Prius PiP in cold weather !! How many EV miles can I expect ?

I don't believe anyone has been through cold weather yet, but there are a few of us who will be in a few months. Sorry I can't help. I just got in from a short drive I got 18.1 EV with .3 left. Winter will be a real interesting to see what we can get then. I'm sure we will all be crying!

 

Depends on your heater usage. If you use any heat the ICE will come on but the battery will assist to propel the car quite a bit. Road conditions seem to affect the mileage more than the actual temperature.


iPad ? HD

 

Just an educated guess here, but my best guess would that it will be a minimal loss of range.
Heat is typically the biggest loss of range for EVs. With the PiP's ability to run the ICE when heat is needed it should minimize that.
Probably the biggest range impact will be due to higher rolling resistance on snow and slush vs dry pavement.

 

first, some people get 15 miles, some only get 10. it depends on your topography, road type, number of stops, etc.
so don't count on 15. second, i'm guessing 80% in the worst of the cold, but, it's just a guess. third, as drash stated, if you want heat, ev is out the door. then, it's just a supplement to mpg's. fourth, it does have heated seats. how much ev will they use, who knows? hopefully, not much. because i plan to make my 15 mile commute without the ice!

 

I have preordered a PHV up here, will know soon if my car will be "allocated". I read in the owners manual that it may not operate in normal EV mode when the outside temp is below -10 C. I dont have the manual (PDF) handy or I would copy and paste the details. Well that means you likely won't get much regular EV range in the winter. If the heater is running it won't go into EV mode I believe. I already turn off the heater when I'm stopped at red light just to keep the ICE from idling.

All of this will come much clearer in the coming months as winter hits. If you have a 2011 you probably don't need to upgrade but if you "gotta have it" like me then go preorder one and join my club LOL.

 

Snowmobile boots, gloves, jacket, hat and hand held window defoger I.m ready.

 

I didn't notice too much of an impact when I used mine in early April. You may end up using these for the better part of Autumn when the Sun is out but the wind is cool or cold. But then again, I don't fret the engine on anymore now that I'm familiar with the car, because the engine gets a rather large boost from the battery/motor. One has to keep in mind the battery likes the same kinds of conditions as the driver.

 

I'm thinking of ordering this and using it overnight. Since I'm paying $15.00 a month to charge my PIP. So no extra charge for me to use the heater. Also it's parked outside so the heater will have to be inside the car.

Amazon.com: NewAir AH400 Space Heater With Adjustable Temperature Control: Home & Kitchen

 

The loss of range will depend on many factors, is your car stored in an insulated garage (pack temperature will be moderate)? Did you set the charging timer to finish shortly before your morning commute (warms battery electrolyte due to charging)? Remember the PiP battery pack is in the passenger compartment, so if you are comfortable, it will be as well, and will experience minimal range loss due to the pack temperature, the road conditions (snow/wind/rain) will have a larger impact on your EV range/MPGs, and has has already stated use of the cabin heater will cause the engine to run anyway, so you won't be in pure EV anyway.

 

I’d expect you would lose at least 50% of your normal warmer weather range. In one early review of the PIP prototype, they only managed to get 7 miles of pure EV on an extremely cold day. If you run the heat your ICE will run, that’s a given, but for short trips you can use the heated seats and go pure EV. So many different factors will affect your final number, but keep in mine this is a very thrifty car, and well made. I know that come winter that figure is going to change, also New Jersey hardly has Canadian weather, but when the warmer weather does come you’ll get unbelievably great mileage. I do believe below a certain temperature the EV mode wont engage, check that out.
I’ve gone over 1000 miles on just $25 of electric and $14 for 4 gallons of gas! That’s 80% EV and 20% ICE. I've found EV and hybrid driving combined usually gives me between 70 to 100 MPG!

 

Dan have you owned a Prius in winter before? Even if the EV range is 0 km in the winter the car will get good fuel economy like a regular Prius. The spring/summer/autumn mileage will be phenomenal though, I suspect... If you can use EV.

