So, Are we Still in Love?

insert @HPrimeAdvanced here.

 

Christine was a great book, I think I actually remarked thus while reading it. Stephen at his finest.

Oh cr@p: now I'll be inundated with alerts.

 

No name for the Prime Advanced yet; stopped naming my cars after I sold my last Alfa Romeo! However, now that a lot of the future shock and technology overload have worn away, I can say unequivocally that, I love this bloody car!! So much entertainment, and yes Martha, it's a blast to drive my "Stealthmobile" !!

.
Oh also, have had to use the GPS to remember my gas station location!! Har, har!
Also, turned 9,000 miles, exactly, today!;
I have only "filled" the car 5 times since Feb 25, 2017, after full tank from dealer. I'm averaging 197.4 mpg combined gas/electric, based on the car's readings. I averaged $21.40 per "fill up", even at California's ridiculously high fuel prices. Shortest distance travelled at fill up: 1328 miles; longest distance: 2625 miles! Filling up approximately every month and a half!

 

My first 8000 km or 5000 miles done with Prius PHV (as it is called in Europe)..it is so much better than Gen4 Prius than I had before this..with my family's driving habits sometimes we go more than week without ICE and when it is time to take longer road trips it actually consumes less than Gen4..just yesterday had a 150 miles trip to my friend, 95 % motorway driving +75 miles/hour..average 3,5 l/100 km = 81mpg..I strongly recommend to get rid of noisy original tyres..life is much better with the more quite ones

 

Christine sounds more like a Carrie movie. I love my car and drive it proudly and show it off to anyone who ask about it. Have never been happier with a car. Well, well, well worth the wait. The wait is all part of the experience...though it seems like it would never end.

 

I like my Prime so much that I haven't driven my turbo-charged sports coupe since I got it (now looking to get rid of it), and I'm starting to make excuses to go on longer trips than just to the store (currently planning a roughly 1,800 mile trip - which would be my third out-of-state trip in the Prime).

 

We have two plug-in hybrids:

• BMW i3-REx - with three times the EV range, it can travel to and from near by Arab, Decatur, Scottsboro, Fayetteville, and Cullman on electricity. It handles an L2 at 31A gaining 20% charge per hour but it really needs the single, downtown, fast charger to restore the base charge. Going longer distances, the car reverts to a 40 MPG. However, the optically based, dynamic cruise control can have difficulty when driving into the sun. The 168 hp in a 2900 lb car is a lot of fun in traffic. I'm also counting down the days to end of warranty and starting my self-maintenance.
• Prius Prime Plus - local to Huntsville, it is a 3-stop EV that handles any L2 including the limited, 16A ones. An hour puts 50% on the car, perfect for a dinner-date. On the highway, it is a +55 MPG car with a reliable, radar, cruise control that handles fog and rain. The quiet competence of any Prius in town and on the highway, eats miles for pennies.

Both cars have dynamic cruise control and collision avoidance which are absolute requirements. Both cars have 2" receiver hitches to carry my wife's folding wheel chair. Either can cover over 1,000 miles in a 24 hour period without batting an eye. Yet both cut the cost of town driving by more than half which means I never think about the cost of any trip.

Bob Wilson

 

Yes! I am as excited driving our Prime today as I drove it first time in Nov 2016. It is by far the best car my wife and I ever owned for our use. We plan on growing old together!

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

Okay, everyone, get your beat going...

'L'... is for the way it Looks to me...
'O'... my Overwhelming sense of glee...
'V'... is Very, very frugal to my head...
'E'... for all that clean Electricity used instead...

(well... what do you expect for on-the-fly lyrics?)

 

Since I'm STILL waiting on mine to arrive, I can only speculate and survive on what all of you do in yours and then post about it here. So get out there and drive and post about it dang it!

 

Only had mine for 5 days but it really is a technical and mechanical marvel. I have driven over 200 miles and have only used 1/8 of a tank of gas. Some of the drives were two 26 mile out and backs and one of them was without a charge on the EV. I will start my first commute week tomorrow (26 miles 1 way with no charge station at work) so I will get a much better since of what my monthly costs will be. The car has modified my driving behavior for the good and I just can't believe how fun it is to drive.

