I've generally respected these videos hosted by Ms. Gorden-Bloomfield. In this recent 6min50sec one, although the Prime is not mentioned, the Prime clearly meets her criteria for a bonafide PHEV.
it really depends on user need, it's good to have variety, just like bev's and gassers. i'm around 90% ev with 12-15 miles of range, but i'd love to have a heat pump and bigger battery to cover it. the trouble with reviewers is that they have no parameters to go by. so they try to give a practical real world results and let buyers decide what works best for them.
it will be nice if we ever reach a point where the same model has various battery configurations, as tesla is doing, but i realize this is very expensive for manufacturers.
Honestly, I think the Prius is almost perfect. I could use 5-10 more miles, but i have no problem getting to work and back in the Prime. Sometimes I'd like to stop somewhere on the way home and I can't do that in all electric.
Seems incomplete to list an arbitrary distance. To me, it makes more sense to combine it with some other factor, for example: "15 miles per thousand dollars (sticker price over the price of the ICE version)" or "Consistently able to charge 0-100% in 8 hours on L1 plug"
How about theoretical max. With a perfect battery, that's small and light weight, cheap, long life, and can be recharged over night. I would say 900 miles. That's more than a person could drive in a day.
At the hobby level hv lithium battery chargers start around $50 I would argue any Hybrid should have at least the option of a battery charger, even if it’s only 5 city miles
Eliminate platform laws and the cost becomes almost zero. This is a legal issue driving cost not a technical one as many European cars offer 6 or more drivetrain options in the same model. Only difference there vrs here is one little law, overturn it and much more choice will come to the market overnight.
