Is the Prius Plug-in right for me?

Your commute is optimal. Your charging situation might not be.

 

^^^ Yup, exactly.

I have to park my car sometimes on the street in front of my house and run the cord across the sidewalk. No problems yet either, but I too live in a very residential and trustworthy neighborhood.

I would check first and see if you can charge at work - if you can charge regularly there, you may not need to so much at home.

Run the numbers on how much extra you will actually pay for the plug-in over the regular model. For most people the payback would take a long time since even the regular model is near the point of diminishing returns on the fuel usage curve.

 

3 hours is about maximum if the battery is totally dead. 2 1/2 hours seems to be more common.

Can you make it round trip? Probably. Depends on how steep the hills are, what the ambient temps are, and your personal driving style. But there is a very good chance you can. Even if you did fire the engine a bit, you'd probably still be effectively getting 200+ mpg so not worth worrying about (and not counting your electricity usage).

 

OP- You didn't mention where you live, but cold weather cuts the EV miles down vs summer EV miles.
My summer EV range goes up to 11.4, my lowest winter range was down to 9.2 (IIRC). Keeping that in mind, if you live in a cold area- you may not be able to make a round trip on just a single recharge.

FWIW- I wouldn't stretch an electric cord across a public sidewalk for a few hours- sounds like a ambulance chaser's wet dream (think "better call Saul").

 

Agreed!

 

LOL. I literally have the T-shirt.

Also, theft of expensive charge cables is all ready happening.

 

Like ny_rob mentioned, the “northern seasons” will have a big impact on your ability to make it roundtrip on one charge. I have a 9.2 mile trip to work, with no charging capability. So I “manage the EV use” for my 18.4 mile round trip, allowing the engine to run and warm up at an opportune time (stretch of road with no stops) on both legs of the trip. During the short “warm season” in Upstate NY, the “projected EV range” goes up as high as 15.2 miles, and the round trip mpg runs between 150 to 170. During the “long winter”, the “projected EV range” drops into the low 9’s, and the round trip mpg is 90 to 110 (with "no heat").

 

Seems like your commuter situation is perfect. What kind of trips do you take outside of work? Call your dealer and ask for an extended test drive. I had the car for 1.5 days. This way you can test how each direction will utilize the EV. I can take a back road to the city, which is eleven miles away and still have 5 ev miles left over for the ride back. Some ways I only get 10 miles. Temp. variables are there also, but most of us could tell you what kind of decrease and increase happens during the seasons. Also, check out fuelly.com and see some real world data. Have fun!

 

Supposedly a little less by 1mpg but this site shows 1mpg better. Pick your poison: Compare Side-by-Side

 

If you add window visors(which i highly recommend) You can do what I have done a few times when charging the car away from home in a somewhat questionable neighborhood.

Roll down the rear right window, put the "brick" inside car, and run extension cord into car too.... roll up window enough to allow cords to not get pinched....with the visors even if its pouring rain no rain gets in. Then you plugin the blue end as normal to charge. This way noone can steal it.

You will get better MPG with the PiP even when in HV mode then a Reg prius, the larger L-ion battery allows for more regen.

You may end up with over 500mpg-999mpg average with your situation overall...wish i was this close to work.

Dan

 

Not quite. The rear window visors don't cover the small angled portion toward the rear, leaving a gap that rain can get in.

SCH-I535

 

Compare prices with disciunts. I think that unless you're shopping a Two, you may get answeet deal on a standard PiP that combined with the tax credit would orice it close to the regular hybrid and you'd do much better in the PiP as a short-distance commuter. If MD doesn't have good discounts shop in NJ.
As for the sidewalk issue, I'd see if you can ask about conduit under the sidewalk so you don't have a tripping hazard. It would be a relatively simple solution to the on-street parking issue.

 

Ive done it several times on mine...when you crack the window enough for a cord, rain does not enter with the Visors I have. If yours does not cover it, you could try the front window, as plug might still reach.

Works awesome for me when i do need to do this, but its rare i need to.

This is first car ive ever got vent visors on, and just love how much I use my windows now with no wind and little noise. Just love them. Rarely ever use AC.

Dan

 

Unless you can access a plug to charge the car and/or buy one at a great price, it doesn't seem to be worth buying a PiP. Buying a standard Prius and driving as much as you can in stealth mode may be the better way to go.