Initial thoughts on 2010 Prius Plug-In

Right now I work from home 100% of the time but that won't last forever. This means the vast majority of my driving is very short trips to school, church, dance studio, gymnastics place, etc, all < 5 miles and 45 mph or less. Remembering to plug in at night? A non issue as I have to remember all kinds of things from day to day to I don't see it as an issue at all. I would be very interested in this option and price would be a significant factor.

 

I think a pure plug in, without an engine attached, is really a car for the enthusiast more for bragging rights than practicality. The enthusiast would have a second car or would have access to car rentals, cars from family, cars from neighbors, public transportation etc in addition to the plug in. Or they are so committed, they work their lives around the plug in instead of having the plug in work around them.

Really poor people don't buy Priuses or plug ins because a lot of other cars are more economical. Taking public transportation when the plug ins don't have the range is really reserved for the more well off. Why? I know that when I take a bus, and the bus doesn't show up or is delayed, I can check into a hotel and enjoy myself. When I was a student, I did not have such luxury of a credit card for a backup. So if money is limited, a plugin is just not practical.

As for me, probably once a month I would drive 100 miles. Visit relatives. To check out a toy for sale in a different city. Visit an amusement park with family. Life is about fun, not just commuting. I would need to rent a car once a month if I had a plug in. And rental is not as convenient as owning a car. You have to return it at a certain time, can't stay over on the spur of the moment, etc. Or you rent a car and someone has to cancel.

Also, plug ins without an engine is not for emergencies. What if the daycare wants you to come get the child and take her to the hospital for a minor ailment? What if you have to go back to work as soon as you get home because of an emergency. What if you went to work, spilled ketchup all over your suit (or forgot the presentation), and have to drive home to change and come back for a client meeting? What if your kid is stuck somewhere on a field trip because he/she missed the bus. There are hundreds of these scenarios that I just don't have to worry about with a hybrid.

 

I think your comments are about a pure EV (electric vehicle). The "Prius" plug-in that Toyota is considering is just like a regular Prius (with an engine), but a bigger battery and a way to plug it in to recharge it. The range on the battery will be something like 10-15 miles (where the range on the battery in the current Prius is, maybe 1/2 to 1 mile).

It is also incorrect to think of the plug-in Prius such that you'd "have to" use the ~10 mile range, exclusively, then, exclusively use the ICE (engine). You could drive a few miles in EV mode, then get of a freeway and drive with the ICE, then drive 10 miles in EV mode, etc (The battery would/could charge back up while on the freeway).

The usability of the plug-in Prius would be no different than the current Prius. But some percentage of the fuel cost would now be (probably) cheaper due to the fact that electricity costs can be much lower than gasoline costs per mile traveled.

3PriusMike

 

My initial thought is that with my 60-mile-each-way commute, it wouldn't pencil out. But I think it's a great innovation and I look forward to seeing them on the roads, hopefully without the eye-grating graphics all over them.

 

Right now I would not know how to use it. I would have no opportunity to plug it in anywhere. I live in an apartment, 3rd floor with several other tenants in the building and need to park the car in the street in front of my building. In this situation are *many* other people living in cities (and not only) in EU.

Moreover at work, I don't see why in any near future they would offer me or anybody else to plug in my car. Not even paying from my side.
So I see the plug-in impractical at this time in EU.

What would make certainly more sense is a new Prius with higher capacity battery to improve even further the fuel consumption by increasing the time it can ride only electrically and eventually, have the ICE completely disconnected to the wheels and using it only to charge the battery. That would require a totally different type of electric motor (*way* more powerful) and likely other batteries as well. I think the future is the GM Volt type of Hybrid, as a last step before we go totally electric.

 

This'll be perfect for ~90% of my driving, 14mi. drive to work each way, 40% city / 60% highway. I don't avg. over 60mph anyway. Plug in at work + plug in at night = 0 gas. The big question is what will the price difference be? If it's around $2k then it'll make sense for me, if much more it won't. The 60mpg I avg. with my '06 will be just fine.

 

Prius Plug-In would be pretty useful in my case. My commute to work is less than 6 miles round trip. I do drive around town quite a bit but the 13 miles would account for half or more of the trip. And for the occasional 100+ mile road trip to visit family and friends, regular Prius functionality is there. I may not be able to plug it in around town but I can certaintly plug it in at home (currently living in a house).

 

Never witnessed what happens when the battery is full, eh?

