1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Loved my Prime, but battery range pushed me to Honda Clarity

Discussion in 'Prime Main Forum (2017-2022)' started by CyberDyneSystems, Jul 27, 2019.

Tags:
Page 1 of 6
  1. CyberDyneSystems

    CyberDyneSystems Junior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 29, 2017
    7
    25
    0
    Location:
    Providence RI
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Premium
    So I guess this is my fond farewell. I'll check in on occasion.

    There was so much I loved about the Prime, and I will miss it. That said, my dream was not fulfilled by the Primes less than energetic ability to provide a 25 mile charge 8 months out of the year.

    In short, my commute is exactly 24 miles one way. I usually can charge at work. My house is solar powered, so the idea of driving to work on solar power was a dream come true. Toyota's claimed 25 mile range seemed to fit like a glove.

    Of course Prime owners all quickly realize that you don't actually get 25 miles on battery, (particularly if 2/3 of the miles are highway) most of the year if you live in a climate like New England. Mid winter I was lucky to get 17 miles. This is of course true of any plug in,. but I was just cutting the margin too close with the Prime and my 24 mile commute.
    Yes, I was aware of this before buying, but at the time, (2017) the Prime still appeared to be the best bet for me. Even after the Clarity was announced, it was a good $10K more than the Prime base, so I would have made the same decision.

    What I really did not understand was the effect it would have on me! That "range anxiety" I did not think would effect me, the hybrid owner, with the Primes' best in class overall combined mileage. But it did. It really did. The second year of owning the Prime, I would literally end up in a bad mood arriving at work based on battery range. If I could not charge, OH MAN did that hurt! The entire trip home on hybrid/gas. Ouch.

    Long and short, some finances changed and I went to test drive the Honda Clarity. 47 Mile battery range would mean getting to work on battery 100% of the time, and round trip in the summer (it bumps up to 60 or so, just like the Prime can get to 30 miles in summer months)

    I don't know if it's kosher to post about the Clarity in here in the Prime forum, so i won't go into it unless asked. Suffice it to say I am quite happy with the trade in (trade-up) on a number of levels. I'll miss the Primes' hatchback, it's superior auto-piloting (way smoother) and vastly more comprehensive and easy to read on screen displays,. among other things. But the key concern, the drive to work, the battery only range, has been solved.

    Let me know if anyone would like a comparison with the Clarity.

    Jake
     
    #1 CyberDyneSystems, Jul 27, 2019
    will the engineer, Montgomery, jerrymildred and 1 other person like this.
  2. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2004
    45,024
    16,242
    41
    Location:
    Canada
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Congrats on your new Clarity!

    You know what I like about PriusChat? We’re all inclusive. We’ve never shunned a member away just because they switched vehicles. We’re always willing to learn about other vehicles and it helps if the owner was a former Prius owner - that way, we can get a comparison and it can also help future members or current members make a decision.

    Clarity and Volt are probably the closest competitors to the Prime and there are plenty of comparisons on the web between them. What we don’t have are owner comparisons - those will be more detailed as an owner will catch the smaller details that are not apparent to an auto journalist or someone who rented any of those vehicles for a day or two.
     
    #2 Tideland Prius, Jul 27, 2019
    MrHockey, drash, Arctic_White and 7 others like this.
  3. jb in NE

    jb in NE Senior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 13, 2018
    2,233
    1,596
    0
    Location:
    Nebraska
    Vehicle:
    2018 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Premium
    I understand your decision, but for $10K more you will have to drive a whole lot of miles to recoup the savings from gaining a few EV miles a day.
     
    #3 jb in NE, Jul 27, 2019
    Worldbuyer, Arctic_White and William Redoubt like this.
  4. schja01

    schja01 One of very few in Chicagoland

    Joined:
    Apr 22, 2005
    1,765
    1,169
    0
    Location:
    Chicagoland
    Vehicle:
    2018 Prius
    Model:
    Prime Advanced
    You can buy a lot of gas for $10K
     
    #4 schja01, Jul 27, 2019
    William Redoubt likes this.
  5. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2004
    45,024
    16,242
    41
    Location:
    Canada
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Keep in mind that $10k also buys a bigger car and nicer interior materials among other things. (Doesn’t the Clarity get a bigger tax credit too?)
     
    #5 Tideland Prius, Jul 27, 2019
    MMBH, Arctic_White and Trollbait like this.
  6. schja01

    schja01 One of very few in Chicagoland

    Joined:
    Apr 22, 2005
    1,765
    1,169
    0
    Location:
    Chicagoland
    Vehicle:
    2018 Prius
    Model:
    Prime Advanced
    How much lost on depreciation/trade in of the Prime?
     
    #6 schja01, Jul 27, 2019
    Arctic_White likes this.
  7. Blue-Adept

    Blue-Adept Active Member

    Joined:
    Mar 14, 2005
    293
    179
    0
    Location:
    Grand Rapids, Michigan
    Vehicle:
    2018 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Plug-in Advanced
    I almost did the same. Nice car. But when I ran the numbers It would take 390,000 Miles to make the break even the way I drive.
    Clarity is a great car, if the numbers added up I would have got one!

