuelly, which many of us use to track mileage.

The Prius dashboard mileage meter is usually 2 mph high. But the error is because it measures gas as it's consumed. I've never experienced a wildly inaccurate result, but it's never been perfect, either.

 

Yes, this is a contributing factor.

 

I average 700 miles per tank because most of my commute can be accomplished in EV mode.

The MPG indicator shows 2 MPG high compared to a hand calculation, so it's about 5% optimistic.

I can go another 100 miles after the fuel warning beep and the last fuel bar begins flashing. The estimated distance to empty is extremely inaccurate, leaving much more range available. I wouldn't even have the distance to empty displayed in your info screen, as there is much more useful information available.

The math to determine how much further you can go is easy in the PiP because it has a 10 gallon fuel tank. Take your MPG, and multiply by 10. If you're getting 50 MPG, you can go 500 miles until empty. Always reset your trip meter when you fill up, and you will be able to accurately estimate range.

Supposedly we have a 10.6 gallon tank, but I usually run out around 10.1, and that's starting out with a very full tank. I'd be curious if anyone has been able to get more than about 10.3 gallons into their PiP.

 

congrats on your new pip james, all the best!

 

i know! but now we have the 'classic'.

 

"Classic" Pips are a real bargain now since many of the people that paid full bull for them when they were new are now trading them in.

With your commute, a used Prius is about the only thing that makes sense....and getting to bypass the "HO" in HOV is an added benefit.

Good Luck!

 

Nice upgrade! You'll enjoy the HOV benefits. At times it seems like it doesn't help much during peak rush hour, but overall it's a great benefit. Hopefully this one had floor mats