What did you do to your Prime today?

I actually went from a BEV to the PP! And given the fact that it was (actually more than) double the price of the PP you can probably figure out which brand of BEV it was . Before the pandemic I was commuting 25 miles to work (each way) in bumper to bumper DC traffic which to me justified the cost of my previous vehicle. However, just like you I've been 100% remote for exactly 1 year now and don't see myself going back to 100% on-site any time soon I just could not justify making sky high payments on a car that was driven 1 day a week to get groceries. A local dealership gave me a fair offer on my trade-in and PP so I bit the bullet and took the offer.

 

Wow, if you switched from a Tesla to PP, you are the first person I am aware of who did that switch. For me, Tesla is not even on my long list for my next possible car for several reasons.
1. Too expensive for a DD
2. There is no service center or sales shop in my state. Even if I can order it online, I don't feel comfortable owning a car that can not be serviced locally.
3. There is no charging infrastructure in our area. Even with a long-range M3, I will not be able to drive the car to the nearest supercharger.

If I buy a BEV, it will be strictly in or near town short-range car. So, as long as it has ~100 miles range and affordable enough, I don't need any bells and whistles. For now, Nissan Leaf is the only BEV that fits the bill, but I am interested in the new Bolt EUV. And there may be a few more models from Hyundai and Kia, or Toyota may have its own BEV by then.

 

Yes, that's correct, I may be the first (and last) person to go from a Tesla (Model 3 Performance) to a Prius Prime! I agree, it is a very expensive car compared to a PP. In my almost 2 years of ownership I did not need any servicing, however. The only regular "maintenance" I needed to do was filling up the windshield washer fluid and rotating the tires (I did this myself but any shop can do that). I had a 50 amp NEMA 14-50 outlet installed at my house so I never needed to rely on superchargers or any of that. I only see superchargers being useful for road trips. Teslas can charge at any J1772 charging station as they come with necessary adapter for that.

 

That must be how those out-of-state plate Teslas I have seen in my town charge their cars getting up north here. Before pandemic, we routinely did 500+ miles trip down to the city, several times a month. Sometimes I had to do it in a single-day trip. With PP's 600+ miles range, I could do the entire trip with a single 3 min gas stop. That is just not possible with any BEV, Tesla or not, at least not yet.

 

Nope, not possible just yet. Although, with the Model S Plaid+ just recently announced for release later on this year they are estimating a range of 520 miles on a charge -- I'll believe it when I see it though as their numbers are slightly inflated. As far as road trips go, BEV just isn't there yet. I'd say give it a few years when Solid State batteries come to play

 

EPA 520, means 364 miles with no heat or AC on, and summer temps. That figure is charging to 80% and not less than 10% on the bottom end. You can push that somewhat (at 90% home charging) if your trips and conditions are well known. Reduce that figure to 60% in winter with heat on and the range drops to ~220 miles. Tesla drivers know that can't actually get EPA full miles.

 

I can confirm this. The range numbers they give are for California Spring/Summer day where you're not using AC or Heat on a completely flat road. I wish car manufacturers or the EPA themselves would use the same measure for all electric vehicles. The "range" and "MPGe" numbers are garbage. Something like miles per kWh makes the most sense since we are already used to miles per gallon. For example If a car can go 4 miles per kWh and has a 25 kWh battery then it can go 100 miles (4 x 25) on battery.

 

I think I read in the manual that one of those tools is also used to open the charge port door from the inside of the trunk if it were to get stuck.

 

You did. It's actually the lug nut wrench (which Toyota calls the wheel nut wrench) that you use.

 

Changed the side view mirrors from white to black.

 

Yea debadging looks good. Did you do it yourself or got it done professionally? Also, ive been scouring the forums for black overlay for the toyota emblem in the back but I haven’t found any info except for plastidipping. Do they exist for the prine?

 

Installed OEM crossbars and door edge guards. Removed wheel covers. Slap some homemade retro Toyota Truck vinyl stickers (Siser matte sheets from Michaels craft stores) as an homage to Ivan Stewart and my Gen 4 & 5 4Runnners and Tundra.

 

Did you wrap or replace the mirror covers? I've been going back and forth on which to do...covers would of course be easiest.

 

Switched from the snow tires back to the regular ones - more miles per charge and now the TPMS light will be out...

 

De-badged rear and fenders. Then tint all around..including windshield. Next:

• Paint correction: definitely some noticeable marring from de-badging and when purchased from dealer
• Window trim and mirror cap to gloss black; looks like previous Primes came glass black from factory so might look into replacing parts vs wrapping

 

Nice! I've been looking for those taillights! And love the spoiler...very subtle.

 

We bought covers for them, it is attitude black color. I think it was 40 bucks a pop. From the recommendation of my wrap guy, you shouldn’t wrap bc the little lip at the edge of the mirror cap will not allow for a good seal and may cause peeling/bubbles.

Also, finally done by adding new wheels.