Why did you pick the Prime vs Volt or other competitors?

Even though the 0-60 doesn't change with the different power modes, I have found the PWR mode while in EV to be plenty peppy in the city. Sorry, just continuing a thought I had concerning peppiness between Prime and Volt, I just got back from driving it some more and continue to be impressed by the Prime. Love my car!

 

Toyota is the only corporation that I trust. While most corporations only care about profit margins and shareholder value, I believe Toyota continues to focus on building and supporting high-quality products. Apple used to care about creating the best electronic devices, but now Apple only cares about profit margins and dividends.

 

I bought a Volt because

1. In 2014 there was no Prime
2. The Volt brand new was significantly cheaper even fully loaded due to steep discounts and tax credit ($17,500)
3. Sparkie (at the time) had over 300,000 trouble free miles (he’s at over 450,000 now but quit sharing his specs)

 

As I have explained elsewhere on PriusChat, it started with Mrs. Bear wanting to check out a Tesla S and, subsequently, getting me to take one for a test drive. Really "wow" -- but just too expensive and larger than our needs.

So, we went to look at a Chevy Bolt and took it for a test drive. Loved the electronics but the Bolt was just too small. I'm a big bear and it was difficult for me to get into the front seats and impossible to get into the rear seats without twisting my neck. The problem was more with the height of the doors and the seats. Once inside there was plenty of head room. The dealer made no effort to sell the car and failed even to suggest our looking at the Chevy Volt (which we never heard of, but which we might have considered.)

So we went to look at the Prius Prime. The dealer was a little better but not particularly knowledgeable about the car. We took it for a test drive but were unable to see how it performed in EV mode because it was not charged up. (We already knew that 90% of our driving would be short local trips and hence EV handling was important.) It took another visit to the dealer, after giving him a day to plug the Prime into a 120-volt outlet, to take it out for an EV-mode test drive on both local streets and the interstate.

Mrs Bear was smart enough to know that the gee-whiz technology on the Prime Advanced would appeal to my inner geek and, I have to admit, that was the clincher. (Also, the heads-up display similar to what we'd gotten used to on our previous car. Can't believe there isn't going to be one on Tesla's new Model 3.)

We've owned the Prime for a year with no problems. Been back to the dealer twice for scheduled maintenance (a free service for the first two years) and for an annual state inspection sticker.

As expected, most of our driving has been local in-town trips, but we have driven the Prime on longer trips to destinations over 500 miles away including one visit to Canada. (Very cool switching the Prime's speedometer and electronics to 'metric' units!)

Range in EV mode has been about 26 miles in winter and about 34 miles in summer. Wish it were just a little bit more, although one would be surprised at how many places have charging stations.

Also, the A/C seems very efficient in summer, but when reversed as a heat-pump, it tends to significantly reduce the EV range and really needs help from the gas engine for heating and de-fogging in cold weather.

So far, the lack of a spare tire has not been a problem -- just something to worry about.

Both Mrs Bear and I are really enjoying this car.

 

I've owned a gen1 Volt (38 EV mile) and now a C-Max Energi which is quite comparable on the EV side of the equation to the Prime (not available then). I traded the Volt for the CMax specifically for family room as my role changed from solo commuter to Mr. Mom. I could complete most daily driving in EV with either vehicle but was nearly 90% overall EV in the Volt. My Energi has more room than Bolt. I would strongly consider the Bolt IF it had ACC but sadly it doesn't. That and the lower grade interior demonstrate that large batteries cost A LOT; hence the continual delay of the promised $35k Tesla. The stronger EV of the Volt was quite enticing yet still getting phenomenal economy (having your cake and eat it too); however, the Bolt is step above it! The Energi and the Prime get the job done but nothing to get excited about. The Prime is proving to be very reliable but it is still a very new platform.

Being up north with reasonably cold winters, you should also figure up to half EV range during winter due to batteries are less efficient cold, electric heat is a huge draw, and in your particular case pre-conditioning on 110v can't keep up with the electric draw to warm up the car interior before you leave in the morning (nice feature). 240v plugs can keep up and you don't lose range.

Also, you went from talking about the $7500 tax credit to leasing so in case there's some confusion let me say you don't get the tax credit if you lease. It goes to the owner which is the leasing company. They figured that money into their offers (or maybe not!) but either way you don't get it unless you buy and, of course, qualify tax wise. If leasing, reliability is of much less concern since you'll be under warranty during ownership.

 

Original engine? Original battery?


iPhone ? Pro

 

Only thing he has replaced is
a $3 sensor twice (that drives $250 of programming)
And the front wheel bearings (which he has a lifetime warranty on

Otherwise everything, battery, motor even brakes are original

 

Front bearings on a 2014???

 

He has had it on the road since mid 2011

And yes front Wheel bearings going on a GM vehicle ARE VERY COMMON around 150-200k miles, he has 450000 miles so it’s not bad that is the only wear part

 

Yes, that 450000 explains it perfectly. That's a lot of driving!

 

I feel your pain, I’m 6’9” so space was a HUGE consideration and the Prime was enormous.

 

Seems impossible. Post a photo of the dash showing the odometer reading.

 

That car is well know in volt circles. His mileage is tracked and reported by OnStar. Due to personal circumstances that prevents a move, the guy has a stupid long commute; something like 300 miles/day or some such.

IIRC, he recently suffered a serious failure that I believe was battery related.

 

That “serious failure” is a $3 sensor buried inside the battery that his dealership was too incompetent to diagnose.

A French dealership sent instructions to bypass it and reprogram his bcm,
His car is back on the road but at high speeds 85mph + in cold weather he sometimes gets his motor activating because the battery is getting tired, they estimate he has lost 3-5% capacity but the battery is less able to provide full power at lower temperatures than a new one.

Still impressive

 

COOL!

 

Clarity?

 

On paper, it it is the best combination of EV range and space.