Finally joined the plug-in club

Congrats. You have the Plugin Advanced model.

 

Congrats. PiPs come only in Base or Advanced, unless the Canadian versions are different. Looks like you have just the right car for your commute.

BTW, I went to school in Langley, BC many, many years ago. Still miss it.

 

Congratulations and Welcome!

 

all the best!

 

The Canadian models are slightly different, the 'Advanced' model is called Technology here, and we don't get the HUD or Entune, or any telematics/mobile app. It's also in metric.

I have one of the ~100 sold in the country, particularly, one of these more rare Technology models. Great car though, particularly picking one up used and passing off some of the depreciation, as I (and the OP) did.

 

Congrats and welcome! I just joined the PiP club myself and I can tell you this: the guys here on PC will help you figure out anything! Enjoy...

 

Hello and welcome.

Sounds like an Advanced Pkg to me ..especially if your drivers seat is powered .

Hope you enjoy the petrol free miles and the drive .

Kenny

 

I find it interesting that the PiP has the same hybrid EPA rating as the regular Gen 3. I normally get to plug in at church, but last night I couldn't get close enough to the outlet. I drove 17.5 miles home on a depleted EV range and, when I shut off the car in the garage, the display said 60 mpg. And that was on a highway that's notorious for making people stop hard and then re-accellerate to 60+ mph. On the Gen 2, I would normally get about 45 mpg on that route.

 

Purely speculation, but I thin the programming in the PiP is slightly different from the regular Gen 3 to use more electric and regen, since it knows it can be plugged in to top up. However, most gains would be offset by the added weight of the larger battery, so overall it is probably mostly a wash (and from a marketing perspective, easier to explain as 'same as gen 3').

I also had a Gen 2 before this car, and the hybrid efficiency is about the same as what you describe. I generally averaged about 5.0l/100km or so (47MPG), while I get about 55MPG in the PiP when the battery is depleted. For example, yesterday I travelled 300km with a loaded car (family & luggage) and depleted battery at 75mph and still got 55MPG. Love this car.

 

I would think that there would be some kind of difference in programming. But without putting both models side by side in the same conditions, it's hard to know if there really is a difference. I haven't been on a long freeway drive yet, but I did get 55 mpg out of about a 30 mile drive at 70-75 mph a while back. I really want to drive this thing to Colorado.

 

Not sure if the hybrid programming for the PiP is different from normal Prii, but the extra battery capacity definitely helps with lowering fuel consumption.

Once, while driving upstate, I accidentally left the car in EV mode and didn't notice until I was exiting the highway. I was down to 2-3 miles EV range. On the way back to home, I used the uphill-downhill sections to my advantage and managed to charge up my battery to nearly 11 miles EV range. In a normal Prius, the energy from the downhill sections would have gone mostly to waste due to the smaller battery.

Another thing to consider from my experience is the car's behavior when the EV capacity is "depleted". In city driving, the PiP tends to aggressively revert back to EV mode as soon as you stop gunning the gas pedal. Even with low battery, the PiP feels like it wants to stay in EV mode. Not sure how a normal Prius feels, since I've never driven one (3rd gen, that is).

 

Good on you!

 

Does anyone know how many 2012 PIP Advanced were sold in the U.S.?

 

the tesla makes the prius look good!

 

It also shows how large of vehicle the X is.

 

true, they are massive in person.

 

And while the Tesla driver is sweating bullets looking for the next place to charge, the Prius driver continues driving across the continent, stopping briefly for gas about about every 7 hours depending on biological demands.