    Just got a survey from Toyota asking me what range I wanted in the next Prime. I said 75 to 100 Miles. Anyone else get the survey.

    Blue
     
    #7 Blue-Adept, Jul 27, 2019
    farmecologist, Arctic_White, will the engineer and 3 others like this.
  8. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2004
    45,024
    16,242
    41
    Location:
    Canada
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Aim high. Then they’ll target 50 miles lol.
     
    #8 Tideland Prius, Jul 27, 2019
    Montgomery and bisco like this.
  9. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    110,132
    50,049
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    50 mile battery will push the mpg down and reduce the gas tank. you can't have it all
     
    #9 bisco, Jul 27, 2019
    Arctic_White, will the engineer and Montgomery like this.
  10. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    110,132
    50,049
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    there are other forums where clarity owners (and others) post their experiences. all the best!(y)
     
    #10 bisco, Jul 27, 2019
  11. thefranchise713

    thefranchise713 Junior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 11, 2019
    75
    52
    0
    Location:
    Buffalo, NY
    Vehicle:
    2018 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Advanced
    I'd love to hear about it.

    I'm kind of in the same boat. Right now I can't charge regularly, but I'm hoping to eventually get to somewhere I can. After that, I still have a 16 mile commute one way, which means I'll always be using a few drops of fuel regardless. The other annoyance on the Prime is the air cooled battery--definitely can feel the hybrid performance back down when the battery gets toasty, and there's not much I can do about it.

    Today I spent most of my day in an ICE--got 44 MPG out of it, and it was nice not having range anxiety, nor having to feel a transition between an ICE/battery in hybrid mode. Made me think twice about what I purchased.
     
    #11 thefranchise713, Jul 27, 2019
    Arctic_White likes this.
  12. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    110,132
    50,049
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    ya, it sounds like you made a mistake. trading to a clarity could be a bigger mistake.

    I've never noticed any performance problems with a toasty battery, but perhaps buffalo is warmer than boston
     
    #12 bisco, Jul 27, 2019
    TGrracie likes this.
  13. thefranchise713

    thefranchise713 Junior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 11, 2019
    75
    52
    0
    Location:
    Buffalo, NY
    Vehicle:
    2018 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Advanced
    Oh yeah--definitely not moving to a Clarity, especially at this point. But, we've had a hot streak here where I've noticed the difference.
     
    #13 thefranchise713, Jul 27, 2019
    bisco likes this.
  14. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    110,132
    50,049
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    if you can bank 44 in a gasser, what's the point of driving a hybrid? i'd probably look around for something appealing, and not have to deal with all the nonsense
     
    #14 bisco, Jul 27, 2019
  15. jb in NE

    jb in NE Senior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 13, 2018
    2,233
    1,596
    0
    Location:
    Nebraska
    Vehicle:
    2018 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Premium
    Do you have data to support the toasty battery theory? I've driven my Prime on 100+F days with no observed performance drop in EV mode.
     
    #15 jb in NE, Jul 27, 2019
    Prius from Dad likes this.
  16. thefranchise713

    thefranchise713 Junior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 11, 2019
    75
    52
    0
    Location:
    Buffalo, NY
    Vehicle:
    2018 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Advanced
    ^ Anecdotal, my apologies.
     
    #16 thefranchise713, Jul 27, 2019
    bisco likes this.
  17. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

    Joined:
    Feb 7, 2006
    22,447
    11,760
    0
    Location:
    eastern Pennsylvania
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Two to three thousand can buy a lot of gas, and that is why most people don't even move into a hybrid, let alone a plug in.
     
    #17 Trollbait, Jul 27, 2019
    farmecologist, Arctic_White and bisco like this.
  18. jb in NE

    jb in NE Senior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 13, 2018
    2,233
    1,596
    0
    Location:
    Nebraska
    Vehicle:
    2018 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Premium
    With the current Federal kickbacks a Prime can cost the same or less than a Prius. After you buy it, it's cheaper to operate then a regular Prius.
     
    #18 jb in NE, Jul 27, 2019
  19. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

    Joined:
    Feb 7, 2006
    22,447
    11,760
    0
    Location:
    eastern Pennsylvania
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    And the $3000 saved by getting a Corolla hatchback will still buy a lot of gas.

    If a person is using length of payback for not getting a longer EV range PHEV over the shorter range one, then they should have stuck with a traditional ICE car for the same reason.
     
    #19 Trollbait, Jul 27, 2019
    Arctic_White and bisco like this.
  20. jb in NE

    jb in NE Senior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 13, 2018
    2,233
    1,596
    0
    Location:
    Nebraska
    Vehicle:
    2018 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Premium
    This depends on your driving patterns. if you can achieve 90% EV in town, that's quite a bit different than 20% EV.
     
    #20 jb in NE, Jul 27, 2019
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)
Page 1 of 6