Mini 2012 PiP review

Discussion in 'Gen 1 Prius Plug-in 2012-2015' started by Electric Charge, Apr 18, 2013.

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  1. Electric Charge

    Electric Charge Active Member

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    I kept getting pinged about how I like the car now that I have owned it for several months, so I wrote a quick review (nothing shocking, mostly boring to you guys), but wanted to post it here, and check with you guys in case I missed something critical:

    2012 Toyota Prius Plug-in Long Term Review - Articles - Articles - Home - ChargeNY

    Unless you are a die-hard Prius lover, I am assuming most of you feel the same way.
     
    #1 Electric Charge, Apr 18, 2013
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  2. JimPHL

    JimPHL Member

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    Very thorough and fair review, with nice personal insights. Well done.
     
    #2 JimPHL, Apr 18, 2013
  3. ny_rob

    ny_rob Senior Member

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    Very nice review OP.
    Glad you're enjoying the PIP.
    Could you imagine going back to a regular car now- or even a regular Prius?
     
    #3 ny_rob, Apr 18, 2013
  4. Electric Charge

    Electric Charge Active Member

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    Nope, I have been bitten by the EV-bug, that's for sure!
     
    #4 Electric Charge, Apr 18, 2013
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  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    isn't the accord more camry size?
     
    #5 bisco, Apr 18, 2013
  6. Electric Charge

    Electric Charge Active Member

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    Yea it's a little bigger, but I'm talking about the technology/plug-in features. I guess I could should make that more clear.

    FYI, I had the chance to check out the 2014 Honda Accord Plug-in recently, I posted some pics on my site if anyone is interested.
     
    #6 Electric Charge, Apr 18, 2013
  7. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    Nicely done and thank you.

    I agree that the Honda Accord is not really a competitor. The layout and price is so different that people will not likely cross shop them.
     
    #7 F8L, Apr 18, 2013
  8. SAronian

    SAronian Active Member

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    Thank you for sharing a good and reasoned review. I agree with your conclusions.
     
    #8 SAronian, Apr 18, 2013
  9. dinku

    dinku New Member

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    NIce review. May I point out that the Prius Plug-in does not have a tyre pressure monitoring sensors in the tyre (at least the one in UK does not have them ) and if the ones in US have TPMS the gooey stuff wouldn't destroy them as informed by Toyota UK.
     
    #9 dinku, Apr 19, 2013
  10. Ken Blake

    Ken Blake Active Member

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    Good review. I did notice a couple of inaccuracies though.
    1) It IS possible to keep the ICE from engaging if you know what you're doing.
    2) The ~2 miles of electric range that you state are consumed, even when starting the trip in HV mode are recharged by the ICE, once it warms up. This is a deliberate design feature by Toyota, to avoid heavy loading of the ICE while it is warming up.
     
    #10 Ken Blake, Apr 19, 2013
  11. Electric Charge

    Electric Charge Active Member

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    1) It isn't. When dealing with freezing temps, the engine WILL kick on in certain scenarios, there is no way around it, plenty of threads, and the manual, back this up. There have been plenty of times where I managed to avoid it (let's say on a sunny day, with temps hitting 20F), but then the next day, when temps are 21F and sunny, the engine will kick on. I have had it happen when the SOC is low (but not 'empty'), while I was trying to move the car 2 feet, and the car was in EV mode.
    2) Not sure what you mean, not once has my car recharged my battery back to the original SOC once the ICE has warmed up, and I entered the cruising phase of my commute, nor would I want the car to waste the gas on doing so.
     
    #11 Electric Charge, Apr 19, 2013
  12. RBooker

    RBooker Member

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    This is all true. At first I was concerned. However, after a while i realized all i had to do is drive and let the car do its thing. overall, I am very pleased with my PIP's overall fuel efficiency. With the arrival of spring and warmer temperatures my fuel efficiency has increased by ~10% (currently 139 mpg) and I should no problem hitting 1000 miles on my current tank (1/2 a tank & <200 to go).
     
    #12 RBooker, Apr 19, 2013
  13. Ken Blake

    Ken Blake Active Member

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    #13 Ken Blake, Apr 19, 2013
  14. Electric Charge

    Electric Charge Active Member

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    OK, so every morning, I turn off EV mode right away, since I have many hills to deal with. I lose about 2 miles or so before all of a sudden the ICE is warm enough (at least in cold weather, in warm weather, I just drive in EV the first 10 miles), and that's it, the miles just don't come back, even if I stay in HV mode the entire commute. 1-way commute is 21 miles.

    I am familiar with the stacking, regenerating strategy, and while it works in some scenarios, having to regenerate your miles while in HV mode will decrease your gasoline efficiency, making it more difficult to glide and hit EV boost, so in the end, you usually break even.
     
    #14 Electric Charge, Apr 19, 2013
  15. Edsvfr800

    Edsvfr800 Member

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    I agree totally...the prius has made me a much more relaxed driver and safer driver. Good review.
     
    #15 Edsvfr800, Apr 20, 2013
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  16. mmmodem

    mmmodem Senior Taste Tester

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    I'm with OP. My EV miles do not come back where they were when I press HV. I'm not concerned at all about it though. The EV miles allow the ICE to warm up so it's a good thing.

    I like your review. Mostly because we are on the same track. The PiP is an EV with training wheels. Our next vehicle will be fully eletric. Oh, daytime LED are not specific to PiP. It's standard on all 2012+ Prius.
     
    #16 mmmodem, Apr 20, 2013
  17. Ken Blake

    Ken Blake Active Member

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    I haven't tried pressing the HV button from a cold start. There are 13 traffic lights in the 3 miles between my house and the highway, so it's most efficient to use EV for those miles. I press HV at the on ramp, and lose some range, then it comes back once the engine warms up. Maybe it behaves differently if you force HV immediately? I do remember reading somewhere on here that on a drive that exceeds your EV range, it's more efficient to use the EV miles first, then switch to HV than it is to use the HV miles and then the EV miles.
     
    #17 Ken Blake, Apr 20, 2013
  18. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    The EV miles used up during forced HV Mode at startup do not come back. I've tried this a few times. I start up the car with 10.6 miles EV range then hit HV Mode. I get on the freeway and watch my EV miles drop to about 8.4-8.6 miles and they never come back despite driving for 45+miles on the freeway.
     
    #18 F8L, Apr 20, 2013
  19. RBooker

    RBooker Member

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    BEV in ~5-6 years. At that point we should see significant advances in the batteries and other system components.
     
    #19 RBooker, Apr 20, 2013
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  20. Electric Charge

    Electric Charge Active Member

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    Really? Haven't seen a single one yet with the LED DRLs in the same location. I'll have to check it out, and update my review, thanks for the tip.
     
    #20 Electric Charge, Apr 21, 2013
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