 

...OP should check out the recent thread -
Poll on if we spent wisely on our PIP
The "yes" votes are winning but only 60/40 margin, luke warm affirmation for the ground zero PiP fan thread.
For Californians, PiP can make great sense due to car pool lane access.
Take these CA votes away and its a close call on a value added basis.
Unless your elec cost is dirt cheap, if economics is important, I have a hard time seeing how a Prius hatchback is not the best deal, some incredibly low price deals posted here, got me thinking of trade-in.
I am not saying Plug-ins are not good, but at this point you need another motivation to justify, such as being early adopter of new tech, or personal policy of oil avoidance.

Having said this, perhaps PiP is less affected by cold weather as some have suggested (if heat can be gotten from ICE).
Read more: http://priuschat.com/threads/poll-on-if-we-spent-wisely-on-our-pip.113102/page-2#ixzz23UYCAby5

 

Watch for our reports in a few months.

As the snow begins to fall, the role of EV-BOOST mode become the center of attention.

That's the mode which you get much more electricity from the battery-pack than in HV mode, but it's not EV since the engine is running. The plug-in model is designed to take advantage of that situation, since the engine must run to provide heat during the winter anyway.

Currently, you can witness the +100 MPG that mode delivers while driving faster than 62 mph. That resulting efficiency is very important, since the engine will run at slower speeds in the winter for heat. So you won't get as many "EV" labeled miles, but you'll still get outstanding results.

 

....this is where PiP shines then, you will be getting almost as many semi-EV miles as the Volt is getting EV miles in the harsh c-c-o-o-l-l-d-d of winter, assuming the driver elects to turn his heat on. Otherwise you show up at work with icycles dripping off your nose (assuming AGW is not too bad yet).

 

Interesting point.. for how many "semi-EV" or EV-boost miles does the PiP achieve 100mpg+?
For a EPA average volt that would be about 70 miles, and for a well driven volt (like mine) in winter I get about 85miles (highway@65) for 100mpg.. and on most days I don't use any gas. When its real cold ( < 25F in my 2011, a config option in 2013), in which case I'll use .03 (20-25F) to .07 gallons (0-20F) each way (.14 total) for my 36-38 mile commute(i.e. over 250 MPG). And the 2013 with Hold mode will allow ICE use for heat as needed. It will not get the ICE milage of the PiP, but with a much larger battery so for trips < 30miles can be all EV. With the cold and very cold config options in the Volt it will use even less in winter the new models.

To the OP, my experience with the Volt, is 50 miles in summer that drops to 38 or some EV miles (with just seat heaters) and 35 with low heat setting, or a 30% or so loss. (Garage kept, battery finish charging with 30min of departure). Since both PiP and Volt keep the battery in the cabin, it likely the same level of impact (Leaf is worse since it's battery is under the floor). And while EV boost may be more efficient in using it, the issue is that a cold battery has less available power. I disagree with mithch about the battery being comfortable if the passenger is. It is unlikely heating the air in the cabin will make any significant impact on battery temp in a commute (to short a time to raise the temperature that much mass). But as others have said it will help make sure you finish charging just before you leave (which warms the battery). But since the heater will start the ICE, that will reduce the demand on the battery and may even charge it a bit so it will warm it that way.

The real answer is that noone really knows for sure about how well the PiP will do (its different enough from the Prototype that its impossible to make a good estimate.). Only time and temperatures will tell and with a PHEV its not YMMV, but YMWVS (your milage will vary significantly).

 

The anticipation is growing. We welcome winter's arrival. There's a discovery process with each new Prius. Our online community here makes unexpected observations... about things Toyota never mentioned. The design speaks for itself through the firsthand experiences we share. It's how the "under promise, over deliver" reputation came about... quite the opposite of a certain other automaker. We discover things along the way.

But in this case, we have aftermarket gauges and lots of cumulative knowledge already. Watching how the warm-up works with EV now provides hints of how it will work in the cold. Warmup is faster than with the regular model. We can preheat the battery-pack simply by having the recharging conclude close to departure time. ECO mode still provides heat until the coolant drops to 114°F. The engine stays off for multi-minute intervals while driving in stop & slow winter traffic.

Having more electricity and more motor power available will deliver a nice improvement to winter efficiency.

 

So can you answer for fair weather driving (i.e around now), for how many EV-boost miles does the PiP achieve 100mpg+? Since the orginal PiP can get 100MPG+ for short periods, for the PiP really about how long it can sustain that mode.