Featured Autotrader: Prius Prime Long Term

I understand Georgia has a two-tiered tag and fee system. So I asked them to give more details about how it relates to the Prius Prime.

Bob Wilson

 

My car is registered in Georgia and I paid the same fees as any other car. There are no additional fees for driving a Prius Prime. The only additional fee is if you want an alternative fuels license plate. Total cost to register my Prime in Georgia was $21

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

What does an "alternative fuels license plate" provide besides spending more?

Bob Wilson

 

Alternative Fuel Vehicle License Plates FAQs | Department of Revenue

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

Any car that runs on gasoline is not considered an alternative fuel vehicle anyway. The only benefit I see is use of HOV lanes

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

They have HOV in Georgia?

The only times I've been through Atlanta and not joined a creeping parking lot has been about 2AM. At 2AM, Atlanta traffic appears to be qualification trials for demolition derby ... speed limits being treated as an amusing suggestion with no relationship to 'keeping up with traffic.'

Bob Wilson

 

Which is not a trivial advantage in Atlanta traffic, let me tell you.

 

What are Prime owners typically spending for gas each month. It seems easy to do better than the 133 MPGe estimate.

 

I've recently past 7,000 miles after nine months and only bought five tanks:

• 1st tank - 600 miles
• 2nd tank - 699 miles
• 3d tank - over 2100 miles
• 4th tank - ~450 miles
• 5th tank (current) - passed 7000 miles

Bob Wilson

 

I buy just a bit over 2 tanks a month, but my commute is well outside the electric range. Calculated 85MPG

 

I don’t have one yet but my forecast is that I will go from £90 per month gas to less than £10. In addition to this I will have about £15 of electricity.


iPhone ?

 

I haven't driven in Atlanta in many years, but I contend D/FW is the NASCAR demolition derby.

 

PHEVs are hybrids with a bigger battery, conceptually. Bigger MGs (and inverter/control) are needed for true EV experience, that's a fact, but does it really change that much?
Betting on a mainstream 48V system (same components, downscaled) with questionable results in FE is a bit confusing...

 

Talk about 'thread drift':

I'm not disputing what I think you're posting just I don't see the context. Perhaps a reply to another thread posted here by accident?

As for 48V systems, well I'm not a fan of compressed hydrogen fed fuel cells either.

Bob Wilson

 

Bingo...

Sorry, meant to put it in the VW not plug-in thread.

 

I'm acutely aware of how open source computing scares everyone that doesn't use it. Just take a look at the licenses listed in the software section of the MFD and you'll see how much of the Primes software is based on open source code.
So when reading my posts it's good for others to know I use open source stuff almost all the time, and when I say things like "feature or flaw" or "bug or feature" they are terms used in the ole school open source community a lot, not so much at Mint or Ubuntu communities.

OK on with it.
I wanted to see what the Autotrader editors that have gotten into the prime for a few days thought where the cars major flaws.
After reading it I thought I'd offer my take on their ideas so far.

From the OP original post

shows me this article: that should take a minute or two to read
2018 Toyota Prius Prime: Zippy Daily Driver
2018 Toyota Prius Prime: Zippy Daily Driver - Autotrader
and lists the charge port location and the clock settings on the MID and MFD don't sync to each other as inconvenient.

What do all of you think about both the charge port being in the back rather than the front, like most of the other plug-in cars available presently.
Anyone think toyota put the charge port in the back for a reason?

And why would toyota make it so difficult to set the time on both displays rather than making them sync to each other? Surely toyota could have made it easier and more convenient to set both clocks at/to the same time. Or again, did toyota have something else in mind?

 

It is closest to the battery management hardware located under the rear seat. This reduces the length of wires needed from the J1772 port.

A better approach would be an option to map the timezone and set the time to the local value from the GPS. However, also allow a manual override for those who live near or commute along a timezone boundary. Once set or updated by either method, use the GPS signal to keep the seconds within GPS accuracy.

I would also like a GPS speed calibration function for the speed and odometer to compensate for the tires. Tires wear and those of us who choose a different size tire would like the car to handle the indicated speed and distance as accurately as possible.

Furthermore, I would like the ability to record CSV ephemeris data to a USB stick along with engine, battery, and drivetrain data for later analysis. Give us the raw data behind to idiot's guide to how to drive a Prius. Optionally, snapshot frames from the front and rear camera so I don't have to buy, install, and integrate a dash cam.

Bob Wilson