2014 PiP v. 2017 Prime

@Tideland Prius - I'm not sure, maybe you can advise - if Windhorse23 isn't able to plug in to charge with 110/240V, is there any real advantage in having a PRIME over a GEN 4 PRIUS? I can picture that in hilly areas with long down-hill driving PRIME might be able to store more Regen braking in the bigger battery, but I'm not sure about normal driving. Any idea?

 

The "133" figure is the Miles per gallon equivalent (MPGe) of the Prime when running in EV mode - it's a way of comparing energy consumption of electric vehicles to traditional gasoline cars. This has no bearing on how much fuel you will use, as it's only for running in EV mode.

If you want to reduce fuel consumption, you need to start charging. Whatever it is about tax rebates on purchase, it's pretty pointless having a PHEV without being able to charge the battery! Your commute is well within the range of the Prime, so if that's all you're doing you can easily get it up to 999 MPG

 

It's very difficult to tell - short trips don't seem to be as economical as longer ones. We use l/100km to measure fuel use, but in the first 5km of a trip, mine might be reading 5 or 6 l/100km, but by the end of my normal 25km commute (70% hwy, 30 city) it will be reading more like 3.9 - if I go 100km, it can be down more like 3.5. Some trips will show 23% EV use, others more like 50% - partly depends on battery state when I start, and the terrain.

I'm certain you wouldn't get 133 MPG, but with the larger battery in PRIME, I'd expect that hybrid efficiency with bigger battery, and greater ability to store Regen braking could be greater than PRIUS, depending on your driving style, but I'd be surprised if it was much more than 10 or 20% improvement - which is only a guess!!

BUT - if you can top the battery up at the local Mall while shopping, or at work - and in years to come, have an outlet at your home, you'll certainly see benefits.

BUT (2) - if PRIME works out cheaper than PRIUS, you've got the best of both worlds, apart from one less seat.

 

Windhorse, sorry you lost me when you decided to bring politics into the mix.

 

So the Prime does not charge the plug in portion of the battery in standard driving- only charges the Hybrid section. Charging with the standard (included) 110v charging cord works well.

As far as my preferences go, I would pass on the ‘14 Plug in Prius and go for a ‘16 or newer Prius or a ‘17+ Prime. The newer (gen 4) are much improved on many levels.

For me, I purchased my Prime in NJ (although I live in Wi). I got an Advanced Prime with an MSRP of about 30k. There was a factory rebate of $3500 and a dealer discount of about $2300 and then I still will be eligible for the federal tax credit of $4502 (talk to your tax preparer if you qualify. You must pay more than that in taxes to receive credit in the full amount.)

So in a nutshell my new Prius Prime will cost about $20k after all incentives.

Either way definitely go Prius 4th Generation. Regular or Prime according to your budget. Used or new. Maybe a Toyota certified may be a good compromise.

 

the prime only qualifies for ~$4500 of the credit due to the smallish battery, not the full $7500.

 

I don't think - but could be wrong - that there are 2 sections of the battery? It's just one larger Traction Battery (and a small 12v for other duties). The WIKI article states "The Prius Prime has an 8.8 kWh lithium-ion battery that ...".

Also the WEBER AUTO YouTube indicates it's just one battery with 351.5 volts - no mention that it has 2 separate portions.

And TOYOTA's advertising makes no mention of a separate portion.

 

are there still two threads going here?

 

I'd go for the Prime. You will get some tax breaks in California. And from what I understand, there is still federal tax breaks available.

 

Just to clarify:
The PiP and the Prime always charge during regeneration. If the car has used up the EV portion of the battery, it drives like a regular Prius and my PiP, at least, seems to manage the state of charge that way. But if you go down a big enough hill or brake hard and long enough, it can, on rare occasions, move the charge back up into the EV enabling state of charge. But that take pretty extreme circumstances. Tampa traffic lights did it to me once with accelerating to 60 mph and stopping again about five times in a row with each light about a mile from the previous one, it went from HV only to showing 0.2 miles of EV. I never saw that any other time including driving through KY and TN on I-75.

Also, since it is just one big battery, if you have EV range available and are in HV mode, the system will stay centered on that state of charge, borrowing from and paying back electricity as needed.

 

I'm still a bit unsure - I'm thinking of a mountain range I go up and back down every few months. It's 100km away and then a significant climb of 500metres height with, I'm told about 10% +/- gradient. If it was a PHEV (eg PRIME), the EV range would be used up before I got to the mountain climb.

With PRIUS, coming down, the battery fills in next to no time, and I flick it to "B" for the rest of the descent.

My question about coming down - would PRIME continue REGEN and possibly even FILL the battery again if the mountain descent was long enough?

 

I can't say for sure. It might have the 80% limit as it does in Charge mode. But it would take quite a mountain if you started with no EV available. I wonder if any of our Colorado or west coast drivers had gone down a long enough grade to know.