 

Use PlugShare.com to find L2 chargers, especially free ones, near grocery stores, bars and restaurants:

• 1/2 hour - 25% charge, ~7 miles
• 1 hour - 50% charge, ~15 miles
• 2 hours - 100% charge, ~ 30 miles
• CHARGE MODE - 80% charge, ~24 miles, on EV after burning some gas

Bob Wilson

 

Thanks. There is nothing around my work right now but I am now wondering if there are any outlets in our parking garage that I can plug into (or if I would get into trouble for plugging into them).

 

Im just shy of 20k, at 8 months of ownership.

I pretty much love and hate all the same things that I loved and hated on day 3. Only more intensely.

This car is too damn low. The front end is ridiculous. RIDICULOUS.
The mileage is great.
It drives well, though like many cars it occasionally wants to get sucked under a semi at highway speed.
The Qi charger is frustratingly terrible.
The adaptive cruise is still my favorite feature
The giant screen is still just usefull enough to not be ignorable while remaining mostly useless.
The seats remain comfortable
The back end of this car collects dust and dirt better than a white shirt at Holi, particularly just under the hatch.
Driving modes are fun. Im normally in Eco, but occasionally switch to Power. It feels like a different car. I think i drive in eco more for the contrast than for the fuel savings, if I am honest.

Ive had two warantee repairs so far.. The auto high beam switch somehow got jammed in the first time i ever touched it. And there was an issue with the USB port that required replacement parts. Since that replacement.. I haven't had the infamous rebooting issue. Even though I was using it via blue tooth, that seems to have been relevant, and for a short time after that the QI charger also appeared to be working better. But that was, I think, an illusion of hope.

At 20k Ive still only been able to get a full charge 6 times. Darned lack of a home charging opportunity takes away a lot of the fun. But thats my fault, not toyotas.

 

We still love ours. It handles so well. We also like the cruise control, and cross traffic alerts very much. The milage, and more important, range, just make it the ideal car for us.

 

Excellent. Be sure to change your vehicle type in your user profile.

 

The power outlets are probably 120VAC and in commercial buildings, may have a 20A service. When you leave work, walk the walls and look for an outlet. There are two styles:

• NEMA 5-15 - handles the 12A EVSE that comes with the car but it can reduce the rate to 8A
• NEMA 5-20 - " "

The best protocol is to ask the property manager because you and they need to know which circuit breaker is on which outlets. If you plug in the EVSE with the default, 12A load, it may trip the circuit breaker for something important like the mechanical arm and/or ticket system. Nobody likes the surprise of having to reset a circuit breaker.

Be prepared to offer something of value, say pay for the electricity your car might consume:

• 6.4 kWh * 5 = 32 kWh per week
• 32 kWh * $0.15/kWh (estimated) = $4.80 per week
• offer $5 per week and bring some outlet blockers for the others (i.e., child protectors)

Our Prius Prime can charge at two rates:

• 12A @120VAC = ~1.5 kW -> 4 hrs 15 min
• 8A @120VAC = ~1 kW -> 6 hrs 30 min

A better approach might be to offer an L2 EVSE like a JuiceBox 40, ~$500, or equivalent, if they will put in a 50A, NEMA 14-50, all-weather, locking outlet (i.e., RV park outlet.) If placement is optional, in a parking place nobody likes to use so gas powered cars won't be tempted to use that space. Ideally, on the line between two parking spaces marked for EVs to share the J1772. Again, offer to pay for the electricity.

Another option, use Plugshare.com to find chargers within walking distance of work. In my case, ~1/2 mile works for ordinary work clothes.

Consider taking lunch where there might be a free or affordable charger and start taking lunch away from work.

Schedule an appointment with your supervisor and ask if you can discuss getting a charging station installed with the highest ranked, executive at your work site. Prepare a set of charts showing cost and proposed solution.

Bob Wilson

 

Excellent info from Bob. So in my long Freeway trip, this info about CHARGE MODE will be useful to me.

• CHARGE MODE - 80% charge, ~24 miles, on EV after burning some gas

Also great info about electric sockets, as it may come handy on out-of-town road trips.

 

Yup, still 'in love' with Ruby Too after almost 8 months. I enjoy every drive. I still marvel at the automatic high beams every time. How did I live without it?