At 65 MPH, you get a surprising amount of power from the electric motor. MPG shoots way up.

The larger battery-capacity offers a BOOST regardless of speed.
.

 

Pretty cool stuff.

Despite all the flaws mentioned, I still see it as good as the current Prius, plus a bit more. It has a pretty high "coolness" factor. And I certainly wouldn't turn one down. I mean, worst-case-scenario is that I can't take advantage of the plug-in capabilities but I'm still left with a pretty damn good car.

Now, I would be a little upset if they only offered it on the base model. I understand it happening, but I'm with the crowd that wanted the moon roof with the AT package. If it's now separated into Moon Roof OR Advanced Technology OR Plug-in, that would make me even sadder.

Oh right, please also make later versions with higher EV range. :-p

 

comment deleted

 

3 comments:
First, the Volt isn't an all electric car. Yes, the wheels are turned by electric motors, but it has a gas engine to recharge the battery. So you can (should) plug it in for everyday usage to get the lowest cost fuel, but if you don't, or you forget or you are somewhere that has no plug you buy gas, just as you would today in a conventional car, or a hybrid, and off you go.

Second, if it is inconvenient to plug in a plug-in-hybrid (such as the future Prius of the future Volt), then you can just use gas. This is different than with a pure EV where you only have the choice of gas. One of the ideas (probably) here is that if it takes a decade or two for pure EVs to become practical, that the ability to plug in a vehicle will become more common over those years.

Third, if "planning" on the owner's part is too much hassle, then a) don't buy one; b) use gas when needed, but plug-in at home where you have a plug right next to where you park the car. If you are not willing or can't have a plug right next to the car, then see "a."

3PriusMike

 

Thanks. I was aware of that. I was just speculating on how pure plug-ins will not be useful with the current state of technology.

I personally don't see a plug-in in my future. I have a house. I see the hassle of cleaning my garage, installing a plug in plug, and driving my car to a specific spot in the house, probably the garage, to charge it every night as a total mess.

I suppose you can't have the charger outside. Otherwise, on some dark and rainy night, I'll electrocute myself. So it has to be in the garage. Which means I have the keep the driveway clear. No guest, nobody blocking my driveway. The whole family will have to respect my driveway and my garage space and keep it clear at all times.

It will wear really thin on me after 6 months and 180 charges.

What is the alternative? A Prius. 500 miles between fillings. One filling every other week (YMMV). 200 filling for the life of the car (assuming 100,000 miles, 8 years). Compared to a plug in, which, in 8 years, have to be parked in the garage and filled up 2920 times. 200 fillings vs. 2900 charges + parking in the garage everytime. Forget it. I'll never fill up my car and park in the garage 2900 times.

Assume the best case for the plug in. Electricity is free. Gas is $3. The Prius gets 50 mpg. All that work saves you $2 in gas a night.

It can be argued that you come out behind because the mortgage on the garage would be more than $2 a night - meaning you can't rent a garage for $60 a month. It means you can probably rent your garage and driveway to somebody for $60 a month and use that money to buy gas and you will come out ahead. In other words, let your kid use the garage for a band, let your wife use the garage for an art studio. That's a better use of your resources than leaving your garage empty all the time to save $2 a day.

That's just me. We are just chatting and I am giving my opinion. I wouldn't buy a car I have to put in a garage and fill up every night.

The only way I would do it is if gas goes to $10 a gallon. Nothing less would motivate me.

 

ok so is it 13 miles @60 mph... or is it "can go 60 mph and UP TO 13 miles?"

big difference here, cause if i can drive it at street speeds, say 35 mph and get 18 to 20 miles, that would be interesting. of course, i only need 7 miles one way now since i do have a plug in option at work

 

These comments make absolutely no sense. The first two paragraphs basically say plugging in at home and at work are impractical in EU.
But the next comments propose that a range-extended EV like the Volt is the answer. Yet in order for a Volt-like car to be remotely economical or advantagous, IT MUST BE PLUGGED IN.
Hmmm, you just said plugging in was not an option. A range-extended EV has no advantage if you can't plug it in.
Operating a range-extended EV on only petrol-generated electric power would be very inefficient.

 

The plug-in is not going to be for everyone. Its going to be great for the person who regularly already uses a garage and has a short commute. For them plugging in for them will only take a few seconds. This will also reduce the number of times the plug-in owner goes to a real gas station making some of that plug in time back.