Plug-in Prius: When?

I like the freedom of going where I want, when I want, as long as I want. I can't imagine planning a full day of errands around a 100 mile limit. And who knows how much low temps or passengers will cut into that. Besides, the Leaf is fugly.

 

Horses for courses.

It certainly wouldn't suit me, but I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who would love the Leaf. I believe we commute less distance over here in Europe and I'm sure the Leaf would be the ideal second car for shopping and school run trips.

I know when I worked in an office (before I saw the light and became a cabbie) I used to drive 12 miles each way to the nearest city, a run which could take well over an hour in the crawling traffic. The Leaf would be ideal for this, and also ideal for the residents of the congested city streets!

But again, it won't suit everyone for every purpose.

 

What about the Chevy Volt, it will be out this year in November. The Volt looks like it will be the best plug-in available.

 

Evidently it's targeted for 2012. So it's going to coincide with the end of the Mayan Calendar and the end of human existence. My guess? Massive simultaneous plug in of Prius rips a hole in time and space and we all get sucked into a dimension where nature sings 1960's folk music. But it's just a guess...it could be any type of music...

 

I do not have any kind of feel due to my lack of seeing any information on the fleet trial program. However, the little that I have read make me suspect that they are still trying to size the battery for what people want in an EV mode. They might also be still trying to make a decision on what options to support the electric plug-in feature.

This makes me think that they are not ready just yet to quickly compete against the Leaf introduction timetable. The first buyers for the Leaf are going to be the EV enthusiasts and will not be buyers for the new high-MPG Prius. If the PHEV is delayed past the Leaf, then it will be because they are trying to make sure of that market sweet spot in the EV range number.

 

darkleafar, not sure why you would want a Prius PHEV. It only goes 16 km or so on EV, so would be useless in EV on your commented trip between Houston and Dallas. Unless you have lots of short trips where you can plug in between them, you might as well just get an "ordinary" Prius. EV speed is also limited (city speeds). It's a "city" short range EV vehicle which can also go fast and far using gasoline.

As far as what is going on (why they are releasing so few to fleets only), it's most likely to get a feel for how the battery(s) will do in the "real world", with the great unwashed public driving it, rather than Priuschat enthusiasts and Toyota engineers.

 

For me, the most important factor as to the Prius PHEV will be the cost spread between it and a standard prius (and competitors). I do have a lot of short drives with time spent at my destination, so for those occasions, the engine never really heats up, and loses whatever heat it had. So, those are always poor mpg. But I do get a number of longer trips as well, and that makes the car very worthwhile for me.

So, it'll be a question of PHEV cost premium vs loss on mpg on my short trips.

As to the leaf, back some years, it would have been the perfect car for my son -- drove from highschool in the AM to U of M Dearborn for afternoon classes. To girlfriend's house not ten minutes away. Etc. He could use my car for any real trips. [I've almost always had two vehicles. Either regular car + convertible, or reg car + motorcycle -- so I'm covered at least in warm weather if son took long distance car.]

 

How many people live within errand running distance?

You'd be surprised by the number of people who will be able to take advantage of that.

Of course, it doesn't matter anyway. That's not the only benefit. Even someone like me with a 9 miles of 70 MPH on my daily commute will be able to take full advantage. The other 8 miles will be using only electricity... far from useless.
.

 

You act as if the car is just going to stop after the EV range is exhausted. You're still going to get a Prius (which, last time I checked, is a pretty damn efficient car) after that 9 miles. Make a nine mile chunk of every trip gasoline-free and watch what happens to your fuel economy.

Also, I don't use my car only to drive to work. Nearly everywhere else I go is within a few miles.

 

I think the Prius plug-in will be the best but I'm waiting to do a serious winter test with an Opel Ampera (same as Chevi Volt).
For TMC, 12 years of presence of Prius concept is an experiment without precedent.