few basic questions on 2020 Eco VS LE VS Prime from new buyer

1) I'm told the Prime plug-in battery is plug in only, and that there is no way to charge by just driving around. My question is "Why not?" I don't want to be plugging the thing in all the time (and I work in construction and wrangle nasty cords all day every day, and I STILL don't want a Plug-In), but I would very much like to use pure electric mode, not to save gas, just to have that feature. I guess plugging a 12VDC to 110AC inverter into cigarette light and then into Plug-In port and driving around would not be a good idea? lol. I heard most people want the Prime for some Express Lane sticker. Is their some goofy law that stops Toyota from running a couple wires from the Hybrid side to the Plug-In side, and has anyone looked into hacking that? Forgive me if that is a taboo around here, I'm new.

What I'd really like is a motorcycle with pure electric mode. Electric no engine mode on a car is nice, but you still gotta park it like a car. An electric motorcycle is basically a bicycle and could slither into all sorts of places. I wouldn't need anything like 25miles range, just maybe 5 miles to let the engine cool off and enough Ooomph! to quietly zoom up a couple flights of stairs, in something like a 650 V-Storm, but I digress.

Next question: They say "The Eco has a lighter battery than the regular Prius, making it lighter and better MPG", but how does that effect everything else? I'd be mostly using it as fairly long commuter (100miles round trip average some in hush hour bumper to bumper stop and go). What would I be giving up with Eco, besides less battery-only if I run out of gas? (which I plan on never doing in a Prius) Does the Eco need to "shift" into engine-mode quicker that LE/Prime or does it accelerate slower? How much diff?

PS-Speaking of 110AC power, does any Prius have a provision for using its powerful plug-in or traction battery to power regular 110AC devices? Seems like a no brainer feature. Be nice to be able to run big-draw devices such as hair-dryer or skill-saw, or 110 mini-fridge. A few fuses and cutoffs to prevent running the batts down to far or otherwise hurting the car, etc of course. You never know when you might need a back up source of electricity.

 

Thx for great info.

Frightening the lack of basic knowledge at dealerships. The guy who told me "can't be done" was a "fleet manager" who's been at Toyota for 10+yrs. I was very clear that I was asking about the Prime, not the Plug-In-Only. So now I'm back to considering the more expensive Prime.

I'm talking about a Hybrid motorcycle, with Prime type pure electric option. Pure electric cars have useful range, but not MCs at this point IMO, largely due to theft problem. Car left parked will probably be OK, but stranded MCs seem to vanish overnight. MCs don't get very good MPG "for their size" due to bad aerodynamics (and performance tuned engines). But I guess it would be easier to get an electric MC plugged in; you don't worry about someone taking your parking spot.

 

Rav4 Prime sounds really cool especially for creeping off road in silent mode, and for some real towing ability. I'm planning to add a tow hitch to my yet to be purchased Prius, but mostly for carrying an external cargo box out of the airstream, and a swing-away bike rack.

Last time I got into a Rav4 it had the most uncomfortable arm-rests on the doors that weren't really armrests, and it sorta looks like that is same, and that would be a biggie for me. But maybe not a deal breaker since I've rigged custom paddled armrests in the past.

I want a motorcycle with gas engine but like Prime has switchable to electric for "stealth" last few mile riding.

 

I don't plan on plugging in very often, if at all, but I would use the All-E mode in bumper to bumber traffic to make my experience "smoother", but mostly to avoid constantly restarting the engine. In my typical traffic jams, engine would be restarting 50X an hour, but only for few moments. I'd use All-E until road clears a bit, and not care if I lose a few % re-charging the All-E battery.

I'd also use All-E on sort trips, again just to avoid starting engine, and again not care if I lose a few % points when I recharge the 25mile range batt.