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We traded in our Prius Prime for a Model 3, 240 mi EV, after noticing I was only driving the BMW i3-REx:

• Lane steering is much better than lane keep assist.
• Trip modeling showed SuperCharger network could except at Fort Smith handle our long distance trips.
• Not having a SuperCharger at Fort Smith could be mitigated by NEMA 14/50 or L2 chargers.
• Much simpler car with order of magnitude moving parts to wear out.
• Excellent acceleration to reach the speed limit first and out of the mob.
• Lap of luxury versus just plain.

An EV is not for everyone but things came together with our Model 3 and the SuperCharger network.

Bob Wilson

 

My CMax, which predates the Prime, has a 550 mile range yet I've never missed it driving the Clarity. Pretty much everyone needs to stop for BIO breaks every couple of hours so getting a splash of gas when necessary is no big deal. BTDT for decades on motorcycle trips that only have about 125-150 mile range of interstate traveling; plus combining needs at one stop is more efficient. The key is there is pretty much a liquid "supercharger" just about anywhere when you need one (relatively speaking of course) which brings us back to the OP.

 

And in the same vehicle - Prime, Clarity PHEV, Ioniq PHEV, etc.

 

Both BEV and PHEV are solutions to help reduce oil usage.
However the long distance EV infrastructure is primarily improved only with increasing numbers of BEV.

Mike

 

Yeah, if my wife is with me, I have to stop almost every service areas along the interstate.
When I drive solo, I go into a zone and like to drive nonstop start to finish. PRIME works great for that. For my ~300 miles one way drive, PRIME does not need gas stop on my destination. But yes, my older cars did not have that great range, thus I was forced to stop every 300-400 miles.

 

What? And have a choice in fuels? THAT'S CRAZY TALK!

 

I took a range hit moving from a VW TDI to the Prime. Over 700 on the VW, maybe 600 on the Prime. I find that I typically stop every few hundred miles anyway (clean off the bugs, get a drink, etc.), but the long range sure is nice out in the boonies.

 

For me, finding and stopping for gas on interstate service area in the boonies is far easier than trying to find a gas station nearby in the downtown area of big city. Still if I don't have to stop for gas, I will go nonstop 300 miles easily.

 

Interstates? None of them in the real boonies.

 

The Prime is a Prius with a bigger traction battery and the ability to charge the bigger battery from a wall socket. If you drive it until the EV part of the traction battery is exhausted (typically 30-32 miles in fair weather), it turns into a Prius with slightly better mileage. The "bottom" portion of the traction battery is reserved for this use (it indicates 0% charge on the dash display, but there is still power to provide EV for short distances as in a normal Prius).

With the Prime, you also have the ability to charge the EV part of the traction battery using the car's engine (to 80% capacity of the battery). This can be handy if you are on a road trip and your destination is a city, where you can drive around on EV and not run the engine. As long as the engine is running anyway on the road to the city, it's a good tradeoff to use a bit more fuel and then not have to run the engine at all in the city.

 

This is pretty much how all PHEV's work; there are some exceptions. On long trips, it's best to save the EV for around town or lower speeds and use gas for highway (most have a button to give you control over this). Oh shorter trips, use as much ev as possible.

 

It takes 1 hour to get onto the interstate, but after that, the interstate takes me to the city I need to go. If I have a lot of time to kill, I can take back road. Shorter distance, but will take twice longer.

 

Reminds me about the motorcycle joke: How can you tell if a motorcyclist is happy? ........ by the bugs on his teeth.